**TL;DR:** Bought a $25 suitcase, turned out to contain a rare Hugyfot Pentax LX diving housing. That single find pulled me into film photography. Nine months later I shoot almost daily and have a small Pentax collection, and I love it. Diving test might come next year.

  
**The technical bits**  
When it arrived, I opened it up and was stunned. The lamp said “Hugyfot Switzerland”, everything looked insanely well made, all anodized aluminum, stainless steel and connectors made from titanium. The case even had spare O-rings, screws, lubes, chargers and other bits. I charged the lamp and to my surprise it still works, the flash is incredibly bright, easily comparable to a powerful studio strobe.

The housing was built for the FD-2 finder without eyepiece together with the Winder (or possibly the Motor Drive if it’s the same size). Inside there are two plastic gear rings that clamp onto the aperture and focus rings of the lens. From the outside you control them with the big black wheels on the housing. The aperture ring is locked in place with a small screw, while focus is driven by an O-ring pressing onto the lens focus ring. On top there’s even a small window to check the frame counter.

  
**The Story**  
  
While hunting for old Rimowa suitcases, I stumbled across a local auction listing: “Suitcase with contents, probably camera housing.” Price was about $25, so I knew the suitcase alone was worth it, whatever was inside couldn’t be too bad.  
  
After a bit of research I found out this was an underwater housing for the Pentax LX. Hugyfot still exists today and still makes diving gear, but I couldn’t find any documentation at all on this model. As far as I can tell this might even be the only photo of it online.

That little find dragged me straight into film photography. I had always been curious but never really took the step. As a kid I often used my grandfather’s Minolta 7700i, later I even tried my dad’s Minolta XG9 which gave me my very first taste of shooting film. Unfortunately the advance lever broke and with the last local repair shop closed the camera went back into storage. Digital never really grabbed me either, I mostly just shot with my phone once cameras got better.

So I never bought a real setup, partly because I was worried about “hobby hopping” and wasting money. Ironically, as you see a LX, that $25 suitcase turned into a nice money sinkholes, but this time I didn’t hop. Nine months later I carry a camera almost every day, I’ve shot close to 1000 photos, built up a small Pentax collection and most importantly I’m having an amazing time. Shooting film is calming, creative and slows me down in the best possible way. And along the way I’ve found an awesome community to share it with.

Next year I might actually test the housing on a dive once it gets a proper overhaul. If it doesn’t drown me or the camera, I’ll share some shots.\^\^  


Rare Pentax LX Diving Housing (maybe the only picture out there, and bit of Story)