dhaas

I have loads of previous camera gear customers, travel guests and fellow photographers in similar situations......I share insights balancing how much you've used your gear versus benefits of changing systems. Everyone's budget is different plus the actual amount of intended use....Everyone should ask themselves: How many dives / trips per year are you REALLY going to be able to do? A friend has the exact same system as Kristin but hasn't been able to travel and dive for a few years. She owns the Nauticam 8" GLASS dome port purchased for one Grand Cayman photo trip plus other Nauticam pieces. Ports like those are probably the most valuable items if they fit current mirrorless Nauticam housings. The Canon 7D MK II while a fine camera (I used a pair borrowed for a good paying photo job photographing swimming techniques a few years back) but also is on the list of EOL (End Of Life) for any service coming up January 2027. This in my opinion is another reason to move into mirrorless these days. I find it interesting how much people place in physical objects.......Maybe I'm the outlier as I just view cameras, housings , strobes, etc. as tools to have fun and create images or videos you're happy with........ Like Tim I've always sold then bought different items over decades. But when I make the move I move it all !!!! Being a Canon shooter for decades when changing from dSLR for mirrorless I sold all my EF / EF-S stuff........Newer mount lenses are getting cheaper and sharper and simply work better on newer models IMHO.....I think I've actually MADE $$$$ ditching EF / EF-S glass for new RF / RF-S lenses. A friend who had a few Canon L lenses put money in his pocket and still bought a new Nauticam mirrorless package..... The only thing I'd ever keep might be batteries if they'll fit a new camera model...... Several friends who had Canon EOS M cameras recently moved to the Canon R10 which uses the same Canon NB-17L batteries. In the US www.mpb.com or www.keh.com will give you instant quotes as long as you accurately list your item's condition. MPB even pays for Fedex TWO day shipping to them. If they have any small dispute they email you and you can get your items back or accept their adjustment. It's usually minor $$$ and some have even had them pay a bit more! For me and many friends it's been seamless and quick without auctions, listing fees and hassles......Sadly, I don't know of any similar large outfit for UW hardware :( As others have mentioned most of your $$$$ will be the camera(s) and lenses as there are tons more surface shooters than UW shooters in the world. Finally, as Kristin has found out even with limitations of battery life or settings sometimes going down to smaller systems like a TG7 can be satisfying too even if just an interim move....... Good luck to all if contemplating changing systems :) David Haas

I would defer to Dave Hick's testing but I do agree as he says......How many people are really shooting more that 3-5 FPS bursts? A small percentage of UW photographers I'd think...... As to Canon and TTL currently many manufacturers have chosen to mainly support Sony and OM / Olympus RC flash protocols. Which is sad as Canon TTL flash has been around a long time and works well when a hot shoe / circuitry is matched with a strobes supporting it. I've shot 100% TTL for decades and the newest fiber optical transmitters will be the next change in camera to flash protocol in my opinion. David Haas

Look at the Marelux Apollo III units or even Apollo S units......Fabulous build quality, light output and features...... Phil Rudin on here is a Marelux Sr. adviser but writes honest reviews on all manner of gear..... He and long time UW Photo Pro Andy Sallmon are using them to make great images. www.marelux.co Photos shot with ONE Marelux Apollo S unit, Canon R50 camera in Nauticam NA-R50 housing, WA wet lens......

