Nauticam WWL-1 hard cap - use on the boat? it has no lanyard attachment

[rwb500]

The hard cap for the WWL-1 wet lens seems to be all plastic and will work nicely to protect the dome on the boat.  Can I bring it into the water?  I assume I can but it has no hole for a lanyard.  So I was wondering:

 

1. Is it intended to get wet with saltwater?

 

2. How do people stow it on their BCD?  pocket or DIY lanyard?

 

thanks

[humu9679]

It's a bit bulky and likely would be, literally, a drag to haul around clipped to your BC. You could do it by drilling holes in it and threading some cord. The cap clips use small springs, probably sourced for getting wet, but you might want to ask Nauticam if they can tolerate this:  https://www.nauticam.com/pages/contact-us

 

Craig

[SwiftFF5]

Is there a reason not to just leave it on the boat so that it will be there when you get back to the boat?

[rwb500]

7 minutes ago, SwiftFF5 said:

Is there a reason not to just leave it on the boat so that it will be there when you get back to the boat?

 

Well, I was thinking it would be nice to have the lens covered until I am fully submerged.  I have always done that in the past.  Maybe not necessary.

 

 

and thanks Craig.  you're right it would be a drag.

[Nemrod]

I always go in and come out with the cap installed on the WWL-1. During the dive I clip it off to my scooter ring on my crotch strap. I never notice it and it causes no problems or drag. My WWL-1 is also secured to the housing with a lanyard. I do these two things because there is not always a bottom that can be reached and I have seen too many scratched domes which usually happens during handoffs to get on and off the boat or during shore entries. The cap is slightly buoyant. Again, I never notice the cap clipped off during the dive. The security lanyard to the lens itself does not interfere with my removing the lens to burp it but certainly provide piece of mind.

 

Not my WWL-1 and NA6400, but some years back during a poor handoff to me in rough water, the crew dropped my camera (FIXS90) on the deck and knocked the wide angle water contact lens (an Inon with dome) off the port which rapidly disappeared into the depths. It was a drift off Jupiter, it was gone and we were gone. However, the boat went back later and found my lens and got it back to me so all ended well.

 

I drilled two small holes on the periphery of the WWL-1 cap. I pulled a piece of cave line through and then attached a bolt snap which in use clips to the lens lanyard which clips to my Nauticam handles. When I remove the cap upon entry, I clip it to my crotch strap scooter ring. My camera housing coil tether also clips off to the scooter ring. 

 

This method is not new to me, I began doing this after the lost lens incident. I have my old Canon FIXS90 rigged nearly identical to my Nauticam NA6400. There are no scratches on my 15 years old Inon lens and not a single scratch to my now 5 years old Nauticam WWL-1.

 

Edited yesterday at 12:37 AM by Nemrod

[Dave_Hicks]

You should leave it on the boat but occasionally I'll forget to take it off and I'll just stick it in my dry suit pocket. if you don't have a pocket you can always get something like tech shorts that include large pockets for wetsuit diving.

[TmxDiver]

I always take mine on the dive. I've often got multiple bailout tanks, scooter, dive in current, etc. and like to protect the lens on long deco stops, etc.

 

When I'm taking photos, I clip off the cap either to the housing (I've added some wheel weights to make it negative) or a D ring on my harness. Never been an issue.

 

Similar to @Nemrod, I've attached a bolt snap to mine and I've also drilled holes in it to facilitate equalization. I would sometimes find that I would get to the bottom and the lens cap would be suctioned onto the lens and a bit hard to remove, especially with dry gloves.

 

 

[Architeuthis]

9 hours ago, SwiftFF5 said:

Is there a reason not to just leave it on the boat so that it will be there when you get back to the boat?

 

Definitely there is a reason. You want to take off the cap when you are UW and start to make photos. At the end of the dive, before you start going out, you mount the cap again to protect the precious wetlens (before you hand your rig to stuff on a zodiak). Domeports are mostly vulnerable in the short period when the rig is lying unprotected in crowded places while people enter/leave the water...

In my case it is WACP-C, but the cap is very similar, if not identical. Similar to the others here, I have drilled a hole in the cap to mount a boltsnap via an accessory cord (redundantly secured with a cable ties). I mount the cap to a D-ring on my jacket and this is perfectly o.k. ...

