Aquatech Housing: 2 Leaks - Over $7k In Gear Lost! Watch Before Buying Part 1
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ก.ย. 2024
- After much contemplation and research, I chose Aquatech Camera Housing for my camera gear. What a mistake. Lost over $7k in camera gear after housing leaked twice. Most disappointing was Aquatech's response - they replaced a latch on the housing but refused to allow me to return the housing for a refund or compensate me for any of the lost gear.
I have had two reflex housings for my 5D Mark IV cameras and now have two edge housings for the R6. The only time I ever had an issue was early on I did not screw the port on tight enough and water got in there but I noticed it quickly as the port will fog up when there is a leak. I caught it because I am constantly checking my housing in the water every second. I also don't use a board. I just swim with fins and a gath helmet and impact vest. Boards get in the way and it's just another thing to hit the housing when duck diving under the barrel or it gets in the way of everyone surfing. I have had zero problems with mine for years. I love those housings. I also used the CMT housings for a while but getting parts and service became an issue but they were so light and awesome. The edge housing latches are epic! Super secure. Perhaps you should borrow one and try it out.
I have just bought one mate…so needed to hear this. Cheers.
Thanks for sharing your experience! I've been using the aquatech on my EOS R for more than a year now, and I got no issues with it at all. I am that guy that checks the housing at least 5 times before I jump in the ocean to make sure it is properly locked, and luckily nothing bad had happened so far.
i have a liquid eye housing for almost a year now , amazing product !!! no latches either, and i have learned to take my time setting up and checking my camera and housing before i go in the water no matter how good the waves are
Sorry to hear bad luck on the water housing taking on water, I have used a SPL housing for ten years and never had a problem I am meticulous on how I screw down the wing nuts and compress the O ring, I double check everything prior to quick water testing before actually hitting the water, Ive decided to move across to Aquatech housing with camera body upgrade and can see that the latches can be vulnerable, I will continue to be meticulous in setting up and always double check with light water test prior to venturing out into the surf. Thanks for sharing your experience, as I will take extra care when setting up
Thanks for your comment Jerome and wish you well with your new housing. What camera are you upgrading to? And is that you in that barrel? Nice pic
@@enjoylivinginhawaii I'm going from 7D to 7Dmk2, yes that us me in a Mentawai barrel taken by another water photographer
@@jeromemosetic7250 Nice wave - enjoy the water
That sucks brah ! I’ve owned a Aquatech housing for 6yrs , I have the compaq 70d for my canon 70d , I live maui and Ive been shooting big shore breaks for many years now with it …Never had any issues with the latches , thank god I would of have a serious melt down if anything like that ever happens .
Ha - serious meltdown - true dat. Glad you haven't had to deal with it. I'd like to see your shore break pics - you have them online? Thank for watching my channel and for leaving the comment. Enjoy the water
Great video about the product. I've just bought an elite housing so I'll be sure to check, but as I have done water stuff previously commercially, I always tape up areas of risk, and make sure its secure no matter what. Enjoy the ocean bro, I've lived on the NS at Halewai, back in the day, awesome spot.!!
Thanks Rex for the feedback and the suggestion. I never thought, or heard the tip before, but I am going to start taping areas of risk. You have any of your photos/vidoes online? Yeah, Haleiwa/NS is a favorite spot of mine as well - you enjoy the water as well. Aloha
@@enjoylivinginhawaii you can see some of my stuff at www.rexellacott or dial me into youtube and see our history. Have a good one.!!
This is definitely a tough situation, and it is terrible to lose all your equipment once, let alone twice. But just as a side note, I have used their products for years, and the only issue I ever had was my own fault because I was in a rush, and that was a few drops and I went back on the beach and fixed it. I hadn't tightened the port fully because I forgot I switched ports prior to going. The two situations you describe are not product defects, just bad luck. Getting ripped out of your hand and bounced up the beach is not what they are made for, and not closing the latch fully is also not an equipment issue. All water housing companies have issues with products, and myself included, 99% of those issues are user error or a situation like you having yours ripped from your hand that is not what they are made to take. I had a housing from a different company I won't mention with the wingnuts closure, and even when put together perfectly, it would get a few drops in it. I have used Aquatech for a long time, and saying that these issues were caused by their products or product defects seems incorrect. I totally get your frustration in losing the gear, but I spend a lot of time checking and double checking, and always dunk my stuff a few times before going out and shooting. Those things can make all the difference. Again, not trying to argue, just speaking from years of experience and seeing a whole lot of people using their housings and others. Also, get insurance on your cameras that covers water damage, makes the whole situation easier and is not expensive.
Hi Adam - thank you for watching the video and your response and glad to read you've never lost your camera gear with the housing. I'll eventually get a follow up video done - I'm now using Salty Housing - it has taken some major beatings in big shore breaks and has performed faultless. Design quality of it is not superlative but I could not be happier for how it has performed. Regarding the Aquatech housing, after making this video I sent it in for inspection and they did replace a latch. They claim it wasn't faulty, but why replace a latch that wasn't an issue?
my store this last year. I went used all the way on a a7iii an a Aquatech elite 1 . checked the seals in the pool to make sure it was ok then slowly worked my way up to using it at the beach little by little. now i go in to large points/ shore break getting with getting pulled over the falls and having sand shooting in to every thing that is not sealed included me. its been great. I was a little spooked the first weeks now i don't even think about it when going out in to any condition. the latches are a little strange. I don't blame you for being gun shy. i even tried playing around with my two units even tho older in style then yours. on mine I do have to tighten the bolts around the latches down every couple sessions i just check when cleaning with the bottom ones all ways being the most loose but even then with a loose bolt it still seals and dose not do any thing close to what your latches do. the only thing that was a little off to me was the way you put your backplate on going around the latches . i find if you put the backplate on center left with it perfectly lined up with the housing you have this problem around the center button, just like i have. but if you put the back plate on center right with just ever so little line of the blue housing over lapping, then cross lock the latches in step together you will not have that problem.
