132 replies to this topic

[FormerAirline]

Hi! I'm new.
Someone on Rangefinderforum pointed me to this website. I recently bought the Canon underwater housing from my s90 for my trip to Kauai (my honeymoon actually). I took lots of pics. Can't wait to share and to learn more about underwater photography. It's fun! A whole new world I've never really photographed before.

[Knochi]

Hi There


I own a Canon G9 with Canon housing for 3 Years already and now I want to carry my EOS 7D down to make some really nice shots
I´m still unsure if Nauticam or Hugyfot but sure for below 60m ...
now to my question:
I own a 24-70mm Canon 2,8 L USM and I think it´s quite universal - big advantage - longest focal length of the lens is on it´s short end - so upside down.
I didn´t find it in any of the catalogs nor in any forum - I can´t understand that , because the Sigma 17-70mm appears quite often.
I own a Canon 100mm Macro too , but I would prefer to be a little more flexible ...

Is there any way to fit my lens into a Dome or do i have to get rid of the idea to use that lens ? ( if so please explain short why )

Is there maybe a Housing which fits the Battery handle for the camera too ? ( range 90-100m )


Thanks
Sebastian

[mikael.thulin@deepdiver.se]

Hello!

I bought an Ikelite Housing to my D200 a couple of years ago.

[dvrdve]

hi all
i m new to the forum
got a canon 450 in ikelite housing with ds125 strobe

[lipsking]

hey, im new to this forum
just starting in UW photography this year, and of course im still a newb

Here is my set up :
- Canon G-11
- Canon WPDC-34 housing
- Sea & Sea YS-110a Strobe
- Fantasea BigEye Lens

Great P&S Camera,

Here's a few pic I take from Tulamben and Padang Bai Bali
http://www.flickr.co...s/52340897@N06/

[Jasoncassanova]

hello,

I recently bought a G11 and I got the Ikelite housing with it together with a double handle tray

[kentmarcus]

Hi all,

I have been shooting with my canon 5d mark 2 since it was released. Love the camera. I have just bought the ikelite houseing for the camera. Cant wait to shoot with it.

I am also wondering of anyone has played with strobe triggers, especially when shooting in shallow water. I am wanting to trigger my studio strobes from underwater. Any ideas appreciated.

[Kammeraspiel]

This is a great post! I really like your story of change-over from chem photog. because it gives me hope. I have been trying to do this after years of reticence and I am going CANON. I have just been through about a month of nightmares trying to purchase and build a kit, dealing with crazy people; Salesmen right out of David Mammet's GLENNGARY GLEN ROSS, and great deals with sketchy websites. Lost my money once but got it back again and had to cancel my credit cards on a second occassion of bait and switch sales. But I've got to expand my abilities and go pro. This is the only place I feel safe. Is there a reason the Canon Mark IV doesn't seem to be readily available with UW housing or why other models are preferrred? Is it all about $; being that M4 is a high end camera will not sell as well or is it a bad choice as an UW camera? It seems to be the perfect camera for me, the versitility I would want; an art camera that will work wonderfully for stills, news clips, UW and short film. I would like to be pointed in the right direction so I can go dig my money up from the benthic regions (joking) build my kit, and get to work.
Thanks, CR

Hi folks,
I put my first DSLR rig together this year. I have a Canon 40D in a Sea & Sea housing with 2 YS-250 strobes, UCLS arms and a Fisheye 48DX LED focus light. I have the ports and focus/zoom gears to support the Tokina 10-17mm and the Canon 10-22mm along with the 60mm and the 100mm macro lenses. Everyone will have their own "best system". What's right for me might not be what your looking for so I will attempt to talk a little about why I made the choices I did so you can have a little more info to make your own choices.

I was changing over from the chemical photography I had done using a series of Nikonos cameras. My motivation to move up to the DSLR came from a request by a developer to use some of my film images in a hotel/condominium project. This architect really liked my stuff and it was just enough of a push to get me started down the digital path. I knew I wanted a system that provided the best image quality and versatility I could reasonably afford. The nikonos system was great for it's day, and can still make some incredible images but you are severely limited in some areas. I wanted my new system to fill those holes.

I surveyed the available camera systems and purchased a 350D a year earlier so I could begin to learn how to deal with the digital world. My decision to go with a Canon was based on the fact that I had a lot of Canon glass from the film days. In retrospect a non issue since I would need all new lenses anyway, but I didn't know that. Sometimes it just comes down to Karma, I was celebrating my 40th year of diving so the 40D seemed like a great choice for my first underwater DSLR. Actually it was positioned technically right in my wheel house. Very good image quailty, big LCD which I love, larger viewfinder, easy controls, etc. and it's not ridiculously expensive. I don't do underwater photography for a living or I might have made a different choice. I give my Nikon friends grief sometimes but in reality either system in the hands of a competent photographer can do amazing things. In retrospect the 40D was a great choice for me. I love what it can do.

