best housing for d200 system

I am upgrading to a new d200 system from my olympus 8080. I will be getting a housing system for underwater use. i am between ikelight, subal and aquatica. I am having concerns over spending much more than the camera and lens costs for the housing. Is the subal that much better than the aquatica or ikelight. I am concerned about image quality, ease of use, maintainance, weight and cost.

Thoughts and suggestions apreciated. Optical glass vs plastic

There are as many opinions on this as there are underwater photographers.

I use Ikelite and have no complaints about image quality, maintenance and the cost is the real bonus. I don't have any ideas about the weight it certainly doesn't feel any different to my freinds Sea and Sea housing.

As for glass versus plastic for the port there are various opinions about the relative merits in terms of optical quality and liability to scratch. My optician thinks plastic is fine for optics as my glasses are plastic. Also I shoot mostly in the UK and the water quality is always going to more problems than the port.

This is a difficult question to answer at the moment as these housings are still all vapour-ware.

All housings allow you to take the same camera underwater and in the end, pretty much the same images. Often the best approach is to find a dealer that you like a trust and choose one of the housings brands that they support.

Alex

Not much to say about the Aquatica D200 as Alex put it, its still Vapour-ware (good one Alex), but design element of the D2x version will follow up on the D200 housing. as far as the Optical Acrylic versus Glass, as an industry member i'm pretty, make that very bias to our products and that's the way it should be, nonetheless after countless post, many a healthy discussion and even some spicy $%&&$%#@* chosen word on this subject from this community, the cleavage remain and honestly you should rely on your perception and not opinions, so far I have yet to see conclusive scientific side by side data that would confirm Acrylic optic are better than glass and vice versa.

Factors to vector in a system are pretty down to earth.

Cost, weight AND size with all accessories (ports, extension rings, gears etc.) ease of handling, that's the catchy one since it's seldom that you will encounter all canditates and actually have a side by side handling opportunity, best place for that is a show like Beneath the sea where all the hardware is present. Again as industry members, we all want to strut our stuff so yeah ask me and you'l get the same answer as Ike will give you: buy our stuff it's the greatest and we are right. in the end my grain of sand is : buy what you need, not an opinion, not somebody else wish list, by our's or there's but get one and get in the water.

Cheers

I am two years into this hobby and have the opportunity to play with several D100 housings. I went from a point&shoot film camera to full on DSLR. Have an Aquatica housing and found it easy to use and reliable. Not being much of a mechanic, if there is a problem I think I could deal with it.

I have been researching and looking for a d100 housing and I thought I would share my thoughts and findings to help you. I have never held all the housings and comfort is a factor and personal preference so this is hard area but I first thought and still think that Ikelite is a smart move because its value is great and the digital body life is low meaning there is always a new upgrade down the road, now more than ever as nikon will stop making all but 2 film cameras. Ikelite also has a new 8" dome which wasn't an option for me but will be for the d200 and they have E and I ttl. So it is a good choice to consider and everyone raves about their customer service.

However I wanted a glass dome even though it shouldn't matter but I also needed an 8" dome for the lenses I have. I have learned but not confirmed that many domes are not a true 8" dome but metrically sized at 7"and change hence the need for diopters. I would rather not have additional glass in front of my lens so I am going with an Aquatica housing. I purchased it from a pro who lives near and works with Aquatica and he took it there for me and they tested it and everything. They graciously answered my many questions and helped me with a custom zoom gear that is not is not in their catalog. The can custom make anything in a short time and are easy to get a hold of on the phone. My experience was just great, the entire office at Aquatica was very service oriented and extremely helpful and I feel great about my choice. Read down a few posts in this forum and you will read the exact opposite with some other manuf. Cathy Church has some interesting comments on some of the housing they use and some they will no longer use. Hope this helps.

Ike wants to know where "the cleavage" is to which Bruneau refers. Not like me to miss cleavage.............

Housings are like anything else you buy, there are a variety and all work but some will probably work for you, personally, better than others. Advice is to try as many as you can get your hands on. As the D200 housings aren't available yet, you'll have to try housings for other cameras, but most manufacturers are consistent in the product 'style' so this will give you a feeling for build quality and ergonomics.

As for glass vs plastic ports, well simplest view is that glass is hard to scratch and harder if not impossible to repair, plastic scratches easier but can usually be repolished unless the scratch is very deep! I'm not going there regarding optical differences!

Please ignore my 8" and 7"dome comment above I have been schooled that it is the dome radius curverature that makes the difference regarding a diopter and I believe this is a very simplified explanation point as it is complicated.

I think, like a car, whether it is a Mercedes, Lexus or Toyota, it will all take you from point A to point B just the same. Some may be better looking, the touch and feel may be different but whether you get there or not will depend on whether the driver manage to crash the car on the way or not just like getting a good picture will depend a lot more on the photographer rather than the housing. Some housings will have more options/toys such as magnifying viewfinder or iTTL converter which are nice to have but not exactly vital. I doubt that any manufacturer would produce a housing that is significantly more deficient in comparison to other.

Quote "I doubt that any manufacturer would produce a housing that is significantly more deficient in comparison to other".

Depends on how you look at it. To some people the 'luxuries' fitted to one housing are an essential (for myself the S45 viewfinder is an absolute essential now that I have been using one for a couple of years. I cannot conceive of not using it anymore!). I don't care much about my car (as long as its well maintained and runs) but am very demanding on my camera gear both above and below water.

Choice is a wonderful thing!

Ike wants to know where "the cleavage" is to which Bruneau refers. Not like me to miss cleavage.............

C'mon Ike, put a pair of 8 inchs dome side by side and use your imagination, that's probably why guys like the bigger dome, optic being just the excuse. other gender my speculate more on the comfort of the grips.......

I use an Aquatica for the D100. If I could go back and do it again, I would get the Aquatica again. I will get the Aquatica for the 200. Its simple, sturdy, and no electronics. This means anything that breaks is just a physical, mechanical fix, nothing electric. Cheaper than the Subal, but I can't see any reason why I personally would prefer the Subal.

As there are no houisings as of yet for your camera the only question to discuss is the port material. I have shot plastic ports for 20+years (Aquatica). And as of last year used glass for about a year now. The plastic scratches more easily than glass. Glass is tougher but needs more respect-as it is glass. Both need a dome protector. Subal domes come with one -aquatica are extra. Ikelite's I have no Idea about. The scratches fill in with water on the outside and not so on the inside-true with both materials. As far as optics there are many engineers here maybe an optical one can field that area.. I will say that many housings companies drop the ball in the where to place the dome- for best optics for given lens. As in offering rings for each lens . This has been covered if I recall?/ not sure where on the board?? I feel each material has its place but am warming up to glass as my favorite. Mark