Brett F

Derek, Ikelite may offer a new 40D/50D housing, however the housing electronics must allow full TTL compatibility with both camera models. If this is achieved, we will likely offer an upgrade for the 40D housings. The button for live view will of course be added. We will post the latest updates on our website www.ikelite.com. Regards, Brett Foster - Ikelite

It does sound as if the flash is getting between the lens and foam shade. We haven't encountered this problem with our testing at Ikelite, so it is possible that there are slight variances in the shade thickness. Send your postal mailing address and request to brett@ikelite.com. I will have a thinner version of your shade sent, to be added to the existing piece. This should eliminate the problem.

Believe we initally backed off the lens because the #5503.51 port wasn't available yet and the port body taper (inherent with molded parts) on the #5503.50 port, "grabbed" the lens, like it did with the Tokina 12-24mm. When the #5503.51 port was developed for the Tokina 12-24mm lens, we found it also worked for the 10-20mm Sigma. We again offered a port for the 10-20mm Sigma with no zoom capability because of the slippage problem caused by the larger inside diameter of the #5503.51. Not sure why we didn't also offer the 8" dome again other than not wanting to offer a marginally acceptable (questionable zoom) setup with the more expensive dome.

Since the lens opening is well beyond the plane of the mounting plate, the vignetting could be a reflection or refraction issue. Strobe placement is important with wider angle lenses, so if the strobes are too far forward, your type of problem can occur. Please e-mail jpeg images to brett@ikelite.com for analysis. Diopters are not needed for these lenses. Please notify me of your results with the longer port body. Regards, Brett

Laith, You will find that the clamp seems a little loose without the thinnest rubber pads and a little tight with the pads. Either way will normally work once the port is locked down, but I've found the simplest answer is to cut one of the strips in half and then place the two pieces on opposing inner sides of the clamp.

Betti154, I can mail you a different style rubber tip with a larger head diameter which will probably take care of the problem. If possible, photograph the problem area and send me a jpeg image, and your mailing address at brett@ikelite.com. This should be a simple fix.

Ken, When the Ikelite D70 housing is connected to an Ikelite digital strobe, and both camera and strobe are powered up for TTL shooting, simply depressing the shutter button half-way should reactivate the LCD backlight. With that, the need to depress the backlight button is very rare so a dedicated control seemed unecessary. Regardless, we may be able to squeeze in a push button control if you feel it is needed for your night dives.

It sounds like you need a little more "push" on the locking button. Karl's solution is the easiest fix.

The #5503 port is recommended for the lens "without" any add-ons as you found out. You can try the next size 1" longer dome #5503.50. Not sure if vignetting will occur at widest angle, but you may have to remove the shade.

Regarding the 12-24mm lens in the Ike port, use #5509.28 special zoom set that comes with the Ike D70s iTTL housing. This eliminates the compression fit of the "single gear sleeve with pads" you are currently using to operate the zoom, which came before the newer special zoom set. Always make sure that the port o-ring is lubricated lightly to facilitate the piston fit seal between the port and housing. Use only Ikelite lube as other lubes can cause o-ring swelling. This info is included in instruction manuals and website info.

Ron, The "blue-banded" TTL cord is necessary with newer iTTL, Olympus TTL, and eTTL housings due to the fact you need all 5 pins connected to allow proper communication between the camera and strobe(s). The strobe upgrades also need to be done for proper camera-strobe TTL communication. The D100 is dTTL and there is no interface circuit available. Since the D100 was discontinued, dTTL is low on the priority list . We currently have circuitry for Nikon TTL, iTTL, eTTL, eTTL2, and Olympus TTL. Since you're shooting with the D100, you don't need the upgrades right now.

Ron, Certain lenses like your 17-35mm are larger in diameter at the lens end than at the lens zoom ring. This necessitates loading the zoom clamp and sleeve from the back side of the lens and then attaching the lens onto the camera face after the camera has been loaded into the housing. This procedure is reversed to remove the camera from the housing. The good news is that a lens lock release control is now standard on all new DSLR Ikelite housings.

According to the Ikelite website port chart, you need kit #5509.17 special zoom and clamp set for the Nikon 17-35mm lens: http://www.ikelite.com/web_pages/2port_nikon.html It sounds like you are trying to use the standard size zoom clamp and sleeve which will not work. Regarding the #5508.05 port, the gear sleeve will seem sloppy and won't operate properly until the port is locked down over it. Brett Ikelite Underwater Systems www.ikelite.com