Introduction

The first time I saw the new Seacam housing for the Fuji S2pro was at DEMA in Sept. 2003. Fortunately, a fellow HUPS member Shan Hodges bought the housing and pro viewfinder, and graciously lent it to me for this review. Stephen Frink of Seacamusa.com also sent me the S-180 viewfinder, macroport, small dome, and the appropriate extension rings and gears to try out the 105, 12-24DX, and the 16mm fisheye.

Size and Construction

The Seacam and Aquatica housings,showing the size. Both units are set up for shooting the 60mm Micro.

The Seacam is the smallest and lightest housing for the S2 that I have handled yet. It is larger than the Seacam housing for the Nikon D100 but is a bit smaller than the D1X housing. The following photograph shows the back of the Seacam compared to my Aquatica housing. You can also see in this photo that the handles on the Seacam are contoured and are not made to accept strobe arm mounts.

Pictured here is the Seacam S2 housing, as compared to the Aquatica. Note the Pro viewfinder on the Seacam

The Seacam S2 housing is constructed of cast and machined aluminum which is contoured to fit the camera like a glove. The inside is flocked with a moisture absorbent black material designed to control small droplets of water than can enter housings either after a small flood or when the housing is open and water drips in.

One of the more novel features of Seacam housing is the special Eloxal Process external coating called Seacam Silver. This is an electroplating process for aluminum which uses an oxalic acid bath to deposit a super-hard coating on the aluminum surface. The coating finish is silver and slightly rough to the touch. Seacam users report that the Eloxal coating is so tough that the housing can be dragged across reef rock without scratching – and I believe it. You can see a closeup of the Seacam Silver finish in one of the following photos.

The interior of the housing is flocked with a water absorbent material. The gears and control arms are precisely machined and fitted. Note the visual red moisture alarm light which also emits a loud beep

Seacam uses an ingenious double-wiper system to access two buttons from one control. The photo above shows the control inside the housing for the Flash and Exposure Compensation.

The Flash and Exposure Compensation control, outside the housing. Note the Seacam Silver eloxal coating.

The reader will also notice that the buttons on the top and rear of the housing are plastic or plastic coated, rather than stainless steel. This eliminates contact of dissimilar metals which can result in corrosion.

Functions

The following photos are pretty self explanatory. They show the layout of the controls for the S2 camera. Every camera control is available and placed in the optimum location for the photographer. Seacam went to great pains to design gears, shafts, and levers into the housing so that external controls can be placed at the photographers fingertips. A good example of Seacam’s incredible attention to detail is the rear command dial. Other housing manufacturers put a control for this dial on the back of the housing – that requires the user to take his or her hand off the handle to turn the control. With the Seacam, the control is mounted on the right side and the dial can be easily rolled with the thumb without taking your hand off the handle. The AE/AF Lock button is just as easy to operate and can be depressed with the thumb, leaving the index finger to control the shutter release.

A view showing the fingertip access to the rear command dial and AF-Lock button.

A view of the housing front right

A view of the housing front left.

Functions accessible from the photographers fingertips are:

Zoom
AF/MF Shift
Shutterspeed
Aperture
Shutter
AE/AF Lock

Available Ports and Lens Combinations

I received a flat port, a small dome port and two extension rings. Larger domes are available and the Superdome is recommended for use with the Nikkor 12-24DX lens. Other housings I have used locate the manual focus control on the port. Seacam brings the focus control back to the left-hand side of the housing – so again – you don’t need to take your hand off the handle to operate the manual focus. This also makes the ports simpler and more reliable as there are no through port holes.

For the review, I used the 60mm Micro in the pool and Shan used the 16mm fisheye at Stuart Coves. The following photos show the ports and extensions.

The 12-24DX with zoom gear, the 105mm with focus and AF/MF Shift collar, and the flat port with extension ring.

The flat port and extension for the 105. Unlike other manufacturers, Seacam puts the focus and AF/MF shift controls on the housing

Workability

This unit was designed specifically for use with the Fuji S2 and no other camera. The camera mounts to the front tray of the housing so the back can be easily removed by opening the locking lid snaps. There are only two snaps, one on each side of the housing and recesses in the aluminum make the snaps easy to open and close.

Out of the water, the camera is very easy to service. Since the camera is mounted to the front of the housing, it’s not necessary to disconnect it from the tray for servicing. This is good, because an Allen key is required to unscrew the tripod mount. I believe that the housing leaves no room underneath the tray for a thumbscrew.

By opening the back, the memory card can be easily removed and changed. The battery tray slides out from the left side of the camera, for a quick change of the AA batteries. Note that the CR123 Lithium batteries are NOT required for underwater shooting.

The housing front, showing the mounting tray

Seacam ports are threaded, as opposed to bayonet mount. The ports are gnurled to make them easy to grip for port changes. Because there are no gears on the ports, changing lenses is especially quick as nothing comes away with the port or needs to be “meshed up” when the port is put back on. Note that Seacam does not provide a lens release button, so keep a small utensil handy for pressing this button through the large port opening.

Getting in and out of the water the housing is lighter than any I have ever used. For macro shooting, strobes can be mounted directly to the dovetails on the top of the housing. The balance is good when set up this way and underwater, the rig weighs just ounces. One of the finest features of this setup is the S-180 viewfinder. It presents a very big and bright view of 100% of the viewfinder. This is an absolute dream for macro shooting with the S2 as it’s easy to achieve critical focus. When you think about it, the S2’s 1.5x crop factor, the S180 viewfinder, TTL strobe control, and perfect balance make this system what I’d deem the ultimate digital macro setup.

The Seacam viewfinders are interchangeable and very easy to remove and replace with no tools required. Shown in-hand is the Pro viewfinder, with the S-180 alongside.

For wideangle shooting, some photographers prefer mounting the strobe arms to the housing handles. This is not possible with the handles Seacam provided, so a separate tray should be mounted to the housing base.

Sample Photos

A photo by Shan Hodges using the 16mm fisheye

A sample macro pool shot using one DS125 in TTL

I tried a number of different extension rings with the brand-new 12-24DX lens until I found the right one to yield good sharp corners. The proper ring seems to be the one made for the 15mm lens which moves the dome out about 1.5 cm.

Conclusion

It’s easy for me to say that this is by-far the finest housing I have ever used. The construction and quality is superb, the design is extremely well thought-out, the housing balance and weight is perfect underwater, and the unit is just “dead-sexy” looking with the Seacam Silver finish. The strobe mounts and interchangeable viewfinders make it easy to set up for your style of shooting. Of course, all of this comes at a price that is out of reach for many underwater photographers. I would strongly recommend this setup for shooters that use their housing day-in and day out, as part of their living, and for folks that demand the very best.

Author: James Wiseman

For specs, visit Seacam's website at:
http://www.seacamusa.com

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