155 replies to this topic

[Viz'art]

Absolutely Paul, that is a bit of a big thing to have on any housings nowaday and it has to be fully compatible with what we have.

Edited by Viz'art, 02 December 2010 - 02:55 PM.

[Viz'art]

I noticed that for some reason, the administrator have removed the retail price from Aussiebyron post, for those curious about it, the retail price is posted on the Dive Photo Guide News section (see side bar for link) and on our website as well (see link below)

[Poliwog]

Thanks Jean.

I had been holding out for a replacement for the D700, but the D7000 and an Aquatica D7000 housing could severely test my resolve.

[Drew]

Jean
That lever is between the front dial knob and the rear dial knob. Is it a push up or pull down action? The space looks tight.

[Viz'art]

Jean
That lever is between the front dial knob and the rear dial knob. Is it a push up or pull down action? The space looks tight.

Drew it's a push forward (orange arrow ) and from this angle you can see there is plenty of space, the thumb position actually being in line with the lever without having to stretch the hand when you have your index on the shutter release.

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[yahsemtough]

With the camera being almost the same size as the D90, I would have thought the price would have been closer to the $1800-$1900 price range.

But the Aquatica at $2500 is still less than the Nauticam which would support that there are still some manufacturing difficulties with this housing verse the D90 pricing. Both manufacturers being higher than the D90 housing.

Cheers

Todd

[Aussiebyron]

I can see the extra thought and extra features required in making the housing for the D7000 especially when you compare it against the D90. These extra features do come at a cost which is reflected in the higher RRP of the D7000.

There wasnt much price difference between when I bought my Aquatica AD90 housing and the current RRP of the Aquatica D7000 housing as the good old Aussie dollar is at a 20 year high.

But at the end of the day it would be an interesting comparison between the Aquatica and the Nauticam D7000 housings.

Cheers Mark

[Viz'art]

I have been getting PM's asking about the laser cutting and what it does for the housing, so here goes FYI (seems some folks are too shy to ask on the forum, trust me it’s not a state secret )

Here is a close up of the multi controller array (AKA joy pad) viewed from the inside, I colour coded the extender to make them more distinguishable and added a small descriptive menu to make it easier to locate what does what.

As you can see, the shapes possible are pretty exotic and the tolerance are up to aeronautical specifications,so things can be condensed tighter and with way more precision than would be possible using metal wire bending and twisting like we did in the past.

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Edited by Viz'art, 16 December 2010 - 07:04 AM.

[Ryan]

Anyone who has used a Subal housing in the days since Procase F5 (released 1998) has experience with this method of relocating manual controls and the ergonomic advantages it provides. Kudos to Aquatica for stepping up their game!

[Deep6]

I have been getting PM's asking about the laser cutting and what it does for the housing, so here goes FYI (seems some folks are too shy to ask on the forum, trust me it’s not a state secret )

Here is a close up of the multi controller array (AKA joy pad) viewed from the inside, I colour coded the extender to make them more distinguishable and added a small descriptive menu to make it easier to locate what does what.

As you can see, the shapes possible are pretty exotic and the tolerance are up to aeronautical specifications,so things can be condensed tighter and with way more precision than would be possible using metal wire bending and twisting like we did in the past.

Zounds! That looks sturdy.
Bob

[Viz'art]

Anyone who has used a Subal housing in the days since Procase F5 (released 1998) has experience with this method of relocating manual controls and the ergonomic advantages it provides. Kudos to Aquatica for stepping up their game!

Yeah your right Ryan, they have been using a similar method (electrical discharge wire cutting or something similar is what I believe they use) but mainly on the rotating controls for added lenght, for push buttons (such as the multi selector in this case), they have been using a sort of plastic for the extender, unfortunately this material is too soft and too fragile to be used as material for relocating to the kind of distance involved in bringing it to the side of the housing such as on the AD7000 housing. The material we use, in our case, is stainless steel to avoid flexing or any deformation, and yes Bob it is sturdy

[Aussiebyron]

So basically in a nut shell the buttons on the housing can be spread out more when in the pass they where directly lined up the Camera itself. Therefore providing better ergomomic for underwater use?

Cheers Mark

[Viz'art]

So basically in a nut shell the buttons on the housing can be spread out more when in the pass they where directly lined up the Camera itself. Therefore providing better ergomomic for underwater use?

Cheers Mark

You are right Mark, typically on a housing for Nikon camera you would have to let go of the grip and then concentrtate on which button to push. The new pad in the back make it more intuitive as it replicate the natural feeling of the camera.

There is a bit more technology involved in making this kind of design which explain in part the higher retail price compared to the D90.

[Aussiebyron]

Jean can you provide more details about the cam locking of the ports on the Aquatica housing?

Cheers Mark

[Viz'art]

Jean can you provide more details about the cam locking of the ports on the Aquatica housing?

Cheers Mark

Mark, I'll try and get you some images today or tomorrow.

[Viz'art]

Update on the AD7000, this Aquatica housing will be supplied with the Hydrophone for recording ambient sound and the moisture detector as well, this is due to the already large quantity of pre-order we have received, we can now supply those normally optional accessories with the housing at the same 2499 USD retail price mentioned earlier.

FYI, our office will be closing down between Christmas and the New Year, but the machine shop will be pulling double shift throughout the holiday period to speed things up and gets the housing out ASAP in the New Year.

Now, now, now, before any of you have bad ideas , they are being properly remunerated for their well appreciated extra effort, it's not like we run a labour camp the employees are free to decide if they come in or not and if they do (they all did), then it is rewarded appropriately , I have a lot of respect for those unsung participants that makes things happen in the background.

And Mark, I'm still working on this request for the port/lens lock

[HobieGuy]

Great! Can't wait to get mine!

Ray J

[Viz'art]

Great! Can't wait to get mine!

Ray J

Ray, tought I would poke you a bit before I break for the holiday, I grabbed one of the housing of the assembly line (it is still missing the LCD window in the back and a small knob for the live view) and brought it up for a quick studio session, here is a few shots (more on our website on access to the controls), so as you can see we are chugging along in production and it’s not vaporware, our first few units dedicated for field testing will be ready the moment we are back from the holiday.

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[Viz'art]

and a back view (as noted the LCD window is still not installed and the live view lever is still at the paint shop).

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[cdoyal]

and a back view (as noted the LCD window is still not installed and the live view lever is still at the paint shop).

It seems it would be a shame to put an 8" dome on such a compact, tidy package. Might have to call Backscatter and add a 4" dome to my order....