Problem with alignment of on/off switch

As I posted in another thread, it's often difficult to turn my camera on via the housing control. It works fine to shut the camera off but does not seem to be aligned properly to consistently turn the camera on. Anyone else have this issue?

What camera?

Cheers

James

I am assuming it is the Canon 300D (signature, and the 6870.1 is for the 300D), I had the same problem with my F100 in an Ikelite housing, except that I couldn't turn it off. My solution was pretty radical, I got a Sea&Sea housing (ok, not only for that reason, but mainly because the sync cord connection was in the bottom of the housing, and that was breaking all my sync cords).

If I remember correctly (that was more than 5 years ago), I was able to solve the on-off issue by inserting some rubber padding on the bottom of the camera (between the camera and the metal tray, to make the camera "taller" and closer to the switch).

Hope this helps.

I have the same problem with my 6870.1 the best way is not to force the housing on/off buton and slowly turn it.

Yes, the camera is the 300D, so it should be fitting properly but apparently is not. I've tried applying more force, less force, just about everything. Sometimes it grabs and sometimes it doesn't. I'll try inserting something between the housing and camera but hate having to jury rig a brand new housing. Thanks for the feedback.

Ellen

I had similar problems with my Ikelite 300D at first but I found that it was simply due to excess humidity/moisture. When the on/off button gets wet it gets too slippery and the button just wont stick to it.

Put the housing together in an air conditioned room and avoid opening the housing between dives and the problem goes away.

I had similar problems with my Ikelite 300D at first but I found that it was simply due to excess humidity/moisture.  When the on/off button gets wet it gets too slippery and the button just wont stick to it. 

 

Put the housing together in an air conditioned room and avoid opening the housing between dives and the problem goes away.

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Unfortunately that's not the problem with mine. It's actually an alignment issue. I always set up the camera in the room and didn't change lenses/ports on the boat. The housing was never opened up outside. Thanks for the suggestion, though, as I could understand how humidity could cause a somewhat similar type of symptom (although it would have been the same problem for on and off, and mine works fine to shut the camera as the position allows it to grab the switch once it is in the on position).

Ellene, you should try to write Ikelite and ask about it. If they think that it can be a problem with the housing they will ask you to send it to them and will probably repair/replace the housing at no cost (if it is still under warranty). They are pretty good with customer service, and they will send your fixed housing back within a few days after they receive it.

Thanks, Luiz. Yes, that's my next step. Hopefully it's something that's easily resolved. If not, I've pretty much just gotten used to leaving the camera on and letting it go into power saving mode when it's not being used. Not ideal, but it works. On the positive side, all the other controls work perfectly and are spot on in terms of alignment.

Ellen

That control depends on the particular camera because some turn on and off easier than others. We can replace the rubber wheel type control with an arm type that is argumentatively better if you want to send us the housing.

Thanks, Ike. I'll be in touch. I'll probably want to go ahead and have the change made. The housing performed well in every other way.

Ellen

I had the same problem with my 300D and 6870 housing at first - my camera loosened up over time, and it stopped being a problem.

I had the same problem with my 300D and 6870 housing at first - my camera loosened up over time, and it stopped being a problem.

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How long did it take? I've had my camera for quite awhile as I bought it when the 300D first came out. It's hard to imagine that it would loosen up anymore than it already has ... Thanks for the idea, though.

20-30 dives? It's a moot point for me now, as I had a user-error flood last weekend.

Of course, I have a very understanding spouse, so now I have a 20D and an Ikelite 20D housing on order!

20-30 dives?  It's a moot point for me now, as I had a user-error flood last weekend. 

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Sorry to hear about your loss! Do you mind sharing some details? I am always looking to learn from others to make sure I don't make the same mistake!

Thanks,

Dave

Short version: regular maintenance of your housing should include making sure all nuts on the housing are tightened down.

Long version: My buddy and I had been on a nearly hour-long dive here in chilly Puget Sound, max depth of around 80ft, when in 9ft of water I saw water beginning to leak into my housing. By the time we hit the surface less than a minute later, I had an inch of water in the bottom of the housing, sloshing around. Salt water entered both the camera and the lens, toasting both of them. (Just had to be one of the dives I took the 100mm macro lens on, too.)

In postmortem, I discovered one of the nuts on the bolts that fasten the housing to the tray (that connects the handles) was loose; I believe this was the source of the leak. As I held the camera (and flipped it sideways for some portrait shots), I'd put enough additional stress on the bolt that the nut had eventually loosened, and the o-ring had leaked.

I'd erroneously originally thought that the screws holding the handle tray to the housing went into a bulkhead in the housing, not that it went all the way through the housing wall and had a connecting nut on the other side, and an o-ring in between. Tightening the screw from the outside does not tighten the o-ring connection; you have to make sure the nuts on the inside of the housing are firmly tightened. I tightened the loose nut down, and took the housing down to 80ft to make sure it did not leak (sans my camera-shaped-object, of course).

I think we need to elevate this thread as this is the second flood of this type we've heard about in a week. Any ideas?

Cheers

James

That's the same place my D70 flooded at during my Australia trip last December.

We have been waiting to inspect Dietz housing before commenting. Usual concern is a knob coming loose. We have had several people pull knob and shaft out of their housing leaving a nice hole. Fix for this has been implemented. The nuts holding the mounting blocks have a die cut neoprene piece installed to prevent coming loose. Obviously idea did not work as intended in these instances. Will know more next week. Simple answer is check all fittings and knob set screws to be certain they remain tight.

Excellent to know that this issue is being considered...