You may have heard the saying that underwater photographers like to tell new photographers, it is not if your housing will leak, it is when. And while there may be some truth in that phrase, there are ways to reduce your risk.
Here are some things you can do to keep your camera in working order:
- Before you leave town, assemble your camera so you make sure you have all of the parts. It is a lot easier to locate missing items while you are at home rather than on your trip.
- Check your spare parts kit. You should have a spare set of o-rings for your camera housing, ports, cables and strobes. It should also include the appropriate lubricants for the o-rings, an eraser to clean contacts and some contact cleaner. Don’t forget spare batteries, cables, cards and Moisture Muncher® packets.
- One of David Snyder’s suggestions is to store a set all of the tools you need to assemble your housing and strobes in your camera bag or box. This allows you to assemble everything without having to find your diving tool kit.
- Develop a packing check list so you make sure you have everything. I developed one for our group traveling to Antarctica and you are welcome to use it too.
- When you arrive at your destination, take time to carefully assemble your camera. Remember, be methodical when you are working with your camera. Clean all the o-ring seating surfaces (requires you remove the o-ring from the groove. Grease your o-ring according to the housing manufacturer’s guidelines and before you close-up the housing, check the o-ring and the seating surfaces one more time. I had a client who flooded a camera because of a beard hare that broke the seal on his o-ring.
- After your dive, it is important to rinse and dry the camera. It is better to leave it in a water bath until you are ready to deal with it. However, one word of caution, leaving it in the boats rinse tank may result in a leak because the motion of the boat may break a seal especially on cameras with ports or waterproof lenses (Nikonos Camera).
- I recommend creating a work surface using a Microfiber Towel. These handy towels keep parts from bouncing away and absorb any moisture that may be on the camera. Use a separate towel to dry the camera and clean the sealing surfaces. You want to keep all saltwater away from the seals and sealing surfaces. The salt crystals that remain after the water evaporates may cause a leak.
- Again, whenever you open the housing, be methodical about cleaning and checking the o-rings. You may not have to open all of the o-ring protected areas between dives but, if you break the seal, you need to re-prepare the o-rings, sealing surfaces and grooves.
- As a note, before you seal the camera in the housing, add a Moisture Muncher® to absorb the condensation typically caused by the heat generated by the camera and battery.
- As you start your descent, check your housing for bubbles and for any signs of leakage.
If you are careful, your inevitable flood may be minor or even delayed for years and years.
