clairegoodwin

Thanks Tim. Annoyingly I went through this before when I bought by dome port but I had an email clear out a while ago and can't find the sale info. I think I will contact subal just to be sure as the flat sides are worrying me. Claire Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk

And photos. Sorry not great. Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk

I will email Subal on this if I can't find out but thought someone might know off the top of their head. How do I work out if I have type 3 or 4 subal housing port mount? From the guide on reef photo (http://reefphoto.com/kb.php?id=21) I would be type 4 according to internal diameter (110mm) but my mount is not tapered like that. From memory I am type 3 but I can't find any of the original purchase paperwork. I bought the housing early 2009 if that is any help. Thanks, Claire

Hi Corey, Interested to know what you went for in the end (I'm possibly in same boat). How do you find it? Claire

Thanks Pete - that's good to know for next time! Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk

Thanks for the input on mirrorless Chris and Wolfgang. I'll look into those. I guess one reason for keeping with Nikon is that I am familiar with it but sure I could learn a new system with practice. I'll definitely check out your advert fforbes - although probably not quite in position to buy yet. Pete good point and exactly why I have been dithering. My hand has been forced rather. I had a lot of issues with my current set up last summer with strobes not firing. We couldn't pin point the issue (multi-meter testing seemed to find no problems), switching sync cables (several different ones) and strobes didn't work, seemed to be both sides. It would work fine on surface when tested and then fail at depth but then work fine next dive so presume a wire somewhere that was squeezing under pressure. I did buy completely new sync cable and it worked on my last dive but I am not confident. I need my images for work so this was more than annoying. I looked into sending the housing for a service but this is over 1000 dollars plus parts as my nearest agent is in the states. I think my d300 may also need a service as i feel i am having focussing issues. Then I started wondering if it was worth it as eventually I will need to replace anyway......So that's the logic. Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk

Thanks everyone this has been a really useful discussion. Although fancy your partner not wanting to sacrifice their baggage Tim [emoji6]. I will definitely look into to vivid vacuum systems as well as the various housings. Good to hear of your positive subal experience Okuma. Chris I had thought of a mirrorless system as an option. Certainly a lot lighter to travel with and I have friends who get great results with the Olympus pen and similar. That's a while other debate though (and one I may return to when I get some quotes in!). Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk

Thanks all. Lots of food for thought there. Swaying towards the d500 now but will get some housing quotes. I do mainly shoot macro. Kraken good idea about the leak detector - I've not had any major leaks in my subal yet (touch wood!) But did in my older ikelite set up - one catastrophic. Certainly nice to have peace of mind. I'll double check my port type if I do go for another subal - I think I am the older one. Tim interested that you went back to dx was there a particular reason or did you just like that camera? Wolfgang good point about subal. I'm reassured after seeing the latest updates on here but would be good to be completely confident. Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk

I'm finally biting the bullet and upgrading my Nikon d300 in subal housing. I have two ikelite ds125 and mainly shoot with 60mm macro or 10-17 tokina for wa. I use my photographs for science and public education so while I obviously want nice photos I'm not looking to try and shoot Nat geo quality (and I am the biggest limiting factor anyway!). I know I need to go and do lots more research but wondered if anyone had an opinion about the best options for me. Would be great to be able to keep some stuff to keep costs down if possible although I am prepared to make an investment as my current system has done 10+ years. Some considerations: I had thought of getting another subal housed system but I am in Canada so nearest dealer is across the border. I do want another metal housing - aquatica or nauticam probably best options. However if I went with subal I could keep ports and view magnifier and sync cables. Are port adapters worth considering? I have a dome and macro (would need to look up numbers). To full frame or not? I know the tokina lens won't be compatible with full frame and I do like it. I guess probably d750 for full frame and d500 for not (I know d850 is out now but not sure extra cost is worth it). Opinions and recommendations for further reading very welcome. Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk

Just invested in a kenko 1.4 tele to use with my Tokina 10-17. I am now going to splash out on the proper zoom gear (have been using a Blue Peter cardboard and sticky-tape set up to try it out initially). I have the DP-FE3 port - does anyone know if an extension ring is also needed with this? It seems to fit ok without and quality of images seems good but the Subal port chart indicates that one might be needed. Haven't had a chance to look at Alex's video yet so answer may well be in there. Thanks, Claire

Glad I found this before I shelled out £90 on a new one. Ikelite just told me you couldn't get this part. Thanks!

Thanks for all the advice. I was shooting with the wide end of a Tokina 10-17 and got as close in as I could and still get the arch in full. I have some much more colourful shots in close where I could get strobe lighting but don't show the whole scene. I was wondering if there was some trick with white balance or something I had missed but I guess I'm just asking for the impossible (I'd love to try off camera strobes but could be difficult as this site is very tidal and in 30m). As for buddies in colourful clothing the only person I know who has one dives with his wife - although have potentially found one with purple and yellow drysuit!

Any hints on greenwater wide angle lighting? This is taken on a D300, subal housing, 2 ikelite DS125 strobes on full power. Exposure 1/80, F8, ISO 400. Post-processing - exposure increased in photoshop by +0.25. Dead men's fingers etc on arch look rather grey to me. How should I have altered settings to improve colour?

