wmiller

Thanks for the input. I'll try the 18-55 inside the housing topside to see how it works.

Hi, I would eventually like to shoot some wide angle. But I don't want to add a second strobe right now. How wide could I go with 1 strobe? Here is my setup: Canon Rebel Xti Seatool housing/port Inon-D-2000 strobe Canon 60mm I do have the new Canon 18-55 IS kit lens but the manual gear ring doesn't fit so I wasn't able to try it last week. Would I be better off with a fixed lens? Thanks, Wendy

Alex, Would you not recommend using the d-2000 alone? I do have the canon kit lens (17-55mm) which fits the seatool port but have never tried that lens underwater. Umm, that would give me more width but I am unsure of the quality with that lens underwater.

Hi, I have a seatool housing/Canon xti and an Inon D-2000 strobe. What would be the widest lens I could use with one strobe? I am currently using my 60mm but would like to go alittle wider without adding a second strobe. I am hoping Seatool will make a port for my Sigma 17-70-darn.... Thanks, Wendy

I need to lighten up my carry on load. currently I take a backpack for a light weight jacket, magazines, Ipod, glasses, apple ibook, etc, and I carry a pelican with a seatool housing, 60 mm and 17-17 mm, inon strobe and a canon xti. Those of you who use a Think Tank would the smaller Airport Airstream give me enough space? I just go back from a dive vacation and it was a pain with two roller suitcases, the pelican and backpack. I like the versatility of a backpack as I tend to throw alot of stuff in it but I really would like to make things easier. Thanks. Wendy

I hemmed and hawed between the ike, sea & sea. It was then suggested I look at the seatool. Yes it was ALOT more $$ than I initially wanted to spend but the trade off was worth every penny. I like the small size (coming from an oly 4040/pt010 housing) and it is very close to the size of that housing. I was able to use my ULCS tray and arms perfectly and my strobe. Not once have I regretted choosing this housing over the others. Wendy

I think this trip would be a wonderful experience and I thank all of you for your input and experiences. My biggest problem would be missing 2 weeks of classes (I teach-university) and thought if the trip could be combined with my spring break (March)then I would only miss 1 week but I am sure the majority of interested people wouild prefer Easter break, or if May would still have calm seas, low rain and good visibility. Thanks

Thanks for you honest opinions. I really hope it that was all an isolated case. Now I need to suggest a month I would like to go but that doesn't mean it would work or other interested people.

Thanks Drew, Right now I am only using my 60mm and if a port comes available for my Seatool then a sigma 17-70. Actually May would be better-school is done the second week. Thanks for the information Drew. Wendy

Hi, Our LDS is planning a trip to Wakatobi in 2010 and they want interested divers to give them dates of when they would like to go. I am a teacher at a University so my open dates are far and few inbetween after Christmas. But if the best time of the year is during class time I would definately try work around that. Our spring break is in March, not around Easter and if that is a good time great. So if I am going to miss 2 weeks of classes I at least want the diving and weather to be worth it. When I went to Beqa Island in March 2004 it was overcast the whole time, poor visibility and strong currents which made it tough for weaker swimmers and taking pictures. So any suggestions would be wonderful. This looks like a great place to visit. Wendy

B)--> QUOTE(Mel.B @ Aug 15 2007, 02:47 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hi Wendy, Thanks for your reply With regards to the magnetic ports this is the information I have... Port converter ring for INON INON MRS 60mm port INON magnet ring for EF-S60mm And the advantage of using INON port, it is only you can use MRS system. MRS system, it is "Magnet Rotary System", to control manual focus with magnet ring instead the gear This is from Yuzo in Japan. So really from reading this again, the magnetic system is just another way of controlling manual focus with the 60mm lens? Is it essential to have a manual focus option or is auto focus enough? Thanks, Mel.b Hi Mel, I ordered my housing from Reef Photo so maybe Yuzo has some different configurations to use with the seatool which haven't hit the states yet. I would get a manual focus. There were times when my canon 60mm wouldn't lock the focus and I had to use manual. With the seatool there is a gerar ring which fits over the lens and lines up with the manual focus gear. Very simple. Mel you wouild be disappointed in this housing. Wendy

