(Note: Inspiration for this page is again Tom Rose's responsibility as he just returned from Roatan and not only is sharing some pictures taken on his most recent vacation, but he also shows us how he built a camera housing for his digital camera.)
 

Now for my...
Kodak Instamatic Camera Housing

Camera Housing Made in 1973, while in college at Florida Institute of Technology.

This system is able to take Four, (count them four),  flash pictures before surfacing and replacing the Flashcube.  (Such an advancement in technology from just one picture at a time. )

I made a box out of sheet acrylic, cut on table saw.
The mechanism to expose the picture and advance the film is a cleverly bent piece of wire which passes through a guide in  the top of the housing.  This wire will both rotate and move up and down.  It can be made to advance the film by positioning it behind the film advance and rotating it.  It can be made to take the picture by placing it over the exposure button and pushing down.  (If you look close you can see that I extended the height of the shutter release, and propped the film advance away from the back a little to allow the wire to pass behind it and catch the lever.)
The camera is in a completely sealed container.  The wire that passes through the top of the box is itself sealed within a length of tubing that is plugged on one end and sealed to the case on the other.
The access is through the bottom with the bottom plate held in place with four ss nuts attached to its ss threaded rods imbedded into the acrylic. A seal (gasket) was made from clear silicone caulking.
A handle completes the project.

It sure was fun using this system. (It sure is fun doing anything in or on the water.)
I may have had more fun making the housing than actually taking pictures.  I can't find any of those old images taken with this system, but I do recall taking vast vistas of the undersea landscape.  (Those of you who are familiar with the characteristics of light and optics underwater will recognize that "those vast vistas" must have been devoid of all color and mostly depicting pale shades of blue.)  But hay, I was taking pictures underwater and having fun showing them to friends.. (Which I do to this day, and hope to continue to do so for many many years to come. )

Whatever you do in life, enjoy it all.

Smile,
Bob Iannello
[Home page]
 


Image: "Would you like some candy little fishie."
Location: Grand Cayman Island
Model: My wife Jane.
Camera: (No not the Instamatic), a NikonosV, 15mm lens, SB-103
Subject distance: about 2-3 feet from lens