GDOME MOBILE V2 PRO User manual
+27 21 001 8852 | 12A WAVERLY BUSINESS PARK,
OBSERVATORY, CAPE TOWN.
GETGDOME.COM
MOBILE
V2 PRO
USER GUIDE
Scan this QR code to learn
more about our variety of
awesome products!
COMPATIBLE WITH
iPhone/Samsung/Huawei and other
SmartPhones GoPro and other
Action Cameras
gdomeglobal
GDome
GDome Professional
Camera Accessories
GDome
Congratulations and thank you for purchasing your
Mobile Pro water housing.
The Mobile Pro allows you a whole new world of
possibilities with underwater photography and
videography using your Smartphone or Action Camera.
Please read the following insructions before using your
Mobile Pro water housing for the first time. For more tips
and tricks please visit our Website or Youtube channel.
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
Introduction
Start Up Guide
Start Up Tips
Important Notes
Safety & Maintenance
Warranty
1-2
3-6
7-14
15
16
17-18
Front O-Ring
I am injection molded with
some of the strongest
engineering materials on the
PLANET!
My lens is made from high-
impact polycarbonate.
Front Plate
Allen Key Bolt
Side Grip Handle
Dome Lens
Hinge
Introduction
1
Thumb Screw
Rear Back door Touch Membrane
My rear screen and seals are custom
molded specifically for us, from silicone.
Silicone has close to zero memory,
excellent resistance to weathering, and
UV exposure and lasts approximately
four times longer than rubber.
Introduction
2
Start Up Guide
3
Depth Rating: 5m/15 ft
Torque: 10 in-lb
It is the users
responsibility to ensure
the GDome Mobile Pro
Edition is properly sealed
and waterproof before
use in or around water.
Back Door Seal
Quicker to install with a NEW
side seal system and 2 fewer
thumbscrews for sealing up the
unit perfectly every time without
the use of tools or force.
We individually test every single unit before packaging, however,
before your first use of your Mobile pro, please conduct a water
test without any device inside. You can perform this test in any
body of water that allows you to completely submerge the water
housing. Make sure the back door and front o-ring is completely
sealed, clean and do not show any signs of damage.
A visual inspection should be done
before each use. The seal on the
back door as seen in fig 1. should
show no signs of wear and tear.
Touch Membrane
Drastically improved touch
functionality with full responsive
touch on capacitive touch
screens (as found in the iPhone
12/13/14).
5.For a snug fit, cut the shape a little
smaller than the device.
6.Place your phone into the cutout with
the camera on the side of the hole.
7.Ensure that there are no spaces
between the foam and your device.
8.Close the backdoor with a little bit of
speed (this will cause a slight convex
shape to form on the screen.
Start Up Guide
5
INSERTING DEVICE
Start Up Guide
6
9.Hand tighten the thumb screws
aound the housing to secure
the backdoor in place.
10.Press down on the membrane
to make sure that no air escapes and
that the housing is sealed.
11.Attach the safety leash only where
indicated in the image.
Do a final test by submerging your housing for 15 - 20 seconds, lift your housing out
of the water and inspect it for any water inside the housing. Water can enter the housing
either through the front port or back door.
Check both sides.
For the first use (DO NOT USE YOUR PHONE) try to take the unit to the
maximum depth you plan on using it to (up to 5m) for as long as
possible. The dome should take in absolutely no water!
Start Up Tips
7
SOME
PRO
TIPS
BEFORE
YOU
GET
GOING!
On your phone find
“Guided Access” in
settings, we use this to
lock the phone in a
certain apps. We find
this extremely useful.
One this is activated
you will triple -click
the side button in the
app you want to use.
Make sure you keep
the volume button
activated as it is what
fires the shutter with
the Bluetooth remote.
We like this as we can
lock in all the setting
we want to use when
in the water.
Start Up Tips
8
The latest Android phones
(specifically, handsets
running on Android 5.0
"Lollipop" or better) make
it easy to lock—or as
Google puts it, "pin"—an
app onto the screen,
disabling the Home, Back
and multitasking controls
until you tap the right
combination of buttons.
Please remember to turn off all
functionality other than the volume
button (this must be turned on!)
You can play around with using
different camera apps our two
favourites are Moment & Lightroom
available for IOS and Android.
Start Up Tips
9
Assisted touch
*iPhone
In order to best utilize your Mobile Pro it is imperative that you familiarise yourself
with the Assistive Touch features on your iPhone. We recommend using Tap to Wake
or Raise to Wake in order to wake up your iPhone in your Mobile PRO.
