Glossary of waterhousing terms

Camera housing:

A term for an underwater camera case, which includes the shell of the housing and the front port.

Connecting cord:

The electronic cord that connects the two-stage switch in the pistol grip to the camera. Nikon cameras use the Nikon 10-pin connecting cord and Canon uses a 3-pin connector. Essex uses only original Nikon and Canon connecting cords in all of our housings.

Control Gland:

A fitting that a control shaft can pass through, thus making a penetration of the housing. The seal is made by an O-ring that sits in a groove machined in to the gland. Control glands can be made out of either metal or Plexiglas.

Control shaft:

A stainless steel shaft, either 1/8” or ¼” in diameter that is used in conjunction with a control gland. A control shaft can have a gear attached to it or it can be designed to a specific shape to interface with a camera control.

Direct drive Control shaft:

A n Essex exclusive design feature. The control shaft is bent at a 90 degree angle to form the lever for the drive gear. This precludes having a lever attached to the shaft by a setscrew, which may eventually slip on the control shaft.

Dome port:

A front port that has a dome instead of a flat lens piece for the lens to look through. Typically used with extreme wide-angle lenses.

Drive gear:

A gear that is installed on a front port and which “drives” a lens gear.

Flange:

The perimeter of the shell of the housing. The flange is perfectly flat and holds the main O-ring and the studs.

Focus lever:

The lever that is used to turn the drive gear to facilitate focusing of the lens. Part of the “Direct Drive control shaft” system. See also Zoom lever.

Focus / Zoom range:

The range of lens rack for a zoom lens. Typically between 1/4 to two-thirds of a turn.

Front port:

The front half of the housing. Usually made out of Plexiglas and built to accommodate a particular lens. Some front ports can hold a range of lenses, for instance a port can hold a 24mm, 28mm, 35mm, 50mm and 85mm lenses. Rarely can a front port accommodate different zoom lenses due to the gearing involved.

Housing:

A term for an underwater camera case, which includes the shell of the housing and the front port. See also Camera housing and or Water housing.

Lens gear:

A gear that is attached to a lens. Used for either manual focus or zoom control on a lens.

Lens piece:

The piece of Plexiglas on a front port that the lens actually shoots through.

Lens Rack:

The distance that it takes to turn a lens from infinity to the closest focusing distance or from the longest focal length to the shortest focal length. Usually measured as 1/4 turn, 1/3 turn, 1/2 turn etc....

Main O-ring:

A 1/8” diameter O-ring that comprises the main seal for the housing and is installed in a groove on the flange. See also “O-ring”

O-ring:

A donut shaped ring made out of Buna-N neoprene. Used in control glands and on the main seal for the housing. See also “Main O-ring”

Pistol Grip:

A grip that is situated on the bottom of a housing and is shaped like a pistol grip, or actually uses a pistol grip.

Set screw:

A small stainless-steel screw that secures either a gear or a lever to a control shaft.

Shell (of housing):

The main body of an underwater camera case. The shell holds the camera body and has a main O-ring and studs installed on it along with other controls.

Shims:

Blocks of Plexiglas padded with a closed cell foam attached to the bottom of a front port. Used to keep the camera from moving and shifting while in the housing.

Studs:

Stainless-steel pan-head bolts that are installed on the flange of the housing and which accept the front port.

Water housing:

A term for an underwater camera case, which includes the shell of the housing and the front port. See also Camera housing and or Housing.

Zoom lever:

The lever that is used to turn the drive gear to facilitate zooming of the lens. Part of the “Direct Drive control shaft” system. See also Focus lever

Zoom range:

The range of lens rack for a zoom lens. Typically between 1/4 to 1/2 turn. See also “Focus / Zoom range” and “Lens rack”