Underwater Housing Dilemma (Panasonic ZS3)

[vista03]

I have bought my first underwater housing for my new Panasonic ZS3 camera. I bought the Panasonic ZS3 since it had a good zoom (12 x) and could still fit in my pocket. After reading the instructions for the housing I am not sure if it was a good decision to buy the housing.

 

I was hoping I could just pop the camera into the housing before I went snorkeling and then take it out of the housing afterwards. Then I would not have to take pictures all day with the camera in the bulky housing. However, the instructions that came with the housing state:

"If you open or close the Case where it is humid or hot and then move to a place that is cold or dive underwater, condensation may appear inside the Case, the glass surface may become cloudy and the digital camera may be damaged." :eek:

 

I usually do tours that have a couple of hours snorkeling at the end of the tour. The thought of using the underwater housing for the land portion of the tour does not sound that appealing. I have read that you have to keep the housing out of direct sunlight since heat will rise in the housing and could damage the housing or the camera. Suddenly the limited zoom (3 x) on my old Olympus Stylus 770 SW is looking more attractive. I really don't want to take both cameras ashore with me since I would not feel comfortable leaving the Panasonic ZS3 on the beach.

 

I am wondering what others do when they will be using their underwater housings for long periods of time on land. I would be interested in any hints or advise that you have regarding the use of underwater housings.

 

Thanks for your help.

[gliner]

"If you open or close the Case where it is humid or hot and then move to a place that is cold or dive underwater, condensation may appear inside the Case, the glass surface may become cloudy and the digital camera may be damaged.

 

It should come with a desiccant pouch that will absorb the condensation. If not, the addition of one will fix that problem.

[Friscorays]

When not in use, I take the O rings out of the case, lubricate them and store them separate from the case.

 

On days when I am using the camera in the case, I generally leave the camera in the case and use a second camera for out of the water shots.

 

A dessicant pouch is usually placed in the camera case to absorb any condensation as the other poster stated.

[vista03]

Thanks for your replies.

 

The underwater housing does come with silica gel packets and recommends to always use a new packet and to insert them in the housing 1 to 2 hours before using the housing.

 

My concern is that even with the silica gel packets Panasonic is still warning about camera damage if you open or close the housing where it is humid or hot and then dive underwater. I think I have read recommendations on this board to place your camera in the housing before leaving the ship. Has anyone placed the camera into the housing just before snorkeling/diving after spending a few hours in hot or humid weather and what were the results? Or do the majority place it in the housing on the ship?

[Friscorays]

I usually secure my camera in the housing just before I leave the ship. I like to take a careful look at the O rings and worry about getting sand or other debris in them if I do it later. If this were to occur, you could potentially flood the case (and obviously destroy your camera in the process).