Cheap Underwater Housing and Camcorder...

[Jettylife521]

Hey guys, I was thinking about getting a new cheap camcorder prob within the $300-$500 range along with a cheap underwater housing. I thought this was the best site to ask for suggestions, reviews from your own experiences, or w/e. Anyway, I have one pick which is the Sony DCR-DVD 108 DVD HandyCam camcorder. http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/...uctId=11039400 I also found this site for a housing that can fit it. http://us-dc1-order.store.yahoo.net/...5OfE2x.4fVvw-- Let me know if these are good. Or any other suggestions, sites for the camcorder with housing that can accompany it or w/e. Thanks guys. Git 'R Done! Let's get another swell!!!

[MDSurfer]

In camcorders, $200 - $300 is usually cheap, but $500 is not necessarily cheap, especially if you plan to risk it in a really cheap water housing. $295 is a really cheap water housing, equivalent to the EWA marine closable baggie housing, not really a housing, but like I said, a fancy/expensive baggie. I have a EWA housing for a still camera and it seals at the top with a double bar clamping device. Not the most secure or watertight thing I've ever seen and condensation is a real problem, not to mention that the housing is oversized and it's really hard holding the camera against the glass port. The less you have to think about in the water, the better.

The Ikelite (http://www.ikelite.com/web_pages/videoone.html) plexi housings are far more secure, and far pricier. I priced one at $600 for a Canon ZR 800 ($300 camcorder) Maybe what I'm saying is better to spend more on a better housing than the other way around. If the housing leaks even a little, there goes a pricey camcorder and the tapes that were in it.

Consider this about a DVD camcorder, in order to get the footage off the DVD, I believe you have to "finish" the DVD in the camcorder, which renders the DVD un-reusable. The cheapest camcorders right now are the miniDV models because they're not the latest model, and the most expensive ones are the flash memory card models.

You pick. Just make sure your housing has a way of holding it VERY steady- not at all easy to do while floating in the water, even on a bodyboard.

[goin_retro]

I got and Epic housing when they first came out, they were cheaper then, but they are still decently priced and will give you better protection than a bag. I got the Epic Elite and there is more than enough room, you would probably only need the sport. The only downside is the weight.

[Jettylife521]

In camcorders, $200 - $300 is usually cheap, but $500 is not necessarily cheap, especially if you plan to risk it in a really cheap water housing. $295 is a really cheap water housing, equivalent to the EWA marine closable baggie housing, not really a housing, but like I said, a fancy/expensive baggie. I have a EWA housing for a still camera and it seals at the top with a double bar clamping device. Not the most secure or watertight thing I've ever seen and condensation is a real problem, not to mention that the housing is oversized and it's really hard holding the camera against the glass port. The less you have to think about in the water, the better.

The Ikelite (http://www.ikelite.com/web_pages/videoone.html) plexi housings are far more secure, and far pricier. I priced one at $600 for a Canon ZR 800 ($300 camcorder) Maybe what I'm saying is better to spend more on a better housing than the other way around. If the housing leaks even a little, there goes a pricey camcorder and the tapes that were in it.

Consider this about a DVD camcorder, in order to get the footage off the DVD, I believe you have to "finish" the DVD in the camcorder, which renders the DVD un-reusable. The cheapest camcorders right now are the miniDV models because they're not the latest model, and the most expensive ones are the flash memory card models.

You pick. Just make sure your housing has a way of holding it VERY steady- not at all easy to do while floating in the water, even on a bodyboard.

You gotta point...would rather have crappy camera then crappy housing and wreckin' a nice cam. Any other suggestions boys?

[Jettylife521]

How do you purchase the housing from that website?

[MDSurfer]

Get the model number of the housing you want and then search for it on CNet, Price Grabber, MySimon, et al. Don't just shop for price, shop for business reliability. BHphotovideo.com usually has a reasonable price and they are as reliable as anyone. Biggest Photo re-seller on the planet. It's quite an event when you visit their storefront in NYC.

[OCSpongR]

I have delt with B&HPhoto many , many times and they are GREAT to deal with.
My suggestion would be Nikon L7 which is 7 mega pixel compact cam and 30ffs video ,and is a $125 , and the "Aqua Seal" housing (I think) is $150. I got that set up for my son and it films really well and is easy to use in the water.

[wavehunter]

Hey, I've got a killer housing that I made about 2 months ago using about $50 worth of materials from Home Depot. I'll post pics and an instructional next.

[wavehunter]

So I took the time to make a sweet housing that we tested down to 50'..... I think it would go way way further but that's as deep as we could go out on a fishing boat. (It's where we stopped where the birds were bombing and the rockfish were biting Anyway, here they are
as uploads somewhere on this post.


All we have here is a simple 4" drainpipe with a custom cut piece of 1/4" plexiglass epoxied to the front. If you're wondering how we operate the camera, we use a waterproof bag superglued to the camera housing to hold the remote to it so we can still push the buttons and have full functionality. It's pretty sweet and pretty cheap and you can trust it to get slammed a few times!!!! Hopefully we'll have some videos up soon... we're still editing and putting in some sweet jams but you'll see them soon

[Jettylife521]

Pretty sick wavehunter...

I think i'm set on what i want and prob getting for my bday. I just have another question. Do you know where I can buy like a bodyboard mount for the camcorder w/ housing? Would be pretty sick . Heres the camcorder and housing i chose. Thanks for your help guys! .

Camcorder: http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/...uctId=11039400

Housing:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...o_Housing.html