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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

The Gentleman's Underwater Bubble Blower Thread

Steve Wall said:
Hey guys, was hoping someone could offer some advice, in a bit of a frustrating situation with a new rig..

I've shot stills in the water for a long time across surf and dive housings + FS7 etc. and never really had to deal with any major fog issues. Of course DSMC2 is a whole different beast, but i'm yet to be totally comfortable in being able to see out a swim without any condensation, and hoping there might be something simple i'm missing.

My rig is an aluminium surf housing, Gemini, 502 monitor. If submerged - i'll get 40-60 minutes before the port is starting to fog around the edges, if out of the water on a jetski or boat more like 15 minutes. I recently added a vacuum valve system and some Silica packs up near the front of the lens - but it only seemed to slightly delay the same result. I'm trying to be fairly meticulous with not setting the camera up in non A/C, dry environments but regardless of where i'm setting it up I seem to be getting the same outcome.


Should I be looking at blasting compressed air inside the lens port before closing up? Unsure of what else I can really do with this other than trying some other moisture absorbing products, and keeping the wet shirt over the housing body/port between shots out in the sun. Any tricks here would be much appreciated :)
Click to expand...

Hi Steve,

I solved that issue with silica gel for cats because it's very inexpensive and in big packs (will last you for years). I use two baby socks filled with that silica (one near the dome port and another in the back side, near the batteries) and it completely solved the fogging in all water temperatures.

Hope this helps you.

Cheers,
 
Hi Steve,

Another measure: gently vent scuba tank air into the housing just before closure. Displace the humid air with the super ultra dry tank air. Field reports confirm this works.

If it doesn't, then look for another cause like a very small leak that allows moisture into the dome area. Just a drop can create fog.

J-


Steve Wall said:
Hey guys, was hoping someone could offer some advice, in a bit of a frustrating situation with a new rig..

I've shot stills in the water for a long time across surf and dive housings + FS7 etc. and never really had to deal with any major fog issues. Of course DSMC2 is a whole different beast, but i'm yet to be totally comfortable in being able to see out a swim without any condensation, and hoping there might be something simple i'm missing.

My rig is an aluminium surf housing, Gemini, 502 monitor. If submerged - i'll get 40-60 minutes before the port is starting to fog around the edges, if out of the water on a jetski or boat more like 15 minutes. I recently added a vacuum valve system and some Silica packs up near the front of the lens - but it only seemed to slightly delay the same result. I'm trying to be fairly meticulous with not setting the camera up in non A/C, dry environments but regardless of where i'm setting it up I seem to be getting the same outcome.


Should I be looking at blasting compressed air inside the lens port before closing up? Unsure of what else I can really do with this other than trying some other moisture absorbing products, and keeping the wet shirt over the housing body/port between shots out in the sun. Any tricks here would be much appreciated :)
Click to expand...
 
This is a harbinger of things to come. When Michael says "I made my own", he means I sent the CAD file for his 3D printer. No shipping, no waiting. Boom.

Michael has a bitchin' printer, too. Carbon Fiber. Parts are super strong.


Michael Maes said:
Hi Matt, Gates has a great solution for that: Knob Extenders.
I made my own but it's best for you to contact John Ellerbrock at Gates. Great guy!!!
Here some shots:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/270216046379566029/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/270216046379566024/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/270216046379566021/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/270216046379566020/

Gates's Extension Knobs really feel good at hand and offer a great grip/precision, even with thick gloves.
Click to expand...
 
John J Ellerbrock said:
Hi Steve,

Another measure: gently vent scuba tank air into the housing just before closure. Displace the humid air with the super ultra dry tank air. Field reports confirm this works.

If it doesn't, then look for another cause like a very small leak that allows moisture into the dome area. Just a drop can create fog.

J-
Click to expand...

You can also install a small consumer grade temperature/humidity sensor inside the housing, somewhere you can see it through the monitor window or dome port. These are very compact and inexpensive, something like this

https://www.amazon.com/Newlight66-H...Z5GHX811WSR&psc=1&refRID=CYFDRYP21Z5GHX811WSR

Make note of your temp/humidity profile during the course of a dive, where the numbers are when fogging starts to happen, that will give you a heads up when to get out of the water and flush with compressed air, as suggested above.

Drawing a vacuum will certainly help with the problem, although I’d be careful with that, the more air you draw out of the housing the less cooling capability you’ll have. Over time that will damage some expensive camera components.

I think Gates has the ideal solution for heat dispersal on their Pro-Action housings, finned internal surfaces and a small recirc fan that circulates air, effectively making the entire housing an efficient heat sink.
 
John J Ellerbrock said:
When Michael says "I made my own", he means I sent the CAD file for his 3D printer.
Click to expand...

Hi John,

I didn't want to say in public that I had your proprietary STL file :)
Aren't Gates's knob extensions commercially available yet? I thought they were (hence the referral).
Anyway: as you know I modify my gear profoundly, but I wouldn't modify your knob extension.... they are just PERFECT! :))
Cheers,
 
I appreciate that Michael. In this case it made more sense to send you the file. You're one of the trusted good guys.


