DIY: waterproof video camera housing

als132 · Soul Rider Joined: 10 Mar 2005 Posts: 462 City: shoreline

So in May of '05, a couple of my friends dropped some serious bank on video cameras. One bought a sony vx1000 w/death lens, the other bought a sony vx2100. We took some trips to mt hood and did some filming there, and had some film sessions in the water as well. We filmed from the boat mostly, but did a couple of hours of chaseboat filming as well. I wanted to get some tube shots but after dropping 2300 bucks neither of us were diggin that idea, so i decided i would make a waterproof housing for it instead of buying one for 200-300 bucks.

I built one prototype out of complete plexiglass, but ran into a problem when trying to figure out a 100% waterproof way to open/close it. That's when i got the idea.

Materials:
-1 tupperware-like container (must seal very well, and must be thick (cant bend or anything). This is what you'll use for the open/close mechanism.
-Some super glue
-Plexiglass
-Marine caulk (or anything very similar).

The procedure is fairly simple.
-Measure the type of video camera (length, width, height).
-Go out and buy a strong, clear plastic container that seals well, and is larger than the HEIGHT and WIDTH of the camera (length does not matter).
-Use a dremel or hacksaw and slice off the bottom of your container
-Use a plexiglass cutting blade and cut 4 sheets of plexiglass, the length that you want your housing to be (make sure the width of these pieces is the exact same size as your container).
-Super glue the plexiglass sheets to your container, making sure you leave enough room for the lid to close. (also, make sure that you cut the sheets to the correct widths so that it forms a nice rectangle with all of the edges flush with eachother.
-add a clean plexiglass square to the end, and superglue all of the edges together (you dont need a ton, just enough so they hold together, and are fairly sturdy).
-now you have a sturdy housing.
-The next step is to find a way to secure the camera down without drilling holes all over your "waterproof" housing. the goal, after all, is to make it as waterproof as possible.
-My approach to this was similar to the Epic Camera Housings approach, except not nearly as pretty. Cut 4 small strips of anything solid, and make them the entire length of your plexiglass rectangle.
-Super-duper glue these againtst the left and right walls.
-Cut 1 more piece of plexiglass. It should be 3 cm shorter than the strips your just cut out.
-Glue the 4 small strips in the appropriate position so that you can slide your newly cut piece in and out, but not up and down. Cameras rattling is no good.
-Use a drill press and SLOWLY drill a hole into the piece, exactly where you want your camera to mount on.
-Now you have a camera base!
-using the marine caulk, apply it everywhere around the outside that there are connections (anywhere water could potentially leak in. This part is kind of messy if your not very experienced with caulk (like me). THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. ITS WHAT MAKES THE HOUSING WATERPROOF!!!!!!!!
-wait about 5 days before you use the housing. waterproof caulk takes, on average, 2 days to become tacky, and another day or so to completely solidify.

Now you have a housing for your camera, spending only about 20 bucks, and getting the job done. if you want to add handles, neckstrap (recommended), etc...go for it, its a good idea. Just dont be drilling holes in your housing.

I'm sorry if the instructions are awful, and make this housing sound really crappy, I'll be posting step by step pictures within the next week. I would reccomend you dont do this until i post the pictures so you can have a clear view as to what i'm talking about.

als132 · Soul Rider Joined: 10 Mar 2005 Posts: 462 City: shoreline

I'm sorry, i forgot to add this note. *Because of the way this housing opens and closes, its not reccommended that you fully submerge the housing. This housing is basically an added protection to your camera, protecting it from spray, accidental drops and falls, etc. I did not design it for fully submergable use. Also, a neckstrap is recommended.

QNev · Posted: Feb 14, 2006 6:19 pm Post subject:

Sounds good, but um... where are the pictures??

als132 · Soul Rider Joined: 10 Mar 2005 Posts: 462 City: shoreline

ha sorry i have to go to school all day, only time i get to work on it is after school and homework. but as i promised, the pics will be up within the next 4 or 5 days

QNev · Posted: Feb 14, 2006 8:06 pm Post subject:

Sweet.

als132 · Soul Rider Joined: 10 Mar 2005 Posts: 462 City: shoreline

THE PICS ARE UP! HERE'S KIND OF A STEP BY STEP THROUGH THE PROCESS

als132 · Soul Rider Joined: 10 Mar 2005 Posts: 462 City: shoreline

here's how it's done

als132 · Soul Rider Joined: 10 Mar 2005 Posts: 462 City: shoreline

continued....

als132 · Soul Rider Joined: 10 Mar 2005 Posts: 462 City: shoreline

sorry it doesnt show it with the slide out droor in there....or the handles

but both of those can be done in numerous ways

QNev · Posted: Feb 20, 2006 6:16 pm Post subject:

Nice! Looks like a good design. How snug does the camera sit in there?

als132 · Soul Rider Joined: 10 Mar 2005 Posts: 462 City: shoreline

very snug, almost too snug (i messed up on the measurements). so now it wont fit the vx2100, but it will fit the vx1000 (which is fine because the vx1000 is the only one we have with a fisheye). Bascially, the edge of the fisheye is about 1/2 inch from the end of the housing. thats the best way to have it beacuse if we pull it back ANY further you can see the edges of the housing because the fisheye is so gnarly

Sinkoumn · Posted: Feb 20, 2006 9:30 pm Post subject:

Ahah, I thought you were going to tell everyone to just put their camera in a tupperware container and be all set after that first pic Laughing

....

Nice work though, very ingenious idea, you should take some video using it when it's done and post them up on here when you get them done.

als132 · Soul Rider Joined: 10 Mar 2005 Posts: 462 City: shoreline

Sinkoumn, haha i should have just told everybody to put it in the tupperware! and yeah, i will post some video of it being used once it warms up around here, probably wont be for another month or so. maybe ill test it out before then, in a big tub or something Laughing

Crazy_Constructor · Newbie Joined: 05 Jul 2005 Posts: 49 City: Kungälv

als132 · Soul Rider Joined: 10 Mar 2005 Posts: 462 City: shoreline

killed 3 cameras? AHHH, that really sucks!! were you trying to use it while submerged completely under the water or what?

als132 · Soul Rider Joined: 10 Mar 2005 Posts: 462 City: shoreline

just a little update. i tested out the housing yesterday in my sink to check if it was completely waterproof. I only did the bottom half (the part with the lid, the only part i was worried about) and sure enough it help up extremely well, almost better than i had expected. After submerging that bottom half like 2 or 3 times, there was barely any leakage, maybe a few small drops. Im exited to start filming with it now!!!!! Very Happy

Liquidmx · Addict Joined: 26 Jul 2004 Posts: 755 City: San Jose

Hey constructor, where did you get the orange thing, It looks perfect for DIY housings?

Crazy_Constructor · Newbie Joined: 05 Jul 2005 Posts: 49 City: Kungälv

jon4pres · Addict Joined: 09 Jul 2004 Posts: 589 City: Fort Scott

Crazy_Constructor, I can understand messing up one camera but why in the hell would you put the second and third one int there after the first one broke??

Crazy_Constructor · Newbie Joined: 05 Jul 2005 Posts: 49 City: Kungälv