An underwater camera housing provided with an adaptive mechanical control arrangement for use with a broad range of camera brands and models. The camera housing is preferably formed of front and rear housing sections that are molded of clear transparent plastic and arranged to be moved between an open position for mounting a camera within the housing and a closed position in which the housing provides a watertight enclosure for protecting and communicating with a camera. The housing is provided with a truncated hemispherical lens through which a camera views scenes to be photographed to reduce distortion and not foreshorten viewing angle and a flat window and optional diffuser for providing controlled artificial illumination to a scene. A mounting plate is structured to slideably fit into one of the housing halves in one of two lateral orientations and includes a slidably adjustable camera mounting plate that permits a user to securely and accurately position cameras side-to-side and for and aft with respect to truncated hemispherical lens. Push button assemblies adjustable in length and point of contact are used to permit a user to adapt them to interact with a variety of camera control actuator architectures.