Canon EF-S 10-22 & Ikelite 8" Dome

Howdy,

I haven't noted any feedback from anyone using the Canon EF-S 10-22mm with the Ikleite 8" Dome (#5510.81) so thought I might post a couple of pics and let anyone who's interested know that it appears to be a good combination.

I say "appears to be" because I'm not particularly technical, however I can definitely say that I experienced no apparent distortion on the edges, indeed anywhere.

Obviously if I'm using a low (open) f stop then depth of field will not be great and area's in the foreground may not be clear. I guess its easy to view that lack of clarity as distortion?

With that in mind I alway try and keep the f stop above 8 when using the 10-22mm. But of course thats not always possible.

The two shots below were taken last weekend when I did a 4 dive trip to Fish Rock in NSW Australia (see www.southwestrocksdive.com.au)

Last Christmas I visited the same site with the 6 inch dome and on shots taken with similar settings the edges were not as clear as with the 8 inch dome.

In the cave shot the fish in the foreground are not sharp but this is I believe a result of the slow shutter speed rather than dome distortion.

This is my first dome port and I was very nervous about scratching it, but it is a sturdy build that reassures me. Hopefully Ikelite will come out with a shade that can double as a port protector.

Canon 350D Digital Rebel XT, Ikelite housing with 5510.81 8" Port, canon EF-S 10-22mm lens, 2 x DS-125.

31 metre's depth, level viz approx 10 to 15 metres,

ISO 200, 1/60th Sec, F/6.3

Canon 350D Digital Rebel XT, Ikelite housing with 5510.81 8" Port, canon EF-S 10-22mm lens, 2 x DS-125.

ISO 100, 1/60th Sec, F/3.5

Few more shots from the weekend here, all with the same lens, port combination.

http://www.aengusm.com/images/Fish%20Rock%...ch06/index.html

The lens is a snug fit and while I don't dive with a filter like a U/V filter, there would be physical space to have a filter.

I didn't have any focus issues, or certainly any different focus issues than with the 6" dome (poorly lit subjects, subject blending with background etc)

Hope my comments helps anyone else looking at this combination.

Cheers,

Aengus

Nice work, thanks for posting

I've had good success with the 8" dome with my Nikon gear also. Ikelite has a winner IMHO.

Nice shots Aengus....the 2nd one is especially well done

Karl

Nice pix, thanks for sharing...

:-)

Thanks for posting those shots, I am looking to do the same with my Canon 20D and was wondering about the 8" port. Nice shark image.

Nice pics.

I believe Aquatica makes two different port shades for the 8inch dome. You can buy one at bhphoto.com. I think there are also two sizes of port covers too depending on the port shade you get.

I think the Aquatica dome shades will fit the original Ikelite 8" port (which was an Aquatica dome re-fitted to the Ikelite system) but will not fit the new incarnation of the 8" dome.

I just received my 8" dome and its the newer version. I'm waiting for Ikelite to announce a dome shade that fits it (as well as the port cover).

Thanks to Ikelite for being so responsive with the 8" port. It will just be a while for them to keep up with all our specialized requests (like that's possible ) . They found a way to retrofit my non-iTTL housing so I bought with confidence certain that they will come up with a shade solution that fits their current port. The port is beautiful BTW!

Oh and your shots are fantastic!