12 replies to this topic

[Mclovin]

G'day fellow divers!

Would like to hear people thoughts on housing a 7D?

I have been filming for a few years underwater with my ol mini DV Sony and trusty Ikelite housing. It did, and still does the job. But I am not sure whether I should go for one with my 7D or whether the more expensive housings really are worth the extra dollars? Any advice on a decent strobe set up would be greatly appreciated also...

Thanks in advance...=)

[meltdownman]

I guess it depends on how much you want to spend for your strobes and housing. I have seen the Ikelite but it appears bulky with Ikelite strobes hooked in place. Their strobes are great and have great power from what I witnessed during my dives in Truk. I did get feedback from someone on another forum that he was switching up to an Aquatica housing due to leaks in his 2 different Ikelite housings through the buttons. Even after being sent back for refurb. I have a 5D Mark II and wanted to ensure that it never goes through that issue. So, Hugyfot has a lot of raves from its ability to draw a vacuum to ensure of a good seal on the o-rings but now there is a company that will refurb the Aquatica with a vacuum fitting and pump like the Hugyfot. It costs additional money but worth it if you want to protect your baby. It uses an existing port for the fitting. People say you are opening up another hole in your housing but I disagree since you can test your housing with the vacuum. Better safe than sorry. This site has a review of the Aquatica and other housings if you do a search.

Here is a good site for strobe comparison:

http://www.digitaldi...net/strobes.php

Here is a good site for the vacuum fitting installed for various housings for the 7D from Sentry:

http://www.uwcameras...ry_installs.htm

Zillion and Seacam Housing Reviews:

http://www.tonywublo...a-housings.html

Hugyfot Reviews:

http://www.marcovanw...ing_review.html

http://www.digideep....housing-review/

Listing of Housing Manufacturers that you can search on to do reviews:

http://www.uwphotogr...rwater-housings


This will keep you busy for a weekend.

Let us know how you make out,

The Meltdownman

[Gudge]

I had the chance to use both the Nauticam and Aquatica 7D housings early last year and did this comparison of the two:

http://wetpixel.com/...howtopic=35507

I believe that there have been some changes/additions to the controls on both housings since then so check with Peter Mooney from Scubapix in Cairns who supplied both housings for any changes that may have been implemented.

[Mclovin]

Gudge and Meltdownman, legends!

Thanks for all that info, I certainly will have plenty to look at over the next few days. I will particular attention to the Nauticam and Aquatica housings... I think I will steer in that direction...

I did have one prob with my Ikelite housing over the years, the same deal as you mentioned meltdownman, leaky button! And although my lil Sony was not worth a mint, it still cost a few hundred to fix. I am just lucky I caught the leak early in the dive before it could do too much damage!

Will get on to these links and have a good sticky beak... thanks again

[danielstassen]

I use the ND7 from Nauticam to house my 7d. I wouldn't want anything else. Before that I had Ikelite, and am happy I paid the extra bucks for something that works well !

From what I have read the Nauticam and Aquatica are quite similar in quality/price. However, because I live in South East Asia, I went for Nauticam before they are closer in case I need to send the housing back for service/repair. I sent it one for service and it took less than 1 week for them to send it back to Indonesia. Very fast !

Cheers

Daniel

[Mclovin]

I use the ND7 from Nauticam to house my 7d. I wouldn't want anything else. Before that I had Ikelite, and am happy I paid the extra bucks for something that works well !

From what I have read the Nauticam and Aquatica are quite similar in quality/price. However, because I live in South East Asia, I went for Nauticam before they are closer in case I need to send the housing back for service/repair. I sent it one for service and it took less than 1 week for them to send it back to Indonesia. Very fast !

Cheers

Daniel


Selamat Siang Daniel!

Thanks for your input... I think that's a very valid point for me also, seeing as though I am in Australia and your neighbour! Nice and close for any servicing needs is definitely a bonus. What strobe set up do you use?

