Ikelite or Olympus housing ?

Having just bought my C-8080, now and to get an underwater housing.

There are 2 choices :

Olympus PT-023 around £199

Good for 40m, which is probably OK for my use.

Cameras Underwater although having them on the web site do not sell

them anymore, they advise there are problems with the clips …

although is this a ploy to get you to buy Ikelite ?

To add add a tray & grip it's going to cost another £140+

Does not interface to TTL flash metering.

Has diffuser for internal flash

Ikelite #6130.80 around £400

Good for 60m

Comes supplied with tray & Grip … so perhaps price difference is not

that bad

No diffuser for internal flash included

Full TTL flash synch is possible

Would value comments form those who have used either … particularly

regarding the issue of clip failure on Olympus PT-023

You will not be disappointed with the Ikelite IMHO

Karl

Ikelite does include diffuser for internal flash and deflector for optional external flash.

I have used both the Olympus and Ike housing for the 5060 and 8080 cameras.

Go with the Ikelite.

Ive used both as well for Oly 5050...

Ike is the only way to go...better construction (especially bulkhead)...better service and the fact that Ike has TTL makes it no contest.

M.

Oly only has a flat port, unless you go 3rd party (expensive), only has Oly bulkhead strobe connections and construction isn't anywhere near as robust.

We love Ike!

Jack

used both cases for c80-80. broken the oly case on first trip and I was in the water. could of been very nasty

since bought the ikelite and will never go back, very robust case.

the only problem is you can`t not use the built in flash on the camera so you will have to source a strobe. the only ikelite strobes that work with ttl on the c80-80 is the ds125 and the ds50.

HTH

OK ... I'm convinced ... Ikelite it is.

On issue - they are too expensive in the UK, I travel to US on business reasonably frequently, where can I get the best deal mail order ? I could get it deliverred to our US office and pick it up when I arive.

Any suggestions for a good deal form a reliable source.

B&H in NYC, Helix in Chicago, Sammy's in SoCA

check out our sponsors on the right side of these pages

Canon G6 thinking of Ikelite. Anyone have info about problems/issues of fitting colour correcting filters and wide angle lenses:Epoque or Inon etc.

New to Digital & U/water photo but have about 500 dives logged both in UK waters and indo-pacific.

Regards

I'd go for the Olympus one, Ikelite housings seem clunky. The PT-023 is designed speccifically for the 8080!

Ugh, have you actually used the Oly pt-023 housing? Imo that housing is a joke.

James

I have an Oly 5060 and have had both the Olympus housing and the Ikelite housing. I also have a friend who has the Oly 8080 and the Oly housing.

As for mine, I liked the Oly housing and thought it was well worth the cost. I wanted the Ike housing to begin with, but also wanted to save money. After breaking my housing (dropped it), I got the Ike. The Ike is much more rugged. The TTL is invaluable. Having used my Ike DS-125 strobe as a slave and TTL, TTL is MUCH better. The Ike housing also comes with a tray and handle and saves you from buying the slave sensor, although you would need the sync cord. I did like a few ergonomic features of the Oly, but not enough to outweigh the rugged design of the Ike.

Now for the PT-023 - It is huge. Part of that size comes from the fact that the internal flash can be used, but it pops up, needing extra space. I do not think that the Ike housing will allow you to use the internal flash - a big problem if you don't have a strobe. I don't see any reason to buy the Oly, unless you just have to save that extra $300. You will regret it - probably not immediately, but before the end of the lifespan of the housing.

David

Ikelite does include diffuser for internal flash and deflector for optional external flash.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

So are you saying that I can use the C-8080 internal flash with the Ikelite housing ?

No. Built-in flash can NOT be used in the housing from Ikelite for the C8080.

You will need an external strobe to get any decent photos no matter what housing you use. So IMHO it is a non-issue

I first purchased the Oly housing but could not get a decent strobe solution and swopped for an Ike and DS 50 ttl before diving with the housing. As stated above Oly housing is huge. I liked the double O rings on the Oly (in theory if not in practice). If you go with the Ike and are only buying 1 strobe still get the double handle as the strain on one handed photography can get unpleasant and then you have it when (not if) you buy your second strobe.

I realize after much research that Ike is the way to go; however, since this is my first endeavor I already sprung for a FL-20 and the underwater housing that goes with. Has anyone used the olympus flashes with their respective housings? I'm fairly certain during my research that these flashes and their underwater housings support oly TTL. I will say that I've not gotten the housings yet in the mail and they look fragile. After reading the mishaps here it looks like I'll be making another investment after the first drop...haha.

BTW...can someone explain to me what the difference between the YS series and YS auto series is? I've heard the auto pretty much does everything for you (the kind of setup this newbie needs