Essential Spares for Underwater Photography?

[brightnight]

What are your essential spares that you bring on an underwater photography trip? It seems like if any one thing breaks it would be a huge problem and could derail the trip. Do you bring spare camera housing handles, extra strobe, mask/snorkle, Eztra O-rings, etc? Are there any items on housings such as camera handles that experience has taught you are most likely to break?

[TimG]

Sounds like youve had a problem with housing handles?!

 

I take spare o-rings, batteries, Allen keys, fibre optic cable and connectors- and a spare strobe trigger. That’s about my lot. Space and weight are always the issue. 

[ChipBPhoto]

Here are my two unique “spares.”  Neither cause a space or weight issue, and are a bit beyond the norm.
 

After misplacing my cover to the Nauticam vacuum release button and then doing a dive without it, I’ve added one as a back up.  I keep it in my tiny bag with my o-ring grease and a plastic card to remove the main body o-ring for cleaning.  Takes no space and could save the day for me or a fellow diver.
 

I also purchased a “Vacu Vin” as a backup to the Nauticam Vacuum pump.  Amazon US for $14 vs. Nauticam’s $45 pump.  The stopper attached to the pump is the connection size as the Nauticam version.  It is a smaller volume pump so it just takes a few extra pumps to make the seal, but works great.  When diving local, I leave one at home and put one in my bag in case I have an issue while out.

 

Edited September 23 by ChipBPhoto

[Andrey Narchuk]

Plus to the set of O-rings:
1) optical cable
2) batteries for TTL converter
3) Polymorphic plastic
The rest is fixed with "electrical tape"
for long expeditions for a group we usually take a soldering iron and additional light (torches and strobes)

[brightnight]

Quote

Sounds like youve had a problem with housing handles?!

 

Not yet! I bought a used housing and was told to check housing handles often as they can crack and break. Heading on a two week photo trip and it got me thinking...I never expected that and it could completely derail my trip. Is that a common problem and what else could break that I wouldn't expect that might derail the trip.

[orionnt]

My Spare parts kit for my Camera is most replacement parts. My general rule of thumb is anything that can easily be knocked off or that I could potentially drop and lose when assembling the camera gets a spare. 

 

So In my kit I have O-rings/grease, batteries, sync cord, replacement battery caps for my strobes, replacement vacuum seal cap, spare pump, screws for my nauticam housing that are used to attach the handles, and the necessary tools to assemble everything. I also carry a spare camera body and a flash to use on land without having to open my housing, but they also double as a spare if the camera or flash trigger fail. 

[atus]

My spares for a trip...

 

-O rings

-Fiber Optic cables

-Trigger

-Batteries for the strobes, for the trigger and for the vaccum sensor

-Velcro

-Tie wraps

-tape

-An extra strobe

-Allen keys

And this is not an spare, but is the most important, my Leatherman Charge Tool. In all my trips, for diving and with my other hobby, motorbikes, I always carry the Leatherman, and in every single trip I have used it.

[Floris Bennema]

I used an Olympus 14-42 kitlens with my Olympus behind a WWL-1. This lens is so vunerable that I always took a second one with me. It saved me two trips already. As secondhand prices of this lens are rising, I recently switched to a Panasonic kitlens for this purpose.

Also I bring along an internal flash that may replace my flash trigger. Not that I had bad experiences with the flash trigger, but I had the flash already and it is very small anyhow.

 

Unlike ChipBPhoto I don't have a spare Nauticam Vacuum pump. At least with my Olympus housing I can suck out the air with my mouth .. if needed.

Edited September 23 by Floris Bennema

[shokwaav]

On 9/23/2024 at 6:28 PM, ChipBPhoto said:

I also purchased a “Vacu Vin” as a backup to the Nauticam Vacuum pump.  Amazon US for $14 vs. Nauticam’s $45 pump.  The stopper attached to the pump is the connection size as the Nauticam version.  

 

Do you have a link to the exact product? The rubber on my Nauticam pump broke and I'm looking for a spare. 

[ChipBPhoto]

1 hour ago, shokwaav said:

 

Do you have a link to the exact product? The rubber on my Nauticam pump broke and I'm looking for a spare. 

I found it by going to Amazon US and searching “Vacu Vin.”  That is the actual product name.

Note it may be different or not available outside the US.

[Davide DB]

1 hour ago, ChipBPhoto said:

I found it by going to Amazon US and searching “Vacu Vin.”  That is the actual product name.

Note it may be different or not available outside the US.

 

Wow! I have to check if it is in Europe.

