Ikelite/Nauticam options??

[nudilover 0]

Hello,

 

Looking to gather some opinions to help me decide which set-up to go for. I have a budget and this is how the options I have looked at stack up against it (I have Canon glass so the options below are for Canon bodies):

 

Canon 600D + Ikelite housing = Money to spare which would cover and extra lens and diopter, or good 2nd strobe

Canon 600D + Nauticam housing (and port adapter) = ~£140 over budget

Canon 7D + Ikelite housing = Money to spare which would cover an additional lens, and possibly diopter

Canon 7D + Nauticam housing (and port adapter) = ~£882 over budget(!)

 

I have a single Ikelite strobe, and am not sure how this would partner with a Nauticam housing (and the additional cost?), and Ikelite ports, so an adapter would be needed (included in the costings above).

 

I'm tied between trying to work out which is better - a better camera body, or a better (more ergonomic, from what I understand) housing. Also not quite sure how much extra getting the strobe set up to use with the Nauticam would cost. The camera is used above water too, so it is a consideration to me. I could maybe stretch to the 600D/Nauticam option, but not the 7D/Nauticam.

Not looking to start a big Nauticam/Ikelite debate (I've read some of those!), just to see what others would do with a similar budget/options?

 

Thanks!

[Cerianthus 55]

are you considering the 60D as well? The disadvantage of the rebel series is the use of a single dial when in M mode. That prompted my choice for a 20d over a 350D a while ago.

 

on any budget, you may sooner or later want a better viewfinder then the stock one as well. But they tend to stretch your bugets further . . .

[Autopsea 7]

I would say it depend of several other things :

 

1- what do you want to shoot

2- what are your lenses

3- do you sell your photos on a regular basis / do you plan to

4- what are the conditions of your dives (do you often do freediving photography? do you have your own boat? is there a lot of current where you usually dive? do you travel in planes often?)

[Puffer Fish 2]

Huge difference in camera's and as Gerard has nicely pointed out, you skipped over the 60D.

 

I happen to be a huge fan of metal housings and my initial though was that the 600 would be better to use, as when the day comes you get a leak, it would hurt a lot less.

 

However, the 7D is environmentally sealed, and a tiny leak, if the camera was held in the right position, would not hurt it (would not want to test this).

 

Note: Dive enough and everything breaks. I have only had one housing make it past 1,000 dives without some issue, and even a tiny one can damage a camera

 

The strobe (along with tray and arms) may be a bigger issue. Hopely someone here has successfully managed that and knows the cost.

 

If you have been happy with Ike, then saving your money and sticking with it would seem to make sense. As I like to do one hand shooting with dual strobes, and tend to dive where there is lots of thermal shock, I tend to like most of the metal case makers....but different people and different dive conditions like different things.

 

As a land camera, the 7D is lovely by the way.

[derway 2]

To me the ikelite housings are a joy to setup and offer precisely the same photo and video results as the much more expensive housings.

 

The joy to setup, is because you can see through the housing, after you assemble it. So you can assure yourself the orings are all evenly in place, with nothing sticking out.

 

If you are diving a many many weeks per year, or are a professional uw photog, it might be worth the price of the fancy housings, for better ergonomics.

 

The ikelite's are a real bargain in other ways. They include a hardware strobe conversion circuitry, which will work great and allow you to do TTL of manual with wired strobes. Pretty much all the other housings require you to use the onboard flash, and a fiberoptic cable to the strobes. They work fine. But the battery life, and recycle time of using the on board flash, and waiting for it to recharge is not as nice, in my opinion, as using a hard wired solution.

 

If you already have a compatible ike strobe (DS series?), and ports, to me your housing decision is a no brainer!

 

Whatever camera you choose, the ike stuff will serve you well.

[nudilover 0]

Hello, I hadn't really considered the 60D properly - I was looking at either end of the spectrum. But you're right, I should go back and consider the 60D too.

 

1) Above or below? Above I shoot macro/portrait/bit of landscape, Below I like macro/WA/am interested to explore supermacro. I have mainly just used compacts for UW before, so there are new considerations and some unknowns!

2) For UW I just have Canon 60mm and Tokina 10-17mm at the moment. I have an 8" Dome port and 2 flat ports, and an Ikelite DS125.

3) No/wouldn't we all like to one day?

4) I dive mainly in warm, clear waters, but am getting more into UK diving now too. I do freedive, and have a compact/Ikelite housing which would do me fine if I were to find a DSLR a bit much for that.

5) I dive about 3-4 times a year abroad but, as mentioned above, am getting more into UK diving, and am buying a drysuit shortly...so all that could change!

 

Having looked again at costs of Nauticam port adapters and strobe bits this afternoon, I am leaning towards staying with Ikelite - I just don't think I can afford Nauticam with all the extras needed. The only issue I've had with Ikelite housings for compact cameras is the buttons sticking - even with thorough rinsing. That can be a bit of a pain!

 

So the biggest question now is of which body. I guess I'm wondering if the 7D would be considerably better than the 600D (or 60D) considering low-light/contrast situations which can crop up in diving, or if it wouldn't be that noticeable?

[Alex_Tattersall 90]

We have a barely used 600D Nauticam housing which was used by Duxy on about 5 dives for the Wetpixel review. Pretty much pristine condition.

 

PM me if you are interested.