Generic video housing?

[Hemlon]

Are there any generic video housings available? I have a small digital camera that takes video also. I would like to find just a plastic, waterproof box that I can put the camera in and seal for video footage.

I'm a newbie to UW photo/video so be gentle with your answers, please!

 

[paulpost]

Are there any generic video housings available? I have a small digital camera that takes video also. I would like to find just a plastic, waterproof box that I can put the camera in and seal for video footage.

I'm a newbie to UW photo/video so be gentle with your answers, please!

I'm not sure but I think you can check on the DIY forum on this website.
I'll be gentle as you've asked and I have to tell you that, in my opinion ,you're wasting your time, but as I said this is my opinion, so do not take it as an advise.
Now I'll try to explain my opinion.
As much as I know about cameras that can record videos I know that the recording time is a mater of a few minutes, 5 or less, so because you'll have to put the camera inside the housing turned on, by the time you'll get in the water and not just in the water but to the bottom the time will be over, this is just my opinion

 

[divekraz]

generic housing is not going to work because you won't have acess to the controls on any hard case. You could search for a soft case allowing you to manipulate the controls to some degree but that is only going to be good to 5' or 10' maximum. Your probably better off buying a throw away underwater camera or springing for a regular case. I got a case for my cannon power shot for $150 and it works great for the past 2 years. Any controls I can do on the surface I can do underwater. If you think you would really like to take pictures, I would definately buy a case made for your camera as you would be unhappy with anything else. Just my thoughts for what it's worth.

 

[marshallkarp]

It would help to know what camera you have. You can buy custom housings for not much. I have a Sony DCR-P100 digital video camera and I bought the $200 housing for it. With the controls, I take digital still and digital movies with it. I bought the 1 gig memory card and can video 40 minutes of video, so depending on your dive time, that may cover the whole dive.

For something strange though, I gave this some careful thought a long time ago for a generic video housing, but never tried it. You could buy an Otterbox ($12) which are supposed to be good to 100 feet.

Here is what the website says:

"OtterBox have been tested to 100 feet and should not leak if cared for and used properly."

You have to only want the video only, turn the video on, have the lens toward the clear bottom of the housing, close the Otterbox and dive. You would video the whole dive, but would have no control over starting, stopping, and switching to camera mode. I imagine you would need the big memory card.

Again, this was only a theory, never tested, that I was toying around with. Best of luck to you.

 

[Hemlon]

I am not wanting to use the controls on my camera. (digital still/video) I just want to turm it on at the surface, put it into a waterproof box and then dive.

My camera will record up to 90 minutes of footage, so I really don't have to worry about a 5 minute time limit. (as speculated above)

An Otter box...GREAT idea, marshallkarp!

 

[JessH]

For the otterbox you of course need to find one that has a clear spot over the lens with no ribs or anything over it. Might need to try a few different brands and sizes. This method will be lower quality than an actual housing but if the price is right it wouldn't hurt to try it.

As for the bag housings. They are usually good to atleast 33'.

Hemlon- If you ever want to do any shallow video I have a video camera with bag housing good to 33', will probably go deeper but havn't tested that yet. I also just bought an underwater 35mm still camera, and if you are feelng nastalgic I have an underwater Super8 that is good to 120'. I plan to extend this lineup but this is what I have so far

~Jess

 

[paulpost]

I am not wanting to use the controls on my camera. (digital still/video) I just want to turm it on at the surface, put it into a waterproof box and then dive.

My camera will record up to 90 minutes of footage, so I really don't have to worry about a 5 minute time limit. (as speculated above)

An Otter box...GREAT idea, marshallkarp!

What is the rez of the video format when you record 90 min ?
Regular DV what is 720 by 480 takes 12 gigs for 1 hour.
Again my suggestion is to record something now and play it and if it looks OK go ahead .
Good luck.
Paul

 

[Hemlon]

Thanks for the idea, Jess!

 

[marshallkarp]

I am real curious about how this works. Keep in touch and let me know.

 

[MarkH]

There used to be a few manufacturers that made "fits all" housings (basically a lexan tube with a window on one side and a clamped-down cover on the other. No controls.). I'm not sure if they're still around, but they cost about $500. I made my own from ABS pipe for about $20. -Same concept. Those old Ikelite flash housings might work for a smaller camera. They usually go on E-bay for around $10-20.