Gary, If trying to fill your frame from say 6" - 2' with tighter fish faces or whatever I'm not sure your approach will yield what you want. Here's additional thoughts to consider..... The narrower your lens sees (50-60-105mm) desiring more in focus than just eyeball or nostrils you'll be stopping down to a higher f-stop...... This will require more flash power and / or a higher ISO depending how much you want in focus. For critters parallel to your shooting angle you can get away with maybe f5.6 -8.......Any angle off parallel and you'll need f11 - f13 - ???? Unless you WANT a very isolated focus image. I'm surprised you haven't experimented with your Canon RF-S 18-45mm IS STM kit lens. Behind the Nauticam NA-R50 housing's flat port it'll shoot fish faces and more.... Just some ideas and do keep us informed if the extension tube experiment yields your desired results..... David Haas PS - Here's some shots from "back in the day" on an APS-C Canon camera and lowly EF-S 18-55mm IS kit lens......Likely shot behind a pretty well matched 6" dome port it was pretty versatile in my book :)

Specs on the Sigma 56mm f1.4 lens says it focusses to 1.6' which isn't that close..... 56mm X 1.6X Canon R50 APS-C crop factor gets a focal length equivalent of 89.6mm. Then 1.25X shooting through flat port gets approximate focal length of 112mm..... I guess depending on subject size will this be that different than the Canon RF-S 18-45mm IS STM lens when zoomed out to max focal length? Canon RF-S 18-45mm IS STM lens at 45mm X 1.6X = 72mm. Then flat port magnification of 1.25X = 90mm...... MAYBE you'll be able to shoot your intended jawfish from a little farther away if that's your intended purpose (????) Just wondering........ When all is said and done is dismantling the NA-R50 zoom gear / rubber sleeve feature (which works fabulously) will it be worth it? Just curious and please share insights how this worked out :) David Haas

Marelux mentioned building a Canon R50 housing but lately has gone quiet.....I suspect it may be due to the Canon R50 having Canon's 21 pin cyber flash hot shoe only..... My advice for Marelux would be simply make the Canon R50's pop up flash usable. That moves all flash trigger headaches from the equation. Yes, recycle time depending if one wants to shoot flash photos at 5FPS or faster might slow down your shooting but for manual dialed down triggering depending on your flash unit choice could be fine. Personally my low priced Ikelite housing for the Canon R100 and compact 6" dome can accommodate the only 3 lenses I'll shoot with these days. I can shoot the Canon RF-S 18-45mm IS STM "kit" lens, RF-S 10-18mm IS STM wide angle lens and if I wanted to the Tokina 10-17mm and Canon EF-RF adapter all mounted to the camera with no zoom clamps, rings, etc. I did this approach for many years with the lightweight Canon SL-1 DLM housing and 6" dome port. I'd use some variation of Canon 18-55mm IS kit lens and a Tokina 10-17mm, Sigma 15mm and even an older Canon 15mm f2.8 lens never taking the port off for even extended 10-14 day trips. The less parts you disassemble and re-assemble means less chances of leaks, errors, of floods..... The simple mechanical vacuum system I also have is a plus but I dived for decades without one on Ikelite and Aquatica housings.......That said I do like it on my current housing and it imparts confidence my system is sealed. Good luck David Haas

