81 replies to this topic

[Aussiebyron]

Hi Stephen.

I had a play with my D7000 with the "Show ISO/Easy ISO" and it works and its actually quiet fast. I personally like to have full control of the multi selector to position the single point focus in my macro shooting and have access to WB adjustment for my video which I get with my Aquatica. If the Seacam was available at the time and had full controls it might have had my consideration. I just can't see the reasoning of leaving the these buttons off the rear of the housing as they would be very easy to add in the production process.

Regards Mark

[cor]

So does it really save a lot of money in production to remove a few buttons from the back?

[loftus]

So does it really save a lot of money in production to remove a few buttons from the back?

I would guess not, but if they added them it would hardly justify spending that much more for the high end housings.

[Aussiebyron]

So does it really save a lot of money in production to remove a few buttons from the back?

I think in this case its going to cost more for Seacam going this way.

Mark

[StephenFrink]

Today I had a post from my friend Bob Gleeson, who has a SEACAM for a D7000 and is diligently trying to find functionalities beyond the obvious. He shared this with me:

<<Steve, (Share this with Liz and any other owners concerned with lack of ISO adjustment)

Manual ISO is fixed for me. Using the proper menu command you do not need the ISO button on the camera.

I finally dug through menus to the point where I found a menu under custom settings “Shooting/Display”, Selecting this option you will find a setting “ISO display and adjustment”, selecting this option gives you a setting “Show ISO/Easy ISO”.

When the “Show ISO/Easy ISO” is selected it replaces the images remaining display on the (top) control panel with the ISO setting. Since we do not have a window for the (top) control panel this is a no brainer. Even if the top control panel was important switching to either user mode will display shots remaining as long as the user mode was not disabled with “Show ISO/Easy ISO”.

When the “Show ISO/Easy ISO” is selected you can use the subcommand dial to reset ISO at will. The images remaining and the ISO are both displayed on the (back) monitor in the “Info mode” (press the info button) the only thing that was a little confusing until I turned my Japan brain on was that in M both subcommand dials are already occupied. You have to set the mode to A, S or P to get a free subcommand dial which allows you to change the ISO. Once the ISO is selected you can go back to M and shoot the selected ISO. When the camera is set up in the “Show ISO/Easy ISO” all of the actions needed are made while looking at the monitor and it is very quick and easy to do.

Bob>>

SEACAM Shooter David Yang has deduced the solution for reviewing multiple images, rather than just the last one shot on the Prelude housing for the D7000:

"On the playback, it's similar to the other Nikon D cameras in that you can program the rear dial to perform the function of play back scrolling.

Specifically, go to menu, then "custom setting menu", then "f controls," then "f6 customize command dials," and set "menu and playback" to "on."  Once you do this, whenever you are in playback mode (by pressing the play button) you can then scroll through the previous photos using the rear command dial."

Hope this is helpful, and thanks to Bob and David for contributing their D7000 experience.

[StephenFrink]

Kind of late for this discussion, I realize, but we had a SEACAM Prelude for D7000 passing through the studio yesterday on its way to new owner and I grabbed these product shots. Not even the right lens for the macro port, but its what we had on hand at the time in the Nikon realm.







SEACAM has updated their site with some very nice D7000 studio shots - see:
http://seacam.com/en...ngs/nikon/d7000

Edited by StephenFrink, 22 April 2011 - 05:30 PM.

[Drew]

And on top of that, hold on for an exclusive from ADEX.... Stay tuned!

[JACohen]

SEACAM Shooter David Yang has deduced the solution for reviewing multiple images, rather than just the last one shot on the Prelude housing for the D7000:

"On the playback, it's similar to the other Nikon D cameras in that you can program the rear dial to perform the function of play back scrolling.

Specifically, go to menu, then "custom setting menu", then "f controls," then "f6 customize command dials," and set "menu and playback" to "on."  Once you do this, whenever you are in playback mode (by pressing the play button) you can then scroll through the previous photos using the rear command dial."

Hope this is helpful, and thanks to Bob and David for contributing their D7000 experience.

Thanks once again Stephen,


I really appreciate your help. It demonstrates beautifully what these forums are for. As well as the opportunity for a good ranting of course

Julian

[StephenFrink]

Thanks once again Stephen,


I really appreciate your help. It demonstrates beautifully what these forums are for. As well as the opportunity for a good ranting of course

Julian

My pleasure, Julian. I appreciate the rant too. I learned a lot about the D7000 camera that I may never have known if you had not asked the question.

[JACohen]

As an adjunct to my first post, I have just completed my first dive with the Seacam prelude and I have to say I am very happy with my purchase. All the original faults still remain, and the drill will definitely be applied to the housing to make it more functional, but I am very happy with the general feel of the housing in my stubby little hands. The aperture and shutter speed dials fall under my fingers exactly as seasoned Seacam users assured me they would. The ports are firmly screwed into the housing, unlike my old Subal. With a couple of floats I found it to

[Alex_Mustard]

Cool. So are you bringing it to Egypt?

Alex

[Drew]

As an adjunct to my first post, I have just completed my first dive with the Seacam prelude and I have to say I am very happy with my purchase. All the original faults still remain, and the drill will definitely be applied to the housing to make it more functional, but I am very happy with the general feel of the housing in my stubby little hands. The aperture and shutter speed dials fall under my fingers exactly as seasoned Seacam users assured me they would. The ports are firmly screwed into the housing, unlike my old Subal. With a couple of floats I found it to

Julian was interrupted and kidnapped mid-post by supporters of other brands! LOL

[Alex_Tattersall]

We won't let him go until we have finished the brainwashing...