 

Wolfgang

[fruehaufsteher2]

I found the original cap very bulky under water, but very helpful at least while putting camera in&out of the housing. To ease the transport and to avoid loosing the expensive cap on the boat or in the water I used the leg of an old wetsuit, closed one end with cable ties, so I could pull it over the WACP-C like a sock.

 

The additional benefit is keeping the lens wet/damp if it's not possible to rinse it immediately with freshwater.

[eocean-eu]

14 hours ago, SwiftFF5 said:

Is there a reason not to just leave it on the boat so that it will be there when you get back to the boat?

 

It makes sense to keep the lens cover when you are in the water and wait for a crewman on the boat to give you or get your camera on board. At that moment, it can be easy to damage the glass or port.

 

A neoprene cover like for other nauticam port could be a less bulky solution. 

Edited yesterday at 01:27 PM by eocean-eu

[Davide DB]

Nauticam neoprene version

 

https://www.fotosub-shop.com/2655-nauticam-neoprene-cover-for-wwl-1b.html

 

Or a DIY solution 

[Nemrod]

I have tried to use neoprene covers in the water for domes and found them to be difficult. As well salt crystals can form and even sand can accumulate on them which is not good for your lens dome. 

 

I understand the OP and many divers here use a conventional BC, I am diving a backplate (Oxy textile Ultralite usually) and VDH or Oxy wing. These are fitted with a one inch crotch strap that has both a front scooter ring and a rear "butt" ring. Clipping the cap off with a bolt snap to the scooter ring, again, I never notice the cap. The cap does not hang down because it is buoyant. I think it floats up between my legs, really do not know as I never feel it or see it. Occasionally I will clip it to my butt ring, especially if there is not a sausage clipped there. 

 

If you look closely at the attached selfie might can see the WWL-1 lens cap between my legs. I am pretty clean in the water. In hundreds of dives I still have my cap and unscratched lens. Yes, those RIBs are hell on unprotected domes. So are rinse tubs. I ask the crew not to put my camera in the rinse bucket but sometimes, before they learn to accommodate me, they do.

 

Another issue I have with the neoprene covers is I have not been able to tether them and they invariably go away and hide, usually forever. Anyways, everyone has their way of doing things, this is mine ands it works for me but it is certainly not the only way.

 

Edited yesterday at 04:30 PM by Nemrod

[humu9679]

3 hours ago, fruehaufsteher2 said:

I found the original cap very bulky under water, but very helpful at least while putting camera in&out of the housing. To ease the transport and to avoid loosing the expensive cap on the boat or in the water I used the leg of an old wetsuit, closed one end with cable ties, so I could pull it over the WACP-C like a sock.

 

The additional benefit is keeping the lens wet/damp if it's not possible to rinse it immediately with freshwater.

 

Brilliant.

[Nemrod]

4 hours ago, fruehaufsteher2 said:

I found the original cap very bulky under water, but very helpful at least while putting camera in&out of the housing. To ease the transport and to avoid loosing the expensive cap on the boat or in the water I used the leg of an old wetsuit, closed one end with cable ties, so I could pull it over the WACP-C like a sock.

 

The additional benefit is keeping the lens wet/damp if it's not possible to rinse it immediately with freshwater.

 

That is a good idea. I think I may try that, thanks. Not for my WWL but for my 4.33 dome that often goes naked and I go paranoid. I could do as you suggest, cut a section from an old wet suit leg that is of the correct diameter and make it the right length. Then cut a circular piece and use AquaSeal to glue it into the leg piece. Making a cap that will slip over. Then sew in a bungee loop to help hold it in place and add a bolt snap. Good idea. I would still clip it to my scooter or butt rings to get it out of the way. I often dive in just a rash guard and swimsuit so no pockets or zippers to stuff things into. 

[JayceeB]

I always cover ports in/out of the boat, or to/fro shore entry.  Just be careful not to lose the cap...they're $132 to replace...don't ask me how I know that 🙂

[rwb500]

wow what a great discussion.  thanks guys.  Time to start drilling!

[SwiftFF5]

Thanks folks, since i don't use a dome, I wasn't aware of how fragile they might be.

[Floris Bennema]

7 hours ago, Davide DB said:

Nauticam neoprene version

 

https://www.fotosub-shop.com/2655-nauticam-neoprene-cover-for-wwl-1b.html

 

Or a DIY solution 

Like this one with a neoprene front.

[Davide DB]

Then, there's advanced DIY from my friend Rosario Scariati for his WACP.

With this solution you don't need to remove the cap underwater but you just open it...