Carl Chapman

Continually concerned with underwater housing leaks, and having experienced a number of images and videos ruined by dust or other material on the lenses, I border on obsessive when preparing and cleaning my underwater housing lens.

Underwater housing lenses suffer the usual problems of dust and lint, but are also susceptible to things like sunscreen (my pet hate), salt residue, sand and other nasties.

Whenever I travel through Cairns, I always stop in to visit the friendly staff at  Digital Diver and pick up cleaning accessories.

Preparation Tips

I follow a set procedure each time for housing preparation:-

1. Remove the main o-ring and use a lint-free cloth to wipe around the o-ring groove, removing any excess silicon, sand or hair that may have lodged in the groove. A piece of hair or sand under the o-ring can cause the housing to leak. (Tip:- use a plastic credit card to remove the o-ring so you do not damage it. I use my cert card as a reminder for me to take it diving).
2. Use a second lint-free lens cleaning cloth on the inside and outside of the underwater housing lens to remove dust, lint or finger marks.
3. Unfortunately cloths can adsorb oils and spread them around. My new favourite cleaning accessory is lens cleaning tissue paper. (more…)