How to fix an aquatica housing???

I have a 5d mark ii with an aquatica housing. The set button (the one to start recording) hasn't worked since the day I got it. Sometimes it will work on the surface, but sometimes it won't. Underwater it doesn't want to press at all. Yesterday I managed to get it to work by shaking the housing and it turned on without pressing the button. It wouldn't turn off via the button after that, but it actually recorded for a second. So that's a plus I guess.

I would like to know if anyone else has had trouble with alignment before and knows how to deal with it. I originally thought it might have been a pinched o-ring, but sometimes the set button doesn't feel like it depresses, as in a restriction. Sometimes it goes in, but doesn't activate the button.

Any suggestions would be very helpful. except from viz art. Your suggestion is not welcome!

Have you tried sending it back to the manufacturer to address the issue?

Wow, the one guy that can help you not welcome.

I purchased an Aquatica housing (A7D) back in December and from the start I had trouble with the video/still switch and the record button. While it took a little back and forth with my Aquatica dealer and Aquatica, together we got the housing working perfectly. It turned out to be a control button pin that was a little too long. Aquatica simply refitted the video record button with a shorter pin. In talking with both the dealer and Aquatica, it seems as though there can be some slight variances in the size of the camera bodies - meaning not every single 5Dll (or in my case, 7D) will be exactly the same size and in an aluminum housing, fractions of a mm count.

In trying to become an educated customer, I did a lot of reading. It seems as though lots of folks have some initial fitting/alignment issues with their cameras and aluminum housings (of all brands). I'd encourage you to contact your dealer, or Aquatica - I'm sure either one would be more than willing to work with you to resolve the issue.

Hope it all works out soon.

I can't for the life of me understand why you don't wish to speak to Jean Bruneau, what is his suggestion? send it back to aquatica????

his reply was he would not tell me the solution only that I should give this back to my dealer. As I do both video and photography I cannot afford to have this sent off and not be able to do either. I am stuck through this dive season only being able to do photography apparently. I emailed with jean and he was not helpful at all. his only response was to send it back to dealer. With the price of this housing and being a small time photographer/videographer I cannot afford another couple of weeks without it. if only I could order another backing and then send in the original once I had the replacement. Anyone that has tried to make a living underwater can understand this I hope (unless you're really lucky).

For the record I have contacted both the dealer and jean at aquatica. neither options are reasonable. My dealer had nothing more to do than contact aquatica for me as they wouldn't talk to a real customer. I don't see why they should have to pay for aquatica's failing as a poor company. jeans response was pretty much f' off send it to your dealer. Both of these options would cost me money and time, both of which I can't afford. Also, as its aquatica that screwed up I think all responsibility should lie with them. I should have a replacement part (if that's what's needed) before I send off the one I have. That way the customer who paid the outrageous price for this overrated housing does not go without.

And before anyone comments about the overpriced comment. a hydra phone? really? why do I want to hear bubbles all day. and a water alarm is pretty pointless unless your camera fails during the pre dive dunk test. both I'm sure add thousands to the cost, but aren't removable options. To be fair the housing (though it doesn't work) hasn't flooded or made me feel like it would flood at all. Which is worth it. Wish that was the selling point only. not a bunch of crap that aren't important at all for the average person. for those that do need it, it makes a great add on.

his reply was he would not tell me the solution only that I should give this back to my dealer. As I do both video and photography I cannot afford to have this sent off and not be able to do either. I am stuck through this dive season only being able to do photography apparently. I emailed with jean and he was not helpful at all. his only response was to send it back to dealer. With the price of this housing and being a small time photographer/videographer I cannot afford another couple of weeks without it. if only I could order another backing and then send in the original once I had the replacement. Anyone that has tried to make a living underwater can understand this I hope (unless you're really lucky).

 

For the record I have contacted both the dealer and jean at aquatica. neither options are reasonable. My dealer had nothing more to do than contact aquatica for me as they wouldn't talk to a real customer. I don't see why they should have to pay for aquatica's failing as a poor company. jeans response was pretty much f' off send it to your dealer. Both of these options would cost me money and time, both of which I can't afford. Also, as its aquatica that screwed up I think all responsibility should lie with them. I should have a replacement part (if that's what's needed) before I send off the one I have. That way the customer who paid the outrageous price for this overrated housing does not go without.

 

And before anyone comments about the overpriced comment. a hydra phone? really? why do I want to hear bubbles all day. and a water alarm is pretty pointless unless your camera fails during the pre dive dunk test. both I'm sure add thousands to the cost, but aren't removable options. To be fair the housing (though it doesn't work) hasn't flooded or made me feel like it would flood at all. Which is worth it. Wish that was the selling point only. not a bunch of crap that aren't important at all for the average person. for those that do need it, it makes a great add on.