Cheers

McLovin

[matiasmesa]

I Have a great Nauticam 7D housing FS, I love it big time. Great Service and great Product...
Good luck.

[danielstassen]

Hi Mclovin,

Yes, it is definitely an important thing to consider !

I use two Inon Z240. I also have two S&S YS110 alpha but they aren't powerful enough in some situations. The Inon Z240 are compact and powerful, of course more expensive.

It depends what you'd like to do. For macro the above strobes are great, and the Inon 240 is also great for wide angle. However, for wide angle photography in blue tropical waters I'd rather prefer using warmer strobes such as Ikelite's and Subtronic's. A warmer strobe allows you to record nicer blues, which can make the difference between a good and a great photo.

I am still saving... and will probably buy subtronic strobes for my wide angle in the future.

Cheers

Daniel

[Gudge]

It depends what you'd like to do. For macro the above strobes are great, and the Inon 240 is also great for wide angle. However, for wide angle photography in blue tropical waters I'd rather prefer using warmer strobes such as Ikelite's and Subtronic's. A warmer strobe allows you to record nicer blues, which can make the difference between a good and a great photo.

You don't need to go to the expense of buying different strobes to get warmer light, just put some Lee #444 filter behind the diffusers on your Z240s. All is explained in this article by Alex Mustard:

http://www.amustard....=...news&size=s

[Alexx]

I am using Aquatica housing from the begining, and it is simple and ergonomic. Mine have declared depth till 90m but I tested it till 108 and it works perfect. I use it with 2 Inon Z240 strobes and ucls arms. If you search trough forum you will find lots of reviews for Aquatica, Nauticam, Hugy, and the are very helpfull. If I need tu buy it again it would be Aquatica that is for sure!

[yahsemtough]

While I am not a film guy I do have the 7D housed in an Aquatica housing and am very happy with it. The design changes from earlier housings is very apparent in the engineering of a tighter housing. Great for travel as I can fit it into my carry-on.

I also am confortable knowing that Aquatica provides prompt service and answers any questions I have.

Cheers

Todd

[danielstassen]

You don't need to go to the expense of buying different strobes to get warmer light, just put some Lee #444 filter behind the diffusers on your Z240s. All is explained in this article by Alex Mustard:

http://www.amustard....=...news&size=s

Yes, I also use Lee filters on my Inon Z240. I actually use the Gel Sheet 443 Quarter C.T. Straw, which gives me a similar colour temperature to some subtronics' strobes (4300 K). (The Lee #444 will give you a colour temperature of an Ikelite strobe of around 4800 K). Even though we can reach warmer colours on cold strobes by using gel filters, we must also keep in mind that the strobe output will be reduced. I haven't tried ay subtronic's strobes, but would like to add one or two to my toys.

Cheers

Daniel

Edited by danielstassen, 14 June 2011 - 10:25 PM.

[OkiMike]

I bought a 7D and a Hugyfot 7D housing for it soon after. I love both.

My only one-time complaint with the housing was the following: I initially only had a 4GB memory card which meant only 10 minutes or so of 1080p footage or 200 RAW photos before an ungainly swapout was required. And, as other reviews have pointed out, changing either battery or memory cards in the Hugyfot require breaking down the housing entirely since the body is the first thing to go into the housing, separate from the lens, not to mention an additional 30 minutes of pressure-test waiting.

This was easily solved by upgrading the memory card. I chose to go with 32GB which now give me more video than my video light batteries can provide, so no more swapout is required and the LIMFAC is now on my light batteries which come in at around 50 minutes to power the dual 50-watt bulbs.

As for the housing itself, aside from being sexy, it's very compact and the layout is almost button-for-button the same as the camera itself, which allowed me to continue to give proper attention to the dive details and my team rather than towards any learning curve associated with a new housing.

Edited by OkiMike, 07 July 2011 - 09:26 PM.