Just think, I broke the Nauticam pump last month and was scared when I read the price. So I looked for a replacement and the first clue was the wine pump. however, I looked directly in the kitchen drawer (I have two) only to find that they have a different diameter. But I wasn't brave enough to look online. i thought it was a standard.

 

I got the rubber part cut off. So finally I glued it with a cyanoacrylate glue specifically for plastic and then covered it with Kintsuglue (Sugru). So far it's working.

In fact, I think a package of Sugru or Kintsuglue is essential in the spare kit. On a liveaboard, a friend of mine was able to repair a broken Scubapro frameless mask with Sugru.

 

Ugly but it works

 

 

[ChipBPhoto]

1 hour ago, Davide DB said:

only to find that they have a different diameter.

Just to verify, the trick is to put the wine bottle insert on the vacuum on top of the housing and then put the pump on the top of the insert to make the seal.  You could also glue the insert to the pump so you have a solid, single piece, very similar to the Nauticam design.

 

[Davide DB]

Naaaaaaaa

I can't believe it 😁

You are right: I tested the pump alone but I didn't try the wine cap!!!

 

This should do by default into the DIY section!!!

 

 

[TimG]

That’s really clever! 

[Floris Bennema]

Brilliant!

[Hiloboy]

After losing my vacuum cap twice, I have tethered it to my housing and never had a problem since.  With both my DSLR and now mirrorless housing, I have been able so get vacuum by sucking air out my mouth.  It sucks but it works!

[Dave_Hicks]

4 hours ago, Hiloboy said:

After losing my vacuum cap twice, I have tethered it to my housing and never had a problem since.  With both my DSLR and now mirrorless housing, I have been able so get vacuum by sucking air out my mouth.  It sucks but it works!

Good idea! I just made my own anchors with TPU stuck on with 3M double sided rubber foam tape.

 

[humu9679]

14 hours ago, shokwaav said:

 

Do you have a link to the exact product? The rubber on my Nauticam pump broke and I'm looking for a spare. 

That vacuum pump is a weak link. I wrapped the tip with duct tape after mine started crumbling apart. I used it for a while but ended up getting a spare. Thanks for the tip @ChipBPhoto And @Hiloboy another great idea.

[Dave_Hicks]

30 minutes ago, humu9679 said:

That vacuum pump is a weak link. I wrapped the tip with duct tape after mine started crumbling apart. I used it for a while but ended up getting a spare. Thanks for the tip @ChipBPhoto And @Hiloboy another great idea.

I have been using Nauticam housings with Vacuum pump with the D800, D850, and D850 for maybe 10 years now. I never had any issues, damage, or degradation to the pump. Most of that time I was diving almost every week and doing 100-200 dives a year with the housing. So while these thing clearly fail now and again, I don't see it as a weak point or bad design. 

[Floris Bennema]

Talking about vacuum caps, I once had a small leakage in my Nauticam housing and suspected I didn't tighten the cap firm enough. Could that be the cause of the leakage?

[Dave_Hicks]

4 minutes ago, Floris Bennema said:

Talking about vacuum caps, I once had a small leakage in my Nauticam housing and suspected I didn't tighten the cap firm enough. Could that be the cause of the leakage?

Probably not.

 

The cap is a secondary seal. The vacuum valve itself is the primary. The older models had a valve you had to twist open/close, the newer ones have a one-way valve with a push button to release. The cap is to prevent those primaries from getting dislodged while underwater.

[Klaus]

So Chip… now you have to finish the wine bottle every time?

Edited September 26 by Klaus
Typo

[Floris Bennema]

1 hour ago, Dave_Hicks said:

Probably not.

 

The cap is a secondary seal. 

I heard at a Nauticam service that the red knob  will be pressed under presure at depth.

[Dave_Hicks]

10 minutes ago, Floris Bennema said:

I heard at a Nauticam service that the red knob  will be pressed under presure at depth.

Maybe so if deep enough, thus the cap. Aren't these rated to 300ft? I have seen a few friends diving without the cap by mistake. That is really fun to point out to your buddy at 60feet under! 😧

 

BTW, i had the o-ring go loose on my pressure valve after a number of years. Be sure to check it and replace if it shows wear.

Edited September 26 by Dave_Hicks

[ChipBPhoto]

3 hours ago, Klaus said:

So Chip… now you have to finish the wine bottle every time?

Unfinished bottle???  Now that’s just craziness! 😂

 

2 hours ago, Dave_Hicks said:

I have seen a few friends diving without the cap by mistake.

Guilty!  Fortunately I didn’t bump the red button during the dive; all stayed sealed.  Hence the reason I now carry an extra cap in my little bag of o-ring grease and such. 😂

 

Edited September 26 by ChipBPhoto