Here's another idea for a water-resistant, shock-resistant, very inexpensive (yet bulky and ugly) protective housing. I plan to put my Canon XH-A1 inside a sturdy, plastic five-gallon bucket (the kind you buy at any Home Depot store). I call this a "Bucket-Cam".

I’ll stuff foam rubber around the XH-A1 inside the bucket so it’s snug and cozy.

The plastic lid that comes with the bucket has a water-proof seal. The lid will have a cutout. The cutout will be covered with high-quality glass (or clear plastic) that is sealed with silicone.

I have a Canon Zoom Remote Controler ZR-2000. The remote control wire will come out a small hole in the bucket. The remote controller itself will be inside a zip-lock baggie. I think this setup will tackle any blizzard or gale. One problem with this setup is that I cannot preview while shooting, but when shooting wide-angle, and with practice, I think this will work.

I don't want severe weather to limit when or where I shoot. I'm obviously not worried about how this cheap setup looks to a client, since I'm shooting for myself. This is a project that I can build in one evening.

That's it. Effective. Portable. Cheap. Ugly. Hey, I may even put a tripod thread on the bucket (now I’m joking).

Have you seen the BIG ziplock bags? I'm not sure about them for underwater use, but for sand, dust, rain etc... I think they would work for you and let you see your settings and what your filming better than the bucket. Though for underwater stuff on the cheap, the bucket would be useful (after much testing for leaks :)

i'm all for the bucket cam. rock on.

if you are running out a lanc, run out a small monitor too.
you can mount it outside the bucket and cover it with something clear.

if shooting with a 5 gallon bucket isn't all you hoped it would be, you could always buy this

http://www.ewa-marine.com/english/camcorder/e-vxa.htm

An interesting idea, post photos when done. Be fun to see it

Maybe add a hole with a rubber glove lining in it to allow reaching in to the essential camcorder controls.

Add a side/rear window to see the screen

Rather than foam, maybe add a mounting bracket in side the bucket similar to a tripod mount. That should better alignment with the window. BTW rain/snow on the window will be in the shot, so you need to address that in your concept of operations.

Bucket does present issues for underwater shooting, would have to add weight (over 40 lbs) to make it sink.

I wouldn't want to stuff foam around the camera too much--it might build up heat after the camera is on awhile. As long as you're cutting windows in the bucket, why not one on the bottom too, so you can at least see the LCD screen?

Eric,

I just posted some pics of my setup... not quite a bucket, rather a mailbox -
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=106248

For several months I had the bucket-cam idea bouncing around in my brain, but without a specific project in mind I never built it. I was motivated to write up the idea of a bucket-cam after reading your post about your mailbox-cam.

You're going to stick a $3500 camera inside something homemade for less than $10 and put that out in the wild with water, wind, and other elements?

Geez!

Good luck.

hehe... actually $20 for the mailbox, home depot buckets go for about $4.99 I think :) - insurance well, thats a $150 a year and really needed!