DIY UnderWater Housing
Posted by: Mike Moon in Vlogs, tags: camcorder, DIY, HV20, pool, underwater, water
So I thought I’d like to build an underwater housing for my Canon HV20 Camcorder. The video shows the parts I’ve used plus the testing process. But, I don’t think I mention it anywhere, but it is 4″ PVC piping.
There is the black ABS (instead of white PVC) pipe which is a little bigger, yet all the same parts exist as the PVC.
I took the camcorder into the Home Depot to check for fit. Once I told the sales people what I was doing… add a short period of time for them to compute the idea of this guy putting his camcorder in the pool, and they were quite willing to use their Plumbing Powers to serve the vlogging community and aid me in getting the right parts for the job.
Let me figure it out…
$10 - 10′ 4″ PVC Pipe (9′ remaining)
$ 3 - 4″ PVC End Cap
$ 5 - 4″ PVC Threaded End (2 pieces)
$ 5 - Strong Aquarium Sealant
$ 1 - Glass from picture frame
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July 5th, 2008 at 4:38 pm - Edit
Oh my god, Mike. I was holding my breath when the HV20 took the plunge. Must say, I’m very impressed by your craftmanship!
July 9th, 2008 at 9:22 pm - Edit
Excellent. This is the best and most affordable solution I’ve see yet. I will have to give this a try.
July 10th, 2008 at 2:59 pm - Edit
Very cool Mike. Thanks for sharing. Can you show us how you mount the camera inside. Didi you make something to hold it stable or do you wrap it in something? Mark on the outside to tell which way is up?
July 10th, 2008 at 6:26 pm - Edit
I have a thread at HV20.com with regards to the housing. I have more detailed photo’s of the housing, with a discussion.
http://www.hv20.com/showthread.php?p=108695
The 4″ PVC pipe threaded end cap fits the HV20 very snuggly. I used a Dremel to sand down a path where the zoom button is. It fit’s like a glove. I shove a sock in the end to stop it sliding end to end and also as some insurance to soak up any moisture that sneaks in.
July 23rd, 2008 at 9:47 pm - Edit
Wow, great video, i’ve wanted to film underwater for a while but to purchase, the housings for my camera are around £600. I might take your initiative and build one myself. Thanks.
August 26th, 2008 at 11:37 pm - Edit
I tried this, but the threads on the PVC end cap leak pretty badly.
I even tried some teflon tape…