Ikelite Housings Vs the rest

HI ALL,

I read all these points with interest & I don't know if I am missing the

point. Do'es it matter what you shoot with or what you house it in, surely

its about the enjoyment you get from diving in the deep blue & the wonderful

sight & the photographs you take to show others what they are missing.

Well thats what I do & what I wonderful hobby I have.

DIVE SAFE & TAKE GREAT PHOTOS.

ANdy

I completely agree Andy! Shoot with whatever you are comfortable with, and don't doubt that other people are more comfortable with systems that are different from yours. That's the best philosophy!

I am sure I'd much rather spend 1.5k in an Ikelite system than 5k in a Subal IF I was more confortable with Ikelites. I don't like them for many reasons that are important to me (maybe not to others, but to me they are), but I know they are perfectly fine for many people, and I have absolutely no problem with that. I just really don't like when people start saying that all housings are created equal and that people only buy aluminum housings because they are "status symbols". And this *always* happens when there is a discussion about Ikelite versus aluminum.

Ok, I will stop now. This is turning into a non-sense Nikon versus Canon, Apple versus PC topic.

Luiz

Luiz and everyone else are absolutely right - what matters more than anything is that you get out and shoot. It doesn't matter if you have a 20k camera system and housing if you can't afford to go diving or don't know how to use it. Get a system that you are comfortable with and can get in the water. Consider your diving, your depth needs (this is where the material difference becomes important - my choice of an Aquatica over an Ikelite was because of the deep wrecks I dive when in the Great Lakes - most plastic housings (ike, sea & sea, etc) are good to 180ft or so, and the Aquatica is good to 300ft).

Working on a dive boat, I've seen people with every type of housing. We get quite a few Ike housings, old housing modified to house other cameras (20d in a DX-30/60, for example), metal housings, and even some homemade housings. What is most important is that you know how to use it. A great example is one trip in the bahamas where we had several divers with ikelite housings, and 2 divers with seacam/1DsMarkII combinations. The Ikelite/350D divers were consistently producing better pictures than the divers with the Seacam housings - this doesn't mean that the seacam is an inferior housing, just that knowing how to use your equipment is the most important thing.

That being said, if you can, get your hands on some housings, see how they feel to you, and then go diving! Whatever you chose, you'll be able to produce great images.

What about Sea & Sea housings?

I am thinking about upgrading from my F810 digicam to a DRebelXT. One of the reasons is that S&S is coming out with what looks like a very nice metal/plastic moulded housing. I really like the look of it's small size and hydrodynamics.

Seems like the price is just a bit more than Ike. S&S has pretty good quality control and reliability, something that Ike needs to work on, IMHO. Poor QC, great service, in my experience.

Do the S&S ports work on the same basis of using extension rings? This seems like a fairly major space and $$ saver over Ike housings.

Jack

Do the S&S ports work on the same basis of using extension rings?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes

I have been reasearching a lot of housing and as far as does it matter what you get, I want to know why you like or don't like a housing. Details matter. It seems as it is a comfort thing and not a quality thing. That's good I can expect an Ikelite not to flood and fall apart but will I miss pictures or take to long on adjusting something vs another housing. The aquatica is not all that much more. There is no where I can go to look and touch all the housing so opinons matter especially those who have handled a few different housings.

By the way - Cathy Church is no longer reccomending the Sea and Sea housings due to cracking at the spot where the clips or fastners close the housings. Didn't specify a model but might want to check with Sea and Sea before a big purchase to see if the resolved that.

I am curious to know why the distinction is just plastic vs metal. In the middle are carbon fiber housings. I would be interested in hearing from folks who use carbon fiber housings.

Allen

What about Hugyfot delrin housings?

From a mechanical point of view I just love Delrin ( acetal - Delrin is a DuPont trade name ).

It is amazingly tolerant of abuse other than at low temperature when I have found it can be brittle.

Paul C

For virtually every housing type there will be an afficianado! Choice is after all a good thing or the world would be a pretty boring place. As to whether one is better than the other, well to some people certain things matter, to others they simply don't. I wouldn't part with my Seacam S45 viewfinder for the simple reason that I find it to be the most effective tool that I have every used for critical composition. I have friends who operate using small viewfinders with no trouble but for me the S45 is essential. The downside is that the S45 is expensive, so I have to pay for the privilege of using it. But to get back to the topic, providing a housing is watertight, allows sufficient controls to be accessed and has decent optics, then its viability for a user is a personal choice which has to be based on factors which may beyond these 'basic' requirements.

As I think I have said before, I've seen some superb photos taken with Ikelite housings.

Whether you buy one is a personal choice based on financial considerations as well as any other factors you think important.