MVs 5060z / Housing Question Thread
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I have to admit to having never done this. I have multiple housings and have never done the initial dive without the camera installed. Everything is insured. I double and triple check everything before I get wet. I keep a close eye on it during a very slow descent. I keep checking it through the dive and ascent. Never had a problem - knock wood & YMMV.
I always have a little look-see when I first get in to make sure the bubbles are coming from where they should be and that no water is getting in. I check periodically on the way down, too. Rarely do I use the dunk tank or similar before the dive.
I have all the things I may need right there so I don't need to risk having more junk get on the o-rings or in the housing. Grease, pick, foam-tipped applicators, batteries etc.
I make sure I put in fresh batteries before every outing. I make sure to clear the card with the old batteries before changing them out.
I do not remove my o-rings every time but I do inspect them religiously and make sure they are moist. When closing, I use the pressure of my hands and then latch rather than making the latch take all the stress...that may be paranoid on my part, but it works for me. I can also see that the orings are seated properly before final latch.
I always do a visual check before I put the housing in its carrying case (varies depending on where I am diving) and again before I get in the water.
I rarely kit up the night before as I tend to be an early riser and have plenty of time to do a relaxed job. The key whenever you do it is to be thorough and don't skimp.
Looking forward to your first photos!!
Wildcard:
I will sometimes do this (in my own soft sided cooler) to keep the camera the same temp, to keep it wet so salt crystals don't form, coz I am too lazy to rinse it in fresh water, dry it and put it back in the carry case - take your pic LOL.
Not sure with this Oly housing, but I do this with my video housings sometimes too as the front port has a coating that dried salt water and heat/sun are extremely bad for!!
OP
MVillanueva
Guest
Saturday morning I had carefully greased the ring with just enough to make the ring glisten, then I wiped along the entire facing seal with my slightly greased finger.
Three hours and 120 miles later, I took the case without the camera to a maximum depth of 40 feet, with most of the dive between 25 and 40 feet for 34 minutes. Testing the weighted case without the camera in the case was initially annoying. Luckily, I had a silly retractable lanyard (yes, I know, I bought the wrong one..) -- the case got away a couple of times and ascended fairly quickly. Pulling the line back down, the cord caught my regulator. Hence, now I know for real why we practiced retrieval skills in class, and yet again, I was glad for the lanyard.
Upon surfacing and back at the truck, I opened the case --there was not a hint of moisture past the O ring. I examined the seal carefully; nothing got past the ring
For the second dive I inspected the O ring seal, and I made sure that there were no foreign particulates. I did not take the O ring out, nor did I regrease the O ring. The ring looked like it had the same amount of grease on it: ring still glistened, and the case facing still looked wiped with grease . Pulling the mode dial-up, (per warning thread), I inserted the camera, reseated the mode ring and after another hour had passed, my daughter and I dove again.
I took pictures. I really wanted to post a few here and fortunately for the thread, I chickened out. Why waste bandwidth? My very first fish picture nearly made me cry when I saw it in the hotel room that night. However, I figured it absolutely couldnt get worse than that pic, so I did cheer up a bit.
To the point of this post: The camera worked ok. However, when I opened the case, after the second dive, I could see the barest hint of seepage along the plastic contact facing area, just past the O ring. Water had gotten past the O ring groove, and *just* started to make the contact facing area along parts of the inside of the case seal damp. Secondly, there was a little drop of water on the back of camera itself. I am pretty sure the drop did not flick in upon opening, as I was aware of that as a possibility. The desiccant bag was still crunchy feeling, but also felt a little damp.
Naturally, the primary question is what caused the water to enter and that I am afraid is going to be hard to answer decisively.
a. Should I have re-greased the entire O ring assembly for the second dive?
b. How much grease should actually be on the ring and on contact seal? The manual says 5mm I have no clue what that means in real life. Help me here, cause if lack of grease is the issue, then I can rest easier. What does a properly greased O ring and case seal look like?
c. Does it sound like the case is defective?
d. Or is it possible, I was simply down for too long for that particular case?
e. If a camera is used on repetitive dives, on the same day, does the ring need to greased after each dive? Or, if the camera is not opened, then is it safe to dive again without re-greasing?
I won't even ask about how to take underwater pictures of fish or people. Sigh.
Thanks for any help.
michael
Three hours and 120 miles later, I took the case without the camera to a maximum depth of 40 feet, with most of the dive between 25 and 40 feet for 34 minutes. Testing the weighted case without the camera in the case was initially annoying. Luckily, I had a silly retractable lanyard (yes, I know, I bought the wrong one..) -- the case got away a couple of times and ascended fairly quickly. Pulling the line back down, the cord caught my regulator. Hence, now I know for real why we practiced retrieval skills in class, and yet again, I was glad for the lanyard.
Upon surfacing and back at the truck, I opened the case --there was not a hint of moisture past the O ring. I examined the seal carefully; nothing got past the ring
For the second dive I inspected the O ring seal, and I made sure that there were no foreign particulates. I did not take the O ring out, nor did I regrease the O ring. The ring looked like it had the same amount of grease on it: ring still glistened, and the case facing still looked wiped with grease . Pulling the mode dial-up, (per warning thread), I inserted the camera, reseated the mode ring and after another hour had passed, my daughter and I dove again.
I took pictures. I really wanted to post a few here and fortunately for the thread, I chickened out. Why waste bandwidth? My very first fish picture nearly made me cry when I saw it in the hotel room that night. However, I figured it absolutely couldnt get worse than that pic, so I did cheer up a bit.
