Carbon is the wonder material. It occurs as soft, layered graphite sheet form in pencils and in incredibly hard crystalline form in diamonds in nature. It is present in sugar, and is also commonly encountered as fine soot, which in combination with water forms the basis of organic life. What better material could there be for making underwater housings so that the diversity of life in the water can be captured in images and sound?

The underwater housings from BS Kinetics are made of high strength carbon fibres. Carbon fibres consist of atomic carbon chains which are spun into yarn and then woven into a fabric. The resultant material is known colloquially as carbon fibre.

The carbon fibre is capable of withstanding mechanical stress from strain, compression and bending. Epoxy resin is used to mould carbon fibre. It binds to the carbon-fibre fabric and gives it its shape. It is the carbon fibre which gives the underwater housings from BS Kinetics mechanical properties similar to those of steel, whilst still retaining the advantages of plastic polymers. The composite material is corrosion resistant and chemical resistant and has anti-weathering and anti-aging properties. It is very lightweight, which offer a distinct advantage, particularly when flying, given baggage constraints. By using multiple layers of carbon fibre, housings used by technical divers can be built, which are depth rated to 160 m, despite the much reduced thickness of material.

Nowadays, more and more often, highly stressed parts are manufactured from carbon fibre. Its main application is in the areas of aviation, aerospace, motor sports, sports equipment, and wherever lightweight items capable of withstanding extremely high stress are required.

Carbon fibre allows BS Kinetics to produce housings that are lightweight, yet manage to defy all the odds involved in diving. All other plastic components of the underwater housings are made of POM. This high-quality plastic has excellent technical properties and guarantees components long life. V4A, another marine grade material resistant to salt water, is used to make the operating controls

Seal

The underwater housing unit is sealed with an O-ring made of silicone. The use of special notch geometry makes them simple to insert and they do not have to be greased. Their 3.5 mm diameter ensures very simple handling and maintenance.

Closures

The underwater housing is closed by means of quick release latches. These quick releases are made of marine grade stainless steel. They allow for fast opening and closing of the housing and guard against accidental opening.

Flat- & Domeports
BS Kinetics offers a wide range of flat and dome ports for the underwater housing. The ports are made of POM and connected by bayonet screws to the underwater housing. Silicone O-rings are also used to seal the ports. The Kalahari, Atacama, Namib, and Mojave underwater video housing have a fixed inbuilt converter port, which has a M67 thread, making adaptation of macro or wide angle lenses possible under water.

Controls
Camera controls use Reed contacts in the underwater video housings. Specially developed controls are used for cameras with a LANC port. Nowadays menu control is also possible, as is white balance control for certain cameras. With other cameras, the infrared remote control is used. Reed contacts obviated the necessity for bushes in the housing, which resulted in the minimal use of O-rings.

Installation
Positioning the camera in the waterproof housing is very easy. The camera is bolted to the housing table and connected via hot shoe or LANC port. A slide is used in the Takla, Makan, and Tanami housings because of the size of the camera. The camera is mounted on the slide and slid into the case.

Viewfinder & Monitor
In the photo underwater housings, looking at the camera viewfinder is achieved by using the optical viewfinder on the housing. This reduces the camera viewfinder image, although it allows an almost complete visibility on the housing viewfinder. Other options include the use of a 45 ° viewfinder, or a 180° viewfinder.

With underwater video housings a view can be taken directly from the camera monitor. The Negev and Gobi universal underwater housings and the large Takla, Makan, and Tanami underwater housings all have a 3.6 inch 16:9 monitor, which is powered by an internal rechargeable battery. The battery level is indicator is permanently displayed.