Nauticam NA-GX8 User manual

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1
Thank you for your purchase of a NAUTICAM camera housing.
At NAUTICAM, we pride ourselves in the a ility to recognise the
requirements of professional as well as amateur underwater
photographers and fulfill them through the innovative designs of our
products. We strive to achieve a high level of user-friendliness y
allowing stress-free installation and easy operation of all important
functions of the camera.
Each housing is individually inspected and water pressure tested to
ensure optimum quality.
Please read this manual carefully efore using the housing, this will
maximise its performance as well as its lifetime.

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1.
All NAUTICAM Products are warranted against any material and
manufacturing defects for two years from the date of purchase for
consumer use. Please fill in the warranty cards shipped with our
housings and viewfinders at the time of sale and return them to
your point of purchase within a month. If we do not receive the
completed warranty card for a particular product, the warranty
period would e assumed to egin from the day that the product is
shipped from our facility. This warranty only applies to products
purchased from authorised NAUTICAM dealers and does not
extend eyond the original retail purchaser.
2.
To return your product for service, please contact your regional
authorized service centre(s). Please note that this warranty only
applies when the product is purchased in the territory where the
service centre is located.
3.
NAUTICAM accepts no lia ility for any damage to and defects in
the housing caused y improper use and/or poor maintenance; it is
the responsi ility of the owner to carefully follow the instructions
in our manuals.
4.
NAUTICAM does not hold responsi ility for damage, of any nature,
to any equipment used with and/or placed within our products.
5.
NAUTICAM accepts no lia ility for any loss of captured images or
the ina ility to capture images even if it is due to the
malfunctioning of our products.
6.
Unauthorised modifications and/or repairs of our products will
automatically invalidate the warranty.

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1. NA-GX8 housing
2. Instruction manual
3. Spare silicone ru er housing o-ring
4. O-ring remover
5. CR2032 attery (for moisture alarm)
6. Lu ricant
7. Set of Allen keys
8. Pair of handle rackets with shutter release extension
Spare silicone ru er o-ring
Lu ricant Pair of handle rackets
with Shutter release
extension
CR2032 attery
O-ring remover
Set of Allen keys

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1. A water-tight test without the camera inside the housing is highly
recommended when using the system for the first time and after
the changing of port and O-ring(s).
2. Do not use lu ricants from other rands with the silicone ru er O-
ring on this housing, only use the lu ricant provided y NAUTICAM.
3. Discontinue use immediately should you notice any leakage.
4. Store the housing in a ro ust, shock-proof container during
transportation; avoid transporting with any equipment, such as a
camera, inside the housing.
5. When travelling y air, do not close the housing if the port is
installed, as this may lead to a pressure difference etween the
atmosphere and inside the housing.
6. Care must e taken when opening the housing, as pressure may
uild up inside the housing which increases the opening force.
7. Do not open the product in a wet or sandy environment. Protect
the interior from moisture and de ris in order to prevent
malfunction or leakage.
8. Do not store the product in an environment of high humidity.
9. Do not leave the housing and the camera in direct sunlight for
prolonged periods.
10. Keep out of reach of children, failure to do so could result in injury.
11. Defective products should e shipped to our distri utors for service,
unauthorized disassem ling and/or modifications could result in
malfunction or leakage.

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Specifications 6
Identification of Parts 7
Preparation of the Housing 10
Opening and Locking the Housing 13
Installing the Camera 1
Mounting the Port 16
Changing the Viewfinder 18
Care and Maintenance 19
Optional Accessories 20

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Construction
Housing ody: Aluminium alloy
Surface treatment: Hard anodised
Display window: A rasion resistant polycar onate
Dimensions
(with handles)
Width: 206mm
Height: 154mm
Depth: 99mm
Weight Approx. 1.17kg (without camera)
Buoyancy Slightly negative
Depth rating 100 metres
Features
Moisture alarm: Blinking LED and audi le alarm
TTL capa ility:
Supported via fi er optic through
the use of the optional Panasonic
DMW-FL70-S flash unit.
Port mount: Patented easy port installation
system.
Main and Su dials:
Easily reached y thum or
forefinger.
Shutter release
extension and
stainless steel
handle rackets:
Provide convenient shutter release
access when used with Nauticam
Tray and Handle Systems.

