Size variation on S2 pro bodies ???

[pmooney 6]

Size variation on S2 pro bodies ???

 

I have a customer who is having issues fitting his S2 into his aquatica housing. He is new to housings but not photography - any tips ??

 

I have walked him through all the focus gear issues / binding etc.

 

Another person is seeking an adapter from nikonus bulkhead to ikelite strobe. I seem to remember reading about such a beast but can't locate any info.

 

All help greatly appreciated :roll:

[james 0]

What issues is he having? Which buttons/controls do not work? Camera doesn't even fit into housing??? :-)

 

He should be able to obtain a single or dual sync cord to connect Ikelite strobes to the Nikonos bulkhead on the housing - that is what I use with my Ikelite substrobes. You can get the part number from the Ikelite website, or contact Ike to order one for him.

 

Hope that helps,

James

[pmooney 6]

He is set up for the 14mm lens. By his description - the camera seems not to be bedding properly. It sounds like an alignment issue but I remember reading about size variations in S2 bodies and was just wondering...........

[james 0]

Try to get some more information if you'd like further help. That's not enough info to make an informed response.

 

It could be as simple as that he is not lining up the MSC switch properly...

 

Cheers

James

[Lionfish43 0]

I had a problem with my Fuji S2/Aquatica not aligning properly with several of the controls. I ended up having to return the housing to Aquatica with my camera so they could make some adjustments. Their explanation was that there is some variation in the body dimensions of some of the S2 cameras.

 

Larry

[marpacifica 0]

It could be as simple as that he is not lining up the MSC switch properly...

 

Cheers

James

 

I made this error first time I tried fitting the camera into the housing. Make sure to set the switch on the camera to M, along with the dial on the housing switched to M. Also check that the on/off dial is pulled up as far as possible and in the "off" position. The zoom/focus dial should be pulled up as far as possible and placed in the retracted position. Once you've got all these things set, the camera should be able to screw onto the base plate. Took me about 10 tries before I got everything right.

 

Last thing to check is the focus or zoom gear: they have to be positioned so that the black silicone "grabber" pieces/noodles on the inner grooves of the gear fit directly over the focus or zoom ring on the lens. You probably will have to cut the silicone noodles into smaller pieces so the gear slides on easier -- there are a few threads on the board that talk about this procedure if you do a search.

 

If the above doesn't work, email Blake at Aquatica and see what he can do for you. Good luck.

[PSteggle 0]

Trouble on Aquatica:-

 

It takes a Looong time to get the camera into the housing. I took three pictures getting it screwed onto the baseplate.

 

Alignment of On/Off is out by 1/8". And that means that the shutter release is also out of alignment.

 

The bevel grears that pass the drive to the front command dial are out of

alignment. They work in one direction, but not the other. These shafts are

2-3 mm out of alignment, stopping the gears from meshing properly. This

drive does not contact / operate the command dial with the housing open. To get it to work, I have to push quite hard on the back of the camera. Hard enough in fact, to get the camera to move about 1/8".

 

The drive for the rear command dial does not even touch the command dial!!

 

The SCM drive does work, but only when the rear half of the housing is not fitted. When I close up the housing, the controls are so tight that the gear on the shaft slips round, but the SCM does not rotate. I think the drive spindle is jamming in its support bush. What bush? It's just a steel shaft running in a hole in aluminium, no wonder it binds.

 

The castings do not align with each other. The hole for the ports is machined off centre to the boss on the casting.

 

I tried to assemble the POS on thursday night to go diving on friday. Gave

up, left a message at Aquatica with them saying "we'll call you back in half

an hour...." On friday morning I took the nikon (F90) for 2 days diving in

its Sea & Sea housing......

 

On the friday evening my wife takes a call from a woman (Norma) at Aquatica asking if we could fed-ex the housing AND my S2 over to them in order to correct for what she called "variations in Fuji manufacturing tolerances". And no, she couldn't give us a contact phone number for her..... She did go on to say that not much could happen till tuesday as it was Easter holiday over there. My wife replied that it was easter holiday over here as well..... To sum up? Please send your camera and housing, worth over £2400 to someone in a foreign country who will not give a contact phone number, or return your phone calls when THEY say they will. Hmmmm, I think not. I wonder if they'd like my bank details as well.....

 

And Norma from Aquatica does not listen to what you say. she just repeats the same thing again and again. Example:-

 

Can you send the camera and housing to us?

No.

So can you send them over?

I've just said no. I'm getting my money back. You're not listening to me are you?

But if you send them over.......

 

When the dealer I bought the housing off heard this (I was in the dealers when Norma called me) he ran my credit card through the machine and gave me my money back.

 

Phrases like "Not fit for purpose" and "Not of merchantable quality" (both legalese phrases used in UK consumer laws) sprung to mind frequently while this housing was in my posession. This housing may be capable of 100m, but there won't be a useable camera in the housing at the time.

 

Pete S.

[james 0]

Hi Peter,

 

I'm sorry to hear that you couldn't get your Aquatica housing ready for your trip. Generally, if I plan to dive with a new setup, I try to test it out at least 2 weeks before the trip - leaving it until the day before can be problematic. That way, there's time for it to be posted and fixed by a service center or manufacturer if it doesn't work. I'm just reading an instruction manual from Light and Motion that says: "Check the operation of your equipment several weeks prior to your trip. If maintenance or repair is necessary, then time is available for both shipping, and repair scheduling." I think that's good advice.

 

Did you call Fuji to complain as well? :-) If the cameras really ARE different sizes (and I have owned 3 S2's now and I think it's true) then part of the blame falls there as well. Other housing manufacturers have also reported this strange quirk with this camera model.

 

As for the shafts, I believe that there are 2 o-rings between the shaft and the aluminum - but that's not where the controls are adjusted. I think they are adjusted by sliding the pinion gears up and down the shaft to line them up with a control, then locking a set screw. Then there is a "rubber stopper" that is cut to length so that it presses on a command dial or mode dial. It's these dials that I think are at "different physical locations in space" on the S2.

 

It may be perhaps because Fuji buys the camera bodies from Nikon, then installs the "digital part."

 

Sincerely,

James Wiseman

[PSteggle 0]

James,

 

If there was only one or two problems with the housing it could be sorted. There were not, there were several, some of which were design problems from Aquatica, and nothing to do with the shape of the camera. The alignment of the brass gears that drive the front command dial for example.

 

In addition to what I feel are design problems, the inability of me or my dealer to sort out the problems was a major concern.

 

Then the factory failed to respond within time limits that they had set.

The first response time set by the factory was 30 mins. That turned into 24 hours, but only after I e-mailed them.

 

The second response from the factory was set for monday. We got the call on friday.

 

Then they asked me to send the camera 3000 miles to someone that wouldn't give a return phone number.

 

I'm sure that returning the housing and sending them the camera would get things to work, but on what time scale? If they cannot return a phone call on time...........

[pmooney 6]

Thanks for the input and suggestions.

 

I have passed the tips on and my man is happily preparing to get wet.

 

I should state that Blake & Norma at Aquatica have been nothing but helpful & fast to respond to any questions or problems that I have had in the past and that the question was one of size variation in the camera, rather that an issue with the housing.

 

 

[aprest 0]

I am curious about this problem. Did he take off the rubber eyecup on the Fuji S2 before mounting it in his housing? If you don't it won't fit or work correctly.

[scotdiver 0]

When I purchased the Aquatica housing for my S2 the dealer spent the time showing me the installation procedure and making sure the controls all worked. He had to adjust a couple of the push buttons to make contact but that was all. Everything has worked great on the housing so far.