Sea and Sea MDX 40 - Problem with Quick control dial

Hi Guys,

A little call for those of you who use the Canon 40D housing from Sea and Sea.

I've read with a huge interest Sting Ray's post where he describes all sort of emotions he felt when he received his MDX 40D and I couldn't help laughing because I was also waiting for the delivery of my MDX40D, thinking soon it's gonna be my turn !

Here we are, it arrived last night and I experienced pretty much the same as Sting Ray (spent hours playing with the boxes, bubble wraps, instruction manual, etc.).

Once I managed to put everything together, I've noticed a huge problem : I can't use the quick control dial - althought I should be able to. It seems that the little round rubber piece doesn't reach the dial inside the housing.

Did anyone experience that problem ?

I'm just deseperate at the thought of sending it back to Japan ... I only received it 12h ago and I waited for months !!!

Thank you for your help,

Isabelle

Hi Isabelle,

Fun stuff huh. Make sure you have removed the eye piece protector, It just lifts straight up. And make sure you close and latch the housing. The main dial won't quite reach with the latches open. Did that help?

Steve

what Steve said... I'm guilty of doing that exact same thing when I first got my MDX-40D and had a minor panic attack with my new toy... until I realized I hadn't taken the camera's eyepiece off...

One other thing to try, a couple of times the cone gear for the dial right behind the shutter did not line up for me. If it gets stuck tooth to tooth (technical term) it will be enough for the dial to be intermittent. Just wiggle it and check that it lines up when you insert the camera. Good Luck,

Steve

One other thing to try, a couple of times the cone gear for the dial right behind the shutter did not line up for me. If it gets stuck tooth to tooth (technical term) it will be enough for the dial to be intermittent. Just wiggle it and check that it lines up when you insert the camera. Good Luck,

 

Steve

Hi Steve,

Exactly what happened, all the cone gears and dials didn't line up; so just as you said, I just wiggled it a bit and now everything is fine !

Thanks for that,

Isabelle

Hi Steve,

 

Exactly what happened, all the cone gears and dials didn't line up; so just as you said, I just wiggled it a bit and now everything is fine !

 

Thanks for that,

 

Isabelle

Hi Isabelle -

I returned from Indonesia about 3 weeks ago, first trip with my MDX40. Ergonomics are excellent, enjoyed diving the camera and housing (and the 40D is a fabulous camera - autofocus much better than my 20D).

But - I flooded the housing on the 15th dive; didn't find an obvious reason when I got back to the boat (flooded immediately when I got it - had over an inch of water in the housing before I noticed it at about 20 feet). It flooded through the back door. No obvious grit/lint/sand on the oring - but I did find the Sea and Sea orings tend to attract lint (they are sticky even when you clean them). So make sure you have a clean environment to load your camera, and carefully inspect your oring/housing before every dive. And make sure and test the housing in a dunk tank before every dive - that is the one thing I didn't do on the dive that flooded.

My first flood ever - probably had 350 plus dives with Ikelite housings - so I am not a newbie with uw housings.

ouch, sorry to hear that bverteegh...

Out of curiosity, were you able to see bubbles coming from the main o-ring area?

ouch, sorry to hear that bverteegh...

 

Out of curiosity, were you able to see bubbles coming from the main o-ring area?

No bubbles to speak of - but I could see the water running down the inside through the back. First thing I really noticed was the camera getting heavier - but didn't realize what that meant until I raised it up and saw water inside. Probably the most depressing feeling I've ever had diving - just makes you feel sick (and a little pissed off, to be honest). Hope no one else has to experience the feeling - it really did ruin the rest of the day (and I had a backup camera).

Bruce

No bubbles to speak of - but I could see the water running down the inside through the back.

My condolences, that had to hurt.

Steve

yep it pains me to read that Bruce...

I'll knock on wood that it hasn't happen with me yet. One thing I do notice with my MDX-40D which I pointed on in another thread. The groove for the main o-ring seems a little big for the o-ring. Unlike my previous S&S housing where it was impossible to get the o-ring out without the o-ring tool, the MDX-40D o-ring is easy to pop out of place in my case when I initially put it in.

Just got the "diagnosis" from the Sea & Sea repair center - "user error"............... It pressure tested fine.

The repair bill was 700 US (they do a complete rebuild - replace all electronics, control orings, replaced both bulkhead connectors.

One thing the service rep warned me - he thought the leak might have been through the TTL bulkhead connector - said the oring was "dry" and shrunken. To be honest, I had never removed the cap - as I shot manual strobe exposure the entire trip - I never took the cap off or serviced it. The housing was about 3 months old when the flood happened - so don't assume the housing comes ready to dive - you need to lube all user accessible orings before every trip.

So maybe that was the issue (I didn't get a definite answer from the service tech) - so be sure to check your bulkhead caps (especially the one you don't use), and keep the oring lubed. Evidently, the sea and sea orings shrink if you don't occasionally lube them (they are silicone impregnated, and the silicone leaches out over time) - so the orings shrink.

Hope this helps someone else from experiencing a problem.

And by the way - buy insurance; well worth it. I carry a personal articles policy as an extension to my homeowners - and it paid cost to replace camera and lens, and repair of the housing. Over $ 2000 claim, policy is 100/yr for all my uw photo gear - with no deductible.

Bruce