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FISHEYE #2137
November 2, 2007 - 1:29PM

Ryan Canon and Richard Perry (of Reef Photo & Video and DigitalDiver.net) manned the Fisheye / Seatool booth, along with Kenji Ohmura and others from Japan. A Japanese brand, Fisheye and Seatool are making it into the U.S. market with product distribution by both Reef Photo & Video and Backscatter.

On display were compact Seatool housings for the Canon Rebel XTi, Nikon D200, and Canon 40D (design prototype). Housings for the Nikon D300 and D3 are planned for December.

The Seatool Canon XTi housing has been augmented with an optional, wired bulkhead. It is still as compact as I remember it being; I took it out a few months ago for snorkeling and freediving with dolphins, and its tiny size made it easier for me to stay at the front of the pack, while those with larger housings were always lagging in the rear!

The Seatool D200 housing features a cool multi-control dial on the back, optical and wired bulkheads (as an option), and a nice quick-release tray. Unlike the Canon XTi housing, the D200 housing allows photographers to remove memory cards without removing the camera from the housing. Changing batteries does require camera removal. There are various options for ball mounts for strobe arms, and the folks at Seatool always seem to be working to improve how things work. No trays or handles were installed on the housings on display, but Seatool does offer a complete solution.

Also on display were an array of port adapters. Seatool offers port adapters for just about every port system out there. On display was a housing with a Subal dome port mounted on it. Because the front of the Seatool housing is closer to the camera, the port adapters are designed so that no change in calculations are necessary when using the various port system. So if you're used to using a 20mm extension behind your dome port for a certain lens, you can continue using it that way. The exception are Sea & Sea ports, which don't quite work and are around 10mm off (speak with Ryan if you are planning on doing this).

Seatool Sony SR-7/8 and CX-7/8 housings were also on display. Backscatter's booth showed black-finished ones, but I was told that the versions that will ultimately be distributed in the U.S. are silver (as displayed at FishEye).

Kenji recently purchased a company in Japan called DIV, whose products will be sold under the "Fisheye" name in the U.S. These housings are made of ABS / Lexan, and are much less expensive than other housings. The new Fisheye housings feature flexible bulkhead, finder, and port mount options. Fisheye Canon 40D and Nikon P5100 housing were on display.