After numerous breaks and floods with the
standard GoPro
housing over the last few years, and also with the restriction of a 40m depth
limit, I had been thinking about buying another GoPro housing. I had
already ruled out GoPro's 60m Dive
Housing because
of it’s depth rating, and because I believed it was still as vulnerable as the
original. So when Light-for-Me
started importing the iQ sub
housings I decided to give them a try.
I ordered the 150m Delrin Hero 3 edition with the
LCD back at TEKCamp 2015
and I picked it up from Anna a few weeks later, and drove straight to NDAC to test it out (a 300m
Aluminium version is also available).
It arrived neatly packaged in its box, wrapped in
foam to prevent damage. On initial
inspection the housing looks really well made, and side-by-side isn’t much
bigger externally than the standard housing.
It fits in my protective case (with pre-cut GoPro inserts) no problem.
Not only is the Delrin much more substantial than
the plastic on GoPro's housing,
the release catch on top is as well.
However, the housing does not come with a quick release buckle, thumb
screw and locking plug, so you will need to recycle these from your old mount. I also added a bungee leash for security.
My
first dive was purely a leak check, taking it down to 40m filled with
tissue paper. Not surprisingly it passed.
I’ve
since had it in the water in Plymouth, and despite not having any video to show
you, the housing works well, but in my experience you need to push the buttons
slightly harder than with the standard housing.
You may notice there is no button to activate the wifi if you wish to
use the remote or app. This has to be
done with the camera out of the housing.
Finally,
the lens is slightly bigger than the original, which means that my colour correction
filters will not work. I am currently
trying to find a suitable replacement, however in the short term I will
probably use the original housing for any shallow diving where they may be
required.
Overall
the housing seems very robust, and I am much more confident with it than the
original, especially when diving from a RHIB, or wreck/cave diving. It is just a shame that the colour correction
filters do not fit.
I
will update this blog as required to inform you of my long-term results.
If you have any questions,
or are interested in purchasing a housing then please get in touch.
EDIT – 14 November 2015
Since buying the housing, I
have not gone back to the original. Any
issues I had with stiffer buttons have been resolved as they now operate as
smooth as the original housing.
Regarding colour correction
filters, whilst at the NEC Dive Show a few weeks ago, AQUA-FOTOTEAM GMBH, a German company were exhibiting, a camera distributor who sold a
wide range of accessories. They managed
to locate a filter with a rubber surround which can stretch around the
lens. The filter comes complete with a lanyard
and protective cloth bag and the surround can fit replaceable lenses. Unfortunately, they only had one in stock,
and the lens was scratched. 
After some negotiation
I was able to purchase a red and cyan filter with surround for £32 including
postage from Germany. They also let me take away the surround and scratched
lens from the show.
You can see a comparison in
the picture of my older Polar Pro filter and the new one. I’ve not yet tried these in the water but I
cannot see why they would not work.
I will add to this review in the new year after my trip to Cyprus.
The boring bit!
All opinions expressed in my articles are my own
and may differ to other instructor’s and agency guidelines; by no means are
they wrong and I would not wish to disrepute any of them. This article is for information only and
should not replace proper training.
Safe diving!
Timothy Gort
No comments:
Post a Comment