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1 Mode dial 7 Housing lock safety utton
2 Exposure compensation dial 8 Housing lock
3 On/off switch 9 Fn13 utton
4 Rear dial 10 Front dial
5 Fn1 utton 11 M14 accessory port
6 Threaded holes for handle
rackets 12 Shutter release lever
4
7
2
11
12
3
5
6
9
8
10
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13 Accessory coldshoe 19 M16 accessory port
14 Optical fi re mount 20 Threaded holes for handle
rackets
15 Port alignment index 21 Zoom/Focus kno
16 M10 stro e mounting ase 22 Port release safety utton
17 Lens release utton 23 Port lock/release lever
18 Moisture alarm window 24 1/4”–20UNC tripod socket x 2*
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20
18
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* The maximum length of screws that can e
used with the tripod sockets is 4mm
14
21
19
22
23
24
16
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25 Flash on/off lever 33 Play ack utton
26 Fn5 utton 34 ISO sensitivity utton
27 LVF/ Fn6 utton 35 White alance utton
28 Focus mode lever 36 MENU/SET utton
29 Movie utton 37 Auto focus mode utton
30 AF/AE LOCK utton 38 Drive mode/ Auto racket
utton
31 Q.MENU/ Fn2 utton 39 Fn4 utton
32 DISP utton 40 Delete/Cancel/ Fn3 utton
32
33
31
30
39
34
35
36
37
38
40
25
29
26
27
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1. After verifying that the housing O-ring is in good condition, lightly
coat it with the lu ricant provided.
2. Make sure the O-ring groove located in the rear part of the housing
is free from any foreign material; the groove can e cleaned with
the aid of a microfi er cloth.
3. Place the O-ring into the groove.
4. To install the optical fi re mount for external stro e connection,
fasten it with the screws provided to the threaded sockets of the
accessory coldshoe as shown:

11
1.
Install t
he CR2032 attery provided
into the attery compartment on
the circuit oard inside the front
part of the housing.
5. Setting up the moisture alarm:
3.
Test the alarm y contacting the two
wires near the ottom of the
housing with a damped cotton ud;
the alarm should start giving out a
repeating “ eep” sound along with
a flashing red light. The “ eep”
sound and the light should keep on
going for 5 seconds after the
removal of the damped cotton ud.
2.
Switch the alarm on
. The LED light
will turn lue for five seconds
indicating the attery is normal.
Then it goes into flashing lue light
stand y mode.

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LED status identification:
On start up:
LED indicator
Status
Flash “Blue” light
once
Indicates a 2nd generation PCB
Steady "Blue" light
Battery is normal,
goes into flashing "Blue" light
stand y mode after 5 seconds.
"Blue" and "Red"
lights alternating
Battery low. R
eplac
e
attery
as soon as possi le
.
Goes into stand y mode after 5 seconds.
Steady "Red" light
Battery empty
, replace attery.
After start up:
LED indicator
Status
Flashing "Blue" light
Stand y mode. The
moisture alarm is active, and
the system is ready for vacuum indication
whenever a vacuum is detected.
Flashing "Red" light
with audio sounds.
Moisture is detected.
Flashing "Yellow"
light
Some vacuum is detected, target vacuum level is
not reached.
St
eady "Green" light
Target vacuum level is reached.
Rapidly flash "Yellow"
light
Vacuum is dropping. (Will occur only after target
vacuum level is reached)
Rapidly flashing
"Red" light
Vacuum is totally lost. Circuit stalled until switched
off. (Will occur only after target vacuum level is
reached)
(Optional) Vacuum valve can e
attached to the housing via one
of the accessory port for
conducting a vacuum seal test.
Please refer to the manual of the
vacuum valve for more details of
the operation.

