Ikelite 6860.03 Panasonic GH3 GH4 DSLR Underwater Waterproof Camera Housing
In stock — ships from Irvine, CA
Ikelite 6860.03 Panasonic GH3 GH4 DSLR Underwater Waterproof Camera Housing is backordered and will ship as soon as it is back in stock.
Pickup currently unavailable at 23D
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Description
Description
The True TTL Advantage
Other housings simply waterproof your camera. An Ikelite TTL housing improves your photos. TTL or "Through-The-Lens" flash metering means the camera controls flash duration to properly expose an image. Our built-in proprietary circuitry tells your camera that a TTL external flash is attached, allowing the camera to adjust exposure more accurately than with slave TTL strobes.
Fiber optic slave flash units require the camera's flash to fire every time. This creates a shutter lag as you wait for the camera's flash to recycle in between shots, drains your camera's battery life, and builds up heat inside of the housing. Ikelite electronics translate direct electrical impulses from your camera, triggering your strobe and precisely adjusting its power without the need to fire the camera's flash. This eliminates the slave TTL strobe issues of signal interference, inconsistent exposure due to weak fiber optic transmission and false triggering caused by light rays bouncing off the water's surface or your buddy's flash going off.Exposure Adjustment
Exposure adjustments directly through the back of the housing put the perfect shot within reach every time. Tweak your TTL exposure or take total manual control without taking your hand off of your housing. Controls on the back of the housing acts as a remote control for compatible Ikelite DS-series strobes. Access plus/minus exposure compensation in TTL mode, plus manual power settings in half-stop increments.
Ergonomics
An over-sized knob smoothly engages our unique system of universal zoom gears. We provide two zoom sets with each housing, one for use with most popular larger diameter zoom lenses and a second designed for use with smaller diameter zoom lenses. Both sets are lightweight and easy to install with no modification to the lens required. A variety of dome and flat ports attach with four locking latches for maximum security and quick changes between dives.
This housing includes a balanced aluminum tray with our signature quick release handles for easy attachment and removal of external lighting. An aluminum 1/4-20 threaded top mount provides an additional attachment point for lightweight accessories.
Construction
Special polycarbonate blends allow us to create an extremely strong yet clear and lightweight enclosure. We believe there's no substitute for inspecting the actual o-ring seal once your housing is closed. Our signature clear construction lets you see that the housing is watertight and dry before you enter the water, and provides full view of the camera while you're diving. Polycarbonate is fundamentally corrosion-resistant for easy maintenance year after year.Like every Ikelite product, our housings are designed, built, and tested in the USA. We use locally sourced, top-grade materials. Our housings are built by hand and individually tested for fit, function and waterproof integrity. The average assembly technician is a certified scuba diver and has over 16 years of experience building Ikelite products. We back our products with over 50 years of experience and the most accessible and responsive customer service staff in the dive industry.
Features
Features
Payment & Security
Payment methods
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WARNING: This product contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm. For more information, visit www.P65Warnings.ca.gov.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I check an underwater housing's seal before a dive?
Before every dive, open the housing somewhere clean and dry, inspect and wipe the main o-ring and its groove, and close it with nothing trapped in the seal, because a single hair or grain of sand is enough to flood it. Confirm every latch is fully closed and that any vacuum or leak alarm reads correctly. Where you can, soak the sealed housing in a rinse tank or hang at the surface before descending, so a leak shows up before depth.
How do I care for housing o-rings?
Remove the main o-ring regularly with a plastic tool rather than anything metal, which can nick the groove, and clean both the o-ring and the groove with a lint-free cloth. Apply a thin film of the silicone grease the manufacturer specifies, since grease helps the o-ring seat and slide rather than sealing by itself, and a thick coat only collects grit. Replace o-rings on the schedule in the manual, or sooner if they look flattened, cut, or dry.
What do moisture alarms and desiccant packs do?
A moisture alarm is a sensor inside the housing that beeps or flashes when it detects water, giving you a chance to abort the dive before the camera is ruined. Desiccant packs absorb humidity in the air sealed inside the housing, which prevents the port fogging as you descend into cooler water. Neither replaces a proper seal check, since they provide early warning and fog control rather than leak prevention.
How deep can I take an underwater camera housing?
Only as deep as its rated depth, which the manufacturer sets and publishes in the specifications, and it should never be exceeded even briefly. Depth ratings assume a housing in good condition with intact seals, so worn o-rings or a damaged port reduce the real margin. If your diving might take you deeper, choose a housing rated comfortably beyond your planned maximum depth.
Can I use a phone housing for scuba diving?
Only if the housing is specifically rated for the depth you plan to dive, because many phone cases are splash- or snorkel-rated rather than scuba-rated. Touchscreens generally do not respond underwater, so a diving phone housing needs mechanical buttons or another control method. A phone's own water-resistance rating is not a substitute for a housing, and any housing still needs seal checks and o-ring care.
How do I rinse a camera housing after diving?
Soak the closed, sealed housing in fresh water and work every button and dial while it is submerged so salt does not dry inside the control shafts. Let it dry completely, especially around latches and seams, before you open it, since opening a wet housing drips water straight onto the camera. Avoid opening a housing on a wet, moving boat deck whenever you have the option to wait.
What should I do if my housing floods?
Get the housing out of the water and open it somewhere dry, then immediately remove the camera's battery and memory card, because leaving a battery in a wet camera does more damage than the water itself. Do not power the camera on to check whether it still works. Dry everything gently away from direct heat, get salt-water-exposed equipment to a repair technician promptly, and inspect the housing to find which seal failed before you dive it again.