The housing was a tougher chioce, I live in the desert SW so there was no place close by to put my hands on the different options. Eric's post from last years DEMA came at a great time for me. He went to the trouble to post images of all the new housings for the 40D that were still to be introduced and saved me a ton of work and travel. All of the folks on Wetpixel were a fantastic resource and helped me immensely. The best thing a potential buyer can do to save some growing pains is spend the time to research the posts here. In the end it came down to the Subal, the Sea & Sea and the Aquatica. The Seatool wasn't released yet and I wanted an all aluminum housing so the Ikelight wasn't on my list. Based on features and price point I choose the Sea & Sea and it's been very impressive so far. The new MDX housings are very nice pieces of gear. Solid, nice locking ports, very well made, with well designed ergonomic controls. The 40D was the first Canon housing for Aquatica and they didn't have the port selection available for Canon lenses at the time I was making my decision. The Subal is a gorgeous tool but I didn't feel I could jusity the additional expense. Again if I was making my living with it I might have made a different choice. On a business trip back east I was able to stop by the great shop of Underwater Photo-Tech in Derry, NH and finally lay my hands on real housings. This cemented my choice and the rest was easy.

The new YS 250's looked perfect for what I wanted to do and they turned out to be even better than I imagined. The miniscule recycle time on the big strobes is very different from my old Nikonos strobes and completely changed the game. Our past experiences always affect our decisions and I'm haunted by the time I was being looped by a manta in the waters off the outer reefs of Belize while I hung there stupidly waiting for the strobe to recycle. Never again, if I can help it. When it comes to light, I want as much as I can carry and control. The well written articles by Berkley White of Backscatter in Monterey came at a great time to help me decide on the strobes. The great guys at Backscatter were a superb help all along this little journey.

I decided on the Fisheye 48DX focus light. This is the LED version with 50,000 hr bulb life and a huge 10 hour burn time on one set of batteries. It's about half the price of the halogen version and uses the same difusers. It puts out plenty of light for the AF sytem of the Canon, a little over half power on it's adjustable output is all I needed. Ryan at Reef Photo was a big help in getting me set up with a small arm that would get the light high enough to get over the dome when I want to use it at night or for CFWA.

All in all I'm extremely happy with the system I've put together. I still have a lot to learn but I'm headed in the right direction. If you'd like to see what kind of images the system can do in the hands of recreational shooters on their first attempt take a look at our web page on Flickr (linked below). I have some old film images up and a new set called digital Bonaire from my first trip with the new rig. The macro shots felt much easier to do with the digital system than the old Nikonos. I found that good wide angle images were harder to get than I expected, I still have a lot to learn. The fish shots with the new system were miles ahead of anything I was able to do before.

One other note, I spent a lot of time reseaching the folks who advertise here on wetpixel and some who don't. In every case I got great, helpful, accurate answers to all my sometimes dumb questions. We are blessed with a group of fantastic people supporting and supplying us with equipment today that previous generations of divers never dreamed of.

So do your research, decide what you want the tools to help you do then use all the great resources at your disposal to find your own treasure.
Good luck!
Steve

[gina]

After about two years of using my Canon 5D in an Ikelite housing I upgraded to a Canon 5D MkII in an Aquatica housing. The Ikelite is fine for a beginner, and relatively inexpensive, but I was running up against its limitations. Now that I've used a pro-style housing I'll never go back.

The Aquatica (and by extension, Subal and the other pro housings) is made much better and sturdier, and there is more precision involved than with the Ikelite. As a result it is more watertight and the lens port attachments are more secure. (My Ikelite once flooded due to the port attachment coming loose.) I found the controls to be positioned well and easy to use, particularly after I installed the Xit knob cover over the focus knob. All that being said, after I bought my housing it did need some tweaks to insure all the knobs were aligned correctly. I was luckly enough to be on a trip recently with Berkley White who helped me dial in everything so that now it works like a champ.

Here's a great post showing exactly how Aquatica housings are made.

I've used the Aquatica + 5D MkII on four trips this year and love the combination as it's just right for me. One word of advice should you be buying a new camera/housing--please don't buy it immediately before a "once in a lifetime" trip! Make a few test dives and if there are any problems or adjustments necessary, make sure you have time to visit/contact your dealer and fix them before that big trip.

-Gina

[Byte Me]

Finally pulled the trigger on a new UW setup. Been looking to replace my SP-350, Oly housing, Inon WA wet lens. So I sold that (hung on to the ULCS tray/arms & Inon D2000) and also sold my D300 and 5 lenses which were strictly above water use (and weren't getting that much use) to fund a totally new setup.

After MUCH deliberation, I decided on the E-PL1 for a "best of both worlds" approach, interchangeable lenses, small form, does HD video. I went with the Oly housing, Inon macro lens and adapter, Zen 7-14mm port and Panny 7-14mm lens. Added on a Sola 600 focus / video light. It's on its way here now and I can't wait to get it wet!!

[sucinimad]

Hi all. Newbie hear looking to learn much from the forum.

[hemdale]

Very nice forum thanks to everyone !

[FishDragon]

Just a newbie myself. Glad I was pointed towards this forum.