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NEXUS USA #1373
October 31, 2007 - 4:12PM

Lee Peterson (Marine Camera Distributors) and Joe Holley (of Marine Visions) were at the Nexus USA booth showing housings for just about every SLR out there.

New this DEMA were housings for the Fuji S5 Pro, Canon 1D Mk III, Olympus E-3 (prototype), Canon 30D (40D expected to be similar), and Canon Digital Rebel XTi. There was also a new multiport for the Canon 16-35 lens that supports the zoom capability. We weren't sure whether it was a port for the old Canon 16-35 lens, or the new one.

The Nexus housings all felt pretty good in the hands, and were light. However, I must say that the ergonomics for the Canon housings were not very good. While many other manufacturers have figured out how to get both dials underneath one's fingertips, the Nexus housings for Canon all required large hand movements to get to one dial (meaning that one can't change shutter speed and aperture without moving his hand). Also, support for the * button or AF-ON button is accomplished by a tiny lever that isn't as comfortable as ones from other manufacturers.

I'm not sure why all housing manufacturers don't listen to photographers and how we use cameras. If your housing doesn't offer convenient access to all necessary controls, it had better offer something else enticing -- like ridiculously low prices. Actually, that's the only thing I can think of that would offset poor ergonomics.