As a water housing manufacturer, I can say most of the leaks are due to user's error not all but many. But in your case, it is very obvious the latch was faulty. As Aquatech, as far as I know, does not manufacture the latches but buy them from a third party company (correct me if I am wrong), I guess they did not check properly this product. But in another hand, it is a very tricky to spot this issue as maybe it only happens on a very few items (I hope for them I am right). It is not an excuse for them but it is very difficult to find out this kind of flaw as even for you, you had to inspect more than closely to find it out. But i do not understand why they did not admit their part was faulty... that's weird! For the issue you have with the back plate not aligning, this is a common issue with a non indexed back plate. With screws you do not have this issue as the back plate goes directly in the right place because of the bolts but this is not the case with the latches. That is why you must be very cautious with the positioning and the tricky part is sometimes (as per yours) aligning perfectly the back plate with the housing shell does not align the controls... Nothing is perfect in this world... I hope you will get better experience with your new housing.
Hi Phil, Mahalo for watching my video and taking the time to write your comment - was helpful for me to read. And yes, I'm much more happy with my Salty Housing. I'll be posting a follow up video soon discussing it and also that I had sent the Aquatech housing in for service before I sold it, and they replaced a latch but still would not accept responsibility.
@@enjoylivinginhawaii No worries. Next time, after much contemplation, choose our brand, we offer a wide range of models and our prices are very affordable ;-) . Much mahalo.
I agree. I have lost a couple of cameras in various housings over the years and its always my mistake- rushing on stressful shoots and making a silly mistake (although an old Ewa marine bag split on a shoot and I lost my Nikon film camera - a long time ago!). The aquatech latches aren't that good. I also have a cheap sea frogs housing and it has a far more secure - positive latch system.
Thanks for sharing your experience, and possible defects to look out for. I’ve been shooting for a few months with a Seafrogs housing, which I chose because it’s the cheapest entry into surf photography. As a professional cinematographer I’ve quickly outgrown it though and thinking of upgrading my Sony and housing to a Liquideye setup. I will say that the Seafrogs housing has been super impressive for the price though. Especially with the vacuum pump which adds extra suction sealing for peace of mind.
WOW! Thanks for the video. I have spent thousands and using for the first time today.
Thanks for the Video!! I will pass on the word. I am looking at going for the Liquid Eye housing.
Thank you for your video. I was thinking of buying one of these. But now i have second thoughts.
I doubt I'll get one. I'm gonna keep researching it. I think I'll spend more money to get something more secured. 👍
Hi Isablla - glad you found the info helpful. Just an FYI - Aquatech redesigned their housing and it may have improved so you might want to consider it though I've never used it or personally know anyone who has. Thanks for watching my video and enjoy the water - aloha
So you had 2 leaks and both were user error.
First one, you didn’t check the clip properly and the second one you let it go and it hit the button and a clip came undone.
Their housings are the best on the market. Who failed? The equipment or the user?
Hi Luke, perhaps you didn't watch the follow up video I made. I sent in the housing to Aquatech and they replaced the latch on the housing that I was having problems with and they acknowledged it was loose - I have that in writing from them. Does that answer your question? And thus far, my Salty housing has worked great. I've only used these two brands of housing, but based on experience, I have to say Salty's is the best.
thanks for this. wanted to buy one for my R5, decided not going to do that
My pleasure - how you liking your R5? What housing you going to get for it?
Get liquid eye
My does the same thing. 2 of the Latches are like that and 2 are not. I would definitely think that is a flaw.
Dang - did they replaces the latches? And you still using the housing?
@@enjoylivinginhawaii I actually had the older housing version and had some problems with it and they sent me the the Elite 2. Which I thought was pretty awesome. So I’m not sure if it was a refurbished housing or a new one. But sure enough 2 of the 4 latches do the same thing as yours. I wish I would’ve checked my old housing to see if it did that.
This video needs more views ☹️☹️
I guess you didn't have insurance, that's a bit silly. Ive had 7 Aquatech housings and never had a leak.
You must not have watched the whole video - I gave a shout out to State Farm for being so great with my coverage. And I'll be sending out a PT 2 video, I sent the housing to Aquatech for inspection, they would not admit fault, but did replaced a latch on the housing. Why replace if there wasn't an issue?
@@enjoylivinginhawaii Photography gear is expensive, get insurance, simply as that. Blame if you need to, but its your choice, your error. A hair or sand in the Oring will make it leak, regrease the Orings before going in the water. Test it before you put the camera in the housing, don't rush it, mistakes happen.
@@enjoylivinginhawaii I went back a watched the whole video this time, good to see you had insurance for this. It doesn't matter which housing you use, you've got to check your setup thoroughly, understand what the latches are doing and how they work. Just by clicking it in place doesn't mean anything , have a look under the latch and see what is happening and what it is that makes the click. Good luck with the next housing.
Thanks for this review. I was looking for Aquatech housing for Sony A1. Can't believe @AquaTech_imagingsolutions wouldn't do the right thing. In the long run they are losing much more revenue in lost sales. I will spread the word about @AquaTech_imagingsolutions and continue my search for a company that actually stands behind its customers.