Here's my take from a long time Canon dSLR and now mirrorless shooter...... The R7 is a fine camera no matter what housing you put it in. APS-C versus full frame is in my opinion not as critical as too many whine about. Any print, self printed book, online use or whatever can be done with APS-C or even 4:3....... As to lenses for Canon the EF-RF adapter (I'd recommend getting the Canon brand) will function fine with several EF lenses and new RF or RF-S lenses designed for APS-C sensor Canon models including Canon R100, R50, R10 and R7. The Canon 8-15mm is stellar and APS-C designed Tokina 10-17mm can be a good choices. Both lenses are discontinued but can be found on the used market. Since the Canon R7 is APS-C the Canon RF-S 10-18mm rectilinear lens is a bargain producing great sharpness and color. It's all I own for WA shooting now. Just noticed the poster is more interested in wide shooting but here's info for any potential macro shooters. For macro several lenses are fine including the discontinued but very sharp Canon EF-S 60mm. With the Canon R7 camera's 1.6X sensor crop factor it "sees" like a 96mm lens. On APS-C sensors I feel the Canon 100mm Macro whether the older EF or newer RF model are way too long and simply frustrate people. On housings I'm tired of people denigrating Ikelite...... Are they perfect? No, but cost to benefit are still an attractive option...... Full disclosure; I was an Ikelite dealer for over 35 years and user and also owned Aquatica and Nauticam housings. You can search for comments and recent use in 2025 of the Nauticam Canon R50 housing and various WWL and other lenses with sample photos. Ikelite's smaller DLM sized housings for Canon APS-C and even the full frame Canon R8 and Dry Lock port system can withstand any typical dive conditions. Their full sized housings as evidenced by many top notch shooters (see several web site stories at www.ikelite.com) have enabled photographers to capture great images from Norway's arctic to wherever. If you really need 100M depth rating then sure buy an aluminum housing at 3-4X the price....But you'll still be shooting the same lenses inside any housing. Famous underwater photographer Chris Newbert long ago at a DEMA trade show told a friend considering an Ikelite housing; "They're all just boxes with o-rings keeping your camera dry". He shot many (all?) of his macro images for his famous underwater coffee table book: "Within a Rainbowed Sea" with Ikelite housed Canon F1 cameras.....At another show I had Michael Aw of Ocean Geographic fame tell me his early Bunaken books were shot using multiple Ikelite housed film cameras. The argument on acrylic versus glass domes I contend in today's world of shoot, edit, publish and share is simply not as important as touted. I'm sure many will disagree and that's fine...... As I've written the new Ikelite TT5 Canon optical transmitter provides accurate TTL with their newest RC165 and Ecko Fiber strobes. If you have other brand strobes you can trip them in manual flash with a quick change in the camera's flash menu choice. I find people not even trying TTL to be another disappointment in today's tiny underwater shooting world but that's me....... Underwater time is limited and unless you're shooting slow macro creatures playing with flash settings is too "old school" for this 72 year old :) For the original poster here's an article I wrote on DivePhotoGuide shooting the new Ikelite Ecko Fiber strobes in Roatan Honduras. They're all I plan to shoot on my 2026 trips to Palau in March then Philippines in June. DivePhotoGuideShooting the Ikelite Ecko Fiber Strobes in Roatán My intent is NOT to "stir the pot" but share a lifetime of underwater imaging insights with the original poster :) Good luck with whatever set up you choose!!!! David Haas

If going with a housed lens (versus a wet lens) I'd recommend only two choices. FYI - I'm an APS-C shooter having never pulled the $$$$$ trigger for Full Frame......Just not worth it to me and I print some big prints occasionally that look fine at viewable distances. Buy a Canon 8-15mm F4L Fisheye (plenty of clean used ones are out there for good prices) or the get newest Canon RF 15-30mm IS STM lens, also a bargain if you prefer rectilinear or like me want lenses to use above water. Either choice with a correctly specified dome port will make great images....... Only corner pixel peepers who insist on shooting nothing less that f11-22 may find "deficiencies". You will drive yourself crazy overanalyzing differences never visible in your final photos...... I've shot Sigma 15mm Fisheye on Nikon and Canon bodies, the oldest Canon 15mm Fisheye and a friend's borrowed Canon 8-15mm L F4 Fisheye. They all can deliver great images. The newest rectilinear WA choices (Canon 15-30mm for Full Frame and RF-S 10-18m IS STM for APS-C) are also great and will serve as great surface photography lenses. I apologize if this sounds dismissive but I've never understood how the insane corner sharpness issue has been discussed to death for awhile now.....Especially considering some of the high megapixel cameras people shoot with !!!!! Just crop it a bit if you find anything objectionable for your final image! You'll still have a big enough file for any printing, publication use, etc. Good luck with your Marelux housed Canon R6 II ! David Haas Canon EF 8-15mm L F4 Fisheye shots from long ago.....I used my lowly APS-C Canon T4i in an Ikelite housing and small 6" dome port.

