Aquatica Housing, Ports and Parts for Canon 300D
Price Lowered, see below
This system includes the housing, ports and spare parts for underwater photography with the Canon Digital Rebel 300D. It doesn't include the camera, but you get everything else you need to start taking pictures underwater.
The first photo shows the camera with the 8" dome port installed. This is the recommended port for the 18-55mm "kit" lens that comes with most Digital Rebels. The 8" port has a few minor scratches on the outside, but these are filled with water when underwater so they don't show up. Actually, I don't see them when I take pictures over water either. It comes with a neoprene cover, not pictured.
You can see that the camera has three Ultralight 1" ball joints attached. The two on the arms were used for mounting strobes, and the one in the middle is for a spotter/focus light. You can replace these if you use different arms. The housing has two standard Nikonus bulkheads for attaching underwater strobes (not TTL, which never worked on this model).
Also included is the Aquatica macro port with extension ring. I used this with the super-long a Sigma 105mm lens, so it should be long enough for anything Canon makes. This glass-front port is in perfect condition, and comes with the pictured neoprene cover.
Included with the system are three zoom/focus rings. The first two in the photo are for the 18-55mm kit lens. One of them is the standard zoom ring, and the other is a custom-made model with screw-down points. Once you tighten those 6 allen screws, that zoom ring isn't going anywhere. The third ring is a focus ring for a macro lens. It was supposed to fit the Sigma 105mm but doesn't, so I assume it fits one of the Canon lenses.
Here's the back of the housing. You can see the controls for all camera functions are on the housing (except for power, don't forget that one). The red knob on the left is for the zoom ring, and the two knobs on the right turn the mode dial and data wheel. I put duct tape over the data wheel adjuster, which I found to be the best solution for adjusting this control underwater. There is a flood alarm installed, which shows through the window on the back.
You may have noticed a button missing on the back. This is the only problem with the housing, one of the screw-down adjusters broke off. Here's a close up of the front and back of that adjuster:
I tried to get this piece replaced before selling, but the repair shop couldn't get the piece out with the equipment they had. The housing is perfectly water-tight as-is, however, and was tested as such by the repair shop. You just won't have access to the "-" control, which I've never used anyway.
Here are some of the spare parts you get with the camera. You can see that there's an O-ring rebuild kit, spare strobe head, spare trigger mechanism, another main O-ring, extra screws, allen wrenches, and much more.
Here's a summary of what you get:
- Aquatica 300D Housing
- Dual Nikonos (Sea & Sea) bulkhead
- 8" dome port with dome shade and neoprene cover (part# 18405, 18482)
- Two zoom rings for 18-55mm, one with screw-down clamps
- Macro Port with extension ring and neoprene cover (18426, 18453)
- Macro focus ring
- Flood alarm
- Three Ultralight ball joints
Get wet with one of the most affordable digital SLR camera systems you can find. You can find the 6-megapixel Canon 300D body on eBay for around $300, or $500 brand new. Here are a few of the photos I've taken with this system, some of which have won awards:
Photos with the Aquatica 300D Housing
Retail price of the entire system is over $3,000. I'm asking $1,799 for mine. Price includes secure packing and shipping anywhere in the continental US and Canada. I have 50 positive feedbacks on eBay, but I'm listing it here first. Email me at synthetic (at] earthlink (dot] net with questions or to claim it for your own.
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