xl1 underwater
 

I have seen a few people discusing their underwater packages, and was looking for some advice.

Has anyone tried the Aquavideo brand of housing?

Does anyone know of a housing that is rated to at least 100ft, costs less then $3000.00, and weighs 25lbps or less at the surface?

Any advice on housing units that you have used would also be greatly apreciated.

Thanks in advance

What ever housing you buy please be very careful about closing the ports on the housing. I got one brain of sand in the "O Ring" grease and my $600 strobe injested salt water at 80' and fried itself.

Grayson

Thanks grayson, That is always a fear when I'm using my still camera and I know it will persit when I get something for my XL1.
That was part of the reason I was questioning the aquavideo housing. Seems they use an x-ring instead of an o-ring. They say this creats two seals and helps to eliminate the chance of a single grain of sand messing with the seal.

I toyed with the idea and was considering a Gates housing. But they're really costly and I don't know if I'd want to risk an XL1 underwater. Not just yet, anyway.

But the trick to o-rings is as Grayson said: keep 'em clean.

There should be just enough silicone lube to make them feel slick, but not enough to actually see. It's just there to allow the o-ring to seat freely. Too much grease and it'll actually prevent the o-ring from seating fully in the groove of the housing and cause a leak.

Excessive grease will also prevent you from seeing debris that could cause a leak. Even a stray hair can let water stream in when you go past one or two atmospheres.

The worst flood I've ever heard of was a Betacam in a custom housing. It imploded at 60 feet.

Dean Sensui
Base Two Productions