Custom Housing project

Hi Guys,

I'm a relative (2-3 years) newbie to UW photography with a strong practical mechanics/engineering background.

I want to take advantage of the newer SD based camcorders like the Canon FS 100 in a "as small as possible" custom housing. To make it really small the LCD screen needs to be placed at the rear of the camera on a flying lead, facing up (preferably) or back, the controls could be mechanical if really necessary, but I see no reason why the IR? remote control cannot go into its own small housing, probably physically separate but attached to the main housing, with a silicone pressure membrane to control the basic on/off, zoom, rec etc.

I can access the necessary mechanical engineering to manufacture the housing out of acrylic tube or block, I'm searching for the electronic expertise for the LCD extension and I need to play with the RC idea a bit.

If it's possible I could end up with a very small, neat housing maybe around 80mm diam 180mm long, which, since we mainly dive in Croatia and the Red Sea, would be great for travel and weight etc.

I am at the start of this 'project' so don't have all the answers (or probably even the questions!) yet, but opinions/sugesstions/experiences would be welcomed.

There's a similar less sophisticated (but effective) idea for traditional camcorders at www.clearcam.co.uk which illustrates the possibilities.

Cheers

It sounds like you have some good ideas here. I'm starting a similar project but with the goal of shooting U/W 3-D. Having the second video camera adds an additional layer of complexity especially with respect to controls. In 3-D have to do everything equally for each camera, so automatic settings seem undesirable.

I too was pondering using an external IR somehow to control both cameras simultaneously. My biggest fear of the simple "ziploc bag" trick for the remote is that you'll reach a depth where the pressure starts pushing some or all buttons and won't release them until you ascend. I've had this experience w/ a disposable point and shoot. It automatically took a picture at 30' then you had to ascend to 15' for the shutter button to release enough to advance the film.

Have you made any progress with using a remote underwater?

--JonL