Fantasea F400D User manual

Fantasea F400D
Housing
User's Manual

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Table of Contents
FANTASEA F400D HOUSING ...................................................................................................................1
TABLE OF CONTENTS..............................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................................................3
INCLUDED WITH HOUSING....................................................................................................................3
RECOMMEND ACCESSORIES (NOT INCLUDED)..............................................................................4
CAMERA MODEL.......................................................................................................................................4
A VARIETY OF USES .................................................................................................................................5
SPECIFICATIONS AND CONTROLS......................................................................................................5
HOUSING ORIENTATION ........................................................................................................................7
CONTROL DETAILS ..................................................................................................................................9
TRAY AND HANDLE SYSTEM ASSEMBLY........................................................................................14
PREPARATION OF HOUSING BEFORE THE DIVE..........................................................................16
CARE & MAINTENANCE........................................................................................................................20
BASIC SHOOTING TECHNIQUES.........................................................................................................22
CAMERA LENSES AND PORTS.............................................................................................................24
FANTASEA F400D WARRANTY ............................................................................................................25

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Introduction
Welcome to the exciting world of underwater digital SLR photography. Your purchase of
the Fantasea F400D housing for the Canon 400D digital camera will set you apart from
other photographers. With this system, you will enjoy the best chance of capturing the
widest variety of superior underwater images. You will find the housing to be easy and
instinctive to use and handle and will have countless dives in which to experiment with
the F400D's advanced imaging capabilities. Fantasea Line Photo is pleased to offer our
help with any of your photographic needs.
The purpose of this manual to is to provide you with the basic introduction to your
Fantasea F 400D, which should get you comfortable with the housing and allow you to
get started taking great underwater images right away. We strongly urge you to
thoroughly read the Canon 400D instruction manual as well, to familiarize yourself with
the most common controls and settings that you will use for your underwater
photography. The Fantasea F400D housing will permit access to most of the important
controls on the camera. To take full advantage of these features, it is best to have a good
command of what each option can do for you, so you will know when you should use
each specific control.
Included With Housing
The F400D housing consists of a front and back shell that latch together to
form the housing body
A screw in standard flat port is included. This port will accommodate the
18-55mm lens. Other optional ports are available for different lenses ( 5
inch super wide angle Dome Port, 60 mm macro/close up port and 100mm
super macro port)
Two Aluminum B and J housing handles come with your housing, (due to
packaging restrictions they may need to be assembled by the customer).
These handles include 1" (25mm) round ball mounts which integrate
nicely with most B and J Arm systems, making for easy integration with
most underwater lighting and flash systems. The handles are easily
assembled by tightening one screw head per handle. They are also
adjustable to fit divers using gloves
Base plate for mounting other tray and arm systems
Zoom Control Guide Band that is attached to the camera lens
Optical viewfinder eyepiece built into the back cover of the housing to
assist the photographer in viewing and focusing
A five-pin TTL flash sync port to connect with the 400D’s hot shoe
Removable camera mounting tray that slides into position with the 400D
attached, positioning the camera in the exact location for perfect control
alignment

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Spare O-Rings for the housing and lens port
Adjustment tools
Wrist lanyard
Warranty and other documents
Instruction manual
Silicone
Cleaning cloth
Lens port cover
Recommend Accessories (not included)
Accessories:
Carry bag (optional)
Red filter (optional)
Extension arm for strobe or video light (optional)
Macro, Wide and Dome ports (optional)
Housings for eTTL Speedlite 580EX (optional)
6 pin eTTL sync cord (optional)
Additional Features:
Visible main O-ring for final pre-dive check
Handles with Flash mounts
Double O-ring design on all controls
Bulkhead and Hotshoe plug for strobe (included)
Camera Model
Fantasea F400D is dedicated exclusively to the Canon 400D camera. The size and shape
of the camera, plus the location of controls for alignment with housing controls requires
this precision design. Together, the 400D camera and F400D housing offer the best
combination of advanced digital photography at an affordable price. No other camera
may be used in the Fantasea F400D housing.
Some Camera Features:
10.1 megapixel CMOS sensor with improved microlens array, fill factor and lower noise
EOS Integrated Cleaning System
oAnti-static coatings on sensor surfaces plus anti-dust materials in the camera body
oSeparate low pass filter with ultra-sonic vibration
oSoftware based dust mapping / removal
Nine point Auto Focus sensor (same as EOS 30D) with F2.8 support

