An Underwater Videographer’s Field Repair Kit

By Mark Jamieson

There's nothing more frustrating than planning and traveling to a remote dive destination with the intention of capturing some great underwater video only to have a minor malfunction occur on your underwater video system on location. Even if your equipment has been maintained recently and checked in advance of your journey, you can never predict when Murphy's Law will strike (Anything that can go wrong, will do so at the most inappropriate moment.)

You can lessen the frustration of many minor issues, perform simple repairs, and resume your diving and videography activities provided you've taken along a well-stocked field repair kit. Even if you're not the mechanically minded person you'd like to be, having a small field repair kit with you will be valuable insurance if your cabin buddy happens to be a camera pro.

Cautionary Note: Under normal circumstances, your camcorder, lights, and housing should be disassembled and serviced only by a trained service technician. You may easily void your equipment's warranty and/or possibly do further damage by attempting to repair it yourself if you're not careful.

The following lists a range of items you should consider for your own field repair kit. Many of these items should be kept packaged in plastic zip lock bags to ensure they stay dry, clean, and rust free.

If you decide to purchase some of these items, you may wish to check your camcorder and housing carefully to ensure you obtain items that properly fit the hardware on your particular equipment (for example, wrenches, screwdrivers, and the like).

Head cleaning tape - Useful for cleaning the record/playback heads on your camcorder should random square pixels and dropouts appear on your video images.

O-rings - An extra set of o-rings for every component of your housing and lights should be considered mandatory. Purchase spares if you do not already have them.

O-ring grease - The lubricant that keeps your o-rings working properly and also reduces the risk of premature wear.

Spare batteries - An extra set of batteries on the charger, ready to go, can make all the difference in being prepared when that whale shark appears on the horizon late in the day. If your housing, or external video monitor requires other battery types consider packing an extra set for those too.

Spare light bulbs - Depending on your video lights, consider having a couple of spare light bulbs, in addition to having a spare light bulb for your dive light too!

Cotton swabs - Useful for cleaning out the grooved channels where the o-rings reside. Old o-ring lubricant builds up and attracts grit over time so you'll want to keep these areas clean.

Cotton cloths - A few clean, lint-free, cotton cloths or towels are useful for wiping areas on your camera and housing.

Lens cleaning fluid & lens tissue - Aids in keeping your camera's lens and housing lens ports clean. Clean your camcorder's lens and dome ports only when they require it. Check with your housing manufacturer first before using any lens cleaning fluid.

Rubber bands - Useful for holding long and loose wires or video cables in position and reduces the risk of them getting accidentally snagged.

Cable ties - Locking plastic cable ties are indispensable for so many things, not to mention your scuba gear, that you should always have a few, of various sizes, in your toolkit.

Electrical tape - Useful for insulating a bare wire or attaching two wires together. A small roll of duct tape is indispensable for a wide variety of temporary repairs.

Soldering iron - Useful for soldering electrical wires together should a connection prove faulty. Soldering irons are available in battery-operated versions, which are likely best for travel purposes. Don't forget a small amount of solder too!

Pencil eraser - Useful for cleaning electrical contacts on your batteries, and within battery compartments should any batteries leak and become corroded.

Screwdriver set - A jeweler's screwdriver set usually contains an assortment of the small, fine tips, both in flat and Phillips shapes, that are necessary for removing many of the screws on your video equipment.

Allen wrenches - A set of L-shaped, hexagonal tipped wrenches are useful for many of the screws on your video housing.

Adjustable wrench - Is versatile for removing nuts and bolts throughout a range of sizes regardless of whether they're in English or Metric units.

Needle nose pliers - Useful for holding and pinching small objects and wires.

Side cutting pliers - Used for precisely cutting wires and plastic cable ties should the need arise.

Video cables - Pack video cables for any type of video connection you might require such as between your camcorder and computer laptop, hard drive, television, etc., in case you want to view or download your video while in the field.

Power adapters - Depending on where you're traveling you may want to include the appropriate power adapters in your repair kit that both fit the electrical outlets and convert the electrical power to a voltage that is suitable for your equipment (120/220 volts AC).

Power strip - Provides the necessary electrical outlets required to plug in your battery chargers, laptop, external hard drive, and more. Ensure your power strip has a built in surge protector to guard against surges in electrical current that occur frequently when using electricity that is sourced from generators while on live-aboard dive boats, and remote tropical islands.

Owner's manuals - Always take along the manuals for your lights, battery charger, camcorder, and housing. They'll be invaluable in determining whether your issue is simply a switch or menu item incorrectly set or an equipment malfunction for any number of particular reasons. In addition, you can use the contact information printed within them to call the manufacturer for assistance. The manufacturers are intimate with the equipment they produce as well as any common problems their customers have experienced.

If you're concerned that packing these additional tools and supplies will further burden an already limited weight allowance for your luggage when traveling by air, consider splitting the contents of the kit with your dive buddy should you depart from the same point of origin. You can also take the chance that some of these items will be available at your destination, especially if a photo or video pro is onsite. At a minimum, ensure you have the spare items and tools that are unique to your particular camcorder, lights, and video housing system.

Airport security personnel have become increasingly vigilant in restricting what can and cannot be transported by passengers in their carry-on luggage. It's advised that you do not carry anything in your carry-on luggage that could be perceived as a potential weapon as it will likely be confiscated if the item is discovered during X-ray or manual inspection. Instead, pack your field repair kit with the bulk of your checked-in luggage.

While having a field repair kit is no guarantee that it will help address all of the issues that might occur, it will be invaluable for many of the smaller issues that might otherwise limit your underwater video activities.