OPINIONS (hopefully objective) on Ewa-Marine housings

[Moogyboy]

hey all

Does anyone want to put their two cents in on this subject? I admit to being a little skeptical myself on the idea of sticking a camcorder into a plastic bag...BUT...the fact of the matter is that for the time being an Ikelite or Amphiico or other expensive high-end housing is out of the question for me. Especially considering that I probably will have to go with a relatively inexpensive analog camcorder (ie a used Hi-8 thingie from eBay) to begin with, and housings for them seem already passe or obsolete.

SO

Opinions, experiences, etc. from people who have used Ewa-Marines would be appreciated. I would like to be able to take them to recreational diving depths, and although I understand they're only rated to 33 feet, the concern there is more with pressure screwing with camcorder buttons and such rather than leaks (as I understand it). Does this really matter in practice, and are there any workarounds?

cheers

Billy S.

 

[Groundhog246]

I'd expect the pressure on the button to become a problem, well before 1 ATM. Not sure of your budget or handyman abilities. I built my own housing for about $200. Not 'professional' quality, but works better than I had really expected. After using all summer, I have some changes and improvments to make before next summer, or I just may build another from scratch. The biggest cost was hardware, such as the stainless steel latches and they could be re-used on a new one.