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Subal
housings with added value
by
Ken Sullivan
Reproduced
from in focus 57 (Sept.,
1996)
I
am the proud owner of a Nikon 801 s version of the Subal housing.
As soon as I started to use it I found that my acceptable
shots per role improved ie. less in the 'round file'.
The
ability to see what I was taking, particularly with close-up's,
was one of the factors which had pushed me towards the housed
camera.
Over
the past two years I have talked to many Subal users who share
my enthusiasm for this excellent design. As I started adding
my own small modifications I found that many BSoUP members
had done the same, some to protect the housing and some to
make it easier to handle both in and out of the water.
My
buddies and friends have used many of these features and added
their own preferences - you know how fussy some people can
be - so I thought there might be others out there who would
be interested in what we have all been doing.
The
fluffy cord
I
am not sure if Subal have now changed the nylon cord which
acts as a neck strap/key holder, but if you have one still
attached to your housing be ultra careful not to get any of
the fibres across the main body 0 ring.
The
cord frays with age ( don't we all!) and we have experienced
one mini flood through trapped fibres in the top right hand
corner of the housing. I would recommend removing the cord
and stowing the key elsewhere - it could save you a flood.
Adding
rubber
Another
simple but brilliant idea came from Charles Hood, who suggested
I stick flat rubber pads onto the back of the housing.
These
have a two-fold purpose. One: they stop the housing from sliding
about the table or deck when you are on a moving boat, so
they could save you an expensive accident. Two: they also
protect the paintwork on the housing, and judging from the
state of the pads on my housing they have saved a lot of paintwork
scuffing in the past eighteen months or so.
You
can also stick them on the base tray for the same reasons.
You can purchase them from any large stationers, or better
still if you know someone with a Radio Spares account ask
them for some as they come in packs of 40 -too much rubber
for one housing.
Bolt
up!
Another
modification which I have found very worthwhile is replacing
the long bolts which clamp the back and front halves of the
housing together.
The
original bolts have two sources of aggravation. One: they
are too long and the right hand bolt tries to bore a hole
into the base of your thumb making the housing difficult to
hold, particularly if you have small hands. Two: David Nardini
cited one instance when he had a major flood after the right
hand bolt worked loose, during a deep dive, through contact
with his hand. His solution was to cut the bolt heads shorter
and replace the hole/key with a screwdriver slot. Our solution,
and I credit this to Bob Alien our club Chairman, is to replace
the bolts with 'Alien headed' bolts (no pun intended).
The
head is shorter and you can tighten it with a key which provides
better torque control than a screwdriver, and it will not
slip and scratch your paintwork, or worse, make a hole in
your hand.
Tee
slot problems?
When
I first received my Subal housing I immediately booked onto
one of the now famous Martin Edge courses for Subal users.
I
did not have time to organise a flash arm for the housing,
so Martin suggested I use one of his. The problem I encountered
was that the Oceanic arm I was loaned was a very tight fit
on the housing 'T' slots.
Back
home after the weekend course, I was polishing my new housing
and noticed how much damage I had done to the anodised aluminium
'T' slot tops.
You
only have to look at the well-used housings of some of the
more experienced BSoUP members to realise that this scuffing,
together with the corrosive action of salt water, soon reduces
this part to a shadow of its former self.
Cosmetics,
some people would say, but if you replace the 'T' top with
a black plastic part, it retains its looks and it does not
corrode. You can also make them half a millimetre thinner
so, hopefully, they will fit that borrowed flash arm one day.
A
note of caution, however: Subal 'Loctite' the mounting screws
in place on this part so on older housings you may find them
difficult or even impossible to remove. If you make this modification
remember to coat the screw threads with silicone grease when
you replace them, you might want to mount something else there
one day.
Base
trays
Base
trays and flash arms are a very personal choice - no two people
in our club have exactly the same set-up as each one has been
customised to suit an individual requirement, although the
basic pattern is the same.
My
rig is typical; it has a 'T' shaped black plastic base tray
complete with three non-slip rubber feet. It is cut to the
width of the housing with the 'T' extending forward to provide
a stable platform enabling the housing and longest port to
sit upright.
On
the right hand end there is a velcro strap which is great
for those portrait shots because you can hold the weight of
the housing on the back of your hand, instead of gripping
it so tightly that you risk popping off a premature shot.