And that folks, in a nut shell resume why we severed communication, for the record, I did try to be helpful, so next time loose the aggressive edge, it will make thing go a lot smoother, to be told, even if I did PM you on a weekend night, that I'm farting away on the weekend instead of helping you... being treated like an idiot... well, what can I say, that usually puts me in a generous mood.

You need to bring it down a notch, my friend, you closed that door yourself, lord knows I'm the helping type of person, but your attitude, seriously! If you want to work with me on this, then lets do it in a civilized way.

Try me again with a more constructive and polite approach, and I'm sure we can work on resolving this. I don't hold grudges and when someone is nice to me, well I am nice to them, bottom line is, I (as in me and Aquatica) ain't no verbal punching bag, no one is.

Quite a few of our users dive with rebreather (which does not make bubbles) , the Hydrophone was requested at the time by some fairly well established professional and is only $142 retail, the moisture alarm, at $ 90, well if you think that is over charged for low cost insurance, (and yes, the majority of flood happen in the shallow. As you go down, your O-ring safety level actually increases).

You know where to reach me.

his reply was he would not tell me the solution only that I should give this back to my dealer.

Just for the record, if that is what Jean recommends then that is clearly your best solution. Please understand that coming here and bad mouthing Jean doesn't give you much credibility. He has shown himself over and over again to be without a doubt the most helpful of any of the manufacturing reps who spend time here on Wetpixel. He has hundreds of happy customers here whom he has helped with questions large and small.

If you can't be without your rig for a week or so then I'd recommend you get on a plane or jump in your car and head for one of the vendors who can help you.

Good luck,

Steve

his reply was he would not tell me the solution only that I should give this back to my dealer. As I do both video and photography I cannot afford to have this sent off and not be able to do either. I am stuck through this dive season only being able to do photography apparently. I emailed with jean and he was not helpful at all. his only response was to send it back to dealer. With the price of this housing and being a small time photographer/videographer I cannot afford another couple of weeks without it. if only I could order another backing and then send in the original once I had the replacement. Anyone that has tried to make a living underwater can understand this I hope (unless you're really lucky).

 

For the record I have contacted both the dealer and jean at aquatica. neither options are reasonable. My dealer had nothing more to do than contact aquatica for me as they wouldn't talk to a real customer. I don't see why they should have to pay for aquatica's failing as a poor company. jeans response was pretty much f' off send it to your dealer. Both of these options would cost me money and time, both of which I can't afford. Also, as its aquatica that screwed up I think all responsibility should lie with them. I should have a replacement part (if that's what's needed) before I send off the one I have. That way the customer who paid the outrageous price for this overrated housing does not go without.

 

And before anyone comments about the overpriced comment. a hydra phone? really? why do I want to hear bubbles all day. and a water alarm is pretty pointless unless your camera fails during the pre dive dunk test. both I'm sure add thousands to the cost, but aren't removable options. To be fair the housing (though it doesn't work) hasn't flooded or made me feel like it would flood at all. Which is worth it. Wish that was the selling point only. not a bunch of crap that aren't important at all for the average person. for those that do need it, it makes a great add on.

At a guess, he would need to test and calibrate the housing to diagnose what the fault is?

Seems reasonable enough to send it back, you shouldn't have to pay for freighting it, unless you've damaged it yourself.

As for cost, I bought the Aquatica AD7000 because it was very well reviewed, performance and form size was great, it had almost full functionality of the camera(more then I will ever use) and it was the best priced alloy housing....so I still don't see fair reason to your line of thought, competition in manufacturing is high and in things like UW housings/camera gear it's a small niche market, subsidiary to mainstream photography.

To expect it to be like a production line car or some loose tolerance mass produced item is fanciful at best, I think once you get over this hurdle- send it back and get it rectified- you will see this whole situation in a different light.

I am glad my housing was $300 cheaper then a sea and sea, $800 cheaper then a nauticam housing ..... I couldn't afford to be using this camera at the level I aspire to(currently saving for my strobe).

My buddy bought a G12 ikelite housed thing, now he's wishing he'd done what I did, because hes so keen with this hobby(so am I) and he feels so limited/restricted by his "thrifty" choice.

I am sorry for you all the same, UW photography would be one of the hardest professions around.

At a guess, he would need to test and calibrate the housing to diagnose what the fault is?

 

Seems reasonable enough to send it back, you shouldn't have to pay for freighting it, unless you've damaged it yourself.

