Customer Reviews

Sony SPK-HCD Waterproof Sports Pack for underwater use with DCR-SR220, 45, 55, 65 Camcorders

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is perfect for recording under or near water. I bought it for boat trips and poolside events. It will definitely keep the recorder dry and the unit can be added to and removed from the plastic casing in only a few seconds. It is obviously heavier than the camera alone, but this was expected. The thing I liked best was that the casing itself has mic's built in, so whether in or out of the water you stll get great sound. This gets an A+ in my book. (p.s. although the description does not say it is compatible with the HDR-SR6, SR7, etc. it is. All of the attachments are included specifically for these other models. The instructions and users manual even state they are compatible, so I do not know why they were not listed in the first place).

Length:: 0:24 Mins

I purchased the Sony SportsPak to use on a family vacation to the Bahamas and was very pleased. This is video I took while snorkeling off Grand Bahama using the Pak with a Sony DCR-SR82 HDD Camcorder.

I highly recommend the SportsPak if you are looking for a good waterproof camcorder case for the ameteur videographer at shallow depths. I kept it at no deeper than 12-15 feet.

To open the case there are two buttons that you have to simultaneously slide that will reduce the chances of accidentally opening the unit underwater. The Pak comes with a long strap that you can place around your shoulder to drag the Pak through the water behind you as you swim/snorkel while not filming.

The Pak comes with a multitude of adapters to fit many Sony camcorders; however it is not large enough for my older DCR-TRV320 Digital 8 format camcorder. The Pak is about 9" long, 7" wide and 5 1/2" tall. In the water, the Pak is extremely buoyant -- which is good and bad. Loaded with a camcorder, the unit will rise to the water's surface like a cork so you won't lose your camera into the abyss, but the buouancy makes it hard to dive with while snorkeling. I suppose you could add some ballast to the Pak to make it neutrally buoyant, but I did not try it.

A wire on the interior of the unit plugs into your camera's AV output slot that activates the exterior buttons on the Pak. These buttons allow you to power on and off your camcorder, start and stop filming, and use the camcorder's zoom functions. It also lets you toggle to the Photo Mode of your camcorder, and toggle to Play mode -- however, for some reason you can not play your recorded video using the external controls -- only the thumbnails of the scenes are visible on the screen.

The supports that hold the flip-out mirror for the viewfinder in place detach rather easily and definitely could have been better engineered. And if you do not use the provided anti-fog drops, the unit WILL fog up. However, if you (1) follow the included instructions that tell you to load the camera into the unit while indoors (in the air conditioning and out of the humidity), (2) use the anti-fog solution, and (3) DO NOT OPEN THE PAK outdoors or in the sand, it stays clear with no fog.

The camcorder screen's reflected image on the viewfinder can be difficult to see in certain light; however, I also put the anti-fog solution on the Pak's viewfinder's mirror and that helped me to better see the image I was recording. (Of course, often it is difficult to see a camcorder screen's image just using it by itself in bright sunlight!) After use, you must remove the camcorder and wash the Pak thoroughly and lubricate the O-ring with provided lubricant to maintain the O-ring's longevity.

When using above the water, you will want to carry a towel to dry water droplets from the housing in front of the camcorder lens -- otherwise, you will have water droplets in your shots.

I can also envision using the SportsPak while filming kids' sporting events in the rain or using it on the boat at the lake just to protect the camera from an accidental drop into the water. All in all, we had a lot of fun filming with our new Sony SportsPak.

This is a product that meets most expectations. Quality components, advanced controls, etc. It was highly protective of my video camera both in and out of the water. Controls were easy to use. The electronic interface was easier to use than the manual controls on advanced still and video camera underwater housings. The recommended depth is somewhat shallow, and I will admit to taking it a bit deeper than advised without problems. One minor complaint: The supports for the mirror apparatus were difficult to keep in place while filming. One major complaint: The unit is not weighted to be neutrally buoyant. I required 6-8 additional pounds of weight to take the camera in this housing to depth.

I bought this for my Sony HD HDR-SR12. I went on vaca to Mexico and wanted it mostly for snorkeling. it worked great except for the minor fogging of the front interior of the sports pack. This was easily fixed with the use of the anti fog lubricant that it comes with. ( i forgot to apply before i used it the the 1st time) But besides that its awesome. Links up perfectly with my macbook and Imovie and Idvd.

The Sony SPK-HCD is a great product. It is very easy to use. It offers great audio and video.

The underwater sounds are amazing. Just be careful there is no windscreen on the microphone, so in windy situations the audio can saturate.

I used the Sony SPK-HCD Waterproof Sports Pack with my older camcorder Sony DCR-TRV33, which is not listed as compatible. I was still able to use it except that I had to start the camera with its remote control pointing to the LCD monitor before going into the water. I was not able to use the controls on the Sports Pack, but that was not a problem for me since I had to do a beach shoot that was not deeper than 4 - 5'.

The good and the bad:
The Sony SPK-HCD certainly keeps the camera dry, bone dry; however, it is almost impossible to see what you're filming in the bright sun of South Florida. I couldn't see what I was filming underwater either, perhaps because at 4' deep, the reflection of the sun still filtered through. Other problems with the glass: The glass area is so big in comparison to the lens of a camcorder that even if you point the camera to your subject, you might get a portion of it, especially if you are close. The glass is also very prone to get smudged or have huge drops suspend themselves on it, making that part of the footage useless. Luckily, I would check the footage often and would re-shoot certain scenes over. This, of course, took up much more of my time and that of my talent. It was very frustrating.

The images and sound are very good, though.

Recommendations:
I would recommend not using the Sports Pack outside of the water in bright sunlight in order to see what you are shooting and have more control of its outcome.

Perhaps it is possible to see what you are shooting if you are diving much deeper, as in scuba diving.

I was afraid at start to put the 1000$ camera under water, but it paid off.
Easy to use, great videos. only minos is that you can not play what you recorded while the camera is in the case. you can switch to play mode, but not play.

I have used this on the water a couple of times and love it. I bought it to put in my whitewater kayak and film on the river and it has jumped around in that kayak and has barely any wear to show for it. Only thing I noticed is the piece that pops out so you can view what you are filming fogs easily. It comes with some defogging liquid that I need to add to it to see if that helps.

Used this with my HDR-SR11. It definitely keeps the camera dry -- no sign of leakage whatsoever. It worked well on my first trial in a heated pool. Sound quality underwater would be great except that it is punctuated by frequent clicking sounds, which are super annoying and wreak havoc on the volume auto-gain circuit. The clicking sound doesn't happen when filming out of the water.

However, the worst problem is with the unit fogging up. On the boat or in Hanauma bay, the unit totally fogged up after a few minutes, which made any further shooting impossible. This is even with proper application of the anti-fogging solution and using a new desiccant packet.

So, you need to either load the camera into the underwater housing on a really low-humidity day, or plan to film only in very warm water or only for a few minutes.

The foldout underwater viewfinder works great at night, but is all but impossible to see during the day. I could only aim my shots by sighting along the barrel of the camera and avoiding fancy zooming.

The rear of the housing has more than ample room to accommodate an oversize battery. Sadly there is no way to add a wide-angle conversion lens in the front.

I found this underwater box to be excellent, although the volume when using the box seems magnified loader than using the camera alone. I took this on Splash Mountain at Disneyland and got a great video of my daughters getting splashed...