Housing for Panasonic PV-DV953

[bennedc]

HELP! I can't seem to find very many sites in English who sell an underwater housing for my camcorder Panasonic PV-DV953. The only 2 housings I can find are both manual, and you can't even see the display. I'm I going to have to have a custom one made? I'm a broke college student who's into an expensive hobby. I want one that's power-controlled. Do they make one or am I going to have to save my bubblegum money for a custom?

 

[diversteve]

I want one that's power-controlled. Do they make one or am I going to have to save my bubblegum money for a custom?

If by power-controlled you mean electronic, the answer is no. Since your camcorder doesn't have a LANC/Control-L jack, it's not possible to control it electronically.

Equinox makes a mechanical housing for your camera:

http://www.underwatervideohousings.com/finder.vml?locator=407&useraction=showcamera

 

[H2O Photo Pros]

I would recommend going with the Equinox housing. They are very well built, have excellent controls and they can customize the housing with access to almost any of the controls you would like to have access to.

 

[426Scuba]

"If by power-controlled you mean electronic, the answer is no. Since your camcorder doesn't have a LANC/Control-L jack, it's not possible to control it electronically."

True it does not have a LANC/Control-L jack, But..

Not so fast! On the PV-GS series (the next gen to this camera) you can control record, photoshot, and zoom controls As for camera power you will still have to have a mechanical switch. I'm sure no one makes an aftermarket electronic control yet so it would be a DIY. I'm not sure if the plug is the same on your camera for the wired remote as the PV-GS units, But Im thinking the remote is the same except for your remote did not come with a mic as the PV-GS series. So you could try and build one from the schematic and see if it works. It sould only cost $20-30. If you build one be sure and post a thread in the DIY.

http://www.fredricklee.com/images/MagicWireCONSTV3MIXER.jpg

The plug and wire P/N is CP-356CS-ND From: http://www.digikey.com/

You should also check out http://www.pana3ccduser.com/ they have a lot of good info on the panasonic 3ccd's.

 

[bennedc]

Thanks for the info. My husband is the techie one in the family, so I will pass this info on to him because I don't speak the videography language. Basically, I know how to power on/off, zoom in/out, record/pause, put in a tape and take one out, and review playback. Haha, not specifically in that order, though! Thanks!

 

[diversteve]

Equinox provides 4 controls in their housing for the PV-DV953. So building the electronic circuit would be duplicating the controls they already provide with their housing. But it's probably $800-950 for the housing.

You could also house the camera in a tube-style housing from Aquatix or Atmo-Seal and then add the circuit described above. If you didn't want to use u/w switches - and mount them through the housing wall - which adds potential leak points - what some housing mfr's used to do was mount magnetic reed switches on the inside of the tube and use a magnet on the outside to activate them. Since the controller is low-voltage, this could work.

Or if you wanted to try an even more basic tube housing, there's one sold on eBay for $129 - do a search for "Nemo housing" there. It has no controls but it might be possible to mount the wired controller from your camera inside the housing and then control the buttons from the outside via control rods/pushbuttons. Ikelite sells their control rods and waterproof glands separately, they could be modified and used for this purpose.
http://www.ikelite.com/web_pages/control_parts.html

Some of the generic tube housings are also a little wider, so this might allow you to open the LCD display.

 

[426Scuba]

Equinox provides 4 controls in their housing for the PV-DV953. So building the electronic circuit would be duplicating the controls they already provide with their housing. But it's probably $800-950 for the housing.

From the Equinox website it looks as if they only offer mechanical controls not electronic.

 

[diversteve]

From the Equinox website it looks as if they only offer mechanical controls not electronic.

That is correct. My point was that the four mechanical controls Equinox offers probably duplicate the functions of the remote. I'm guessing that the four standard controls they provide would be standby/record, zoom/tele, on/off and maybe a photo control. I should have made it clear that I was suggesting an either/or scenario - buy the Equinox or buy a simple tube housing and incorporate the electronic circuit you referenced.

I thought that was obvious...