Ready for action

Project Dome Port

The front of the dome port
The front of the dome port

The camera I use most often is a Bonica Snapper HDDV 1080. It took me a while to come to terms with the camera (keeping it steady) but the camera is amazing and the picture quality is exceptional.

The dome port before modification
The dome port before modification

I have long been a fan of over/under or split shots but have had very little success with any of the cameras I have owned. This has been due to the lack of a dome port. I decided I would fit a dome port to the Bonica using one that I had purchased some years ago but never got to use due to the theft of the housing it was purchased for.

The housing with the wide angle lens attached
The housing with the wide angle lens attached

Using the Bonica wide angle lens I had the outer edge of the lens machined with a thread.

Wide angle lens with the adaptor screwed on
Wide angle lens with the adaptor screwed on
The adaptor screwed into the dome port
The adaptor screwed into the dome port

I then had the mounting tube for the dome port removed (it screws out) and had a boss turned with the same outer thread as the dome port mounting tube on the outside and the inside was machined with a thread matching the one on the outside of the wide angle lens.

The adaptor to connect wide angle lens and dome port
The adaptor to connect wide angle lens and dome port

The machining was done by Brian Murray, a regular at False Bay Underwater Club who is brilliant at precision tasks like this one (although I had to beg him to do it – he doesn’t like working on camera gear)!

The wide angle lens screwed into the dome port
The wide angle lens screwed into the dome port

The wide angle lens now screws into the adaptor which in turn screws into the dome port. Each step is sealed with a O ring to keep the water out.

Top to bottom: wide angle lens, machined adaptor, dome port, lens hood
Top to bottom: wide angle lens, machined adaptor, dome port, lens hood

Due to the weight of the dome port I decided on a small support bracket underneath as I was concerned the dome port, if bumped, could snap off the nose of the housing. The support screws into the same mounting hole for the video light arm.

Support brace for the dome port
Support brace for the dome port

Ready for testing!

Ready for action
Ready for action

 

Published by

Tony

Scuba diver, teacher, gadget man, racing driver, boat skipper, photographer, and collector of stray animals

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