SeaLife DC800

[divengolf]

However, I was concerned about a few drops of water that had leaked in and examined the O ring and seating surface for contamination or defects. Max depth that day was 70 FSW.

It's standard practice with a new housing or after changing an o-ring, to do a dive with the empty housing and put some tissue in place of the camera. If you get any water, check it real close and try it again until you get a dry dive. The water after the first dive should have been a big red flag. The o-ring could have been dinged where you couldn't see it or a hair or dust lodged under the o-ring. It's also possible that one of the o-ring seals for the buttons was leaking.

I've got a DC500 with over 200 dives on it. Only flooded it once and that was due to it being dropped by the deck hand between dives and no one told me before I took it down.

Alternately you could have your LDS put it in a pressure pot and take it deep and see what happens.

Pioneer had an exchange program for the DC500. No sure if they are doing it for the DC800. Denise will know.

 

[divengolf]

Question for Denise: Since you do not recomend using any silicone on the rubber gasket; how do you get it to stay in place while closing the back? i push it into place and begin to close the housing but a corner always pops up before i get it closed.

I've got a DC500, but I believe the seals on the housings are similar. There are small tabs in the o-ring slot to hold it in place. If the o-ring is too large to be held properly, it's probably been stretched and should be replaced. I replace my o-ring every 50 or so dives. I put about 100 dives a year on the camera. And o-rings are relatively cheap. I also put a small squirt of silicon on the buttons to lub their o-rings as well once a year or so. Just don't let the buttons become "sticky". And remove any excess silicon from the inside of the housing.

One more thing: When the camera's in storage, don't close the housing on the o-ring. That compresses it and may cause it to go out of shape. Some people even remove the o-ring from the housing while in storage and put FLAT in a plastic bag.

 

[SkipperJohn]

One more thing: When the camera's in storage, don't close the housing on the o-ring. That compresses it and may cause it to go out of shape. Some people even remove the o-ring from the housing while in storage and put FLAT in a plastic bag.

Is this common/recommended practice? I've always stored all my UW cameras buttoned up. I've never had a problem but up until now they've never gone below 10 or 20 feet (used to snorkel, now 2 dives away from getting certified)

 

[TheBigPhillyFish]

Well I just picked up my new Sealife DC800 Pro and wow! This thing is a lot bigger in person then in most of the company photos. But it seems to be built with some good quality. Just took some practice photos on ground, and they seem pretty good. My only question is, the two people at the dive shop are using the wide angle lens on this camera. The Sealife posts I have read, the factory doesn't recommend using an external wide angle lens, because the camera is already wide angel. You may get some shadowing in the corners. So does anyone know if that is true, or not. I am gonna do my first dives without the exterior wide angel lens.

 

[divengolf]

Is this common/recommended practice? I've always stored all my UW cameras buttoned up. I've never had a problem but up until now they've never gone below 10 or 20 feet (used to snorkel, now 2 dives away from getting certified)

I don't know how common it is, but I was taught it by some pros who have forgotten more about UW photo that I'll ever know. Either I remove the o-ring and close the camera, then put BOTH into a zip-loc bag. That's so I don't forget to put the o-ring back in.

OR I leave the o-ring in place and put the camera in a zip-loc bag closed, but without engaging the locking mechanism. Thus the o-ring isn't compressed.

One other trick I learned from the pros is to submerge the camera body in the rinse tank a foot or so and look for bubbles. Do this after you've sealed the housing and just before you start your dive. Works best on liveaboards with large, separate camera rinse tanks. Never never put the housing in the mask rinse bucket. The defog isn't good for the external glass or the wet lenses.

Dive safe.

 

[SkipperJohn]

The submerge thing is actually in the book. When I got my camera I submerged it in a sink-without the camera for 24 hours. Then took it out, dried the outside and examined the inside for any traces of water. Thankfully it was clean.

As far as the o-ring is concerned, I too often found that removing an o-ring allows it to distort and shrink. Then it may fit poorly.
I will agree with one thing, camera cases are generally designed to resist things getting in and not necessarily out. Meaning if you fly with a closed case, air may escape but not return making it almost impossible to open upon landing. (been there done that!) Removing the o-ring will surely solve that issue.
Where has Denise been? I was hoping for her comments.

 

[Latro]

Thanks for your input. I had submerged the camera to about 4ft to check for leaks but it didn,t leak until I was below 20 fsw.

 

[Former Sealife Employee]

Where has Denise been? I was hoping for her comments.

Sorry everyone! I was at the Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake City with limited internet/email access. I'm going to double check with our service technician on this one and get back to you tomorrow.

 

[Former Sealife Employee]

Question for Denise:

Since you do not recomend using any silicone on the rubber gasket; how do you get it to stay in place while closing the back? i push it into place and begin to close the housing but a corner always pops up before i get it closed.

There are really no tricks for getting the o-ring to stay in place. Push the o-ring into the grooves, hold it in place and shut the lid. Then press down on the lid without latching it to further push in the o-ring. Open the lid again to check that it's secure. Once it's secure, you're good to go.

Pioneer had an exchange program for the DC500. No sure if they are doing it for the DC800. Denise will know.

At this time, there is no exchange program for the DC800. At this point, we still have refurbished DC500s available as well.

I've got a DC500, but I believe the seals on the housings are similar. There are small tabs in the o-ring slot to hold it in place. If the o-ring is too large to be held properly, it's probably been stretched and should be replaced. I replace my o-ring every 50 or so dives. I put about 100 dives a year on the camera. And o-rings are relatively cheap. I also put a small squirt of silicon on the buttons to lub their o-rings as well once a year or so. Just don't let the buttons become "sticky". And remove any excess silicon from the inside of the housing.

One more thing: When the camera's in storage, don't close the housing on the o-ring. That compresses it and may cause it to go out of shape. Some people even remove the o-ring from the housing while in storage and put FLAT in a plastic bag.

You should not be putting silicone on the outside of the buttons. Instead, put it on the shaft of the sticky button and then work it back and forth until it frees up.

 

[The Chairman]

Is this camera compatible with Inon accessories? Do they make an adapter?