B)--> QUOTE(Mel.B @ Aug 12 2007, 01:21 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> It had to happen - my beloved 5050 flooded today It's not all bad news though because now I really can upgrade to a dSLR. I want something small and compact and basically have my heart set on the Canon Xti in a Seatool housing. This also means I can keep my Inon strobes. So is anyone using this setup? I'd love to hear your thoughts. I have a question too regarding port choice. The housing can take either the Seatool ports or the Inon magnetic rotatery port system with an adapter. There is no significant different in price and no difference currently with respects to the lenses I want (neither currently have a port for the Sigma 17 - 70) but both do for the 60mm and 10 - 17. So is there any advantage in going for one over the other? What is the advantage or reason that Inon is using this magnetic system? Thanks heaps, Mel.b Hi Mel, I recently bought the seatool/XTi setup (three weeks ago) and initially did not want to spend that much money. However, that said, when I saw the pictures and compared the housing size to my old Pt-010 I was sold. It is worth every penny. The port I have fits both my 60 mm and 18-55 (which I haven't used underwater yet). I was going to use my ses & ses ys 90 DX strobe but it didn't work when I got down to Bonaire so I used an Inon Z240. Everything worked great, no problems. I am hoping they make a port for the Sigma 17-70 too. I am not aware of a magnetic rotary port system on the housing. The port locks into place. To be honest I have no idea what you are talking about. I have been told that the Inon, optic fiber connected strobes are what this housing is designed for not to be hardwired. I contemplated Ike and Sea & Sea but if you like the smallness of your PT housing then this is the way to go. Wendy

Okay, I have come into some extra cash and am debating between a sea & sea or ikelite housing for my canon rebel 350d. My next thought is a lense. I'm currently using an oly 4040 with a sea & sea yd 90 dx strobe. I don't want to change out my strobe at this time but would a 60 mm be a good starter lense? I like to take pictures of everything but concentrate more on macro or little further away subjects. Besides diving in the great lakes I travel to Bonaire each summer so I thought this might be a good lens (besides the kit lens) to use with a single strobe. Would you agree? Would I need two dome ports for the kit and 60? I thought about the sigma 17-70 but I understand the sea & sea does not work with this lens without user modification. I am leaning towards the sea & sea because it is smaller, but the ikelite for their reputation. Thanks, wendy

Gary, Now that I am home in a dryer climate I have my camera-battery compartment and smart media compartment open under a ceiling fan hoping that will dry it out. I won't be back in the water for awhile but will give it a go in a couple of weeks. Hopefully the camera will dry out and the issue will be resolved. Thanks, Wendy

am hoping someone might be able to help with this issue I had on my trip to Bonaire last week. camera: oly 4040 housing pt-010 strobe: sea&sea ys90dx batteries: 2500 maha (tried for the first time in both camera and strobe) sync cords were brand new sea & sea slightly different from my origional cord which had light blue on it, larger coils and diameter. manual mode tried 1/125 and 1/250 shutter speed and f5.6 as a starting point. First dive-everything went well. However used alkaline batteries, none of my luggage never made it down and just had my camera no batteries. Third dive-(got luggage) I had an awful situation with condensation inside the camera, so much I thought I had a leak. Concluded 1-those batteries kicked out alot of heat and overwhelmed the moisture munchers or 2-I didn't have enough inside the housing and they were old. Remainder of the dives the camera developed a might of its own-working whenever it wanted to. So what began to happen was very strange and extremely frustrating. The camera and strobe would work early into the dive then all of a sudden I would get a blinking amber and green light in the viewfinder. The camera would not focus nor would the strobe fire when I tried to shoot a picture. I would wait a few minutes and then it would fire and then it wouldn't. What is weird is that I was able to use the video in the camera and if I flipped up the velcro the camera would work using the internal strobe. I don't get it. Could my media cards be too old? The moisture from the first episode affecting it the rest of the time. The optic fiber cable defective? The heat from the batteries? When I put 4 packs of moisture muncher in I had no problems with fogging. I did try to dry out the housing using a hair dryer and the camera but didn't notice any improvements. So whenever I tried to depress the shutter NOTHING, just rapid blinking from the camera-oh yea one more thing, the exposure meter was all over the place. usually it is red -3.0, but when it acted up the meter was literally jumping all over the place in the + category. Tried change the aperature but that didn't work either. I probably have not explained this very well so if it seems cryptic I am sorry. Wendy