There
is a thread insert in the underside of the tray for a tripod
quick release connection. I have used this since Martin Edge
suggested it for those exposures longer than a 1/1 5th of
a second. I have taken many wreck shots using a tripod - (although
I did become the object of some underwater mirth) - it really
does work and provides a greater shutter speed range for those
'darker'shots.
Just
behind the insert, at the rear of the tray I stow the Allen
key for the housing bolts. It pushes into an 0 ring for safety
and in two years I have not lost a key.
The
main strobe is mounted on a handle on the left hand side with
a push button quick release system to give instant hand-held
flexibility, as close or as far as you can reach.
For
macro pictures it can be left in place and the flexible part
of the arm can be used to position the strobe. I have used
this system on my Nikonos for years and it works well on the
housing.
How
could you get your hands on such flexibility? Well, think
about what you really need from your system. What features
would make it easier to use? Do you have knobs and clamps
that are difficult to operate?
Think
about those awkward little things that you have to do underwater
which sometimes spoil your concentration and spook timid subjects.
Also, what would make it easier to pack and carry both in
and out of the water. This exercise can be fun to do and the
final result will be a system tailored to your own personal
requirements.
When
you have done all this, approach one of the number of BSoUP
members who advertise custom parts in the 'in focus' magazine.
If you can supply sketches, try a local machine shop - they
won't charge the earth unless you tell them it's for underwater
photography!
Touching
up
My
advice to all housing users is to buy a 12.5ml tube of car
touch-up paint of the correct colour and keep at it. Do not
let the salt water bore holes into your housing, particularly
close to the sealing areas and electrical connections.
Blank
out
What
do you do when you take off your port for travel or storage?
The port seal is a combination of piston and pressure seal
so it is not good practice to leave a port in place for long
periods. it flattens the 0 ring and places a constant strain
on the bayonet fitting.
My
solution to this problem was to design a simple blanking plate,
to replace the port and protect what is arguably the most
vulnerable surface of the housing.
Ports
Unless
you are a serious machinist do not attempt to make your own
ports. If Subal cannot provide what you need, particularly
dome ports, then talk to Warren Williams, the wise man of
dome design.
He
has developed many novel ideas and helped me to design my
own dome ports from 20mm to 16mm fish-eye. If you have the
facilities and enjoy a serious mechanical challenge, the benefits
are lower cost ports, very easily replaceable domes and flat
plates, which you can carry as spares in case you get a serious
scratch.
I
have also added a couple of millimetres to the thickness of
the rear flange on the bayonet connection on my homemade ports.
I
thought this was a vulnerable area as it provides the 0 ring
seal pressure for the port, particularly on the long 105 mm
macro port where a knock on the front end could provide enough
force to shear one of the bayonet strips whose contact is
less than one quarter of the bayonet diameter.
Remote
triggering
Have
you ever wondered how some underwater photographers manage
to get close-up shots of sand eels almost out of their holes?
Well
one BSoUP member, Steve Bartholomew, told me how it could
be done with two hyperdermic syringes (without the needles),
and a length of small bore silicone rubber tubing.
You
will also need a small mounting block to hold one of the syringes
to the housing, and there you have it - brilliant and simple
like all good ideas. Just clamp the mounting block onto the
housing and fill up the system with water (very easy down
there) and hey presto! you have a remote release as long as
a piece of tube. You can also take pictures in the pond in
your garden without getting your hands wet.
Finally,
the commercial...
Leak
detectors
I
have an old friend - yes he is 75 this year and an accomplished
electromechanical design engineer.
When
I asked him if he would like to spend some of his spare time
designing a leak detector for my housing, he jumped at the
idea. I wanted a low cost, long battery life 'floodable' unit
which I could fit and forget - but still test before each
dive.
The
one fitted into my housing still has the same battery after
two years and 165 dives, and this year out of the sixteen
leak detectors we have supplied they have saved four camera
systems, including one of Martin Edge's on a Red Sea trip.
For details see the advertisement at the back of the 'in focus'.
I
should be pleased to offer further advice and help to anyone
contemplating adding any of the above features.
Ken
Sullivan Tel 01462 685459. |
