Otter Box/Video Camera Housing

Since Otter Boxes are rated to 100 feet, couldn't one get a clear one, turn
your digital video camera on, put it inside, and use it as a reliable, but
inexpensive, underwater housing?

In article <NZKdnYO1uN7vLdzfRVn-sQ@wavecable.com>, RayC
<ray@rayzplace.com> wrote:

€ Marshall Karp wrote:
€ > Since Otter Boxes are rated to 100 feet, couldn't one get a clear one, turn
€ > your digital video camera on, put it inside, and use it as a reliable, but
€ > inexpensive, underwater housing?
€ >
€ >
€ While it may be "clear", it isn't "camera lense port" clear.
€ I am pretty sure that you are going to see some pretty
€ strange distortions due to imperfections in the surfaces.
€
€ But, what the heck! It is cheap enough to try!
€


Unless it leaks and floods the camera.

Marshall Karp wrote:
> Since Otter Boxes are rated to 100 feet, couldn't one get a clear one, turn
> your digital video camera on, put it inside, and use it as a reliable, but
> inexpensive, underwater housing?
>
>
While it may be "clear", it isn't "camera lense port" clear.
I am pretty sure that you are going to see some pretty
strange distortions due to imperfections in the surfaces.

But, what the heck! It is cheap enough to try!

Good luck.

--

Ray Contreras
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Webmonkey for:
http://www.ossystems.com
http://www.bobs-garage.com
http://www.clanwolverine.org
http://www.rayzplace.com

Alan Street wrote:
>
> Unless it leaks and floods the camera.

Hey ... it's an Otter Box!

They NEVER leak! Just ask em.


--

Ray Contreras
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Webmonkey for:
http://www.ossystems.com
http://www.bobs-garage.com
http://www.clanwolverine.org
http://www.rayzplace.com

Marshall Karp wrote:

> Since Otter Boxes are rated to 100 feet, couldn't one get a clear one, turn
> your digital video camera on, put it inside, and use it as a reliable, but
> inexpensive, underwater housing?

Sometime in the past there was a post from somebody who made their own housing from
some PVC pipe. IIRC he may have used a piece of lexan for the lens, sealing it with
epoxy. A standard cleanout fitting (and a roll of teflon tape) on the back was the
closure. A 4" cleanout is about $5. A foot of pipe is probably free if you find a
friendly plumber, or else buy the shortest piece a shop will sell you. I think double
sealing the lens by gluing it to the front of the pipe and then gluing a coupling
(maybe another $4) over it would be a very good idea. Cut off most of the front half
of the coupling unless you only want telephoto shots. Lexan isn't especially cheap,
but a small piece won't be expensive, either. Depending on how much you value your
time/labor, it may even be cheaper than an Otter box big enough for a video camera.


--
Steve

The above can be construed as personal opinion in the absence of a reasonable
belief that it was intended as a statement of fact.

If you want a reply to reach me, remove the SPAMTRAP from the address.

i am building me one using a peice of 8inch PVC and Lexan. i need to
buy the lexan but i friend has a how-to on it he has made a couple.
ill post the link when i get it or you can email me at
phazeshyft at gmail dot com

"Steve" <SPAMTRAPglawackus@hvc.rr.com> wrote in message
news:OIt0e.52595$534.694@twister.nyc.rr.com...

> Sometime in the past there was a post from somebody who made their own
> housing from some PVC pipe. IIRC he may have used a piece of lexan for the
> lens, sealing it with epoxy. A standard cleanout fitting (and a roll of
> teflon tape) on the back was the closure. A 4" cleanout is about $5. A
> foot of pipe is probably free if you find a friendly plumber, or else buy
> the shortest piece a shop will sell you. I think double sealing the lens
> by gluing it to the front of the pipe and then gluing a coupling (maybe
> another $4) over it would be a very good idea. Cut off most of the front
> half of the coupling unless you only want telephoto shots. Lexan isn't
> especially cheap, but a small piece won't be expensive, either. Depending
> on how much you value your time/labor, it may even be cheaper than an
> Otter box big enough for a video camera.

I just use double gallon-sized ziplock baggies with a seam of Elmer's glue
across the ziplock to make sure it holds tight. Unfortunately I forgot the
ziplock system last week and had to make do with the Amphibico housing I
brought along as a backup. It did OK for the first time getting wet since
its previous owner. No leaks. Zoom controls were a bit sluggish, a problem
that has followed me from my still housing. Maybe it's haunted. It's got
the "electronic grip" upgrade which has zoom buttons right on the grip for
easy thumbing. But they stopped working after trying them once. Then the
housing zoom buttons also stopped working, then started again, then stopped.
The camera was set in manual focus which is OK since there's supposed to be
an autofocus override on the housing, but I failed to read that far in the
manual. I didn't like the focus setting that it came with so I suppose
that's something else I'll have to play with, if I ever get that far in the
manual. And I really need a light(s), which I already knew without reading
the manual. But it did get wet.

On an almost related subject, I got a pleasant reprimand from TSA in FLL for
not removing my camera from the carry-on. I knew to do that, but I sort of
forgot since the posted (and announced) reminder only mentioned laptops. I
had removed my laptop.

Then my other bag ran into the problem of too many lighters. Apparently
everyone knows that TSA regulations only permit the carrying-on of two
lighters per person. She snooped through my bag until she found two of the
three I had planted there, then re-ran the bag and searched again. She
never did find the third one I had so cleverly hid in case a professional
lighter thief decided to give my bag a try. There was no way a simple TSA
agent would have a chance. She finally gave up and whispered that she would
let me pass one of the contraband lighters to Janna so that I would only
have two and she would have one but that her supervisor normally wouldn't
allow that sort of thing. I made the secret lighter pass to Janna and we
escaped to our plane.

And, for some really important late-breaking news that will affect all
lighter carrying rec.scubans, I espied a hidden sticker with a warning in
teeny fine print that announced that TSA will no longer be permitted ANY
(excuse my caps) lighters whatsoever in carry-on bags after the fateful date
of April 14, 2005. The eve of the ides of April, month of fools and
showers, and one day before tax returns come due. As all lighter-equipped
rec.scubans already know, lighters are currently banned from check-in bags
as well. This is a boon for lighter companies world-wide. Decent
lighter-supported Americans will be forced to purchase new lighters upon
arrival at their destination. Patriotic lighter-clad Americans traveling
overseas will be forced to spend U.S. dollars in foreign countries buying
foreign lighters most likely manufactured by foreign employees. This is
outsourcing at its most vile. Bic, Cricket, Djeep, and the rest have
clearly banded together to lobby the Bush Administration into this latest
heinous intrusion into the rights of God-fearing American citizens. First
they take our lighters, next they'll take our guns. Support amending the
Second Amendment to include lighters among the arms! Support Hillary
Clinton in 2008!