[Eirik] wants to help inspire others to take on big projects to he sent in a link to his ROV project. He started it about one year ago and the image above shows the first generation. After the break you can see the video that the ROV captured during a couple of it’s initial voyages. They’re pretty clear and right off the bat you’ll see the little guy following a jellyfish. Like a lot of homebrew ROV’s [Eirik] is still searching for the right way to pass wires through the housing without leaks. He does okay so far, and has designed a nice cable spool for the topside tether, but some water does get in. He’s almost finished the second generation which re-designs the camera mount to aim downward so that what’s in frame is more interesting.

Next time you head off on that underwater adventure take your camera along with you. [Jkcobabe] shows us how to build a waterproof camera enclosure using just a few components. The box is meant to be used to keep your stuff dry while camping, and the lens housing is made using plumbing fittings from the a home building center. There is a rail system that allows you to mount the camera securely inside, with a flexible button on the outside to actuate the shutter. If anything this is well designed and built, but we might still stick to using disposable cameras under water. Then again, the pros build their own enclosures so we’ll keep our fingers crossed for that $2500 camera as you try to capture that perfect shot.

[Thanks Troy]

PVC hull, SLA batteries, Bilge Pumps, sounds like a good start to [Jimmy's] ROV project. Paintball gun (as a BCD), dual live cameras paired with an Arduino making it internet controlled, all tethered with a fiber optic cable, sounds like [Jimmy's] ROV got a whole lot more astounding.

While some very important parts have yet to be implemented, like the leak detectors, the project looks to be going quite smoothly. With updates promised, we can’t wait to watch this continue until the end.

Related: Yellow Subs and double ROVs

This underwater camera housing on Instructables doesn’t require a specific container, allowing you to choose anything you have around the house that’s watertight and large enough to fit your camera. A finger from a glove is added so you can still operated the controls. A similar project uses an insulated water jug, accommodating any camera that fits inside. Neither of these involve any camera mods.

Maybe you want something less bulky for your camera. This method uses a plastic bag and a repurposed piece of thermoplastic to make a waterproof enclosure. You’ll have to shape, cut, and attach the thermoplastic to a clear window and a bezel that goes outside of the plastic bag to keep it in place. It should work underwater, but this project was designed to keep the camera dry while kiteboarding. They suggest putting an Alka-Seltzer tab inside the bag to let you know of any leaks. If things get really bad, the bag should inflate and float on the surface.

If you want to go the incredibly cheap route, you might consider building this underwater camera housing that we discussed back in 2006. It’s a modified Pelican #1010 case, and the camera is a CVS Single Use Digital Camcorder (a hacker favorite) with an added magnetic record switch.

Even commercial housings can be improved upon. [Andrew Newton] added a macroframer to his underwater rig. There aren’t any specific instructions on how to build it, but the step-by-step images give a good idea of the process. A macroframer allows you to take detailed up-close photos like the one above without needing use a view finder or wait for autofocus.

Now that you’ve got an underwater camera, why not let an underwater ROV do all the swimming for you? Hackaday contributor [Jason Rollette]‘s mini submarine is constructed of PVC piping and is controlled by custom software written in Visual Basic; commands are sent via an attached RS232 serial port. With a camera mounted, you’ll be able to take awesome photos of undersea life… or the bottom of your pool. It’s your call.