Help me choose a housing

Hi everyone,

It's come down to picking a housing for my Nikon D200 and would greatly appreciate some opinions. I am new to the whole digital housing thing and housings in general. I used to shoot Nikonos, but haven't done so in over 5 years. I'm torn between the Ikelite, Aquatica and Nexus housings. The Subal is beyond my reach financially. All of the housings I listed have features that I like and from my research, they will all work with iTTL w/o having to shoot manually. For what It's worth but not sure it matters, I will be shooting strictly WA with the 8" dome port and will be using a Nikon 12-24mm and 18-35mm. My strobe will be an Ikelite DS-200. I decided on that strobe because you can always turn down the power, but can't turn it up on up on a smaller strobe. Anyway, I would greatly appreciate any input and thank you ahead of time. This site has been great in my ventures of spending alot of money for my trip:)

Matt

Hi and welcome to Wetpixel.

I'm not sure I follow your logic about iTTL chewie. The only housing offering built-in iTTL is the Ikelite housing.

The other housing can be retrofitted w/ an iTTL adapter, but it is only compatible w/ a very short list of strobes at this time.

James

Hi James, thanks for the reply. I guess I misunderstood what I had read about the other housings. As I stated, I'm new to this whole digital thing. Is iTTL needed ? Do you have any opinions on the housings I listed?

Thanks,

Matt

Hi Matt,

Have a look at the thread called "TTL Anonymous" to find out what others have experienced vs ad vs TTL or manual strobe control. I personally haven't used TTL since 2004.

All three of the housings you have listed will allow you to make great photographs underwater - the final decision is up to you about how much you want to spend to get some of the more expensive features.

Cheers

James

I came a long ways on the subject of TTL. Back in the film days I thought it was impossible to take good pictures without it, now I think that my results are much better in manual then they ever been in TTL. Also, even when using TTL you have to adjust exposure after the first few shots, so you can do that in manual and get the same (or better) results.

About the short list of strobes compatible with iTTL adapters, the same is true for Ikelite, which is only compatible with Ikelite strobes, so it wouldn't make much difference if you are starting from scratch. Here is a link to the TTL Anonymous thread:

http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=6199

Luiz

Thanks for the read James, it answered most of my questions. I probably just not going to worry about iTTL.

Thanks again,

Matt

Thanks Luiz, I don't think I'm going to worry about TTL and just shoot manual. This whole strobe thing confuses me enough as is. I've been a sucessfull nature photographer for over 5 years and don't even own a flash nor do I have any desire to own one. I prefer to work with the natural light that is given to me. For the trip I'm taking, I may not even need a strobe. Just want to be prepared. At this point, I'm just going to focus on the quality and features of the housing.

Take care,

Matt

There have been endless arguments about different housings. I personally use an Aquatica housing for the D100 (with the 12-24) and am waiting on my D200 and Aquatica housing for it.

I don't see the point in buying the more expensive Nexus over the Aquatica, as the Aquatica will do just as good of a job and allow you to access all the controls you need

I guess I can't justify buying the Aquatica over the Ikelite from this same perspective, but the fact that just about every other manufacturer uses metal unlike Ike's plastic housings, and the Ikelite uses Acrylic ports as opposed to the glass ports used by just about everyone else (this is true i believe - someone please coorect me if Im wrong) turns me off of Ikelite.

Thanks for the feedback diveH2o. I think I'm leaning more towards the Aquatica myself.

Re pricing of Aquatica vs. Nexus,

It depends on where you live. With current exchange rate of Japanese Yen, Nexus & Seaandsea price dropped 10-15% compare to its price 6 months ago.

and the Ikelite uses Acrylic ports as opposed to the glass ports used by just about everyone else (this is true i believe - someone please coorect me if Im wrong) turns me off of Ikelite.

I'm not sure I get your logic here Roger, since Aquatica uses acrylic domes too.

The $2200-$2700 market is going to be really tight for this camera. Aquatica seems to be improving their designs.

I have Sea & Sea housings on the way right now, and I'm really excited about the housing. It looks very similar to the NX-100, which was one of my favorites. Sea & Sea is touting a redesigned pickup finder for better viewfinding, and a new glass dome is on the way.

I was actually a little disappointed in the Nexus housing. It doesn't access either AE-L/AF-L or AF-ON, it doesn't have a lens release lever, and doesn't have a removeable tray. I haven't seen the housing with the multifinder option installed, but expect the changable finders to be nice. The ergonomics from the handle are excellent, though.

The Aquatica indeed is made of acrylic, there is a huge debate over the pro and cons of both materials used for domes and, as yet, no scientific data prooving one to be better than the other, very high profile pros are using both with equal success. this being said, take a look at the complete package and specs. like depth rating, numbers of port needed, total weight, interchangable eyepiece, etc. and yes there is one kit for you out there. your choice of camera is irreprochable, and you might snoop around and check some of the shots taken with the 10.5mm while your at it.

Cheers

I think that the Sea&Sea has a very good specs/price result (It is so too for canon 5D). I was just answered that having it in Spain would cost (no ports) 1650 euros which is around 40% cheaper than the Hugy...

I'm not sure I get your logic here Roger, since Aquatica uses acrylic domes too.

 

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My bad.... anyway I like Aquatica

Thanks for all of the input. I took the plunge yestreday and bought the Aquatica w/ 8" dome port. I should have it in a couple of days and can't wait.

Thanks again,

Matt

Congrats on the new toy Matt! Don't forget to post some photos when you can...