To the point of this post: The camera worked ok. However, when I opened the case, after the second dive, I could see the barest hint of seepage along the plastic contact facing area, just past the O ring. Water had gotten past the O ring groove, and *just* started to make the contact facing area along parts of the inside of the case seal damp. Secondly, there was a little drop of water on the back of camera itself. I am pretty sure the drop did not flick in upon opening, as I was aware of that as a possibility. The desiccant bag was still crunchy feeling, but also felt a little damp.
Naturally, the primary question is what caused the water to enter and that I am afraid is going to be hard to answer decisively.
a. Should I have re-greased the entire O ring assembly for the second dive?
b. How much grease should actually be on the ring and on contact seal? The manual says 5mm I have no clue what that means in real life. Help me here, cause if lack of grease is the issue, then I can rest easier. What does a properly greased O ring and case seal look like?
c. Does it sound like the case is defective?
d. Or is it possible, I was simply down for too long for that particular case?
e. If a camera is used on repetitive dives, on the same day, does the ring need to greased after each dive? Or, if the camera is not opened, then is it safe to dive again without re-greasing?
I won't even ask about how to take underwater pictures of fish or people. Sigh.
Thanks for any help.
michael
It sounds like you did everything right. The first question Id ask is where was the case when you closed it? I a nice dry room or out on a boat?..No, you dont need to regreese between dives if you don't open it. Time also shouldn't matter.
Are you sure water got past the o-ring? Usually if that happens, you have alot of water in the housing.
Did you dry the housing before opening it? There's always a bit of water around the lip of the door. If you didn't dry the housing, a drop or two of water could have dripped in and landed on the camera...that's the drop you saw.
No, you didn't necessarily need to remove and re-grease the o-ring. inspecting it closely would be enough.
Sounds like you greased it correctly...just enough to make it shiny and pliable. I never grease the channel or surrounding area. It will just attract sand and particles. Greasing the o-ring itself is enough.
It doesn't sound like your housing is defective. And there's no such thing as a time limit. Pressure is pressure, doesn't matter how long.
I make frequent multiple dives between o-ring maintainence. If i need to remove the camera to change batteries or memory card, I'll make a visual inspection of the o-ring. I'm more likely to remove and clean it if I'm shore diving in silty or sandy conditions. But if I'm boat diving, especially in clear water, I'm confident that no particles got stuck around the o-ring and i close it up and keep going. At the end of the day, I remove the o-ring and clean it and the housing chanel very well. if I'm diving the next day, I go ahead and set it up while I'm not rushed.
You've got flood insurance, right? I'd go ahead and dive it again, keeping a close eye on it. It's scarey, isn't it?
Did you dry the housing before opening it? There's always a bit of water around the lip of the door. If you didn't dry the housing, a drop or two of water could have dripped in and landed on the camera...that's the drop you saw.
No, you didn't necessarily need to remove and re-grease the o-ring. inspecting it closely would be enough.
Sounds like you greased it correctly...just enough to make it shiny and pliable. I never grease the channel or surrounding area. It will just attract sand and particles. Greasing the o-ring itself is enough.
It doesn't sound like your housing is defective. And there's no such thing as a time limit. Pressure is pressure, doesn't matter how long.
I make frequent multiple dives between o-ring maintainence. If i need to remove the camera to change batteries or memory card, I'll make a visual inspection of the o-ring. I'm more likely to remove and clean it if I'm shore diving in silty or sandy conditions. But if I'm boat diving, especially in clear water, I'm confident that no particles got stuck around the o-ring and i close it up and keep going. At the end of the day, I remove the o-ring and clean it and the housing chanel very well. if I'm diving the next day, I go ahead and set it up while I'm not rushed.
You've got flood insurance, right? I'd go ahead and dive it again, keeping a close eye on it. It's scarey, isn't it?
Michael -
I always have some water on the plastic when I open the housing but it is not past the o-rings but on the outside edge. Are you 100% that the water did not get there when opening? I have had that happen once til I figured out to open the camera with the housing facing down. This may have also caused the droplet on the camera back - sometimes it just happens on opening.
But, as I wasn't there and didn't see it all my input is minimal for that. It sounds like you did the right things pre-dive.
For your questions:
Yes, I do repetitive dives more often than not and rarely open the case unless I need more memory! And then I just check things, seal it back up and go.
I always have some water on the plastic when I open the housing but it is not past the o-rings but on the outside edge. Are you 100% that the water did not get there when opening? I have had that happen once til I figured out to open the camera with the housing facing down. This may have also caused the droplet on the camera back - sometimes it just happens on opening.
But, as I wasn't there and didn't see it all my input is minimal for that. It sounds like you did the right things pre-dive.
For your questions:
I don't think so. In fact, these o-rings don't actually need grease at all. Do a search and you'll find some great info and discussions on this point.
A properly moistened o-ring looks a bit slick. Has no globules anywhere. Is smooth and has no debris. It shouldn't feel...umm, tacky, I guess is the word...not sticky really.
Can you see any defects at all? One thing you might like to do is take a very teeny drop of liquid silicone and get it into the buttons. I think Dee & leesa have done this with great success. Knock wood I haven't had these problems.
Time doesn't matter to the cases.
No need to regrease - just inspect carefully each time you open and close it. Make sure to check the seal as you close and after closure to make sure it didn't get caught.
Yes, I do repetitive dives more often than not and rarely open the case unless I need more memory! And then I just check things, seal it back up and go.
You'll get there! Remember, for every great image you see here, there are squillions of deleted ones and ones that just didn't quite make it!
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