I test fit the D90 into the D80 housing last night and it fit perfectly except for some button misalignment on the back right side and then this morning I see that Ikelite on thier website is now to offer a D90 housing. Ikelite doenst mention on thier website though if just the backhalf of the housing can be purchased, does anyone have info on this?

Hey!

I looked at the new Ikelite housing on the web site today. I figured that the button wouldn't line up because the LCD on the D80 was 2.5 vs the D90 being 3.0 inches. So I figured that the backing was different. The o-rings are the same size.

The point being, I would e-mail Ikelite directly and ask. I bet they refashioned only the back and that is why they were able to get something out so quick. If you have never dealt w. Ikelite, they are wounderful Nothing bad to say anout the customer service. I have e-mailed them during the day and typically get a response the sam day. I e-mailed them last week about the D90 housing and got a respnse in 30 minutes.

I also e-mailed Sea and Sea to see if they had any plans for a D90 housing. They did get back with me in 2 days and this was their response:

Hello Kirk,

There have been no plans discussed by SEA&SEA Main to produce a housing for the Nikon D90 slur. Thank you for your inquiry.

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Sea&Sea Imaging

T: 562.498.3708

F: 562.498.0415

www.seaandsea.com

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I does appear that there has been 1 button added to the back and I think it is to go into the live mode. If you do e-mail Ikelite anout this, please post it here.

Kirk

I asked ikelite, here's their answer:

Both the front and back assemblies are different between the D80 and new D90 housings. Therefore, you would need to purchase the appropriate new housing model 6809.1 to accommodate the new D90 camera selected. This new housing should become available in a few days.

Hmmmm..., i guess we need to actually try the d90 back on the d80 housing and see. Any volunteers?

Phil

I'm curious why would you do that? As far as I know, Ike does not sell the backs separately so you will have to buy a complete new housing regardless of whether it will fit or not.

The resale value on clean Ike housings is very good and it makes more sense to sell your D80 and housing (probably separately) through ebay and then buy a d90 with the new housing.

Just my opinion -- I like to "futz" with stuff too just to see if it will work, but sometimes it's more trouble than it's worth

JP

Heck as far as i'm concerned i couldn't care less, but it is something we should put forward to housing makers. We've reached a point where camera layouts are very similar between upgrades, it's logical to opt for cheaper housing conversions instead of having to buy a complete housing every time. It's nothing of the impossible, but of course any housing maker will be glad to sell you a complete new housing instead of a mere conversion kit.

I could bet the back of the ike d90 housing fits perfectly on the d80 front.

Phil

I stuck a D90 all the way into a D80 housing without a lens attached and I could do everything from turn it on to snap the photo button. I could even switch from AF to M focus on the left side. All of the buttons on the top left and right worked fine as well as all the buttons on the left side of the screen on the back. The only conflict I could see was the "OK" button and the four buttons arranged in a circle to the right of the screen. That nice new display button on the bottom right of the screen was also out of reach.

The nice thing would be to be able to buy a new backplate as I could then switch back and forth to the D80 when service or repair was needed.

You would think that in today’s economy Ikelite would see the value of selling a D80 to D90 upgrade. Scuba diving for most of us is not a job but a sport. Creation of an upgrade path would allow us to save several hundred dollars. They could add a caveat that maybe one function cannot be accessed but that all others work. I sent them an email but received a similar negative response.