Rattus

Nicholas asked me for my thoughts on my rig in a post on the lighting forum, so I thought I drag it over here in case anyone else was interested.

Dear Rattus
i am on the way to buy more or less the gear that you all ready have...
(Canon 5D - Canon EF 100mm f-2.8 Macro USM - S&S DX-5D housing with TTL converter - S&S YS-110)
can please tell me if you are pleased with your gear, if you are... why and if you are not, why again... :-)
thanks for your help.

Hi Nicholas,

On the whole the gear I have works well. The DX-5D is very sturdy and well engineered. The TTL system works well.

Good ergonomic points:

• '*' button on blck lever under your right thumb - use it all the time for 1-shot AF
• External TTL module places controls in handy position
• Port lock works well

Less than ideal points:

• Stock pickup viewfinder is narrow, you can't see all four corners at once *1
• Port adapter rings don't lock to port *2
• Housing is a little heavy in the water - now use ULCS Buoyancy arms

The 5D is a great camera for underwater and topside. In fact I just bought a backup/topside body I'm so happy with it. The 100mm Canon is a good lens, and with a suitable gear you have simultaneous AF and MF when you set custom function #4 to '3'. I fabricated my own focus gear for it so that I can focus from the housing body control rather need to use the NX custom macro port. Athena also do a gear that works like this. That reminds me I should post about my gear.

*1 I have engineered the Inon 45 degree finder to fit the DX-5D housing. It works much better. There are other manufacturers who sell better viewfinders for their housings, so it is worth looking around at what is available and what suits your needs/budget the best. (I'd estimate 1000 euros to upgrade another housing the way I did it)

*2 I have adapted my SX Extension Ring to lock to the flat port for use with the 100mm Canon. I prefer a simple screw lock like this to the gaffer tape I was using. I feel another DIY post coming on here.

As you can see the reservations I have had, I fixed. So the question for you is are any of these big problems for you, particularly the viewfinder coverage.

HTH,

   Martyn

I was just readin the news on the BBC website when I noticed a familiar turtle silhouette on the page. When I clicked to pop up the gallery of underwater shots, lo and behold it was a set by JP Trenque (frogmansub). Nice one JP!

Gallery on BBC site

Martyn

Look on my works ye mighty!



I couldn't wait for Sea&Sea to work out that the market could bear a better viewfinder on the DX-5D housing. I bought a Hugyfot assembly including the Inon 45 degree finder. Then I bought a lathe. Then I bought some delrin. Then I worked.



I now have a better viewfinder on my DX-5D. I must thank Udo for all his help sending my pictures of his Hugyfot setup and words of encouragement.

I can now see all four corners of the 5D's huge viewfinder. It's not as bright as the Seacam S45 would be, but that wouldn't physically fit on the back plate.

If this thread needs to go hide in the DIY section, so be it. I thought it might be more useful to people in this section to show what is possible though.

As you can imagine I'm very chuffed with the fruits of my labours.
Woo! Yay! and indeed Hoopla!

Martyn

My girlfriend Alex's Inon D2000 is very fussy about batteries. It seems fine with Energizer Alkalines, but when I put in my 2700mAh NiMHs, most of the time it doesn't power up. I'm still trying to work out whether its a battery dimension issue or the NiMH voltage.

Has anyone else had any trouble like this? Inon says NiMH is fine for the D2000 so I'm a little puzzled. I do wonder if the plastic "blobs" either side of one of the contacts is preventing some batteries from making proper contact.

Martyn

I've got a pair of Sea&Sea YS-110 strobes on order which should arrive this week (fingers crossed). It's my hope that these will work well as a pair with my 5D rig, replacing my single YS-90DX. When I get them I'll try to post my impressions.

Martyn