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Continuous shooting burst up to 27 JPEG and 10 RAW images
Single large, bright, 2.5" LCD monitor with 160° viewing angles (horizontal and vertical)
Camera settings and adjustment on LCD monitor
Proximity sensor below viewfinder eyepiece to disable the LCD during composition
New viewfinder view includes 9 AF points as well as EOS 30D style status bar
Picture Styles, larger range of image parameter adjustment (same as EOS 30D)
Improved user interface
Image magnification available in record review
A Variety of Uses
The Fantasea F400D housing is more than just an underwater camera system. It protects
the Canon 400D against damage from such environmental conditions as rain, snow, dust,
sand, and dirt. It is perfect protection for active outdoor sports, where these elements
would normally not allow an advanced camera like the 400D to be used without danger
of damage. The lightweight, compact housing and handles make it easy to hold and use
while sailing, fishing, kayaking, backpacking, or just for fun at the beach or around the
pool. It will also provide a valuable tool for many commercial, industrial, and medical
applications, because it is impervious to most liquids, and sprays.
Specifications and Controls
Specifications:
The main seal between front and back halves is a radial O-ring
The ports are sealed when mounted by 2 O-rings, one Radial and one
Compression type.
Controls use stainless steel shafts and springs
Controls are sealed by double O-rings
Control knobs and buttons are made of molded polycarbonate
Closure Design: Buckles are stainless steel
Body Material: Body and handles are made of molded polycarbonate
Flash sync port is a six-pin type TTL connector
Test Pressure: The Fantasea F400D has a maximum working depth rating
of 200' (60m)
Overall Size: 200 x 300 x 230 mm [LxWxH]
Total Weight: Approximately 2.6 Kg for the housing only
Buoyancy with camera: Approximately neutral in salt water
Controls:
Manual Zoom
ON/OFF
Shutter Release
Mode Control

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LCD Control Panel Illuminator
Aperture/Exposure Compensation Control
Flash Sync Port
AF Point Selection
Playback
Set Control
Erase
AE-L/AF-L
Four Way Multi-Control
oMeter Mode
oWhite Balance
oIso Speed /Set Control
oAuto Focus
Command Dial for Speed and Aperture changes

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Housing Orientation
Top and Front:
6 Pin Flash Sync Port Bulkhead 1
Mode Control/
ON/OFF Control 2
Main Trigger [Shutter] 3
Command Main Dial 4
Interchangeable Port Mount 5
Zoom Lens Control 6
1
2
4
3
5
6

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Back Side:
Display (On/Off) / Info 7
Menu 8
Jump 9
Playback Control 10
Erase 11
Viewfinder Eyepiece 12
Aperture/Exposure Compensation Control 13
Drive Mode 14
AE-Lock/FE-Lock Control/Enlarge 15
AF Point Selection 16
4 Button Multi Selector 17
oMetering Mode
oISO Speed Set
oAuto Focus
oWhite Balance
Set Control 18
7
8
9
10
11
18
17
16
15
13
12
14

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Control Details
The following is a partial list of the most common uses of housing and camera controls.
For the full list of camera functions and settings accessed by each control, you should
consult your Canon 400D camera instruction manual.
Please note that some of the Fantasea F400D housing controls are designed to operate
more than one camera control.
Flash Sync Port: 
Connect the Canon 6 pin sync cord to this bulkhead connector.
Align the index marks to correctly position cord to seat in flash port.
Push down on cord to seat the O-ring seal, and make connection with the contact
pins.
Tighten collar on sync cord to insure cord does not come loose or separates while
underwater or during use.
oA 6 pin to 5 pin adaptor cord is available for users that have
the 5 pin Nikonos type flashes.
ON/OFF / Mode Control: 
Dual Function Control button:
<On> the power lamp lights, and the camera turns on.
<Off> the camera is off and does not operate. Set to this position when not in use.
The second feature sets the Mode Control; push down and twist to set the mode;
oMode dial is divided into two functional zones: Basic and
Creative.
1. Basic: all you do is press the shutter button
for fully automatic shooting with a choice of
specific subject shooting modes.
2. Creative: can set camera to your specific
parameters. These modes will give you more
control over the result. See Canon 400D
instruction manual for full details.

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Main Trigger [Shutter]: 
Depress halfway to set the focus and fully depress to activate shutter.
oHalfway depression activates auto-focusing [AF] and
automatic exposure [AE] setting shutter speed and aperture.
oDepressing completely releases the shutter and takes the
picture.
Shutter Speed and Aperture Control [Command Main Dial]: 
When a creative zone is chosen, the Command Dial is used.
This is a double function button:
oSets the shutter speed
oSets the aperture in AV mode
oTo activate aperture change in the manual mode you must
depress the Aperture Compensation Control button [13] in
back of camera and then rotate the main dial [Speed
Aperture Command Control dial--Reel #4]. Check with
Canon Instruction manual for details.
Interchangeable Port Mount: 
Allows the use of different ports to match different interchangeable lenses for
creative imaging control. Carefully check that both O-rings mounted on the port
thread areas are properly seated, cleaned and lubricated prior to installing the lens
port.
Zoom Lens Control: 
Operates the zoom control function: see the section called Attaching the Zoom
Control Guide Ring in the chapter "Preparation of Housing" for details on attaching
the Zoom Control Guide Ring.
Display (On/Off) / Info: 
The LCD monitor can display the camera setting screen, menus screen and image, etc.
When shooting, press the button to turn the LCD display screen on/off.
In Playback mode, press the display button to switch the display format: Single
image display with/without basic info and shooting information display.