Hello, I'm thinking of changing my current underwater rig for something smaller and I've heard Isotta housings are very compact compared to other aluminium housings. Is anyone here using an Isotta housing and loving it? I'd love to hear thoughts/feedback. I use my setup professionally and my camera of choice for the Isotta is a Sony A7RV. Many thanks, Lou

I have an old Isotta housing for my canon G5x... and since 4 year an Isotta with my Canon R5.

I'm happy with it... it is a brand from Europe and in the actual situation It is important for me to buy "local".

I had an Isotta Olympus OM-D EM 1ii housing and loved it. I replaced it with an Isotta Sony A7RV and also love it. I have also had an Isotta GoPro and TG housing.

I was near southern Lake Garda by chance in late 2024 so visited their factory. Lovely family-owned artisan manufacturing company which, for me, adds to my enjoyment using their products.

The quality is great. The housings are compact and they have a unique door system with double o rings. Also, double o rings on the ports and I think also on the buttons and knobs. The ergonomics on the models I have had are great (I use back button focus). They are more simple inside than some other housings which I think is an advantage. They have port adapters giving options for the Nauticam dry lenses if you want to use them. (But my favourite lens is the adapted Canon 8-15 with teleconverter or on it's own.) Since a couple of years ago they do have ports with the correct front 67mm threads for use with the Nauticam bayonet fitting (e.g. WWL-1B).

The only negative I know off is that since they are quite a small company they tend to be slower than Nauticam or Ikelite to bring out new housings for the latest models, or less common cameras.

Hello,

I've owned an Isotta housing for my Nikon Z8 since last year and I'm very happy with it. Before that, I had a Hugyfoot housing. What I appreciate most is the ergonomics; all the controls are perfectly positioned (I have small hands and I was sometimes uncomfortable with my old housing). It remains compact despite the size of the Z8, with double seals, a vacuum system, and a locking mechanism and the price...

It's compatible with Nauticam, so I use the 24-50mm lens with the WWL-C. Elisa from Isotta is very responsive and answers any questions quickly.

However, it's important to clearly define what type of flash connection you'll be using. Personally, I didn't get the Isotta trigger to mount a TRT Electronics Smart 3. Upon delivery, the housing was assembled with LEDs and cabling incompatible with the TRT. I had to order compatible parts and replace them. Isotta offered to make the modification at the factory to keep the warranty, but this would have meant returning the housing I had just received.

15 hours ago, Lou Luddington said:

Hello, I'm thinking of changing my current underwater rig for something smaller and I've heard Isotta housings are very compact compared to other aluminium housings. Is anyone here using an Isotta housing and loving it? I'd love to hear thoughts/feedback. I use my setup professionally and my camera of choice for the Isotta is a Sony A7RV. Many thanks, Lou

How much smaller is the dealbreaker for you?

Below are the A7RV housing sizes with base housing only. Ports ect should be fairly same size for all.

	Isotta	Nauticam	Marelux	Sea&Sea
Width	28.2cm	34cm	33.46cm	33cm
Height	18.6cm	17cm	18.98cm	16.9cm
Depth	12.7cm	12.7cm	13.23cm	13.7cm
Total	59.5cm	63.7cm	65.67cm	63.6cm
% larger	0	7.06%	10.37%	6.89%
Weight	Not listed	2.7kg	3kg	2.9kg

Isotta is clearly smallest in width, and you can see that in pictures also. It also looks most crammed with buttons in the back.

Wouldn't say Isotta is very compact compared to other aluminum housings, with 7% difference.

Hi Lou,

I’m currently using an Isotta housing for the Sony A7RV and I’m genuinely very happy with it. Before this setup, I had both the Sony A7RIII and an Olympus OMD, also in Isotta housings, so I’ve been with the brand for a while.

From my experience, the main strengths are:

• Compact size for an aluminium housing – it feels noticeably streamlined.

• Excellent ergonomics – controls are very well placed, and I can access everything comfortably even with gloves.

• Build quality – solid machining, reliable sealing, and overall very robust.

• Good balance underwater

I’ve only used Ikelite and Isotta personally. IMHO Isotta is significantly better than Ikelite in terms of ergonomics and overall size/handling. I haven’t used Nauticam, so I can’t compare directly there. I don’t really see any downsides in my use case.

Hope that helps!