I have Ikelite Ports and a sync cord for sale, due to a switch to a non-Ikelite housing. They are: Ikelite 8'' Dome Port (#5510.45) with shade and port body (Ikelite part #5510.10); Ikelite Flat Port #5502.41; Ikelite 6'' Extended Dome Port #5503.55; and Ikelite TTL Sync Cable (Two Ikelite Strobes to TTL Ikelite Housing). All in good condition, the 8'' Dome and Sync cable are nearly new. I have them listed on ebay at the moment (http://shop.ebay.co.uk/items/_W0QQ_nkwZikeliteQQ_armrsZ1QQ_fromZR40QQ_mdoZ), seller 'thedeepdweller' but I am willing to consider other offers.

I'm looking at buying a wide angle lense for my Nikon D70 (Ikelite housing). I've been looking over the various discussions on wide angle lenses on the forums - the main options recommended appear to be the 10.5mm Nikon, 15mm Sigma + 16mm Nikon Fisheye lenses and the 12-24mm Nikon zoom. The lense I've been using for wideish angle shots so far is the 18-70mm lense, I've got mixed results with this but want to get a wider lense to take full body diver shots (rather than the head and shoulder approach I've gone for with the 18-70mm). I'd also want to take scenic photos to give a general impression of a site. I mainly dive in UK waters and wonder if any of these lense options would be more suitable for green water conditions. I've read in some of the threads that the 10.5 fisheye can be difficult for people new to wideangle (i.e me!) - would I be better going with the 12-24mm as an intermediate? Thanks for your help, Claire

Thanks for the reassurance everyone, nice to know that there are some long-lived polycarbonates out there. Have my new housing from Ikelite now (they replaced the whole front of the housing) so am hoping that was just a problem with that particular one. Best wishes, Claire

I recently noticed small radiating stress cracks around one of the controls on my Ikelite D70 housing, on inspection there was another, larger, crack on the side of the housing. Water had entered, presumably through these, but fortunately the camera and housing electronics do not seem to have been damaged. The housing is currently being repaired by Ikelite, promptly and at minimal cost (thanks Ikelite!). However, they have been unable to shed any light as to what might have caused the cracks, I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions. I have had the housing 2 years and it has done approx 200 dives, mostly in the 20-35m range, the deepest to 46m - well within the depth limits for the housing. Most of the diving has been in temperate waters so the hosuing hasn't been exposed to extremes of heat and cold. The housing has not been knocked, to the best of my knowledge, and is kept in a protective wooden box on the dive boat. I follow all the usual housing care proceedures - making sure to rinse well after dives etc. I have flown with it but always carrying it as hand luggage. I notice from the forum that others have had similar problems. Does anyone know why these cracks might occur? I have been happy with the Ikelite housing until now but this has made me wonder if it is simply not durable enough for my sort of diving (although I wouldn't have considered the usage excessive). Does anyone know how long polycarbonate housings last, or have a particularly long lived one? One of the main reasons for choosing Ikelite was the lower price - should I be looking to remortgage and upgrade to a metal housing? Is there anything I should be doing to protect the polycarbonate housing from the same thing happening again? Any advice much appreciated, Thanks, Claire

Just got my ikelite Nikon D70 housing converted to iTTL circuitry. I had been getting good results on manual but now with the iTTL all the pictures are very over exposed - I have tried using the EV compensation button but the results are still overexposed when the maximum compensation is used. I'm using a 60mm lense and have the camera set to manual (f32, shutter speed 125). I have the strobe turned to the TTL setting on the dial and set to TTL inside the housing. The strobe works on the manual 1/8, 1/4 and 1/2 power settings but not on full (it fires but out of synch with th shutter so the picture is not lit) - I see from an earlier post that this is something to do with recycling times from the pre-flash. Ikelite hadn't supplied instructions on using the TTL and I can't find anything on their website. I have emailed them for suggestions but thought I should try here too. I'm sure it is something very basic that I am doing wrong with the camera settings but have no idea what it is! Is it right that I should not use the maunal settings on the strobe now but change to manual by pressing two buttons on the housing simultaneously? I got a new synch cord in case this was the problem but no luck there. The cord and strobe are both iTTL compatible. Thanks for your help, Claire

Thanks for the offers of help - some great pictures. I think I have managed to track down one taken locally that I can use (it might have looked a bit bad to try and publicise diving here with a picture taken somewhere completely different!). In responce to Craig's objections I felt that it was a fair request, and I was being completely open about what it was for (I didn't want to end up on the copyright theft forum!). We are on a shoestring budget and many people including all the people who are organisers, speakers, web designers, graphic designers etc. are giving their time up for free. Ok, we are having to pay the printers but I don't know any printers that do it as hobby - if I did I would have tried to get that free as well! As I said we aren't expecting to make any profit and anything we do make will go to charity. We are holding a photo competition with prizes and as Kasey says that would be a great way to get an image for another time. Claire

I am trying to get hold of an image of a diver silhouetted against the surface. Prefereably taken in UK waters (or not obviously tropical). I wondered if anyone might have one they would be prepared to let us use? It would be used as part of a dive conference logo for a non-profit dive show "Dive Ireland" we are holding next February. Unfortunately we are unable to provide any payment but we would of course acknowledge the picture source. Should think there would be some free tickets etc too if you wanted to attend the show. If anyone can help please get in touch. Claire