What do you use to make your camera more buoyant?

MarcLaukien · 11th May 2008, 12:23

Hi guys,

My camera with the heavy strobes is very negatively buoyant, so I'm looking for ways to make it less negatively buoyant. I know that there are special buoyancy arms available, but I don't really want to change the strobe arms of my camera.

Do you have any experience with attaching "floats" to your camera? What material works well and doesn't compress too much at depth?

-- Marc

silentscuba · 11th May 2008, 13:22

Quote: (Originally Posted by MarcLaukien)

Hi guys,

My camera with the heavy strobes is very negatively buoyant, so I'm looking for ways to make it less negatively buoyant. I know that there are special buoyancy arms available, but I don't really want to change the strobe arms of my camera.

Do you have any experience with attaching "floats" to your camera? What material works well and doesn't compress too much at depth?

-- Marc

You can get schedule 40 pvc pipe with end caps, adjust the size and length to match what you need for buoyancy. It works well and has a very deep crush depth.

Ryan · 11th May 2008, 14:51

In my experience adding pvc as flotation adds little usable buoyancy, as do the ULCS buoyancy arms.

A much better solution are compressed foam floats, made by 4th Generation Designs and Marked as Stix Floats for Ultralight Arms. I've dialed in all of my systems with these floats, some of which were as much as 4 lbs negative before.

We don't have them on our site, but they have been selling well. There is a picture in the wetpixel dema show report from the Backscatter booth that illustrates the floats.
DEMA 2007: Backscatter :: Wetpixel.com

They are sold in four packs for $35, and the jumbo floats add 1.6 lbs of lift to a camera system. You can fit 2 Jumbo floats on an 8" strobe arm.

MarcLaukien · 11th May 2008, 15:02

Quote: (Originally Posted by Ryan)

In my experience adding pvc as flotation adds little usable buoyancy, as do the ULCS buoyancy arms.

A much better solution are compressed foam floats, made by 4th Generation Designs and Marked as Stix Floats for Ultralight Arms. I've dialed in all of my systems with these floats, some of which were as much as 4 lbs negative before.

We don't have them on our site, but they have been selling well. There is a picture in the wetpixel dema show report from the Backscatter booth that illustrates the floats.
DEMA 2007: Backscatter :: Wetpixel.com

They are sold in four packs for $35, and the jumbo floats add 1.6 lbs of lift to a camera system. You can fit 2 Jumbo floats on an 8" strobe arm.

Thanks for the info. Do you know whether these fit on regular Ikelite arms, or would I have to change my strobe arms?

Tom Rose · 12th May 2008, 12:19

Quote: (Originally Posted by MarcLaukien)

Hi guys,

My camera with the heavy strobes is very negatively buoyant, so I'm looking for ways to make it less negatively buoyant. I know that there are special buoyancy arms available, but I don't really want to change the strobe arms of my camera.

Do you have any experience with attaching "floats" to your camera? What material works well and doesn't compress too much at depth?

-- Marc

For years I have been attaching a "Scuba Tuba" type device to the top of each of my cameras. Several advantages.

I can adjust the air volume to adjust balance,

If I inflate it completely at the surface, it make a great handle to the deck crew.

If the camera gets away, the float sticks up out of the water and is easy to find unless there are large waves.

It adds to my visibility in bad seas when I am being retrieved. This was a real asset in Hawaii a few years ago.

Tom

paulraymaekers · 12th May 2008, 12:38

Quote: (Originally Posted by silentscuba)

You can get schedule 40 pvc pipe with end caps, adjust the size and length to match what you need for buoyancy. It works well and has a very deep crush depth.

hello Curt, 'very deep' is very relative :-)

I had one implode in my back, at 115m depth, and the BANG that that gave, made my hartbeat go over 225....

first we thougth it was the housing, no, then the lamps, no, only then we discovered one of the floaters was missing.. it had 'disintegrated' completely :-) not one part of it we found back..

later we understood from the green-force company that when a hollow floating device implodes at great depth, it is crashed in all small pieces, and it drops like snow down the wall....

do I have to tell you we didn't descent another millimeter...

paul

ps: it might be a try to fill it up with PU foam

silentscuba · 12th May 2008, 13:43

Quote: (Originally Posted by paulraymaekers)

hello Curt, 'very deep' is very relative :-)

