Waterproof camera with HDMI out

Technical Videography and Photography
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I’m looking for an affordable waterproof camera with clean 1920x1080 HDMI output, without any text or overlays on the video. I need it to be waterproof while outputting out the HDMI. Most action cams/cases are not waterproof with a cable plugged in, and many will not do clean live HDMI out. I also need this camera to be powered continuously without shutting off, so I’m not relying on frequently changing batteries.

Does what I’m looking for exist? I’ve even thought to mill a hole in the case, and silicone a cable in. Or perhaps there is some aftermarket case that can do what I need. Or maybe I stick the camera in some kind of clear box or case or something that I make or mod. I would consider a camera with SDI out as well, since that can be converted to HDMI.

I’m looking to put it inside a CNC mill where it could be splashed with machine coolant. Any suggestions are welcome.

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Waterproof while plugged in is gonna be a hard one, looking around I’m not seeing much from some google searches…

A waterproof enclosure with a connector like this may be your best bet (flush-mount face pointed into the box, so all connectors are out of the line-of-fire)

A properly sized cable gland may be another option, but finding one that can fit an HDMI connector through plus be able to clamp down enough to prevent liquid from coming in is also going to be hard to find. HDMI Mini might be able to fit?

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Most GoPros have an HDMI output and are waterproof… they’re just not waterproof while connected with an HDMI cable (because you have to open a cover to get to it.

Depending on how much you care about the camera, any waterproof camera that has an HDMI output could probably be made to be waterproof while connected to an HDMI cable with the proper coating (heck, hot glue might even work if you’re careful), it just might not come off very cleanly when you try to disconnect it later.

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This is a good idea. Thank you. Now to figure out what to put the camera in, and which camera to put in it.

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From what I’ve seen, most GoPros are at least water resistant, not while plugged in of course.

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For that application, you don’t really need traditional ‘waterproof.’ Waterproof is intended not just to keep water out, but to keep it out at depth (i.e. pressure), and that’s where it gets tricky. Most of the GoPros, for example, can go down to 33ft, which is 2 ATM of pressure. Once you start submerging the camera, you have to worry about water literally being pushed into the camera by the pressure difference. But, that’s not something you have to worry about.

I would just build a polycarbonate box.

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Plastic bag. No coolant should be flooding the camera area, especially if it’s up on the gantry. Just tape some plastic around the lens.

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Something I’ve designed before:

  • Build or buy a water proof enclosure for the camera
  • Make a waterproof tube penetration with a bulkhead fitting like this: McMaster-Carr, and a compression fitting.
  • Insert a poly tube into the fitting with a large enough ID to pass the cable(s) and seal with the compression fitting
  • Make sure the open end of the tube is above the waterline.
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Is wirelessly streaming out of the question? IIRC all GoPros being sold let you see what the camera is seeing over WiFi.

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when you find one, let me know, we’d love to have HD video on our underwater robot…

(actually, if you get ahold of s_forbes and ask him what he used for the NURC field cameras last year, he might have some ideas)

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WiFi doesn’t work through water (more than a few inches anyways). Water has very high signal attenuation at GHz frequencies. Microwaves operate at 2.4 GHz, and work by heating water because water is highly absorptive at 2.4 GHz.

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Yeah, but the use case of being inside of a CNC tells me it’s not going to be submerged in water, just splashed occasionally. I guess the body of the machine could be an issue if it’s made of metal, though.

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Fun fact - this also applies in large crowds of people since people are ugly giant bags of mostly water.

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So if I built a large enough radar array I could cook people?

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Having put gopro’s in AndyMark’s Haas before, check all of your plastics against the coolant you are using, before you put the very expensive camera in it. While the gopro cases tended to be ok with one type of coolant, the mounts actually became extremely brittle and crumbled apart, similar to what you see with a chemical attack on polycarbonate.

You may also want to look into PTZ cameras typically used in security systems. You may find something there that already meets most of your requirements.

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This is the largest one I’ve been inside…in North Dakota. Semi trailer parked to the left if it, for scale.

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I expect you will need to build your own housing and have a waterproof penetration for the video cable and another for the power cable. These kinds of bulkhead penetrations are common in the world of kayak fishing for fish finder cables. Here’s one solution for multiple cables.
https://www.amazon.com/Wilderness-Systems-Through-Hull-Wiring-Kayaks/dp/B075JMN2SP/

If you got creative you could adapt some of the housings I designed for waterproofing power pole connectors. These are 3D printed, so you can make your own.

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