electronic control over DSLR?

[stillhope]

I've been shopping around for an underwater housing for my new DSLR that replaces the video cameras I used since the turn of the century. There are many amazing choices out there, but I haven't found what I'm really looking for, so I'm tossing this out to see if anyone has any ideas.

The biggest obstacle I had with my previous underwater video system is that it was exceptionally difficult, if not impossible to get a lot of macro shots because I physically couldn't position my head behind the camera to frame the shot — at least not without adverse impact on lots of flora and fauna when I stretched my body out on the seafloor. I was looking into right-angle viewers and external monitors when my old system gave up the ghost.

Since then, on land, I've been using a CamRanger that plugs into my camera and allows me to use my iPad as both an external monitor and a controller. It's a brilliant solution, and it has other benefits as well, such as touching the picture to select a focus point, or automated focus stacking, etc.

So it seems to me that an underwater housing could do away with most of the mechanical controls, and just have a through-the-hull port for a cable that goes to a tablet. The electronics between the camera and the tablet could be a CamRanger or a custom built controller. Benefits of this over the mechanical housings I've been looking at:
- eliminate a large number of mechanical penetrations and associated cost, maintenance, and risk of leak
- housing is no longer physically suited to just a single camera model, perhaps delaying obsolescence, certainly reducing cost even further
- focus rings and gears won't be needed
- advanced programmable controls
- external monitor

I asked Ikelite and Nauticam and Aquatica if they were working on any such product. Ikelite and Nauticam replied "No", and Aquatica didn't reply.

Any ideas?

[YellowEye]

That would be nice, I think we'd all appreciate the bigger screen... I've thought the same. I haven't seen a touchscreen that works underwater though. Nor a really great liveview. You might want to check out the 45degree viewfinders... I think nauticam has one.

[stillhope]

Here's one example of an underwater tablet housing that offers full functionality

http://dive-xtras.com/pages/accessories ... tablet.asp

[Fordman]

Here's one example of an underwater tablet housing that offers full functionality

http://dive-xtras.com/pages/accessories ... tablet.asp

Too bad they won't sell to you...unless you are a commercial account.

[Dusty2]

I have seen some underwater housings for the I-phone maybe there is hope. To bad radio and blue tooth don't work underwater.

[stillhope]

Fordman, I don't need them to sell one to me. The forward-thinking camera housing manufacturer (if there were one) can order customized versions from them.

Dusty, true, but a lot can be done without radio waves underwater. I certainly wouldn't mind having a touchscreen monitor/controller tethered to my camera with a cable. As a matter of fact, I'd be thrilled!

[YellowEye]

If you get any leads, I'd be interested too