weight placement/flotation ideas for dome port on Nauticam housing

I have a nauticam housing with a Nikon D850 and a Nexus acrylic dome with nauticam adapter and 3 mm extension on it. It is not one of the small domes. I also have the nauticam straight viewfinder which ads a tremendous amount of weight to the back of the housing but I love that viewfinder. Am wondering what solution others have found for weighting the front dome so that the rig is not so back heavy/dome up. I'm experimenting in a large tub with a 1 lb. ankle weight strapped to the port extension. Have heard some talk of stick on lead car wheel weights stuck on the shade. Not sure how to safely do additional flotation toward the back of the camera that wouldn't get in the way as a different option. What has been the best solution for the gurus out there?

Judy Johnson

You need to consider how close to neutral the rig is to begin with. Its not simply an option of weight to the front or floatation to the back, could become very positive or negative. I add floatation to my viewfinder to balance a bit, though its not perfect. I may add a bit more and perhaps some small fishing weights to my dome.

Gluing to the shade may be a viable option, or drill holes and screw them on. But try to avoid anything to shiny on the inside of the shade as it could cause glare/reflections.

The rig's trim will also change in various configurations. Dome vs macro port. Strobes or no strobes. Other accessories etc.

Many people buy floats for their strobe arms to help balance the rig.

You may find the opposite with a macro setup, which can often be nose heavy. Companies sell float collars for this.

Cheers,

Chris

I've had wheel weights on the bottom shade ring of my fisheye dome for a couple of years. It used to make the whole rig positive and flip up. Now it's neutral and balanced. I just bought a pack at the auto supply and stuck them on where they fit best. They're designed to stay on mag wheels after car washing so they do really well underwater. (New ones are non lead as well)

I've had wheel weights on the bottom shade ring of my fisheye dome for a couple of years. It used to make the whole rig positive and flip up. Now it's neutral and balanced. I just bought a pack at the auto supply and stuck them on where they fit best. They're designed to stay on mag wheels after car washing so they do really well underwater. (New ones are non lead as well)

Hi Larry, did you attached the wheel weights only on the bottom shade ? If so, did you notice any discomfort while flipping the rig to the portrait position? I'm thinking about adding some wight to my 8.5" dome, but I'm curious about this.

Thanks.

Weights are attached on the bottom of the shade ring and pretty much cover it. I haven't had any balance problems for verticals as the weight is still on the front and keeps the air filled dome from tipping upward as it used to do. Tried to put a picture up but I can't find a way to attach it.

Car wheel weights on the dome work fantastic. I can literally throw my camera out in front of me - it's perfectly neutral, and doesn't rotate dome up. I've also got a 3d printed plate that fits on the bottom of my housing on the mount screw. On this plate, I've got more wheel weights. Plate on, perfectly weighted for salt water. Plate off, perfect for fresh.

One thing I can recommend though - BEFORE you put the weights on the dome shade, put lines of 2" wide clear packaging tape on the shade, and apply the wheel weights over the top of it. That way, if you want to pull the weights off in the future, you can then take the weights off, and pull the packaging tape off, along with any remnants of foam tape rather than spending hours trying to get all the bits of foam off. As Larry C pointed out - the foam adhesive tape on the back of them is designed to stick to wheels no matter what.

Oh, and go for the lead wheel weights rather than the powder coated steel ones. They rust.

Bevan

Thanks for all the info guys, really helps!