[JACohen]

We won't let him go until we have finished the brainwashing... :lol:

OK OK HA HA..My tinternet connection is somewhat dodgy here.

Alright here's the whole thing again:

As an adjunct to my first post, I have just completed my first dive with the Seacam prelude and I have to say I am very happy with my purchase. All the original faults still remain, and the drill will definitely be applied to the housing to make it more functional, but I am very happy with the general feel of the housing in my stubby little hands. The aperture and shutter speed dials fall under my fingers exactly as seasoned Seacam users assured me they would. The ports are firmly screwed into the housing, unlike my old Subal. With a couple of floats I found it to be neutrally balanced in the water, and I love the small fisheye dome.

I am still of the opinion that the manufacturer has made an error of judgement as to the capabilities of the nikon D7000, and as such has produced a hous

[Drew]

Previous report was erroneous... Julian is suffering from postus interruptus!

[loftus]

Probably missing a button or two.....

[Alex_Mustard]

Ha ha Jeff!

I think that Julian is right that Seacam completely misunderstood the importance of the D7000 as a serious camera for Nikon users. Especially because my underwater review of this camera was published on Wetpixel 6 months ago now (in November) - and the conclusions i made were pretty obvious to anyone who tried the camera on land.

I know so many first class underwater photographers (and many more) who are now shooting D7000s underwater. I could write a long list of some very talented and successful photographers who are using the D7000. Some of the companies must have sold a serious number of housings already. It is a pity that Adam's wetpixel group review has been so delayed by a lack of availability of some brands - as it would have been really valuable for such an important camera.

Alex

[Drew]

Misunderstood is a little unfair I think Harald underestimated the D7000's popularity. Seacam has been designing for mid to high range cameras.So it's to be expected that mistakes are made when he enters the low price range market.
By designing a housing with a specific goal, simplicity, instead of putting as many functions as possible, then the design will leave out part of the customer base, and more importantly, sales!
Speaking to Harald for a while,, he did sound very convincing about his design philosophy. So much so he convinced me to review the Prelude 60D, in very tough and quiclk changing conditions of baitballs. I sorta regret saying yes now since I'm only on the boat for 3 weeks this year and rather use a system I'm familiar with. But what's life without a challenge?
I suspect with the D7000, where some of the controls are have to be accessed via the menu, he will probably have to change the design a bit for faster access.
I've seen the housing and played with it and there's lots to like. But this design philosophy will have to be tested fully before I make a judgement.

[loftus]

Is there any data on sales figures for the various housing manufacturers? I suspect that the higher end housing manufacturers are having a hard time maintaining market share and remaining profitable. Personally I think the Prelude concept is a misguided attempt at trying to maintain market share. Housings are not cars, Seacam is considered the top housing because of it's high level of functionality. Every aspect of the housing is designed with perfect functionality in mind. There is no other good reason to buy Seacam.
Seacam has given up (straightforward) functionality to create a housing which is still expensive, and now can no longer compete from a functionality aspect with many lower cost housings. Probably even Ikelite now is superior from a functionality standpoint with respect to buttons etc.
I have nothing against Seacam, I would have one if money was not a consideration in my choice of housings. I have to laugh when I read about all these menu workarounds to simply make my camera work the same way underwater as on land. But I can't think of any reason to own a Prelude housing except if I was stuck with Seacam ports.

[divegypsy]

As a current Seascam owner, two D700 housings, I'd have to agree with Loftus. There is no really good reason to buy a Seascam housing for the Nikon D7000 (or any other Nikon in my opinion) unless you have a considerable number of Seascam ports and accessories from a previous housing, which I did from 10 years with housings for the F5. Harald just doesn't seem to "get" Nikon and clearly isn't getting or accepting quality user advice on Nikon as he seems to do on Canon from pros like Kurt Amsler and dealers like Stephen Frink and Paul Kay. His housings for the Nikon D700 lacked any control what-so-ever for the ambient light metering pattern, which can be a very useful option, and which is why Nikon has this choice on virtually all of their cameras.

Many Seascam controls have strong springs that return the control to a neutral position and don't allow you to leave the control in a position that keeps the camera button depressed, which can make varying things like compensation and flash compensation MUCH EASIER on shot sequences where you want to bracket the exposures. I removed mpst of those springs within a couple days of receiving my housings.

Seascam seems to be far more concerned with appearance, especially Seascam Silver, than about practical functionality of their housings. I see the lack of controls and buttons on the Preclude housing as just another indication that Seascam is slipping into terminal control deficiency. I also feel that the bright silver housing color SOMETIMES makes getting close to visually acute critters more difficult and ALMOST ALWAYS makes seeing the camera's LCD screen more difficult than a dark housing color would.

I've spent quite a lot of time and money on control modifications to my Seascam D700 housings and feel that they are now the best D700 housings anywhere. The housings NOW allow much more convenient accessibility to the Nikon D700's capabilities, which is what I feel is the most important thing in any housing. Except perhaps keeping the camera inside dry. I now have a real port lock. I can now change the D700's camera battery almost as easily as I remove the CF card, and without having to totally remove it from the housing as I did when I first got the housing.

It is unlikely that I will be willing to go through all that effort again and will probably change housing brands if I feel the need to change to another Nikon camera and can't modify the housings I have to accept that new camera.

Fred