ShadowDiver

Interested. please respond to PM. thanks!

I have Ikelite housings and love it. however, since the 5d Mark II has video and audio, there's something i don't like about the housing. it creaks! when viewing video, i can hear the housing creak quite a bit. now i even notice it while diving. might be something to consider if you're shooting video.

ok. i figured it out. my connector must be different. my grommet is attached to the connector and cannot be pulled back. it is like a rubber compression fitting. the black plastic housing with pins can only come out in the direction away from the wire-out the front of the connector. i had to cut the wire close to the grommet, and push the wire through the grommet and pull the black pin housing out the front. before reassembly, i slipped on surgical tubing and two sizes of heat shrink tubing. one that goes over the metal end cap and surgical tubing, and a shorter piece to go over the surgical tubing and cord, since the larger tubing wont shrink down tightly over the cord. i hope this minimizes the bending.

how did you remove the grommet? does it slides out from under the metal connector? my grommet feels like it is attached to the metal connector. it wont budge!

dont forget you can practice on land, before your dive. if you're shooting Manual with TTL, as Lee outlined, then using your normal flash (580exII) will give similar results as the DS125. I always shoot Manual with TTL flash, unless the ambient light is enough for me to shoot in Av with enough shutter speed for the subject (and i want a balanced shot). I also program the Custom modes so i can quickly switch between flash and no flash. Manual with flash (lower iso) Av with no flash (higher iso) Av with flash (medium iso) I find TTL works great. So i suggest practicing on land and understand the above relationships before diving.

i've had a dslr ikelite housing where the ports 'clicked', but the pin was not all the way down. i would have to push the clip towards the port with a bit of pressure and push the pin down. the dome port rocking is normal, but at depths, i can't even rotate the dome/port. the key is to look closely at those clips and make sure they are in the locked position. if locked, i dont think the dome/port can come off unless the housing threads gets stripped or something breaks. i bet all incidents of the port coming off is from the locks not in 'fully' locked position. only 1 of 3 of my dSLR housings have needed this attention. the others are looser and lock upon hearing the click. but i always do a visual check to make sure the locks are down, and a physical check to make sure it cannot be moved out (without pulling the pin).

i'd like the ulcs triple and standard clamps and 5in and 8in arms if buoyancy arms. pm sent.

i'll try setting iso manually, but unless you mean to change it during the capture, i'll set it before the clip. i dont see how i can change iso during the clip because it is a few menu clicks and not so quick. maybe i can set exposure compensation and use autoiso. i think i would take my strobes down each time. and shoot stills but add video. in that case, should i even install the magic filter? can i white balance with strobes and magic filter for stills? or i should use the magic filter only when in the mindset of shooting video, with stills added. thanks for the help!

taking my Canon 5d Mark II under for the first time next week. i think i'm going to try some video. what do you folks think about: Canon 5d Mark II Canon 17-40mm Ikelite housing 8in dome Manual mode shutter 1/60 aperture f8 autoISO focus ~3 feet in front i'll be in Cozumel, so i'm thinking of just drifting along. f8 for increased edge sharpness. 1/60 because NTSC. and let autoISO handle the exposure. i have at my disposal magic-filter and a +2 diopter. i can try both of these. manual white balance on my silver Aqualung fins. i'm a complete video newb. am i on the right track? suggestions? thanks.

i believe err99 is usually caused by the lens or a poor electrical contact between the lens and body. if it only happens underwater, maybe the body and lens are not aligned perfectly with the housing, causing the lens to tweak apart from the body slightly, losing contact. clean the contacts and make sure everything is seated right, throughout the zoom range (no binding), and with all buttons pushed (not moving the body). does a reboot fix clear the error? hopefully it does and your dive is not ruined. on the 20d to 30d question, call Ikelite. but i doubt the housings are interchangeable. not only the physical differences, but the electronics as well. good luck

I have a 5d mark II and a 5d. both with Ikelite housings. i think the 5d is too heavy for my wife to use. since she only likes to shoot macro, i'm thinking of trading the 5d for a point n shoot. is there a small, lightweight, yet quality setup for macro? we liked the Nikonos V setup with one strobe, extension tubes and framers. although not light, it was easy to shoot really quality macros. can something like a G10 do macros well at, say, 6 inch working distance? with one DS51 or DS125 strobe? other suggestions? i'd like to stick to ikelite only to share my cords and DS125 battery chargers. but i'm open to other suggestions too. thanks in advance

what if i can read those garbled words faster and comprehend more? seriously, i have a problem reading. and i hate reading. but i read forums, reviews, technical docs, all day and night. i can't read novels. i often swap word order, even words from a couple lines later. i think this is laziness or impatience related. but i'm pretty sure i was able to read that post faster than normal. and because the words didn't pop out at me, i was able to follow without reordering. maybe i will develop software to garble the words of novels for me. maybe this can be a workaround for my reading. side effects? instant messaging ruined my spelling a long time ago!

just curious, is the TTL circuitry different between the 5d and the 5d2? i'm thinking most folks don't care about TTL, but my guess is the electronics are different. nice craftsmanship with the mod. it would take me weeks just to repeatedly measure before doing any drilling.

I'm back from my trip. i never got a chance to buy the diopters, but i didn't need it. i didn't notice any abnormal softness on the edges. i'm quite happy with the 8in dome performance with the 17-40 on my 5d. at 17mm, there's always some edge softness, but i dont think it is much more than on land. not sure, but the photos are ok for me. i'm always f8 or smaller. i should have tried wider to see the difference, but i didn't get to dive as much as i planned with the camera (surface currents). for a casual photographer, no diopter was ok for me. Bent - nice photo of that port. i think mine sticks out about the same. so same port.

there's probably a million threads on the 2 clips and i'm one who would like to see more than 2. i noticed both of my clips 'click' into place. however, one of them don't go all the way down. i have to push it in manually. once in correctly, the ports still rock back/forth, but i don't think surf or anything can make the port come off. double check and then check again the clips. as long as they're all the way in, i wouldn't worry about it coming off. (based on tests in my bathtub for my housing). i use AI servo focus mode with all points selected (so that the extra points are used). since i'm always moving underwater, i like AI servo. only problem is, i have to center my subject. but of course, focus mode depends on your subject. if you're shooting at the surface, you may not want waves to change your focus. so fixed might be better. i tried a couple of over/under shots with an 8in dome. i should have experimented, because at f8, i could not get the over image in focus. only the under part was focused. try going as small aperture as you can. lastly, of course you should try to rinse salt and debris as much as possible. salt and sand will increase risk of leakage if they get into the o-rings (salt dries and leaves residue). and over time, it gets worse. but you can service the housing more often too. i soak mine immediately in fresh water on the boat. then a rinse with running water at the dock. then more running water at room. then a soak. and a final rinse. pushing all buttons at each step. i figure if my rinsing doesn't cause a leak, diving wont! hehe