Michael Maes said:
Hi John,

I didn't want to say in public that I had your proprietary STL file :)
Aren't Gates's knob extensions commercially available yet? I thought they were (hence the referral).
Anyway: as you know I modify my gear profoundly, but I wouldn't modify your knob extension.... they are just PERFECT! :))
Cheers,
Click to expand...
 
Steve, like others have mentioned, silica gel works well. Use plenty of it, I’ve filled a sock with it before and had that in the extension. Something I’ve found to really speed up the drying is buying a cheap 1” usb powered fan off amazon and using a rubber band, strapping it to the silica gel pouch. I’ve since mounted the fan on the housing wall and sticking the silica gel next to it. Anyway this actively pushes housing air through the silica gel and dries the housing air very quickly.
I never had fogging issues with my red until trying to shoot split shots in polar water. Inevitably having to close the housing in very damp air and then hitting cold water, and I think, the housing being exposed to the even colder air temp whilst working on the surface meant it fogged badly. The silica gel with the fan sorted it out 100%.
Hugh
 
Steve Wall said:
Hey guys, was hoping someone could offer some advice, in a bit of a frustrating situation with a new rig..

I've shot stills in the water for a long time across surf and dive housings + FS7 etc. and never really had to deal with any major fog issues. Of course DSMC2 is a whole different beast, but i'm yet to be totally comfortable in being able to see out a swim without any condensation, and hoping there might be something simple i'm missing.

My rig is an aluminium surf housing, Gemini, 502 monitor. If submerged - i'll get 40-60 minutes before the port is starting to fog around the edges, if out of the water on a jetski or boat more like 15 minutes. I recently added a vacuum valve system and some Silica packs up near the front of the lens - but it only seemed to slightly delay the same result. I'm trying to be fairly meticulous with not setting the camera up in non A/C, dry environments but regardless of where i'm setting it up I seem to be getting the same outcome.


Should I be looking at blasting compressed air inside the lens port before closing up? Unsure of what else I can really do with this other than trying some other moisture absorbing products, and keeping the wet shirt over the housing body/port between shots out in the sun. Any tricks here would be much appreciated :)
Click to expand...

Hi Steve,

in addition to what John and others say, you could close the housing and purge the ambient air by replacing it with high EAN (or other mixtures); then pull a vacuum.
I admit it's a challenge and needs some technical mods/tricks; but it can be done.

Fogging is one of the reasons I switched to NIKONOS lenses: you never have to worry about condensation again :)

Oh, one more thing: one would feel tempted to pull a lot of vacuum (less air -> les condensation) but that is a 'no-no'! You need the air to conduct the heat of the camera to the aluminium housing and dissipate it into the surrounding water :)

All the above tips work, each having their own challenges/caveats.

Keep shooting!!
Cheers,
 
Thanks for the tips guys, much appreciated.

Did a few more tests this week - hoped an anti-fog solution on the inside of the element may have kept it away from the element, but only delayed it. Will try a more substantial amount of silica, if not then the USB fan running off the base expander sounds good too. Most of the time i'm not working around scuba so fingers crossed these will keep us out of trouble!
 
Steve --

Dave Blackham / Esprit Films and Television has a solution developed for the BBC. It uses scuba tank air as previously mentioned, but vents it into the housing via the Seal Check port. Pull a vacuum, replace it with tank air. Do that twice and you have super duper dry air inside.

His device is clever, and ensures no accidental over pressure inside the housing.

Good luck!

J-
 
John J Ellerbrock said:
Steve --

Dave Blackham / Esprit Films and Television has a solution developed for the BBC. It uses scuba tank air as previously mentioned, but vents it into the housing via the Seal Check port. Pull a vacuum, replace it with tank air. Do that twice and you have super duper dry air inside.

His device is clever, and ensures no accidental over pressure inside the housing.

Good luck!

J-
Click to expand...

This is the solution that is most likely to give good results without creating further problems.

I think Gates has their own vacuum valve. I have been using the one from Nauticam and it is pretty easy to install in virtually any housing if you or your local machine shop can drill and tap an M16 hole.
 
Gates offers a self-install kit for the Seal Check fitting. Includes a drill / tap 1/16 NPT. Any garage machinist can install.


Michael Hastings said:
This is the solution that is most likely to give good results without creating further problems.

I think Gates has their own vacuum valve. I have been using the one from Nauticam and it is pretty easy to install in virtually any housing if you or your local machine shop can drill and tap an M16 hole.
Click to expand...
 
RED TOUCH 5 LCD

RED TOUCH 5 LCD

I'm hunting around for a RED TOUCH 5 LCD for sale. PM me please.

Thx.
 
Hi all,
I'm currently testing a Nauticam WACP for a production I'm working on and I'm wondering what experience people have had with it. Specifically are there any optical differences between the dedicated version for the Sigma 18-35mm and the standard version (I know they have different extension requirements). I'm using mine on FF on a Gemini sensor so would like to avoid the super 35mm lenses as they will all vignette on the wide end and thus wondering if anyone have used it with the Canon 28-70 3,5-4,5 EF?

Thanks!

Espen.
 
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