GoPro HD Underwater Blurry Fix

Well, I'm almost done with my first effort. For this version, the rounded lense is removed, and replaced with this flat lense. Longer screws hold it all together, and tap into the existing screw holes. The black ring is Delrin, with a 1/8" thick polycarbonate face plate recessed into the ring.

My first thought was to make the ring and plate both of polycarbonate and glue them together, but I opted instead for this arrangement with an o-ring seal between the two. This way, the plate could be easily replaced if it becomes badly scratched. There is a second o-ring that seals the back of the Delrin ring to the camera housing, in the same location as the seal that would normally mount the rounded lense.

Overall, the black ring is 1-1/2" in diameter, and 1/4" thick. I still need to trim the screws a tiny bit, and then I guess I'll just soak it for a while in a bucket to see if it leaks. I don't have a way to depth test it. And without the camera, I also don't know if the ring will be visible in the perimeter of the footage. I guess we will have to wait and see.

I freely admit that I am way out of my element here, as I know nothing of underwater photography. So let me know if I am way off the mark.

Jeff,
Looks very nice. Have you been able to test whether the derlin ring will show up in the corners? Also, did you use AR (Abrasion Resistant) Polycarbonate?

I took my modified version to 82' and it works great. On the R4 setting I still get the oring in the photo, but that beats being blurry.

Here is my latest video from a line freedive:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6IP2gwqISw

Davesea - I don't have the camera, so I will have to leave it to Judah to see if the Delrin ring shows up in the frame. I did not use abrasion resistant polycarbonate for this prototype. I tried to keep it cheap, until I know if the whole thing will work. And honestly, I wasn't sure that I could make these pieces at all. I can always make Lunkerbuster a replacement plate from the AR polycarbonate later.

Beautiful effort Jeff. Can you please show a pic of the parts side by side in order of installation?

Do you think these small screws provide enough gripping strength to compress the O ring adequately?

Is there any possibility to make the lens out of glass?

Do you have an estimated price for the complete kit? I'm hoping it works

Here's a picture showing the components. There is an o-ring between the housing and Delrin ring, and another o-ring between the ring and polycarbonate plate.

The screws shouldn't have to exert a great deal of force because as depth increases, the water pressure further compresses the o-rings. At least, in theory.

There is no way that I could make the lense from glass, but it might be possible for others.

Thanks Jeff. In this picture, the O ring sitting in the housing, is that an original one that comes with the housing or one that you adapted?

Quote from Dan

Thanks Jeff. In this picture, the O ring sitting in the housing, is that an original one that comes with the housing or one that you adapted?

It's a new o-ring. The black rubber seal that came with the original lense seemed to be adhered to it, and I didn't want to damage either the lense or the seal by trying to remove it.

Here is a drawing that shows the pieces in a little better detail than the photos do. You can see that both o-rings are contained so that the increasing water pressure on the outside cannot force them out of position. The yellow line shows the expected position of the camera lense, based on Davesea's observation that it extends 2mm past the outer ring on the housing.

Quote from Dan

Do you have an estimated price for the complete kit? I'm hoping it works

I don't think that I would ever build these to sell, even if it does work acceptably well. They are just too labor intensive for me on my manual lathe. Truthfully, I really just wanted to challenge myself a little and see if I could do it. I'm sure that there are lots of machine shops that could make them, though.

This is the first of two designs that I want to try. The second will be a slightly larger ring which will install over the round lense, instead of replacing it.

thanks for the video Davesea.

You probably have already answered this question, but what HD format are you using...example 1080 or 720p?

Also have you tried viewing the camera on your actual TV rather than downloading it to your computer and viewiing it there? Is it clearer and crisper on your TV then on this website because the version has to be compressed for our forum purposes? Thx.

