DIY Underwater Camera Housing

[AquaStudent]

I'm working on building a DIY underwater camera housing and wanted to share my experience, thoughts, failures, and successes.

My goals are to make the underwater housing as small as possible (so I can displace as little water in my tank as possible) and compatible with my 3 non-DSLR cameras. I have an ipod Touch I use for video, Sony Cybershot as a Point and Shoot, and a FlipMINO HD I occasionally use for video. The good thing is they are all basically the same dimension but would still be a challenge to mount. This is addressed later.

Another main goal is to be able to change settings and snap photos/video while the camera is submerged. To do this I would need access to the camera without breaking the seal.

Lastly, it needs to be fairly cost effective. I don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on it.

Here's my basic design.


I purchased a 24"x18" sheet of acrylic (it allowed me to have some mistakes while still being relatively cost effective but sturdy). My layout of cuts are as follows.





So I have plenty of room to goof up (which will and already has happened).

To solve the mounting problem I came up with this basic design. There will be two attached pieces of elastic ribbon to the front end of the casing. The other end of the ribbon will be attached to a structure (i think I'm going to make two small "L" shaped pieces out of acrylic) which will have industrial strength velcro on the bottom. This will allow me to place the supports exactly where I need it and prevent the camera from falling out of the holster. I will also be able to avoid the lenses (all at different locations) with this method.

To be able to access the cameras while submerged I will cut the fingers off chemical handling gloves and mount them on either side. That should give me access to all parts of all cameras. The tricky part will be to make sure all parts are sealed properly on the casing.

Lastly the door will be on the back of the housing. The inside will have a "windowed" slot. I'll use a rubber foam that I have around to make a seal around the window but if that doesn't work I have a local place that can make a gasket for me. The outside window will then be attached to the inner frame by four bolts and wing-nuts.

All seals will be formed using silicone sealant. I may also use some sort of special glue like Plastruct plastic weld cement or Weldon 3/4

Any comments, suggestions, questions, experiences would be greatly appreciated.

[AquaStudent]

I was able to cut the plastic today. At first I was going to go into town to the local hardware store (that apparently will cut glass and plastic for you) but decided I wanted to do it all myself (as much as possible) so I sucked it up and cut it with a hand saw.
It came out much better than I was expecting...with one slight problem. I forgot to take the thickness of the plastic into account in my design so there's a slight gap because of it. I'm going to have to recut the sides but that's not a huge deal.

I drilled through the frame piece and used the drill bit on my dremel as sort of a router and cut out part of the window. I then sanded it down (it still needs some work) but works.

Here are a few shots of the pieces taped together to test to see if it works.







So far things are looking good.

[mesohuanny]

zip lock bag? vacuum sealer? ;P

[AquaStudent]

I tried a zip lock bag. It sort of worked but there was a point when it just completely started leaking. It's not worth the risk

[AaronMB]

Fun project there.

I got something like this for my wife's camera for snorkeling in Hawaii - it worked great. We got ours from REI for about $15.

For my iPhone, we got a specific waterproof case, which kept everything nice and dry; the silicone membranes for the touch screen really don't like to work underwater, however, despite reviews that suggest otherwise.

[150EH]

Originally Posted by AquaStudent

I tried a zip lock bag. It sort of worked but there was a point when it just completely started leaking. It's not worth the risk

I'd agree, it would be so hard to build without sacrificing at least one camera when testing for leaks.

[AquaStudent]

Originally Posted by 150EH

I'd agree, it would be so hard to build without sacrificing at least one camera when testing for leaks.

Haha I used a bunch of random objects that totaled in density/volume of the cameras. However it was hard to get enough air out so that it would sink so i set it underneath some rocks in my cichlid tank and then behind one of the filter intakes. i think that was enough disruption to break the seal...but definitely not worth risking a camera on it. It's just not reliable enough.

[OrangeSoda]

Originally Posted by AquaStudent

Another main goal is to be able to change settings and snap photos/video while the camera is submerged. To do this I would need access to the camera without breaking the seal.

Lastly, it needs to be fairly cost effective. I don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on it.

I don't know if your interested in this, but there are many companies who make underwater camera's for under $100.

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&gs_nf=1...=1920&bih=1000

[GMYukonon24s]

Nice creative idea

[AquaStudent]

Originally Posted by OrangeSoda

I don't know if your interested in this, but there are many companies who make underwater camera's for under $100.

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&gs_nf=1...=1920&bih=1000

The underwater cameras for that price will not accomplish what I want them to. This project will cost less than $50 and I'll be able to record in 1080p (in theory) as well as take stills.

@GMY Thanks for the support. I hope it turns out as well as I think it could (and not as disasterly as I think it could too :P)