DIY Housing goes to 146 metres before failing

[pdh]

Hi Paul,

Nice to hear from you again and I am that your found the Scubaboard. I used Paul's plans and was very happy with my housing.

Marshall Karp
Dover, OH

Hello again Marshall. Glad the housing is still working OK.

Paul.

 

[eieio_24]

I looked at the link to the plans, etc. and it seems to be a very professional looking piece of work. However, for the time, money and work involved, one could purchase a camera that records stills and video and with controls easily reached. Here is a link to this camera, which I've seen for as low as $112 bucks. Its a Hero III, a wearable camera for your wrist (not easily lost). Here is the info, it won't let me copy/past the URL link.

Info:

Dubbed the Wrist HERO, the Digital HERO 5 is a 5 megapixel wrist camera for sports.

Waterproof to 100 feet (30 meters) and capable of shooting 56 minutes of video (with sound) and 5 megapixel still photos, the Digital HERO 5 "Wrist HERO" is the world's most convenient solution to shooting on the go footage of your friends and family during your favorite activitiesÍÃe it on the mountain or in the water.

Originally designed for surfing in big wave haven, Northern California, the Digital HERO 5 is engineered for maximum convenience as well as maximum durability. Perfect for surfing or snorkeling, hiking or climbing, the Digital HERO 5 makes it easy to have a camera at hand for video and photo opportunities that occur at times when traditional cameras are too inconvenient to use or carry. No pockets? No problem if you are wearing the Digital HERO 5 "Wrist HERO" camera.

Thanks to its patented design, the Digital HERO 5 can be worn securely flat on the wrist during your sport but can quickly pivot upright for aiming the shot. Even in this upright position, the camera is securely attached to your wrist. This makes it easy to grab your surfboard, paddle, or otherwise have both hands free without risk of dropping your camera. The housing is waterproof to 100 feet/30 meters.

The camera can also be strapped to gear such as kayak paddles and the leading edge of kitesurfing kites. This allows the kitesurfer to film their entire session looking down from above, as though they had a private helicopter camera crew following them while they surf.

The Digital HERO 5 can be combined with the Helmet HERO Expansion Kit and Motorsports HERO Expansion Kit in order to mount the Digital HERO 5 to helmets, bikes, and other gear.

The Digital HERO 5 has an adjustable neoprene strap that adjusts to fit a range of sizes from a child's wrist to fitting over the ski jacket sleeve of an adult.

What's Included:

5 Megapixel HERO Wide Camera with Standard 54Žº Lens
1 Shockproof/Waterproof Quick-Release Housing?00 feet/30 meters
1 Neoprene and VelcroŽ® Wrist Strap (One Size Fits All)
1 USB/RCA Combo Cable
Warranty: One Year


Specs:

Model Number: GDH50

Resolution: 5 megapixel (2592x1944) photo, 512x384 video

Sensor: CMOS

Video Format: MJPEG, 30 fps, saved as .AVI file

Optics: glass lens, f/2.8 aperture, 54Žº angle of view

Modes: video, standard photo, photo every 2 or 5 secs, 3x photo burst sequence, self timer, upside down photo/video flip

Exposure Control: auto

White Balance: auto

Self Timer: 10 seconds

Microphone: built-in with adjustable recording/input level

Audio Format: 8kHz, mono

Memory: 16 MB internal, expandable to 2GB with SD card (not included), expandable to 4GB with SDHC card (not included) via free software download from GoPro websiteÍÂvailable soon

Capacity: 56 minutes video (incl. audio) or 1,945 photos with optional 2GB SD card. 1hr 52min video (incl. audio) with optional 4GB SDHC cardÍÂvailable soon

Power: 2x AAA batteries (not included), lithium batteries highly recommended. 3hrs. video recording with lithium, 2hrs. with NiMH

TV Out (with RCA cable): NTSC or PAL

PC Connection: USB + RCA combo cable

PC Compatibility: Windows ME, 2000, XP, and Vista; Mac OS X 10.2 and later

Waterproof: rated to 100 feet/30 meters

Dimensions: 1.75" x 2.30" x 1.25"/4.45cm x 5.84cm x 3.18cm (H x W x D)

Weight: 4.9 oz/139 g

 

[pdh]

Yes but this is the DIY discussion so we all WANT to make them ourselves - it's not all about cost. Also what do you do with your 30 metre camera when the wreck is at 40 metres and who is going to supply you with spares etc for the next 5 years. I'd be surprised if it wasn't obsolete in a year. If my camera packs up I'll just by another one - it will still work in my housing.

Paul.

 

[350xfire]

Yes but this is the DIY discussion so we all WANT to make them ourselves - it's not all about cost. Also what do you do with your 30 metre camera when the wreck is at 40 metres and who is going to supply you with spares etc for the next 5 years. I'd be surprised if it wasn't obsolete in a year. If my camera packs up I'll just by another one - it will still work in my housing.

Paul.

Plus, I bet the video quality is crap on the Hero.

 

[Steve in Seattle]

The 100' rating is disturbing as well. Good for say a 60' dive... but even a 80 to 100' dive could be a problem... static pressure is a slightly different situation than say going against the current (force applied to the leading edge of container), waving it around in the water, or even bumping against a rock, other diver, etc...

If it was a watch wp to 100' I wouldn't realistically expect it to survive a 80' dive. It may, but it also may not. Up the ante to a video camera and it's probably not worth the cheap price unless you plan on <80' dives and want 512x384 video.

If you already have a video camera, a quality case is likely worth the cash.

 

[Steve in Seattle]

The hero may be a good deal for a research team looking at monitoring several points of a shallow reef... cheap and disposable if it gets "snagged"... especially if it comes in B&W (B&W naturally has a higher contrast scale than color allowing for better low-light defintion... video survailence).

Make a 5 to 10 camera video network cable in B&W strung over say 1/4 mile with a recorder box and they'd make a bundle IMO. Untapped market. But 512x384 @30fps in color isn't ideal though. 10 fps at higher res using a B&W sensor would be awesome for that price. And it's digital making for eas(ier) video review, indexing and computer-assisted searching.

Cool tool, just the wrong application for DVD/home movies. YouTube/Web clips would be good though.

 

[CBR-runner]

That is amazing.

 

[brigham57]

Yes, I have a workshop with a lathe and milling machine, plus other useful stuff like band saws and sanders. I sell a few of the Mark IIIs now, they are quite popular - there is a link on my page (not sure if I'm allowed to say that).

Paul.

how much are you selling the mark III's for?

 

[pdh]

I've stopped for the moment - too much else to do. But I'll have some more in a month or two. ClearCam Housings..

Paul.

 

[WD8CDH]

Paul,

A good source of short lengths of thick wall aluminum tubing is old aluminum SCUBA tanks. I made a housing for a camera that has been to 1000 feet in the ocean and 2000 FSW in a test chamber from a 6351 alloy tank that was free.