Cold-Water Diving - Diving with Cameras:
Author:
Brandon Cole - If a camera is part of the equation, no matter how much experience you have, leave your camera behind on a few dives and give yourself time to refresh the basics with all the new gear. No matter how experienced you are, drysuit diving is almost like starting over again.
- Avoid condensation. When working with camera housings where there are drastic differences in temperature from the air to the water, you must acclimate your housing over a period of time. Don't let a sunny fall day in British Columbia fool you into forgetting this important step. The water may be 45 degrees and condensation will be certain.
- Acclimating your camera and housing. One way to avoid lugging a camera with a fogged port throughout your dive is to give your housing time to acclimate. Don't go from a heated room on a live-aboard directly into the water. It's also dangerous to bring your camera indoors too quickly after the dive. One of the best ways to avoid condensation is to place your gear outside the night before. Perhaps you set your housing up after dinner, then move it out to the back deck or to the rinse tank which is usually a nice intermediary between the air temperature and the water temperature.
- Gloves: Gloves can be a big issue. Thick gloves will keep you warm but leave you without dexterity. Experiment in advance (on any dive) with gloves and make sure you can manipulate the buttons on your camera.
- If using drygloves and diving to depth, be sure that the gloves have vent tubes. The air in your suit is separate from the air in your gloves and sometimes a little air from the suit blips into your gloves. If you can't vent them, you end up with the equivalent of your hand inside a basketball. Try hanging on to your camera like that!
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