Please follow this link to learn more.
Capacitive
Touch *iPhone
iPhone makes use of a
capacitive touch screen and will
not function the same
underwater
the same way it functions
above.
You can use our Bubble
Technique
(see below) to reduce the
chance of misfires.
Start Up Tips
10
Below are best practice tips for iPhone:
• Set the phones ‘Auto-Lock’ to never.
• Settings > Display & Brightness > Auto Lock
• Turn ‘Airplane Mode’ on.
• Keep the camera app open before you submerge
• Select your preferred capture method first (ie: photo or video etc.)
Bubble
Technique
With the backdoor slightly open, pinch the
rear membrane and pull back. The unit
should suck in air. if it does not, open the
door a little bit more. Once air has been
sucked in, close the rear door and you will
see the membrane has bulged. For a
demonstration,
view this video.
Start Up Tips
11
Using
applications to
maximize the
use of your
phone
We highly suggest using the Filmic Pro App!
What makes Filmic Pro unique?
You have a lot more video format and quality
options, as well as superior focus, exposure, and
white balance control, with Filmic Pro compared
to the default Camera app. It also works nicely
with third-party gear.
We have written a comprehensive blog post detailing the features of this amazing application HERE
The Moment app is
another great App for
your smartphone
Start Up Tips
12
With Moment you get the following:
The filmmaker features we need, not the ones we don’t. We rely on manual controls, color
profiles, crisp audio and settings you can change quickly. And with Anamorphic support this is
the cleanest way to shoot video on your phone.
COLOR PROFILES
Select from default, flat, or log color profiles.
WAVEFORM MONITOR
Evaluate brightness and exposure across your video.
RGB HISTOGRAM
Dial in your video color, balance, and exposure.
MULTIPLE BIT-RATES
Get precise control over your video quality.
ANAMORPHIC SUPPORT
Desqueeze your shots.
TIMELAPSE
Manual controls for shooting 4K time-lapses.
We have also played with the Watershot
and DiveHelper app - feel free to give
these a try.
Start Up Tips
14
How to
prevent
reflection!
There are several shooting tips you
should keep in mind to help you get
that perfect eye-catching split shot!
Avoid shooting into the sun. We love
capturing light rays, but any dome
housing is prone to reflections.
The GDome has a matte finish on the
front to prevent reflections, but
occasionally I'll see the reflection of
the camera lens(s) in the center of
your shots with certain angles and
light conditions. Always try to shoot
with the sun directly behind or above.
When shooting directly into the sun,
we suggest using your subject to
block out the light source.
You can also make a custom matt
sticker or use a water based matte
paint that will prevent reflection from
your cameras reflective surfaces.
If you have a white phone with a glass
back, we highly suggest getting a
black silicone cover that blocks out
the high gloss white of the phone and
lens area.
These two are great options as you can see they
completely remove the white back of the phone and lens
area. We do suggest trying to cover the silver reflective
circle around the lens in order to maximise the reduction
of any reflective parts on the phone.
With the GDome Mobile Pro Edition, some clients have
drastically offset their camera lens away from the centre
point of the dome, this can actually drastically reduce
reflection when shooting in non ideal light conditions.
Important notes
15
Important things to note:
Do not allow any gap between the phone / action camera and the foam - this is a sure way to get reflection
in your footage. Other than these tips, you will need to play with angles if you want to shoot directly into
the sun or in poor lighting conditions.
PHONE OVER HEATING
In some tropical destinations your phone can overheat in the sealed off housing, we suggest keeping the
GDome out of direct sunlight (wrapped in a towl) until you are ready to put it in the water, if yoou are
struggling with over heating, we suggest that you close all apps and turn your phone onto flight mode.
AVOIDING FOGGING
There is nothing worse than your dome fogging up and ruining all of your content! Fogging occurs if you get
moisture inside the housing and/or due to large differences in temperatures (warm air/cold water). If you
are somewhere in the tropics or anywhere where you suspect that the fogging might occur it is best to
assemble the dome somewhere dry (inside the car, in your hotel room). If there is air conditioning available
turn it on and pump it directly into the housing before closing it up as the AC will take most of the moisture
out of the air.