 

As for cost, I bought the Aquatica AD7000 because it was very well reviewed, performance and form size was great, it had almost full functionality of the camera(more then I will ever use) and it was the best priced alloy housing....so I still don't see fair reason to your line of thought, competition in manufacturing is high and in things like UW housings/camera gear it's a small niche market, subsidiary to mainstream photography.

 

To expect it to be like a production line car or some loose tolerance mass produced item is fanciful at best, I think once you get over this hurdle- send it back and get it rectified- you will see this whole situation in a different light.

I am glad my housing was $300 cheaper then a sea and sea, $800 cheaper then a nauticam housing ..... I couldn't afford to be using this camera at the level I aspire to(currently saving for my strobe).

 

My buddy bought a G12 ikelite housed thing, now he's wishing he'd done what I did, because hes so keen with this hobby(so am I) and he feels so limited/restricted by his "thrifty" choice.

 

I am sorry for you all the same, UW photography would be one of the hardest professions around.

I also started with an ikelite housing as do a lot of people. It was a very bad choice for a lot of reasons. most important is it didn't do what it said it could which was go to 200 ft. the housing survived, but the buttons didn't work at all. Someone once told me you get what you pay for. I was a little upset with this comment as this housing was 2,000 dollars. That's a lot of money for me and I feel justified expecting something to perform in this price range.

As my diving progressed and now I frequently visit the 200' to 300' range I need a housing to be able to get get me there. In comes aquatica. For the 5d mark ii they are pretty much the only choice for that depth range. I couldn't even find a sea and sea or nauticam. They either discontinued for the mark iii release or didn't make one to begin with. This housing was not a cheaper option for me I picked them because they are the top of the line. no one could say you get what you pay for as I picked the most expensive and the one with the best reputation.

As for your first comment if that would have been the response that I got I could have lived with that. It wouldn't have helped me much as I live in a pretty remote location and can't just pop in to a dealers location. I order almost everything online. If my camera is a slightly little different than other mark ii's I would have to send it in with it to get the perfect fit. I don't think this is the case though as this sometimes works on land.

Either way I'm not on here to justify anything. I was really looking for a solution to fix this without having to ship this anywhere.

I also started with an ikelite housing as do a lot of people. It was a very bad choice for a lot of reasons. most important is it didn't do what it said it could which was go to 200 ft. the housing survived, but the buttons didn't work at all. Someone once told me you get what you pay for. I was a little upset with this comment as this housing was 2,000 dollars. That's a lot of money for me and I feel justified expecting something to perform in this price range.

 

As my diving progressed and now I frequently visit the 200' to 300' range I need a housing to be able to get get me there. In comes aquatica. For the 5d mark ii they are pretty much the only choice for that depth range. I couldn't even find a sea and sea or nauticam. They either discontinued for the mark iii release or didn't make one to begin with. This housing was not a cheaper option for me I picked them because they are the top of the line. no one could say you get what you pay for as I picked the most expensive and the one with the best reputation.

 

As for your first comment if that would have been the response that I got I could have lived with that. It wouldn't have helped me much as I live in a pretty remote location and can't just pop in to a dealers location. I order almost everything online. If my camera is a slightly little different than other mark ii's I would have to send it in with it to get the perfect fit. I don't think this is the case though as this sometimes works on land.

 

Either way I'm not on here to justify anything. I was really looking for a solution to fix this without having to ship this anywhere.

The few people that use that housing, camera and have the same problem...well???

I would imagine that you won't get the answer here, Jean probably hasn't heard of it either or he would of mentioned it. Funny, I never read him being shitty before(been reading here for about a year, learned a lot too!) I think you got his french up! lol.

IDEA!!! have you tried building out the button with a little 100m/hr tape and some cut plastic shims might be worth a shot??? I don't own your camera I got the nikon d7000...so I am only guessing mate, can you program a different button to switch it on and off???

The lack of auto focus on the 5dmkII would be a PITA anyhow.

I know I wouldn't want to be frigging around to much with a faulty camera housing at 200+ft - so I'd shoot stills for the rest of the season and send it back when you can if I where you

Safe dives,

Damon

As my diving progressed and now I frequently visit the 200' to 300' range I need a housing to be able to get get me there. In comes aquatica. For the 5d mark ii they are pretty much the only choice for that depth range. I couldn't even find a sea and sea or nauticam. They either discontinued for the mark iii release or didn't make one to begin with.

The Mark III is a brand-new camera. Housing manufacturers have not yet had enough time to make housings for this camera.

And for the record, Jean of Aquatica has been nothing but polite and kind when I've had questions about my own Aquatica housing.

