Vacuum pump camera leak detection systems

[YellowEye]

Hi
I was on a dive boat this weekend, when someone mentioned there are 3rd party backscatter vacuum seal test systems available for most underwater camera housings, allowing you to leak test before hitting the water. It sounds like a very useful system to have. I thought these vacuum pump testers were only available in high-end aquatic/nauticam systems. [if you're the person who let me know, thanks!]

http://www.backscatter.com/sku/bs-alm.lasso

It sounds like for ikelite (what I have) you may have to get a custom hole drilled to use it though.

Anybody used one of these 3rd party systems?

I'm going to email ikelite to see if they have a 1st party system, or soon. They added a 45 degree viewfinder soon after a 3rd party one was available.

[dlh]

UWCS has one for Ikelite as well:

http://www.uwcamerastuff.com/housing_se ... erview.htm

My Nauticam housing has this feature and it's a really good confidence booster. I've bumped my non-vacumed housings in shallow water and had minor leaks that could have been major. With this system that sort of failure is pretty much out of the question. And if you seal up your housing an hour or more before diving you can clearly see that the seal is intact as it's still holding the vacuum. I recommend it, and it's not much more expensive that a yearly premium for Flood Insurance.

[ljjames]

+1 for the Nauticam vacuum alarm.

[pgtdvr]

I’ve been considering the same thing, a leak sensor for an Ikelite housing. The only thing that I’ve been able to come up with is the Leak Sentinel from Vivid Housings (vividhousings.com). The info indicates that a new hole isn’t required. The literature says that unit replaces the “command gland” on the housings. (3/8-24 thread.) Long (20mm) and short (5mm) adapters are available. Price (£200 = $310) is competitive with the Backscatter unit. There is a link in the material to a review from Dive Magazine, but the review is on a Subal housing, not Ikelite.

I am not sure where this connects on a Canon unit (Canon 7d). The Ikelite diagrams that show a “command gland” are Nikon units. There doesn’t seem to be such an animal on my housing. I’m sure there is a solution, but I haven’t investigated any further.

[pgtdvr]

Price correction - €200 = $220 and with free shipping world wide

[YellowEye]

Hello!
I called up backscatter today. They said that on newer Nikon Ikelite housings such as the one I use for my Nikon D7100, that no modifications are required, and it is user installable. For older housings like the one for my D300, they do need to drill.

The downside of the user serviceable replacement is that they hijack the hotshoe mount, meaning you can't use it to mount a focus light after installation. I use my D7100 with 45 degree viewfinder for wide angle mostly. Wide angle setups are more in need of leak tests, and aren't in much of a need for a focus light, so it sounds acceptable to me.

For older housings like my D300 they do need to drill. I will check out vivid housings and UWCS before the purchase. Thanks for the tip!

[YellowEye]

Hello folks! I got myself the basic vacuum pump system from underwatercamerastuff.com

So far I really like it. I installed it myself on my ikelite housing for my Nikon d7100 I use for wide angle photography (more prone to leaks because you're always changing the front port!)

I'm happy to show it to anybody anytime if you're interested. It seems like a good investment and a great upgrade to the ikelite system!

I believe pgtdvr got a system from another manufacturer. Jim -- were you happy with yours?

[dlh]

Awesome addition. What control is used for the pressure bulkhead?

[YellowEye]

Hi Dave
I used the camera mode control. The one that can switch between aperture priority, shutter priority, manual etc. There are other options but that seemed easiest and most convenient to me. I've never used it underwater (I always use manual).

[pgtdvr]

so far so good. i've only had it out once and it was successful.

the pump/vacuum system is also great for tracking down problems. i had a persistent leak issue with 1 port that i could not figure out. with the aid of the vacuum and a little diluted dish soap, i was able to trace it to the o-ring. replaced it & things are fine.

for the canon/ikelite setup, there is a lever release on the left side used to disengage a lens from the camera body. i don't really use that in setting up my housing. vacuum valve went it there. it is fairly low profile and away form the shutter lever. i am planning on heading out Wednesday to try some more. i expect things to go well.

there are other systems out there for considerably more money. and housing folks other than ikelite include certain complementary circuitry within their systems. but, under the "biggest bang for the buck" model i use on this kind of stuff, this system goes a very long way.