TG5 for snorkeling

[jbilicska]

A good day to all.
Do I need a housing for a TG5 if I'm going to be snorkeling.
I will be diving down to 20 or 30 feet which I know is well within the depth limits but will the constant diving down and coming back up in the salt water be a cause for concern over time.
Also not being on a dive boat I will not be able to rinse my camera off after coming out of the water.
Would rather not see a week or so of photos being ruined .
Thanks for any and all help was thinking about the Ikelite housing if I did purchase a housing along with the camera. In the great scheme of things $300 isn't that much if needed.
Joe

 

[Chris Ross]

You don't need a housing, however if you read the fine print in the manual is says to put the camera in for service once a year to replace the seals. There are seals on the doors which you could do yourself and also a seal under the controls on the back and top panels. I had a TG850 and it leaked on the control panel seal at about 1 month old and was repaired under warranty. Then at about 14-15 months and out of warranty it leaked again and cost to fix was more than cost of camera. So it's not if but when the seals fail. I believe they are membrane seals which hole through after some wear. An annual service to do the seals will probably add up to a bit.

The Olympus housing is pretty nice and is neutrally buoyant with camera inside. You need to service the main o-ring your self which is not that hard, but you do need to carefully check for hairs and grit on the o-ring and the the o-ring groove/mating surface of the housing.

 

[jbilicska]

Thanks for the advice

 

[KeithG]

for snorkeling there is no need for a housing. all you need to do is rinse and soak it well at the end of each day.

if you are really paranoid about o ring set, then you could open the doors during the off season.

 

[Chris Ross]

It's not the door seals that give trouble, rather the seals under all the buttons on the top and back panels of the camera in my experience. We soaked the TG-850 after every dive and it still failed a few months after warranty ran out. Yes it will work for some time without the housing and you may or may not be lucky and get more than a year and a bit life out of the camera.