-Gina

i had a with my D90 aquatica housing and even though the real fault lied in the cheap button Nikon use on the camera - when i sent a PM to jean or a post (can't remember) the solution was sent to me immediately and i was back up and running in no time.

i think in short work with jean and you will get your fix...

I've also received nothing but helpful and very timely replies to any questions I've sent Jean (including receiving almost immediate responses to questions sent during the weekend or at night). Honestly, his customer service is one strong reason I plan to stick with Aquatica.

I have a 5d mark ii with an aquatica housing. The set button (the one to start recording) hasn't worked since the day I got it. Sometimes it will work on the surface, but sometimes it won't. Underwater it doesn't want to press at all. Yesterday I managed to get it to work by shaking the housing and it turned on without pressing the button. It wouldn't turn off via the button after that, but it actually recorded for a second. So that's a plus I guess.

 

I would like to know if anyone else has had trouble with alignment before and knows how to deal with it. I originally thought it might have been a pinched o-ring, but sometimes the set button doesn't feel like it depresses, as in a restriction. Sometimes it goes in, but doesn't activate the button.

 

Any suggestions would be very helpful. except from viz art. Your suggestion is not welcome!

Sorry to hear you are having trouble with your new housing. If you are unwilling/unable to send the unità in to be evaluated, then you'll have to trouble shoot the misalignmemt problem on your own. Note doing any mods/fixes to your housing may void your warranty or worse cause it to flood!!

Seems your issue may not be alignment but a sticking SET button. When you say it's stuck, is it depressed when stuck or unable to depress at all? If it's intermittently failing to depress, then it's not alignment.

The problem is the only way to see what is wrong is to remove the button from the assembly. This is why sending back to your. Dealer/aquatics is a good idea if you are not a " tinkerer " with precision equipment. If you feel comfortable, and don't mind voiding your warranty, go ahead and disassemble the button from the housing. I suggest you get on the phone or skype(if they have these sort of advanced technology in Montreal:)) with Aquatica tech and have them walk you thru disassembly of the button. Otherwise you'll have to disassemble another button to compare components and assembly etc and see if you can spot the problem.

I've done it in the field before to remove sand and it isn't very difficult. Just remember the sequence of disassembly and reverse the order, using silicone on each oring.

Before you do surgery to the housing, discount the obvious first. Things to check:

1. Remove eye cup from viewfinder.

2. Screw camera securely onto tray with coin/screwdriver.

3. Are you locking down the tray before closing the housing?

Now to trouble shooting AFTER you verified the above and it didn't solve your problem.

1. Do the other buttons and dials on the rear work (MENU,TRASH etc)? If they do, then it's an alignment issue on the right side of the camera.

You can extend the button with a shimmy of some kind. I usually use duct tape cut finely. You 'll have to do this very gradually, adding 1mm or less at a time,hence the duct tape.

However, any fix is only temporary. I understand you are frustrated with a malfunctioning housing, but if you want warranty service, you'll need to send it back. Beats stomping your feet with a useless chunk of metal or even a functioning by duct tape. Good luck!

Lets see if I got this right:

Your new housing has a problem.

You don't want to return it to dealer/factory.

You have rejected/bad mouthed advice from one of the most responsive factory guys on the site, (and I don't even own an Aquatica!)

You want to fix it your self and may run the risk of voiding the warranty.

I would suggest you cool off and return it to the factory along with your apology to Jean!

Beginning to resemble J. Webb's Copper Clapper Caper!

I have a lot of respect for Jean Bruneau - his helpfulness and presence on Wetpixel are legendary. He is the main reason I would consider an Aquatica housing. But I have some sympathy for the OP. It's all very well to say "send it back" when you live in a place well connected by couriers and can afford to do without the housing for a couple of weeks, but some people live in places like Tonga, where customs will try to ding you 20% "Port and Services Tax" (at least historically) even if there's no duty. Sending it back is a major hassle wherever you live.

Most housing problems are not rocket science. It's handy for the manufacturer to have faulty housings sent back, because they learn from the problems. But we don't buy a new housing to do the R&D for the manufacturer; we expect that to be done before it's sold.

I would encourage all manufacturers to post service instructions and machining tolerances for all parts on their websites, and encourage all owners to do their own servicing. It would save everyone time and grief.

The OP's problem could probably be fixed with either a new part or some minor adjustments to the old part - I would encourage him to do it himself. A sliver of BluTak on the camera button can show where the control is landing, and whether it penetrates sufficiently.

With care, encouragement and instructions, I think almost all owners could do their own servicing. This should be encouraged by manufacturers and parts be made available at sensible prices. Sod the warranty.

