Subal underwater camera housings, your passion, our motivation

We only use the very best materials – because it matters! For this reason SUBAL machines its housings from a single block of aluminium. This process eliminates air enclosures and guarantees housings are absolutely leak proof. All housing parts and accessories are made from the same, high grade, seawater-resistant alloy. Additional heat treatment (tempering) increases strength and hardness by 30% and significantly reduces the inevitable deformation resulting from hydrostatic pressure under water. All shafts, screws and numerous other parts are guaranteed to be made from chrome nickel high grade alloy steel. Plastic parts are made exclusively from top grade, industrial polymers, ensuring maximum durability and longevity.

To ensure long-term user satisfaction with a SUBAL housing we begin our quest for maximum durability right at its surface: Creating a protective layer of extreme hardness and gauge (up to 10 times of what can be achieved in an anodising process), “Hard Coating” raises resistance against wear and tear as well as against corrosion to a paramount level. High quality, multi layer powder coating further enhances protection from wear and tear. S-

Hardness and dimensional consistency are a particular concern when it comes to front ports. For this reason most SUBAL front ports are made from polyacetal resins. For the larger dome ports we use a seawater resistant aluminium alloy, subject to the same hard coating process as our housings. A critical factor determining the quality of your pictures is the material the front port lens is made of. For this reason all SUBAL flat and dome ports come with lenses made from top quality optical glass. Moreover, flat front lenses come with optical coating on the inside, allowing for maximum light transmission and enhanced contrast.

First and foremost an underwater camera housing needs to be absolutely leak proof. For this reason SUBAL exclusively uses O-rings that have stood the test in both technical and underwater technical application: made from seawater resistant materials also resistant against all sorts of greases and oils, thereby eliminating contingent swelling and subsequent water entry. The extra heavy gauge Orings used to seal front lenses and ports are made from particularly soft materials, with the added benefit that small embedded particles of dirt are reliably sealed in! Additionally SUBAL’s innovative locking mechanism largely eliminates losses resulting from careless handling. All the above features combine to ensure long-term protection from leaks.

Which camera function would you like to do without? We believe none! This is the reason why our housings offer an outstanding number of function transmissions. This way all creative capabilities of high end digital SLRs remain accessible to the underwater photographer. Wherever possible we place function elements within conveniently close range and in places familiar from use of the camera itself, thereby eliminating the need to change one’s approach. Our hi-tech manufacturing processes based on the second skin principle result in low weight and smallest possible dimensions – both considerable advantages for handling and transport.

The parts of a SUBAL housing extend its longevity way beyond your expectations. To achieve this all injection moulded plastic parts are virtually identical, replaceable and as spare parts fit perfectly after many years. You can rely on this for all levers, dials, cogs, lens sprockets, protective caps etcetera. To ensure this we insist on constant quality assurance from our choice of manufacturing processes in: Housings and injection-moulding tools are CNC manufactured in house, guaranteeing perfect fit from first to last part in a series. Moreover, we manually control every single housing at each step of the production process: Repeated leak testing, adjustment of all function elements and testing of electronic circuits are just a few examples of a long and exacting process assuring outstanding reliability and quality.