Protective camera housings already exist in various shapes and sizes, but this one from entrepreneur JR deSouza caught our eye for its versatility and light weight. Even better, the durable, transparent material means you can continue to access your camera controls, allowing you to work fast in challenging conditions.
The Clear Outex is essentially an updated version of the Outex that deSouza successfully funded on Kickstarter three years ago before bringing it to market.
The entrepreneur is turning to Kickstarter again, hoping to secure backing to the tune of $35,000 to make the Clear Outex happen.
The soft, waterproof housing fits around “virtually any camera” on the market, though the project’s stretch goals promise optimized covers customized for smaller mirrorless cameras as well as professional DSLRs.
Advantages over the original Outex design include the ability to see the camera’s dials and buttons, an enhanced material composition for faster camera installation and extraction, and improved longevity of the housing achieved via a new manufacturing process.
The Clear Outex also features a modular design so you can add a tripod, flash, and other important camera accessories with little effort.
While the product appears to offer an effective solution for protecting your kit against rain, dust, sand, and dirt, deSouza says that if you need to completely submerge it, you should first conduct a water test in a controlled environment “such as a bucket or sink … to ensure all the openings are properly sealed and there’s no user error.” No, you certainly won’t want any user error with your pricey camera gear.
The creator says the original Outex is already used by numerous photographers around the world, from amateur to pro, some of them working for major organizations such as National Geographic, the BBC, and the Associated Press.
A pledge of $375 will get you a Clear Outex kit comprising the cover, front and back optical lenses to match your camera, and a strap. If you already have the original Outex and therefore only need the Clear cover without the extras, a $99 pledge will do the trick.
Assuming the project pulls in the required funds, the Clear Outex will ship globally in January 2018.
For more information on precisely how the Clear Outex functions, check out deSouza’s website, which offers several informative videos on how to get the most out of it.