While I shot a pair of Ikelite Ecko Fiber strobes with my APS-C Canon R100 system the RC capability built in and light weight of the Ecko Fiber make it a good possible choice. https://www.divephotoguide.com/underwater-photography-special-features/article/shooting-ikelite-ecko-fiber-strobes-roatan-honduras/ Just a thought :) David Haas

As a "think out of the box" idea I wonder if a simple gauge pump to use if an electronic monitoring system dies might work in a pinch? I had the Nauticam system on my Nauticam NA-R50 housing and it worked fine.....My current low cost Ikelite DLM housing has a simple mechanical valve and uses this pump......I was initially reluctant but after months of use I like the simplicity of the whole arrangement..... Seal your housing, pump to a number (10 in my experience) and check the gauge in 5 - 30 minutes or even overnight. If the gauge reads the same number your housing is holding vacuum :) Granted it's not an electronic monitoring set up with LEDs, etc. but if traveling far away and your vacuum set up croaks I wonder how difficult it would be to create a seal on the hose and check your housing? Just a thought...... IkeliteVacuum Pump with GaugeA vacuum leak detection system allows you to check for leaks after assembling your housing and prior to entering the water. This can make the difference between a successful dive and a stressful situa

To Dave Hicks and Gary R and others.... Absolutely global decline with water warming to previously unheard of levels is affecting coral worldwide. My only point was that posts basically telling people don't go here, there or anywhere may not be realistic. I doubt there's anywhere left on the planet untouched by global climate change both land and sea. I can look at my first digital photos (below) from 2001 shooting a lowly 3.3MP Nikon Coolpix 990 in Papua New Guinea and see the decline of reefs and all too. Doesn't make me happy either....... I'd say do what you want and share your thoughts, but me? I'm still going diving (and photographing) since I'm lucky to be able to at my age :) DH

I think the problem is people keep wanting to compare fabulous Pacific dive spots to the Caribbean.... They're two world apart destinations, different amount of population, infrastructure and more....Each will be different plus the time since someone visited last and other factors will influence one's opinion. I could dive the same island year after year and each trip will have different temperature, visibility, animal encounters, etc. Example: The Mantas at "Manta Point" won't necessarily get your memo of taking a week from work or life and you'll be arriving !!!!! LOL......Plus who knows WHEN a site got named that and by whom....... After 5 decades I just go underwater and LOOK AROUND......There's always something to see and enjoy :) Just get out there and photograph at any level of competence and desire....... You're sure to have fun with that approach !!! DH Some old guy still traveling and enjoying the ocean world :)

My dive buddy Nemrod and I dived Roatan in October and despite all of the Caribbean being "less lush and pristine" I still saw and photographed plenty of life...... This year I've been diving for 55 years and recall when the Caribbean was pristine. I think one has to be realistic on a planet trying to support 8 Billion people that it's not going to be the same as 10-20-30+ years ago. Many divers just starting the last couple decades may not have the means to go to Asia, the Red Sea, Maldives, Australia, Philippines, Indonesia or Maldives which all can be "less than people recall back in the day". My 11 year old grandson rolls his eyes telling me; "Grandpa, no one wants another story from back in the day!" LOL...... The Caribbean is still worth diving and fun to photograph underwater. :) Just one old guy's opinion! David Haas

I've seen lots of scuba and other tools confiscated if in your carry on bags. Some valid (cutting devices, Leatherman or Swiss Army / Victorinox tools that have some type of a blade and even 6" or so adjustable crescent wrench in Egypt from a fellow diver a few years ago. I never put tools in a carry on. Just pack any in your checked luggage and sort it out once at your destination would be my recommendation. YMMV...... David Haas Photo of me shot by my Roatan dive buddy Nemrod :)

Amigos, Here's a short take on Ikelite's newest small but powerful fiber optically triggered TTL flash. Enjoy! David Haas DivePhotoGuideShooting the Ikelite Ecko Fiber Strobes in Roatán