john70490

To answer your questions: Firstly, we all know that the D100 had serious drawbacks but any competent photographer can take beautiful shots with any Nikon DSLR introduced subsequently. Secondly, I'm not entirely sure the DS125 is an upgrade compared to the DS51 (I own both). Dual DS51's are great for macro work and a DS51 paired with a DS125 works fine with the Tokina 10-17mm at 10mm. Thirdly, I wonder what the force that drives many photographers' wish to constantly update is too. Just my humble (cynical) opinion.

Not so sure about that bit. Do you believe most of the people on this forum that buy a D7000 and Nauticam or Aquatica housing are going to take better pictures than many of those John Bantin takes with his D200 and Sea & Sea housing?

Sorry to harp on, but an Ikelite housing, with all its limitations, which I agree it has, will do the job just fine, as these photos http://www.f64.se/img/hanifaru/ and this video , taken by a friend of mine, show. Its basically a question of what you can afford. For me, it was a question of a used camera (older model), an Ikelite housing, used ports and used strobes and arms or no DSLR rig at all.

E-mail sent re arms.

Having both bought and sold a lot of used stuff in recent years, I would say 50% for housings for obsolescent cameras (e.g. D70, D80), strobes (e.g. D50, DS125) etc, 60-65% for models that are still current.

Hi Deb, Great shots! Thanks for sharing! I look forward to testing the set-up eventually. At the moment the sea is still frozen all along the coast to the Norwegian border, so we haven't been able to get in the water all winter This only happens about once every 10 years but it's the second year in a row. Global cooling?

Very interesting Bill! Thanks!

Ikelite #6808.

Hi Bill, Scott, the seller, writes "For sale is a custom made mini-dome port (4" diameter) customized for wide angle macro to work with the Tokina 10-17mm w/1.4x teleconverter- the port extension is matched to the exit pupil of the lens", so it should work fine, don't you think?

Thanks Dave! Some nice shots there.

Thanks Loftus!

Thanks! Great shot! Farnes?

Hi everyone, I would love to see some pictures taken withh this combination. The reason is that I bought the custom-made 4" minidome for Ikelite advertised in the Classifieds section yesterday. I already have a 1.4x TC (Tamron, older model, not designed specifically for digital but made in the same factory as Kenco and works fine, at least on land) and wondered what kind of results I might be able to get with the set-up. I know someone posted some shots somehwere recently but am unable to find them. Can someone please point me in the right direction. Thanks! John

Hi, I'd like to buy this. Payment by Paypal, shipment to Sweden. Please let me know total including shipping by USPS First Class Mail International, Small Packet. Price list here (scroll down): http://pe.usps.com/text/Imm/ps_038.htm#ep1655782 E-mail message sent. Regards, John

You can! Of course you can. If I was 10 years younger, I'd probably do the same. But, once again, the point at issue was whether Ikelite housings are more prone to leak than others. And I was disputing that.

Sorry, no! Because I have a D80, am perfectly happy with it and don't plan to buy another camera and housing as, having reached the ripe old age of 72, my career as a diver presumably won't last for many more years

Of course Ikleite housings are cheaper to produce. I never said otherwise and I'm old and wise enough to know that very few commercial concerns are charitable organisations. The point at issue was whether Ikelite's housings are more likely to leak and I see nothing to support that claim and no reason why they should be. And I cannot agree that Aquatica and Nauticam housings only cost a fraction more. I would also point out that by no means all Ikelite owners "move on". I personally know two very good underwater photographers, one semipro and the other an accomplished amateur, who happily use Ikelite housings because they prefer to invest their money in the best lenses and the latest camera model in the certainty that they will be selling the camera and housing they buy today at a substantial loss within two years.

There's no doubt that there are housings that have better ergonomics than Ikelite's but that's not what we're discussing here. While I would not have bought my Ikelite housing if I'd believed it was more prone to leak than the Sea & Sea housings I've owned previously, I can live with the poorly designed shutter release lever, for example, and the fact that the buttons are not marked, so that I have to remember what each button does (it's easy to see the camera's buttons through the housing on land but much harder under water). I can't honestly say that the housing is less comfortable to hold than my Sea & Sea housings were, though. The difference in weight between the Ikelite housing and the Aquatica housing for the D90 is less than 1 lb, so it's hardly a decisive factor.

Nobody questioned the fact that you flooded your Ikelite housing but it does sound as though it may have been due to carelssness/user error. Your statement that it's harder to see debris on the main o-ring in Ikelite housings is a matter of opinion though. You think it is harder, I don't, at least not compared to Sea & Sea housings (I've had three)

Not true! Ikelite housings are specifically moulded to fit the camera, just as aluminium housings are specifically machined. If they weren't, they'd all be the same size. There's no doubt Aquatica make excellent housings and yours may be a bargain but I'd be willing to bet I could get a used Ikelite housing for less than half of what you are asking for your housing.

As many people pointed out, the poll tells us absolutely nothing. For example, "I think all you will determine with this poll is which housing model is the most popular. Looking at the current results, the Ikelite has flooded more often than any other brand. Could that be because there are probably 10 times as many Ike's as any other model simply because of cost?" What is more, over half the responders admitted that the cause of the flood was user error. 'Nuff said! I still maintain that there is no reason why Ikelite housings should flood more often than other makes.

Really? I have followed Wetpixel postings for several years and have not seen more reports of flooding with Ikelite housings than with other makes. Carelessness and user error can lead to flooding with any housing but I can I see no reason why Ikelite housings should be more prone to flooding. In fact, the ability to check that the o-rings are properly seated and compressed and the, in my opinion, excellent port lock system, now with four locks, should reduce the risk compared to many other housings. My recommendation would be to look for a used Ikelite housing. Used Ikelite ports are not hard to find (keep an eye on E-bay and put a Want-to-buy ad on Wetpixel and Scubaboard) and are much cheaper than other makers' ports. I recently bought a couple of ports to have as back-up, paid $55 for the 6" dome (for the Tokina 10-17mm lens) and $60 for the 60mm port.

I second this but, just in case, I tape two sachets od Leak Insure to the bottom of my housing. They contain granules of a super absorbent polymer that is capable of taking up 400 times its own weight of water http://www.leakinsure.co.uk/ so two sachets should be able to handle a fairly bad leak.

Hugyfot do too, I believe.

Thanks but no thanks. It must have the blue band. Anyone have one for sale?