Tinman,nice job on the mod but i'm almost certain you are going to need to progress to the larger ring version. As it is now you will definitely have vignetting in 720p and probably some in 1080, and that's allowing for the fact the original bubble lens (which you have removed) also has a magnifying function to extend the FOV. It's a pity you did not have a camera to test with as you have put a lot of time into developing it. (just to explain further - by removing the bubble lens the width of FOV is now 170 degrees, with the bubble intact the view is 160 degrees - due to the magnifying effect of the bubble lens.

Also probably best to have the backup of the original bubble in place as security for leakage.

To avoid vignetting i needed to use a 50mm o ring, but this was including the extra depth allowing for clearance of the bubble lens.

The official Gopro prototype includes a completely new redesigned housing (it's in pre production right now) but even the 2nd in charge of Gopro has not seen it yet.

Is this camera really suitable for deeper water with low lighting, the shutter speed drops very low to compensate for exposure when lighting is poor. Some of the new Panasonic and Cannon point and shoots are now excellent in low light (big sensors) and under $350 + housing?

R

Jeff, that is a beautiful first idea... I think the execution is perfect and I look forward to testing it

what are your thoughs about the integrity of the screw holes in the housing...can it handle having the lenses changed with any regularity or should this be only taken apart as needed for repairs etc.

Rambo makes a good point about the light issue, but to me , and I suspect many others on here, as freedivers, it is the size of this camera that really shines...I will never freedive to a depth below 100' and I will likely never even go close to that. but the lack of drag created by this camera and the ease of attaching it to, wel just about anything, are what make it so attractive.

Rambo - Thanks for the feedback. I kind of figured that the larger ring is where I would end up eventually, but baby steps first.

Quote from LunkerBuster

what are your thoughs about the integrity of the screw holes in the housing...can it handle having the lenses changed with any regularity or should this be only taken apart as needed for repairs etc.

I hate the stupid little things. I assemble / disassemble it over a pillowcase, because I know if I dropped one of those screws on the floor it would be gone forever. I think that the main weakness isn't the small diameter of the screws, but the fact that the holes are just over 1/8" deep, so they will probably strip out eventually. But the cast shape of the ring where they screw in won't allow for any additional or larger holes to be drilled. So I guess it is what it is, unless you want to glue on a more substantial piece like Rambo and others have done.

nice, that was what I had assumed...good looking out

Quote from greekdiver

Rambo wants to use this camera in poor vis water and relatively deep. I dont think the camera will do well without light. In south Florida, the water is clear so plenty of light can travel deep. Gopro will not have issues with this.

No my use is only down to 10ft and i will be shooting looking up or upwards on an angle and need room in the sealed area to place polarized filter gel.

Apart from the shallow screw depth, the existing black plastic GoPro ring is very brittle. If you over tighten the screws it cracks. What limits development of the existing housing is the distance between the screws, they need to be in a larger diameter circular formation as to allow larger diameter lens.

What GoPro would be better off doing is using a 90 degree internal lens on the camera itself instead of the extreme wide angle, that would fix the edge sharpness issue as well. It is possible to change the existing lens and replace as they are only screw in, but they soft glue the thread to lock focus at the factory. The lens is a common "board" mount used on many cameras including security cams and bullet cams size 12 mm diameter x 0.5 mm pitch.

R

very interesting info right there...thanks for sharing that..

can we see a pic of your tilting housing arm R, or is that classified?

Damn. I owe you a housing Judah. You may have noticed how the holes for those little screws go ALMOST all the way through the front of the housing? Well, one of them now goes all the way through. One would have thought that I would be able to tell when the end of the screw reached the bottom of the hole. But no.

Can't the hole be sealed and the screw shortened? Using the same stuff Rambo used to weld his housing.

Possibly. I have nothing to lose for trying, and that would give me a housing that I can keep and continue to play with while fitting up the second design.

I have to say though that I was impressed with how well those 6 little screws pulled everything together and compressed the o-rings. That part, at least, looks like it might work.

Two o rings is a fair bit to compress and hold, although they are small thickness

Jeff do you have any old Nikonus camara lens you could look at ? They use one O ring and a bayonet type mount system.
Cheers, Don