Underwater Housing for VX2000 at DVinfo.net

Jacques Mersereau · January 19th, 2003, 02:05 PM

Hi,

anyone out there have an underwater camera housing for the VX2000
that they recommend?

I've looked at Ewa and Amphibico and find a three thousand dollar
difference. I don't want to spend much more than a grand, but the Ewa may
not do what I need.

I don't plan on going past 20 ft. deep, but plan on securing this "housed"
camera to a mono pod like shaft driven into the lake bed. I'll
hit record and hope my quarry comes into the scene in the next hour.
Ideally, I could rig a motion sensor or other means of putting the camera into record on command so that I could lay in wait for several hours and drop it
into record as the action is about to start.

Jim Wiggins · January 20th, 2003, 11:46 AM

Build your own. There are many websites out there. go to underwater camera sites and chat rooms and follow the links.

Jim Wiggins

Jacques Mersereau · January 20th, 2003, 12:34 PM

I was looking at home built plans and things, but I have personally
never had much luck at building waterproof stuff. However, I don't
want to pay for a set of plans to find out they are inadequate.

I would die if I came back to the site where I had the camera set up underwater to find my housing had swamped.

I may go with the Ewa marine bag.

More specific ideas and/or advice are both welcome.

Jim Wiggins · January 23rd, 2003, 10:27 AM

post an add in the engineering buildings at your university and get a willing student to construct it. stuff the thing with kleenex to test it - if it works give him some money...

Mike Rehmus · January 23rd, 2003, 03:37 PM

I'd assume you can rent these housings for a whole lot less than you can buy them. Try a Web search.

I tried the search terms 'vx2000 underwater housing rental' on Google and the list is very long.

Jacques Mersereau · January 23rd, 2003, 08:10 PM

Holy COW! The first site I checked is located on Portage Lake, MI. about
10 miles from Ann Arbor/my house. I may go there and see what's what myself.

Must be synergy. Thanks Mike.

Jim Wiggins · January 24th, 2003, 02:29 PM

I found this site. I think this is the unit I am going to buy.

http://www.epiccam.com/

Jacques Mersereau · January 24th, 2003, 02:59 PM

Looks like a winner. Even cheaper than the Ewa bag and much more what I
wanted for my underwater set up.

Nice find Jim. If you get one real soon (I don't need mine until spring)
let me know how it works.

Henrik Bengtsson · January 24th, 2003, 03:12 PM

A little word re: EWA marine & other marine housings.
You get what you pay for. And having said that, there is no such thing as a failsafe underwater housing. Even your $3000 housing can leek. What you pay for is the risc involved.

Most EWA marine housings are graded to around 30 ft. making them suitable as wetcovers and surface work only. Take them any deeper than 1 ft at your own risc.

Put it in perspective to the cost you put on the camera. Do you want to put your $1500-2000 camera into a $200-$500 housing?

As for building your own, if you have the knowhow and the tools, by all means do that. But try to get it preassure tested at a professional facility and not by experience :) Also make the design as simple as possible. and add moisture alarms inside.

And if possible, get an insurance.. or a cheaper camera to go scuba with :) You do not want to know what saltwater does to camera circuits :)

Jacques Mersereau · January 24th, 2003, 03:30 PM

What do you recommend?

I don't need to go deeper than 5 meters. I want to use our VX2000.

Henrik Bengtsson · January 24th, 2003, 03:46 PM

For a mid-budget i'd say go with a Ikelite (http://www.ikelite.com/web_pages/vx2000.html). they are pretty sturdy and as long as you are careful with the o-ring seal they work fine down to 30 meters depth (100ft).

The Aquamarine guys also have a good rep (http://www.aquavideo.com) and is in the same price range.

And if $1300 is to much to spend on a housing, imagine how fun it will be to send the vx2000 to a repairshop because of a major flood.

The alternative would be to build a "polecam". Get a cheaper mini-cam, build a small housing and a O-ringed pullthrough for a videocable. run it up the pole and connect it to the VX2000. if anything is damaged, it will be the minicam, not the vx2000.

It would also present a smaller profile and be more agile to move around than a video housing on a pole.

Jacques Mersereau · January 24th, 2003, 04:21 PM

Great info Henrik. I did a bunch of searches and surfing and never found
either of these sites. Though not "cheap," you do get what you pay for and
you are paying to avoid small problems like WATER.

The ikelite seems to have all the features and be very reasonably priced at $1300.

Thanks Henrik!

Henrik Bengtsson · January 26th, 2003, 04:19 AM

No problem Jacques. Ive done extensive filming with a Ikelite housing for a TRV-900 so i know they are good quality. Its like with all housings, treat it carefully and it will treat your camera well =) The most important part being to check the seals very careful before submerging it.