I had one implode in my back, at 115m depth, and the BANG that that gave, made my hartbeat go over 225....

first we thougth it was the housing, no, then the lamps, no, only then we discovered one of the floaters was missing.. it had 'disintegrated' completely :-) not one part of it we found back..

later we understood from the green-force company that when a hollow floating device implodes at great depth, it is crashed in all small pieces, and it drops like snow down the wall....

do I have to tell you we didn't descent another millimeter...

paul

ps: it might be a try to fill it up with PU foam

I guess that I was thinking that "very deep" for most people shooting pictures would be around 300'. For anything deeper than that a little homework might be a wise investment.

I have had mine to over 300' and the pipe diameter is 2" Sched 40 black PVC pipe which has very thick walls. Smaller pipe will actually go deeper because of its increased strength.

Filling the pipe with foam is another great idea and would give even more strength to the pipe.

I have also heard that "bang" that you are speaking of, I had a camera housing crack on me once at 250' and it was a very disturbing noise.

It sounds like there are some other good options out there. The PVC pipe has worked well for me for my video camera and arm bouyancy.
__________________

PCDiver · 12th May 2008, 17:39

I also use PVC pipe to offset the big FIII Green force batteries. My housing is now neutral. So far no "big bang" scenarios and I have taken it down to 90 meters.

paulraymaekers · 12th May 2008, 19:06

Quote: (Originally Posted by PCDiver)

I also use PVC pipe to offset the big FIII Green force batteries. My housing is now neutral. So far no "bit bang" scenarios and I have taken it down to 90 meters.

I used pressure PVC tube diamater 50mm, pressure resistance (from in to out) 16 bars, and endcaps on them

the BANG I got, was so loud, really like a very short explosion, or a lloud gun firing at very close distance..

on the next dive, we (my buddy johan and I) 'parked' the camera in a hole in the wall at around 100m, fixed a line to it and made our way further into the deep, so we could pick it up again during ascent :-)

paul

PCDiver · 12th May 2008, 19:43

Quote: (Originally Posted by paulraymaekers)

the BANG I got, was so loud, really like a very short explosion, or a lloud gun firing at very close distance..

When they go bang, it certainly is BANG! I had a waterproof key box implode
a couple of years ago and it was really loud. I had a ringing in my ears for hours after the dive.

Off topic. We have a trip planned to the south of Egypt and will pay the Maidan a visit. Interested in going back? There are one or two free spots. But, be warned, it is a hostile group (mainly Inspirations).

Although some of us have been looking at the rEvo with increasing interest.

11th May 2008, 12:23	#1 (permalink)
MarcLaukien Custom Title Allowed! Current Rebreather/s: Other CCR Other Rebreather/s: Optima Other CCR Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: South East Florida Posts: 170	What do you use to make your camera more buoyant? Hi guys, My camera with the heavy strobes is very negatively buoyant, so I'm looking for ways to make it less negatively buoyant. I know that there are special buoyancy arms available, but I don't really want to change the strobe arms of my camera. Do you have any experience with attaching "floats" to your camera? What material works well and doesn't compress too much at depth? -- Marc
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11th May 2008, 13:22	#2 (permalink)
silentscuba rEvo CCR Driver Current Rebreather/s: Classic Kiss rEvo Other Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic rEvo Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Mill Creek, WA USA Posts: 568	Re: What do you use to make your camera more buoyant? Quote: (Originally Posted by MarcLaukien) Hi guys, My camera with the heavy strobes is very negatively buoyant, so I'm looking for ways to make it less negatively buoyant. I know that there are special buoyancy arms available, but I don't really want to change the strobe arms of my camera. Do you have any experience with attaching "floats" to your camera? What material works well and doesn't compress too much at depth? -- Marc You can get schedule 40 pvc pipe with end caps, adjust the size and length to match what you need for buoyancy. It works well and has a very deep crush depth. __________________ Curt McNamee rEvo CCR Diver KISS CCR Diver www.silentscuba.com
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11th May 2008, 14:51	#3 (permalink)
Ryan New Member Current Rebreather/s: rEvo Pelagian Other Rebreather/s: Not Bought Yet Inspiration Classic Sport Kiss Classic Kiss rEvo Pelagian Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: On the edge of the gulf stream! Posts: 72	Re: What do you use to make your camera more buoyant? In my experience adding pvc as flotation adds little usable buoyancy, as do the ULCS buoyancy arms. A much better solution are compressed foam floats, made by 4th Generation Designs and Marked as Stix Floats for Ultralight Arms. I've dialed in all of my systems with these floats, some of which were as much as 4 lbs negative before. We don't have them on our site, but they have been selling well. There is a picture in the wetpixel dema show report from the Backscatter booth that illustrates the floats. DEMA 2007: Backscatter :: Wetpixel.com They are sold in four packs for $35, and the jumbo floats add 1.6 lbs of lift to a camera system. You can fit 2 Jumbo floats on an 8" strobe arm. __________________ www.ReefPhoto.com 877-453-8927 954-537-0644
(Online)

