Question concerining underwater equipment.

Francesca said:
are they reliable? Just wondering.
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I definitely wouldn't put one of my cameras in that, just the price would put me off, generally underwater camera housing is just as expensive as the camera if not more, i don't think it would be wise to put a £500 + camera in a £20 over rated plastic bag and dip it in water :)
 
DONT DO IT!!!!

There is absolutely no way i put my dslr in a what amounts to a thick tesco's carrier bag! If you want to take dslr camera underwater, then as TG says you need to spend big ££££ on a proper marine housing. The one for my D5000 is around £900 !! (no, I dont have one). I use an oldish Panasonic compact in a proper 40m housing which i got off ebay for around £100.

Neil
 
It took one of these out for a shoot in the Amazon, along with a similar DiGipak and a EwaMarine. Pricewise there was a difference of £20 to £200 and they all performed equally.

All are cumbersome to use but they do the job upto about 5 metres. After that the seals 'could' become an issue and I wouldn't take them below 10 metres.

Check all seals before plunging into the water with any of these. Just put it into the water slowly and watch for any tell-tale signs of leaks (bubbles etc.) If you give the bag a good squeeze for 30 seconds or so you'll notice if there are any leaks as the bag decompresses. That trick will only pick up significant leaks though.

On the Amazon trip I/we were using them on and off for 4 months and non had any issues. One word of advise though - store them out of sunlight as the plastics on the cheaper ones are not UV stable and will degrade over time.

Bottom line - would I use one? Yes, if it meant getting the shot.
 
Thank you for your advice everyone, I was considering as i'm only looking to go a few meters deep really. And for testing it on an old camera, i wasn't sure if i was prepared to pay for a (what is to me) expensive.
 
TG. said:
I definitely wouldn't put one of my cameras in that, just the price would put me off, generally underwater camera housing is just as expensive as the camera if not more
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Indeed, when I was looking at underwater housing for the D300s and 2 lens housings to cover the 70-200mm and the 10-20mm, the total figure I was quoted was just over 2 grand. That's just for the underwater housing. The camera itself sells for only £1139.
 
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