Good luck with your project and be sure to post some footage =)

January 19th, 2003, 02:05 PM	#1
Jacques Mersereau Trustee Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 1,334	Underwater Housing for VX2000 Hi, anyone out there have an underwater camera housing for the VX2000 that they recommend? I've looked at Ewa and Amphibico and find a three thousand dollar difference. I don't want to spend much more than a grand, but the Ewa may not do what I need. I don't plan on going past 20 ft. deep, but plan on securing this "housed" camera to a mono pod like shaft driven into the lake bed. I'll hit record and hope my quarry comes into the scene in the next hour. Ideally, I could rig a motion sensor or other means of putting the camera into record on command so that I could lay in wait for several hours and drop it into record as the action is about to start. __________________ Jacques Mersereau University of Michigan-Video Studio Manager

January 20th, 2003, 11:46 AM	#2
Jim Wiggins New Boot Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 11	U/W Housing Build your own. There are many websites out there. go to underwater camera sites and chat rooms and follow the links. Jim Wiggins

January 20th, 2003, 12:34 PM	#3
Jacques Mersereau Trustee Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 1,334	I was looking at home built plans and things, but I have personally never had much luck at building waterproof stuff. However, I don't want to pay for a set of plans to find out they are inadequate. I would die if I came back to the site where I had the camera set up underwater to find my housing had swamped. I may go with the Ewa marine bag. More specific ideas and/or advice are both welcome. __________________ Jacques Mersereau University of Michigan-Video Studio Manager

January 23rd, 2003, 03:37 PM	#5
Mike Rehmus Wrangler Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vallejo, California Posts: 4,049	I'd assume you can rent these housings for a whole lot less than you can buy them. Try a Web search. I tried the search terms 'vx2000 underwater housing rental' on Google and the list is very long. __________________ Mike Rehmus Hey, I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel!

January 23rd, 2003, 08:10 PM	#6
Jacques Mersereau Trustee Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 1,334	Holy COW! The first site I checked is located on Portage Lake, MI. about 10 miles from Ann Arbor/my house. I may go there and see what's what myself. Must be synergy. Thanks Mike. __________________ Jacques Mersereau University of Michigan-Video Studio Manager

January 23rd, 2003, 10:27 AM	#4
Jim Wiggins New Boot Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 11	post an add in the engineering buildings at your university and get a willing student to construct it. stuff the thing with kleenex to test it - if it works give him some money...

January 24th, 2003, 02:29 PM	#7
Jim Wiggins New Boot Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 11	I found this site. I think this is the unit I am going to buy. http://www.epiccam.com/

January 24th, 2003, 02:59 PM	#8
Jacques Mersereau Trustee Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 1,334	Looks like a winner. Even cheaper than the Ewa bag and much more what I wanted for my underwater set up. Nice find Jim. If you get one real soon (I don't need mine until spring) let me know how it works. __________________ Jacques Mersereau University of Michigan-Video Studio Manager

January 24th, 2003, 03:12 PM	#9
Henrik Bengtsson Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Borås, Sweden Posts: 167	A little word re: EWA marine & other marine housings. You get what you pay for. And having said that, there is no such thing as a failsafe underwater housing. Even your $3000 housing can leek. What you pay for is the risc involved. Most EWA marine housings are graded to around 30 ft. making them suitable as wetcovers and surface work only. Take them any deeper than 1 ft at your own risc. Put it in perspective to the cost you put on the camera. Do you want to put your $1500-2000 camera into a $200-$500 housing? As for building your own, if you have the knowhow and the tools, by all means do that. But try to get it preassure tested at a professional facility and not by experience :) Also make the design as simple as possible. and add moisture alarms inside. And if possible, get an insurance.. or a cheaper camera to go scuba with :) You do not want to know what saltwater does to camera circuits :) __________________ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Henrik "HuBBa" Bengtsson, Imaginara Fotographia,http://www.imaginara.se

January 24th, 2003, 03:30 PM	#10
Jacques Mersereau Trustee Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 1,334	What do you recommend? I don't need to go deeper than 5 meters. I want to use our VX2000. __________________ Jacques Mersereau University of Michigan-Video Studio Manager

January 24th, 2003, 03:46 PM	#11
Henrik Bengtsson Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Borås, Sweden Posts: 167	For a mid-budget i'd say go with a Ikelite (http://www.ikelite.com/web_pages/vx2000.html). they are pretty sturdy and as long as you are careful with the o-ring seal they work fine down to 30 meters depth (100ft). The Aquamarine guys also have a good rep (http://www.aquavideo.com) and is in the same price range. And if $1300 is to much to spend on a housing, imagine how fun it will be to send the vx2000 to a repairshop because of a major flood. The alternative would be to build a "polecam". Get a cheaper mini-cam, build a small housing and a O-ringed pullthrough for a videocable. run it up the pole and connect it to the VX2000. if anything is damaged, it will be the minicam, not the vx2000. It would also present a smaller profile and be more agile to move around than a video housing on a pole. __________________ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Henrik "HuBBa" Bengtsson, Imaginara Fotographia,http://www.imaginara.se

January 24th, 2003, 04:21 PM	#12
Jacques Mersereau Trustee Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 1,334	Great info Henrik. I did a bunch of searches and surfing and never found either of these sites. Though not "cheap," you do get what you pay for and you are paying to avoid small problems like WATER. The ikelite seems to have all the features and be very reasonably priced at $1300. Thanks Henrik! __________________ Jacques Mersereau University of Michigan-Video Studio Manager

January 26th, 2003, 04:19 AM	#13
Henrik Bengtsson Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Borås, Sweden Posts: 167	No problem Jacques. Ive done extensive filming with a Ikelite housing for a TRV-900 so i know they are good quality. Its like with all housings, treat it carefully and it will treat your camera well =) The most important part being to check the seals very careful before submerging it. Good luck with your project and be sure to post some footage =) __________________ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Henrik "HuBBa" Bengtsson, Imaginara Fotographia,http://www.imaginara.se