11th May 2008, 15:02	#4 (permalink)
MarcLaukien Custom Title Allowed! Current Rebreather/s: Other CCR Other Rebreather/s: Optima Other CCR Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: South East Florida Posts: 170	Re: What do you use to make your camera more buoyant? Quote: (Originally Posted by Ryan) In my experience adding pvc as flotation adds little usable buoyancy, as do the ULCS buoyancy arms. A much better solution are compressed foam floats, made by 4th Generation Designs and Marked as Stix Floats for Ultralight Arms. I've dialed in all of my systems with these floats, some of which were as much as 4 lbs negative before. We don't have them on our site, but they have been selling well. There is a picture in the wetpixel dema show report from the Backscatter booth that illustrates the floats. DEMA 2007: Backscatter :: Wetpixel.com They are sold in four packs for $35, and the jumbo floats add 1.6 lbs of lift to a camera system. You can fit 2 Jumbo floats on an 8" strobe arm. Thanks for the info. Do you know whether these fit on regular Ikelite arms, or would I have to change my strobe arms?
(Offline)

12th May 2008, 12:19	#5 (permalink)
Tom Rose Still Learning Current Rebreather/s: Other CCR Home Build Other Rebreather/s: Prism Topaz Other CCR Home Build Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: USA,North Carolina Posts: 329	Re: What do you use to make your camera more buoyant? Quote: (Originally Posted by MarcLaukien) Hi guys, My camera with the heavy strobes is very negatively buoyant, so I'm looking for ways to make it less negatively buoyant. I know that there are special buoyancy arms available, but I don't really want to change the strobe arms of my camera. Do you have any experience with attaching "floats" to your camera? What material works well and doesn't compress too much at depth? -- Marc For years I have been attaching a "Scuba Tuba" type device to the top of each of my cameras. Several advantages. I can adjust the air volume to adjust balance, If I inflate it completely at the surface, it make a great handle to the deck crew. If the camera gets away, the float sticks up out of the water and is easy to find unless there are large waves. It adds to my visibility in bad seas when I am being retrieved. This was a real asset in Hawaii a few years ago. Tom __________________ The 50-50-90 rule: Anytime I have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there's a 90% probability I'll get it wrong the first time. www.atlimp.com
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12th May 2008, 12:38	#6 (permalink)
paulraymaekers rEvo's daddy Current Rebreather/s: rEvo Other CCR Home Build Other Rebreather/s: rEvo Other CCR Home Build Join Date: May 2005 Location: belgium Posts: 1,384	Re: What do you use to make your camera more buoyant? Quote: (Originally Posted by silentscuba) You can get schedule 40 pvc pipe with end caps, adjust the size and length to match what you need for buoyancy. It works well and has a very deep crush depth. hello Curt, 'very deep' is very relative :-) I had one implode in my back, at 115m depth, and the BANG that that gave, made my hartbeat go over 225.... first we thougth it was the housing, no, then the lamps, no, only then we discovered one of the floaters was missing.. it had 'disintegrated' completely :-) not one part of it we found back.. later we understood from the green-force company that when a hollow floating device implodes at great depth, it is crashed in all small pieces, and it drops like snow down the wall.... do I have to tell you we didn't descent another millimeter... paul ps: it might be a try to fill it up with PU foam __________________ www.rEvo-rebreathers.com .... the earth is flat, Elvis is alive, and radial scrubbers give longer dwell time than axials...
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12th May 2008, 13:43	#7 (permalink)
