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Ewa-Marine manufactures flexible housings, rain capes and accessories for many video cameras and still cameras. All of their housings are made from thick two-ply PVC. Additives are used in the PVC which make the housings resistant to UV and IR rays. All of the seams in these housings are electrostatically welded
The port used on the front of all Ewa-Marine housing is made of optical grade glass, which will produce high quality images both in the water and on land. Each housing is tested to withstand waterpressure down to 150 feet. Although they are tested at this depth. It is recommended that these housing not be used deeper than 10m or 30 feet.
Ewa-marine housings are ideal for shallow water applications, as well as, all-weather protection such as; sand, snow, salt water spray, and dirt. All housings can be cleaned with regular water. The Ewa-Marine rain capes are the perfect solution for some shooting video or taking pictures while on a boat or close to water.
Ewa Moisture Munchers are recommended as a drying agent inside the housings to prevent internal fogging.
A full line of Rain Capes has also been designed to protect your valuable photo equipment from rain, snow, sleet and dust. Although rain capes are not designed to be submerged , they are great foul weather protection for cameras, camcorders, and compact cameras.
| Ewa-Marine Products |
 Video Camera Housings
Ewa-Marine manufacturers housings for many different video cameras. We are adding these housings to our online store now. If you do not see the housing you are looking for please contact us.
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 Accessories
Protect all your personal belongings and extra gear with one of Ewa-Marines many accessories.
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 DSLR Camera Housings
Ewa-Marine makes housings for many different still cameras. . |
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 Rain Capes
Rain Capes are available for just about any video or still camera. |
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Information and Frequently Asked Questions about Ewa-Marine housings:
Materials:
The transparent housing is made of thick, two-ply PVC, a light gauge rubber material. Additives in the PVC make the housing highly resistant to UV and IR rays ( sunlight ) as well as saltwater. All edge seams are laser welded for additional strength.
Front Port:
The front port is manufactured of optical grade glass. The large glass port built for all housings ensures that the lens of the camcorder/camera looks through clear glass. This produces high quality images on land as well as underwater. On SLR Autofocus models, the front port will rotate with the lens ( in AF mode ), when focusing.
Closing Rail:
Anodized Aluminum closing rail with stainless steel screws. No lubrication needed.
Quality Assurance:
Every housing is individually tested and inspected to withstand water pressure up to 100 Ft. Each housing is numbered with a serial number and testing verification.
Can a repair be made if damage occurs:
Not recommended. A damaged housing should be sent back to us for evaluation. " Patching " the housing is not possible and is not advised. Patching the housing voids the warranty.
How deep can I go underwater:
30 Feet maximum with camcorder housings. SLR housings ( depending on the model ) can be used at a depth of up to 100 feet.
Can camcorders be operated inside the housings:
Yes. It is advised to preset as many controls as possible before inserting the camcorder into the housing. The flexible ( yet durable ) PVC allows the use of most controls.
Does the auto focus work:
Yes, above the surface. Underwater, camcorders must be set to manual at the furthest focussing distance. The camcorder will focus anywhere from 8 to 20 feet underwater depending on the clarity of the water. Most SLR Autofocus cameras will work in the AF mode underwater.
Do camcorders pick up sound inside the housings:
Yes. The loss of sound is only about 5 %. By moving closer to the subject, sound ( voice ) will be easily heard without distortion. Underwater, the sounds of bubbles ( from breathing apparatus ) or noise from friendly dolphins can also be heard.
How do I care for an underwater housing:
Rinse off with fresh water after use in a salt water environment. Keep out of direct sunlight and always use EWA's MOISTURE MUNCHERS drying agent inside the housing to prevent internal fogging.
Water droplets on the front port:
Whenever you wish to take a half & half photo ( 1/2 of the picture under the water and 1/2 of the picture over the water level, ) you will find some drops of water sticking to the front port above the water level. To avoid this, rub the outside of the front port with a slice of apple. The fruit acid in the apple will break the surface tension of the water and stop the drops from forming. Depending on the water ( salt or fresh ) the application must be repeated after 3 to 5 minutes.
Condensation inside the housing of inside the front port:
Inserting the camera or camcorder into the housing also introduces fresh and usually moist air into the housing as well. Entering water that is slightly cooler than the outside air will cause the air inside the housing to cool as well, and ,as cooler air can carry moisture, drops of condensation can appear on the front port of the camera. This can be prevented by adding a drying agent into the housing. ewa-marine CD-5 moisture munchers work very well in this application. As the silica gel needs some time to act, give it about 10 to 15 minutes after closing the housing before entering the water. The CD-5 moisture munchers turn from blue to pink when saturated with moisture. Putting them in a microwave oven will dry out the moisture munchers, and can be reused over and over.
Underwater color correction filters:
Water changes the natural color balance of light and even at very shallow depth ( 15 feet or deeper )starts to remove the red light present.The results are those well known bluish pictures of under water photography. ewa-marine has two filters available for underwater photography:
FUW-b-- for blue water ( the tropics)
FUW-g-- for green water ( in lakes and the seas of the temperate zones including the northern Mediterranean.
Both filters come with the following filter threads; 37mm,46mm,52mm,62mm,67mm.
Autofocus cameras will register about 2 f-stops lower with the filter in place. Also, a filter is usually not needed above 5 m. NOTE: Do not use a flash or other external light carried by the diver while the filters are on the camera as they will turn out overly orange photos.
Wide angle adapters:
ewa-marine has developed the WW-6 wide angle adapter lens, suited for under water use and, due to it's very short length, will fit into most ewa-marine housings. Using the WW-6 wide angle adapter is helpful for the following reasons:
(1) Water is a most effective filter for light After only 5m the ray of light passing through water has already noticeably lost some of it's red spectrum and after 10m all red has vanished from the scenery. Yellow and green follow shortly as you descend. If a cameraman wants to film an object 5 m in front of him and 5m deep This equals 10m for that ray of light to be affected. Already, the color spectrum has been shifted and the resulting color of that object will be dull and blue. Using a lens with as wide an angle as possible allows the photographer to get in closer to the object.
(2) The border between air and water acts like a natural lens and makes objects appear closer than they are, in fact eliminating the effect of a factory equipped wide angle by a factor of x0.7.
(3 ) As a diver rarely stands perfectly still in the water and that those colorful fish are usually moving, it is unlikely that you will actually get that swimming fish in the photo, usually just capturing the fins or tail. Increasing the angle of view of your camera also increases the probability of capturing that swimming school of fish.
(Specifications: 80mm diameter; 18mm length; 58mm filter thread; factor x0.6 eg...a 35mm lens with the WW-6 equals 21mm ( 35mm x .6 = 21mm )
Lead weights:
ewa-marine has developed special weights BF-1 (for photo use) and BV-2 ( for video use ) to be used in conjunction with the ewa-marine housings. All weights are covered with a protective rubber latex material .These weights can be used to trim the housing to be neutral at a depth predetermined by the diver.
NOTE: The flexible housing behaves just like the organs of a diver with regards to water pressure. As stated by the law of physics of Boyle-Mariotte ( pressure x volume = constant ) the volume of air in the housing decreases as it descends. In other words, a housing that is positively buoyant on the surface will be neutral at a certain depth and thereafter even show a tendency to sink. This point can be "adjusted" by adding ewa-marine weights to the housing. |
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