alanchungsf

I got my Nauticam D7000 housing in mid-Dec just in time for my trip to Palau.  I loved it and got some great shots on my trip.  However I had some problems with a few controls.  Fortunately none were critical and it didn't get in my way during the trip.  I don't mind a few bugs given I got one of the first housings off the line in time for my trip.  It's fair trade to be a beta tester for early access

I sent the housing back to Backscatter after I got home, and they were super helpful.  Sean was able to reproduce my problems.  It turns out 3 out of 4 of my problems were traced to the screw that mounts the camera on the tray not being turned tight enough.  I was only turning the screw to finger tight.  Nauticam is saying it should be 1/8 turn past that.  I waited until I got official word back before posting here.  So for all the new owners of the Nauticam D7000 housing, make sure the tray is on tight and not rotating if you experience any problems with your buttons.

The last problem had to do with the Live View level.  I was having problem activating LV reliably.  During my trip I "fixed" it by taping a band-aid on the level to help push the lever on the body more.  Word is Nauticam is making a new part for that function.  Maybe that's the reason some of your orders are delayed.  They're probably waiting for that part before shipping more housings.

Overall, I think it is a great housing.  I can't wait to get it back next week for some more dives.  Hope this info will save some time and headaches on your first trip out with the new housing.

Cheers,
alan

PS. Almost forgot I had 1 more issue early on.  I was using my Sig 17-70 with a pretty stiff zoom ring.  The main gear for turning the zoom ring was slipping when I was testing it.  I looked inside and found 1 of the mounting screw to be a little loose.  I tightened it and everything worked fine.  Again, mine was one of the first off the line.  I'm guessing others won't have this issue.  Nauticam does supply a nice hex key set whichcovers all the screws on the housing.  It is pretty easy to check nothing has gotten loose before or after a trip.

The inside of this housing is very complex.  But it feels very solid.  I think it'll stand up to even heavy use very well.

A few have shipped already, and more being built every day.

I haven't gotten to dive with one yet though!!!

Chris

I got mine over the weekend.  Thanks to Sean from Backscatter!  I've only tested it in the bathtub, but so far I'm very happy with how wonderful it feels in my hand.  I'm off to Palau end of this week, can't wait.  I'll post some photos when I get back.

Hi,

I use a sea & sea YS110 strobe today, and think about getting a SB105 as an off camera slave.   They do have different colour temperatures though, will this matter much?  

The YS110 is 5400 ° K compared to the SB105 4700 ° K


Cheers
//O

You can always use a gel to bring the 2 closer to each other.  I think a 1/4 CTO on your YS110 behind the defuser should get it close to the SB105.

Thanks everyone for your replies. Any more opinions are much appreciated.

When the successor to the D300s comes out, what are the improvements expected over the D7000? As far as I can tell, slightly better AF, better video, higher frame rate, sturdier body... Anything else? It doesn't look likely that they will improve much as far as resolution or low light performance. Of the likely improvements, the only one that seems useful for UW use is the better AF. Am I missing something?

I think you're right and Thom Hogan said pretty much the same in his 2011 prediction post:

D400: announced late in the year (August or later). The real question is what changes from a D300s?
The D7000 16mp sensor, but with faster frame rates (both still and video)
A new focus sensor, likely a derivative of the D4's
1080P/24/25/30, 720P/24/25/30/60
Hard core pro body (more gasketing, possibly integrated grip)
Integrated GPS?
EN-EL15 battery?

That's why I decided to jump now instead of waiting for the D400 and commit to the Nauticam D7000 housing. I hope to keep that rig for a long time.

Emnmm....."I'm upgrading from a D300 to D7000 " it is consider "UPGRADE"!!!!!!!!!

In fact it's a big upgrade because I'm going from an D300 Ikelite housing to Nauticam

After taking Dr. Mustard's workshop earlier this year I finally feel like I can invest in a better housing. I could have gotten the D300s Nauticam, but I'll have to upgrade from my D300 to D300s, and each successive Nauticam design has gotten better so why not get the best Nauticam. Finally I'm not a video shooter but I've to say I'm intrigued by the possibility so all around it seems like a no brainer to "upgrade" to the D7000