silentscuba rEvo CCR Driver Current Rebreather/s: Classic Kiss rEvo Other Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic rEvo Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Mill Creek, WA USA Posts: 568	Re: What do you use to make your camera more buoyant? Quote: (Originally Posted by paulraymaekers) hello Curt, 'very deep' is very relative :-) I had one implode in my back, at 115m depth, and the BANG that that gave, made my hartbeat go over 225.... first we thougth it was the housing, no, then the lamps, no, only then we discovered one of the floaters was missing.. it had 'disintegrated' completely :-) not one part of it we found back.. later we understood from the green-force company that when a hollow floating device implodes at great depth, it is crashed in all small pieces, and it drops like snow down the wall.... do I have to tell you we didn't descent another millimeter... paul ps: it might be a try to fill it up with PU foam I guess that I was thinking that "very deep" for most people shooting pictures would be around 300'. For anything deeper than that a little homework might be a wise investment. I have had mine to over 300' and the pipe diameter is 2" Sched 40 black PVC pipe which has very thick walls. Smaller pipe will actually go deeper because of its increased strength. Filling the pipe with foam is another great idea and would give even more strength to the pipe. I have also heard that "bang" that you are speaking of, I had a camera housing crack on me once at 250' and it was a very disturbing noise. It sounds like there are some other good options out there. The PVC pipe has worked well for me for my video camera and arm bouyancy. __________________ __________________ Curt McNamee rEvo CCR Diver KISS CCR Diver www.silentscuba.com Last edited by silentscuba : 12th May 2008 at 13:46.
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12th May 2008, 17:39	#8 (permalink)
PCDiver Submerge Productions Current Rebreather/s: Inspiration Vision Other Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Belgium Posts: 909	Re: What do you use to make your camera more buoyant? I also use PVC pipe to offset the big FIII Green force batteries. My housing is now neutral. So far no "big bang" scenarios and I have taken it down to 90 meters. __________________ >>>>> www.submergeproductions.com dedicated to promoting technical diving >>>>> Check out our dive show video interviews at http://www.submergeproductions.com/A...nterviews.aspx >>>>> Wreck dive videos http://www.submergeproductions.com/A...omthedeep.aspx Last edited by PCDiver : 12th May 2008 at 19:44.
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12th May 2008, 19:06	#9 (permalink)
paulraymaekers rEvo's daddy Current Rebreather/s: rEvo Other CCR Home Build Other Rebreather/s: rEvo Other CCR Home Build Join Date: May 2005 Location: belgium Posts: 1,384	Re: What do you use to make your camera more buoyant? Quote: (Originally Posted by PCDiver) I also use PVC pipe to offset the big FIII Green force batteries. My housing is now neutral. So far no "bit bang" scenarios and I have taken it down to 90 meters. I used pressure PVC tube diamater 50mm, pressure resistance (from in to out) 16 bars, and endcaps on them the BANG I got, was so loud, really like a very short explosion, or a lloud gun firing at very close distance.. on the next dive, we (my buddy johan and I) 'parked' the camera in a hole in the wall at around 100m, fixed a line to it and made our way further into the deep, so we could pick it up again during ascent :-) paul __________________ www.rEvo-rebreathers.com .... the earth is flat, Elvis is alive, and radial scrubbers give longer dwell time than axials...
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12th May 2008, 19:43	#10 (permalink)
PCDiver Submerge Productions Current Rebreather/s: Inspiration Vision Other Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Belgium Posts: 909	Re: What do you use to make your camera more buoyant? Quote: (Originally Posted by paulraymaekers) the BANG I got, was so loud, really like a very short explosion, or a lloud gun firing at very close distance.. When they go bang, it certainly is BANG! I had a waterproof key box implode a couple of years ago and it was really loud. I had a ringing in my ears for hours after the dive. Off topic. We have a trip planned to the south of Egypt and will pay the Maidan a visit. Interested in going back? There are one or two free spots. But, be warned, it is a hostile group (mainly Inspirations). Although some of us have been looking at the rEvo with increasing interest. __________________ >>>>> www.submergeproductions.com dedicated to promoting technical diving >>>>> Check out our dive show video interviews at http://www.submergeproductions.com/A...nterviews.aspx >>>>> Wreck dive videos http://www.submergeproductions.com/A...omthedeep.aspx
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