Do it your self video housings

[OutOfAir]

Anyone here build their own video housing? Just curious if their is a solution to U/W video other than Mega $$$ housings. Lets see what ya got.

[fishkilla]

i know people have been semi successful with houseings made out of plexiglass but i don't think i'd ever try it. i'm sticking with my amphibico housing. i found my set up on ebay for a very reasonable price.

[Charlestondivin]

My dive partner made one. We have tested it to 130' and 110 and it held up. No controls so you have to start it recording with a remote before you drop. 4" pvc works great for Sony MiniDV cams. Cam fits perfect with little air space. He is in a fishing tournament through sat but i am sure monday he will post the plans he used.

The entire unit is very small. I am thinking about going gun mount with it.

[OutOfAir]

Charlestondivin,

Thats sweet. Any plans? It looks pretty simple.

What do you guys use to edit your video? I just recently got Premiere but havent installed it.

[SpearDiverTampa]

You probably wanna put some handles on it though.

[Charlestondivin]

Bottom view. tape gun handle epoxied on. There is also now a pipe clamp around the casing with a clip attached for clipping it off when not in use.

I will get my dive partner to post the specifics.

[Steel Shootin']

Originally posted by OutOfAir

What do you guys use to edit your video? I just recently got Premiere but havent installed it. Premiere is my least favorite video editor. I have it, but almost never use it anymore. Adobe has taken some heat for Premiere, as the idea was that it would compete with the industry leading Apple Final Cut Pro. It looked promising at first, but FCP then came out with Final Cut Expess, less $$ then Premiere, and it blows it out of the water. Premiere is so far behind at this time that there is speculation they may stop even making it. Adobe denies it, but die-hard Adobe users are begging them to make improvements, or they will jump ship. I had originally bought it somewhat on blind faith, just because I think Adobe is such a great company with great software (e.g., Photoshop, Acrobat, etc.). They fell short on this one, and have taken plenty of lumps for it.

Assuming you use Windows and are just starting with editing, you may have wanted to start with a program called Pinnacle Studio. That program will do everything most people want: easy uploading, easy editing of clips, nice transitions, nice title options, seperate tracks for audio and video, etc. It does not have advanced functions like animation and layers, but very few people use that stuff unless you want to do some high end editing. It is so intuitive that beginners will be editing video in 30 minutes. And it cost about 1/5 of what Premiere runs.

Charleston: That housing is awesome. I got a new housing off of eBay a while back. We need to help fishkilla out with fresh content on spearboard. If we could just put the damn speargun down for a dive. :D

[Charlestondivin]

Pinnacle studio rocks, I burn directly from it onto my dvd writer. Also if you are using Windows XP you can try windows movie maker available with windows update.

[KJNDIVER]

Looking forward to some specifics. What do ya use to seal the ends with? How did you fab the face plates? Wouldnt that thing be pretty buoyant? I like the handle on it, looks like a spot light? I have been wanting to take a video camera down but quite leary of the prices on some of the housings I have found. That looks like my kinda project. Hod did ya test it the first time? Who put up there camera for the test run? I bet they were sweating a lil bit until it was proven.

[Charlestondivin]

to test it we put a some soft weight in it and dropped it to the bottom with one of the trolling rods.
Both ends are clear acrylic. Front lense is epoxied on. back one has an o-ring. Before we go down with it i like to tape the latches shut to prevent them from accidently opening. It is really not that bouyant. There is very little airspace once the camera is in there. it is sort of like pointing a flashlight to use.

It was my Trv-20 miniDV camcorder that we used. I really like how small it is. In the picture the paper is still over the lenses.

[DanR]

Gun mount would be wicked! Might make for some killer hunting footage (no pun intended). That looks great and sits well within the K.I.S.S. limits of things I can make. Your logo kiks a@# too.

[Apex]

Hey Charleston, I would also like to know how your friend made his camera housing. I have a nice digital mini camcorder that I would love to take down with me but the housings for the camera cost more than what the camera cost me. The prices for those things are crazy.

[Slay Ride]

I will get the plans tonight and post some of the things. I got lucky as I had o-rings and clamps and such at my work. The good high quality acrylic is expensive, but I found a source that was nice and didn't break the wallet. It's not easy, but if you have the right woodworking tools it's a fun project. If anyone wants specifics email me at Les@charlestondiving.com and I'll help. Won't post the whole instruction plans as they are copy righted. I've got some leftover material that I may can help someone out with if they are serious about making one. Les

[Slay Ride]

I used 4" PVC, but most says 6". Measure your camera very closely. Smaller digital camera's will be good for 4" as that will significantly reduce overall weight and buoancy. The handle was from a tape gun. Routing the grooves in the PVC and acrylic was the tricky part. I actually made wooden templates first prior to cutting on the real stuff. I've got plenty of o-rings if anyone needs them. Les

PS. Use vaseline on the orings for good sealing.

[richhermes]

Vaseline will degrade rubber. Silicone may be better!

[Slay Ride]

True, but you're going to want to change the o-rings very regularly anyway. Silicone is usually very light and will not cover imperfections as well. It's all good, just another observation. I have plenty of o-rings so that's just been my rational. Although, now that I think of it, I've seen a silicone based vacuum grease that would work great. I know I've got some in the lab here. That's a better idea. Thanks for making me think richhermes. I'm using Viton o-rings I think they are more resistant to degredation than regular rubber.

[Sport Diver]

You can find plans for building your own housings and other equipment at: http://directory.google.com/Top/Shopping/Sports/Water_Sports/Scuba_Diving/Do-It-Yourself_Dive_Equipment_Plans/