There are always times that you might be unable to do this. In this case you we suggest using "Anti-Fog"
inserts. They are designed to suck the moisture out of the housing. To use Anti-Fog inserts, you can place
them into the housing, just make sure that the inserts will not be visible in the photo. Remember that you
will be able to reuse most inserts by baking the moisture out of them in a oven. Some cheaper alternatives
to these inserts are chamois leather pieces, silica gel bags and even tissue paper
BEST SHOOTING MODES
Some essential shooting modes for the GDome Mobile Pro Edition are Slow-Mo, Burst Mode and Portrait
Mode, make sure you are using your wide angle lens to capture the perfect split shots over and under the
water.
If you are struggling with focus we suggest using a mobile capera app like Moment that will allow you to
focus both over and under the water at the same time.
It is all about playing around with your GDome Mobile Pro Edition, learning what works, what doesn’t for the
shots and video you are trying to achieve.
IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY
You will notice that we have added internal grooves to the grip area, you will also see that we added ribs in
the backplate. In case of an emergency, if you spot any moisture in the dome, you can turn the unit dome
facing downwards with the grip low. The ribs have been designed to keep the phone away from the surface
of the backplate and to allow water to run and get trapped in the internal grip grooves.
If you have any questions please send us a mail sale[email protected]
Safety
16
Do not exceed depths of 5m/16ft.
• Always use your Mobile PRO with a lanyard or the provided safety leash.
• Never store your Mobile PRO in direct sunlight or environments exceeding
temperatures of 30c/86f.
• Do not store your phone inside the Mobile PRO in direct sunlight.
• The included safety leash is intended only for calm water use.
• The ‘GDOME Coiled Heavy Duty Safety Leash’ (sold separately) should be
used
in the surf or any turbulent water.
• Contains small parts which may be a choking hazard.
• Not suitable for children under 3 years of age
WARNING: Practice extreme caution when diving into water, swimming in surf
or other dynamic outdoor pursuits. Only use this product in settings that are
within yours or other’s capabilities. Serious injuries or drowning could occur
if you are not a competent swimmer for the prevailing conditions.
After each use, remove your device before again closing the
Mobile PRO and rinsing
it thoroughly in fresh water.
• Dry your Mobile PRO before storing.
• Store in a cool, dry area.
• Use the provided grease periodically on the rear door and lens port
O-Rings to reduce friction and increase operating life. Only a small amount of
grease
should be applied each time.
• Do not let any sunscreen come into contact with the rear membrane. Wipe
off and rinse any sunscreen from the Mobile PRO as soon as possible if
contact is unavoidable.
• If traveling by air, remove any dome port attachments while traveling.
• Keep all sharp objects away from the Mobile PRO that could damage the rear
membrane.
• Whenever mounting any accessories to the Mobile PRO ensure the correct
size screw
is used so as to not damage the mount threads or housing itself.
Warranty
17
Limit of liability
In the event of a product warranty claim, GDOME is only liable up to the value originally paid for
the
product.
Losses of associated equipment, income or any other financial costs are not covered under this
warranty,
under any circumstances.
Warranty - 1 year product warranty
We make every effort to ensure that our products are made from the highest quality materials and
workmanship. Should you not be completely satisfied with one of our products, we encourage you
to contact us so that we can promptly resolve any problem you may be experiencing. Our
company
representatives will deal with your issue quickly and decisively.
As many GDOME products are often used in extreme and volatile environments, we are unable to
cover for loss or damage of equipment, personal injury or financial loss.
To reduce the risk of these losses occurring, we strongly recommend you read the relevant
product
instructions carefully and test the product before use.
What does the warranty cover?
This warranty covers any defects in materials or workmanship, with exceptions stated below
What is not covered?
The warranty does not cover damage as the result of normal wear and tear. Determination of what
constitutes normal wear and tear will be at the discretion of GDOME. The warranty guarantee only
applies to the original purchaser of the product when purchased from GDOME direct or through
one
of our authorized dealers. Therefore, we may ask for proof of purchase. This warranty does not
cover for any loss of associated equipment such as cameras, lenses or other associated
equipment
not sold by GDOME.
Loss of income, reputation or other financial expenses, such as personal injury are also not
covered
by this warranty. Shipping costs for returned products are the responsibility of the customer.
How long does the coverage last?
This warranty runs for 1 year from the date your product is received.
What will GDOME do?
GDOME will repair any defect that proves defective in materials and workmanship. If repairing is
not
possible, GDOME will replace the product, or, offer a store credit for the original purchase price,
whichever
is agreed to by the customer and GDOME / Retailer store.
Table of contents
