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Traveling:
o
Use protective hard case when traveling to protect the camera and
housing from impact damage.
o
If possible, do not check camera and housing case on airlines. Use a hard
case that can fit under the seat or in the overhead compartment of aircraft,
and hand carry.
Annual Maintenance and Storage:
o
The housing's Gasket seal and port's O-ring should be replaced every year
or more often if used frequently. The frequency of replacement depends
on the user's inspection of these seals and their condition at the time. If in
doubt, it is always better to change them in order to not take the chance of
flooding the housing.
o
The seals on each of the controls should be replaced every couple of years
or more often if needed. The best indicator of the need for replacement is
if the controls become harder to operate due to a build up of salt or
corrosion.
o
Store housing in a cool, dry location when not traveling. It is
recommended that the housing be stored with the two halves together, but
not with the latching buckles closed. This will take the constant
compression off the main Gasket seal. It is also recommended that the
housing is not stored with the port mounted.
Basic Shooting Techniques
Practice handling the FD-40X on land
o
Getting familiar with the location and movement of all the controls and
how the changes in settings can affect your image is an important part of
the process. It is better to learn the basics of the camera's operation on
land, rather than when first underwater. It is faster to operate the camera
out of the housing and you will not have the limited time frame as you
would if you were underwater.
Focusing and Shutter release control
o
Get used to operating this control on the camera in both half depress, and
full depress movements. You will frequently depress the shutter release
only half way to activate the exposure meter and auto focus to preview
the shooting conditions and make setting changes. Once you get the feel
for operating the camera control directly, you can then try it in the FD-
40X, using the housing's trigger control in the same manner.
Use the viewfinder eyepiece
o
Compose and view exposure information display. It is very important
that you become familiar with the information display in the viewfinder
so you can make proper exposure settings and know what other settings
have been made. You will use this often and it is good to become familiar