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To open the housing:
To lock the housing:
2.
Turn the housing lock anti
-
clockwise for 270°, until the lock
reaches the “Open” position as
shown.
3.
Close the housing while the
housing lock is in the “Open”
position.
4.
Turn the housing lock clockwise
for 270°, until the lock reaches the
“lock” position as shown.
Confirm that the white indicator
line on the safety utton is visi le.
1.
Press the housing lock safety
utton.

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1.
Turn the locking lever on the tray
of the housing to the “open”
position as shown.
2.
Remove the camera saddle from
the housing y sliding it outwards.
3.
Attach the saddle to the
camera y tightening the
screw to the tripod socket of
the camera.
4.
Lift the ON/OFF lever
and mode
dial upwards.

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5.
Install
the camera y sliding the
attached saddle along the rail in
the housing until it cannot go in
any further.
Note: If installing the camera with
lens and gear attached, first pull
out the zoom/focus knob and sit on
the shallower groove.
6.
Lock the camera into place y
turning the locking lever to the
“lock” position.
9.
Confirm that all the controls of the
housing are correctly engaged.
10. For removal of the camera from
the housing, reverse the a ove
procedures.
7.
Gently push the ON/OFF lever
downwards ensuring the actuator
correctly engages with the
ON/OFF lever of the camera.
8. Gently push the mode dial
downwards.

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Please refer to the NAUTICAM system port chart for a range of compati le
ports.
1.
Remove the O
-
ring from the
port, inspect for any damage
and lightly coat it with the
provided lu ricant efore
placing it ack into its groove.
2. Verify that the port opening of
the housing is clean and free
from foreign material.
3.
Push the safety utton of the port
locking lever downwards.
4.
Turn the port locking lever to the
release position as shown.
5.
Lift housing ca
p.

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6.
Align the Port mounting indices of
the port and the housing.
7. Gently push the port into the port
opening of the housing, until it
cannot go in any further.
8.
Lock the port into place y turning
the port locking lever to the inward
position. To ensure that the port is
securely mounted, confirm that the
green line on the safety utton of
the port locking lever is visi le.
9. To remove the port from the
housing, simply turn the port locking
lever to the outward position and
gently pull it out.

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1.
Remove the
retainer
O
-
ring of
the viewfinder inside the rear
half of the housing y making
use of the recess on the
To remove the viewfinder:
To re-install the viewfinder:
In order tha
t users can change to a preferred viewfinder easily, the
0.66X viewfinder which comes with this housing is designed so that it can e
removed and re-installed y following the simple steps descri ed elow.
2.
Gently push the viewfinder
from the inside of the housing.
1.
Lightly coat the O
-
rings on
the outer periphery of the
viewfinder ody with
lu ricant.
2. Align the viewfinder with
the sleeve in the display
window.
3.
Push the viewfinder from the
outside of the housing until it
cannot go in any further.
4. Place the retainer O-ring of
the viewfinder ack from
inside the housing.

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1. Soak the housing system in fresh water after each salt water use,
during which all control uttons/kno s should e operated a few
times to avoid the accumulation of salt residue; wipe the housing
with a towel efore opening.
2. After each day of diving, it is advisa le to have the main O-ring in
the rear part of the housing removed from its groove with the O-
ring remover and inspected for damage. Also check that the O-ring
retains its original circular shape; never stretch the O-ring
excessively or remove it with a sharp o ject. The O-ring groove
should e cleaned to ensure it is free from any salt deposit or
foreign material; lightly coat the O-ring with the provided lu ricant
efore reinstalling it in the groove. A damaged O-ring should e
discarded immediately and replaced only with one that is provided
y NAUTICAM.
3. Replace the main O-ring annually.
4. It is recommended that you ship the housing to our distri utor for a
complete overhaul every year or after every 200 dives.