"Off Axis Productions"

Based in Key Largo and serving all of southern Florida. All filming and photography is done with Canon DSLR's and can be made available on any digital media format. All projects are filmed on location.

Yes, an extremely remote location!

+++++++++++++++++++++++

I have a lot of respect for Jean Bruneau - his helpfulness and presence on Wetpixel are legendary. He is the main reason I would consider an Aquatica housing. But I have some sympathy for the OP. It's all very well to say "send it back" when you live in a place well connected by couriers and can afford to do without the housing for a couple of weeks, but some people live in places like Tonga, where customs will try to ding you 20% "Port and Services Tax" (at least historically) even if there's no duty. Sending it back is a major hassle wherever you live.

Most housing problems are not rocket science. It's handy for the manufacturer to have faulty housings sent back, because they learn from the problems. But we don't buy a new housing to do the R&D for the manufacturer; we expect that to be done before it's sold.

I would encourage all manufacturers to post service instructions and machining tolerances for all parts on their websites, and encourage all owners to do their own servicing. It would save everyone time and grief.

The OP's problem could probably be fixed with either a new part or some minor adjustments to the old part - I would encourage him to do it himself. A sliver of BluTak on the camera button can show where the control is landing, and whether it penetrates sufficiently.

With care, encouragement and instructions, I think almost all owners could do their own servicing. This should be encouraged by manufacturers and parts be made available at sensible prices. Sod the warranty.

Thanks for being the only person to understand where I'm coming from. It's really frustrating to be in this position. I waited a long time to be able to afford this and as soon as I get it I have to return it. I am not going to do anything that voids the warranty, but I agree they should make it owner repair options available. Or at the least offer replacement parts while the job is being finished. They could just send a new backing and I wouldn't have to lose a dive season waiting on mine to be shipped and returned.

As for the comment about key largo not being that remote. I would have to drive (at my expense) to another city to deal with this problem. That makes this remote enough. Any time I have to travel to a different location I am being paid for time and expense. I'm not sure if the cost of these housings are a big deal to you, but someone in my position this is a major investment. Any additional cost and time spent is very unwelcome.

I have a lot of respect for Jean Bruneau - his helpfulness and presence on Wetpixel are legendary. He is the main reason I would consider an Aquatica housing. But I have some sympathy for the OP. It's all very well to say "send it back" when you live in a place well connected by couriers and can afford to do without the housing for a couple of weeks, but some people live in places like Tonga, where customs will try to ding you 20% "Port and Services Tax" (at least historically) even if there's no duty. Sending it back is a major hassle wherever you live.

Most housing problems are not rocket science. It's handy for the manufacturer to have faulty housings sent back, because they learn from the problems. But we don't buy a new housing to do the R&D for the manufacturer; we expect that to be done before it's sold.

I would encourage all manufacturers to post service instructions and machining tolerances for all parts on their websites, and encourage all owners to do their own servicing. It would save everyone time and grief.

The OP's problem could probably be fixed with either a new part or some minor adjustments to the old part - I would encourage him to do it himself. A sliver of BluTak on the camera button can show where the control is landing, and whether it penetrates sufficiently.

With care, encouragement and instructions, I think almost all owners could do their own servicing. This should be encouraged by manufacturers and parts be made available at sensible prices. Sod the warranty.

Pete, for the record we never even got to the "you need to send it back" stage, as a rule, I will try and work with the user in defining the problem, find the solution and if parts are required, to have them reach the users in the most expedient way we can, shipping a housing back is the last option on my list, it is inconvenient for the user, not to mention costly for all parties and will be done only if either the user does not feel comfortable with the mechanical procedure involved, or if the work involves the sealing integrity of the housing.

I asked for the name of is dealer, in case we needed to coordinates with the dealer at some stage, this he bluntly declined to provide, I'm sorry for the guy's problem, but if he does not want to be helpful, there is nothing I can do, when you have a problem with your camera the manufacturer will ask for proof of purchase, we are not even asking for this, just the name of the dealer so we can get some history on where the housing came from, he refused to decline this information, therefore, we told him to go through his dealer, as he would with his camera, and have the dealer contact us so we can proceed ahead with the fix.

Also for the record, I am being attributed some expressions by the OP for which I never indulged indulged myself in, this I resent very much, the content of my communication with Luke Popwell (AKA Off Axis Productions) has been professional and courteous, we have not communicated by phone at any time and if there is anything that was unprofessional in the content of my communication with him, I urge him to come forward with it and post it.

Now, I don't want to drag this into the mud, Luke knows how to reach us or if he does not wishes to, he can go through his dealer which will, in turn, contact us, then we can and will resolve this issue, it's his call after all.

Cheers