Tales From the Camera Housing: a series designed to help you prevent mistakes that may ruin your dive, camera, or footage.
Mistake #3:.
Don’t forget to lubricate the stupid buttons
What’s Wrong with The Focus?
I preset all settings for the dive, before the dive. This included manual focus settings vs. auto focus settings as well as Manual Mode, proper ISO and shutter speed. What (else) could possible go wrong?
In the effort of water-clawing my way to the bottom to fight the overly buoyant float arms of my camera system, I managed to press the MF button on my descent. This was unfortunately not realized until more than half of the way through the dive. I then discovered the MF button was jammed into AF mode, and at depth, was unable to return to its position. Every video up to this point was shot with auto focus. As a results of the high turbidity area with floating particles everywhere, my videos became a nice blend of in-and-out focus with audio highlights of the camera trying to adjust to the changing focal environment.
Prevention
I remembered the buttons needed to be greased after my last dive trip, but didn’t manage to find the lubricant in the mad rush of unpacking. I did give the camera housing a good soak, cleaned it up, and made sure everything was in ship-shape. Except for the button lube. Surely “I’ll get to it later”, but months passed, videos were made, YouTube audiences grew, and the camera opportunity did not present itself. Honestly, I just forgot.
Resolution
I just ordered the 4 pack of lubricant from the manufacturer. It should be here Monday.
