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Canon 7D Waterhousing by Essex

The Essex 7D housing for the Canon 7D camera is one of the most sophisticated waterhousings on the market. The 7D housing was computer designed to allow the photographer to access all of the 7D's controls via our revolutionary push buttons that are incorporated in to the wall of the housing, or by the use of our low profile face-friendly™ controls that you'll find on the backside of the housing.

The Essex 7D housing features:

  • Low profile face-friendly™ push-button controls are built in to the wall of the housing shell. By placing the push-button controls within the housing wall, we are able to keep a low profile on the exterior of the housing. The exterior of the housing is where your face will be which is the reason why Essex invented this technology and coined the term face-friendly™. Other manufacturers refer to their controls as being face-friendly™, however when compared to an Essex surfhousing there really is no comparison. We are the only manufacturer to offer you a true no-profile™ push button control. The features of the push-button control is integrated in to the housing wall and the neoprene rubber that Essex uses to cover the push-buttons is built to withstand harsh elements without degradation. In fact, we've chosen this neoprene sheet rubber because it has the same properties as neoprene rubber used for chemical safety gloves. And like chemical safety gloves, our rubber sheet is two toned in color and the underlying salmon pink color is a visual indicator, alerting you to the potential for a possible breach of the material should it ever be worn down or damaged.  In vigorous testing and years of in the field use, we've yet to see the salmon pink indicator showing through our push button covers.
  • Control shaft glands are also built in to the housing wall. A gland is a fitting that has a machined groove which holds an o-ring. Because the groove that the o-ring sits in is slightly smaller in diameter than the o-ring itself, this compresses the o-ring tight against a stainless steel shaft that passes through the o-ring, thus creating a water tight seal. Most glands have threads so they can be screwed in to a housing, much like a bolt. A gland of this type has a hex head similar to a bolt and the head of the gland sits on top or the outside of the housing. This adds to the overall height of the control which is not a good thing if you are trying to keep a low profile. Our glands are precision machined to meet the tight tolerances required to be paired with an Essex housing.  And with an Essex housing, the entire gland sits inside the housing wall utilizing unused space while providing us with a no-profile™ installation of a control gland and what could be simpler than having the control knob on the outside of the housing and the control on the inside?
  • Soft durometer control knobs. We designed our knobs to be low profile, easy to grasp while wet and to be functional for the job at hand. The two control knobs on the back of the housing are rotational controls and they have a similar low profile shape and design. A series of vertical flutes are molded in to the side of the knob to provide for a positive grip when wet. Essex manufactures our control knobs in-house,  utilizing a durable soft urethane rubber and our knobs are also designed to break away if too much torque is applied to the knob. This helps to protect the camera on the inside of the housing, similar in theory to the collapsible steering column on cars and there is no fear of leakage, as the control shaft remains securely in place and cannot be dislodged.
  • The Plexiglas windows for the cameras LCD display and the viewfinder sits right against the cameras LCD screen so as to minimize any distortion. The viewfinder window also sits adjacent to the viewfinder so as to give the photographer an unobstructed view of his ground glass.
  • The Still to Video switchover control is a breeze to operate and allows the photographer to switch back and forth from shooting stills to shooting HD video. Once in video mode, pushing in on the control starts video recording and another push on the control stops the recording.
  • The Quick Command Dial Control on the back of the housing features our "Spin/Push" technology. Spinning the control in turn rotates the Quick Command Dial and a firm press on the control knob activates the "SET" button in the middle of the Quick Command Dial. This feature allows you to navigate, choose and select many different options for the cameras operation.
  • The Main Command Dial control comes in from the top of the housing making for an efficient operation of the Main Command Dial. A simple spin of the control knob moves the Main Command Dial while a tactile feel of the clicks is broadcast back to your fingers.
  • The Mode Control also comes in from the top of the housing for easy operation. A silicone closed cell foam pad allows the control to be moved only when downward pressure is applied to the control knob. This prevents the Mode dial from being accidentally spun while you are shooting or swimming.