Sea &Sea’s large booth

Sharing space with parent company Tusa, Sea & Sea had a huge booth with many products on display, including the DX-5D, DX-D80, DX-D200, DX-D50 digital SLR housings and DX-860G and DX-8000G compact cameras.  Also on display were the VX-S1, VX-S2, and VX-FX1 camcorder housings, YS-110 strobe, and a prototype of the upcoming YS-250 PRO strobe.

I put my hands on all of the digital SLR housings and took the following notes about ergonomics:

For the DX-5D housing for Canon EOS 5D, in shooting position, you…

... can reach the * button
... cannot reach shutter/top command dial
... cannot reach aperture/back command dial

For the DX-D80 housing for Nikon D80, you…

... cannot reach rear command dial

For the DX-D200 housing for Nikon D200, you…

... can reach top dial
... cannot reach back dial

For the DX-D50, you…

... cannot reach top dial
... cannot reach rear dial

I wish more companies would release SLR housings with good ergonomics.  If you have to move your hands to access vital controls, you open up the opportunity for missed shots!

Attached to the camera described above were TTL Converters (for both Canon and Nikon camps) that sit between housings and strobes.

The new YS-250 PRO sounds like a promising strobe, and I know many people who are waiting eagerly to try it out.  I especially like that the back of the strobe doubles as a diffuser holder.

For coverage of Sea & Sea’s video products, see Drew Wong’s coverage, which will be linked from the show coverage page soon.

For more coverage of DEMA 2006, please see the DEMA coverage index.

Sea & Sea DX D80 housing for Nikon D80

Sea & Sea DX D80 housing for Nikon D80 with TTL Converter N

Sea & Sea TTL Converter N II for Nikon iTTL

Sea & Sea DX 5D underwater housing for Canon EOS 5D

Sea & Sea DX 5D underwater housing for Canon EOS 5D, with TTL Converter C

Sea & Sea TTL Converter C for Canon ETTL

Sea & Sea’s YS-110 strobe

Sea & Sea’s YS-110 strobe

Sea & Sea’s YS-110 strobe

Prototype Sea & Sea YS-250 strobe.  No control labels yet.  The front of the strobe is on the right. Notice the diffuser holder on the back of the strobe.

Prototype Sea & Sea YS-250 strobe

Sea & Sea housing for Nikon D200

Sea & Sea housing for Nikon D200

Nikon DX-D200 and DX-D50 underwater housings

Sea & Sea VX-S1 and VX-S2 underwater video housings for Sony HDR-HC3, DCR-DVD505, and HDR-UX1

Sea & Sea VX-FX1 underwater housing for Sony FX1 camcorder

Sea & Sea VX-FX1 underwater housing for Sony FX1 camcorder