After testing his first makeshift models on a surf trip to Australia and Indonesia, he later realized he would have to manufacture the camera, its housing and the strap all together.

FORBES: GoPro Evolution: From 35mm Film To America's Fastest-Growing Camera Company

While there is a waterproof housing, the camera itself will take the elements on pretty well thanks to its IPX7 rating.

ENGADGET

The camera was very responsive and the housing felt quite durable -- you definitely get quite a bit for your 450 bucks.

ENGADGET: Hands-on with Nikon's Coolpix P520 and L820 superzooms at CP+ (video)

The small, ultra-lightweight camera is located in an aerodynamically optimized housing which is heated in cold temperatures.

ENGADGET: Audi R8 e-tron to feature digital AMOLED rear-view mirror

Framing the Gorilla Glass screen is a generous bezel housing the front-facing camera up top and Huawei's company logo at the bottom.

ENGADGET: Huawei MediaPad 10 review: test-driving the company's first 10-inch tablet

The typical camera is a Samsung color CCD model with a power zoom lens in a weather-resistant housing.

CNN: To surf the Web or surf the surf?

The only other noticeable breaks from the flush metal housing are a curious division surrounding the side-mounted dedicated hardware keys (power, volume rocker and camera button) and a flimsy flap on the opposite edge that hides ports for micro-HDMI and micro-USB.

ENGADGET: Sony Xperia Ion review: an Android handset with a split personality