Canon 400D in 350D Ikelite Housing

Adapting a Canon 350D S&S housing for a Canon 400D it's very easy: just put the new camera in the tray and you can take it down. The great miss in this case it's the acces to the left buttons that are slightly displaced more to the left (in order to give more room fot the big LCD screen of the 400D). All this has been commented in wetpixel and even Pakman post a very smart solution to acces the left buttons in this thread:

http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=15364

But all this simplicity can't be just applied in the case of the ikelite housing due mainly to the Ikelite tray (and also e-TTL2 converter case) and his back alingment posts. This posts prevent the 400D be aligned with the tripod socket. So I had to make some extra mods to achieve the same in my Ikelite housing.

First of all, I have to say that all my mods are extremely rough and requires some adjusting afterwork to make it function properly. I don't have the proper measuring and machining tools (and specially time) to do it at home in a pro looking way. So I used very odd materials and solutions, but the important thing is that, despite the blotched job look, they work pretty well, at least for me.

In the Ikelite case, there are two kind of mods. The first ones allows you to put the camera in the Ikelite tray (which has the e-ttl2 converter within) and the second ones are intended for allow acces to all buttons.

As far as the main difference with the S&S housing lays in the back posts, the first thing I did was to remove them (with the help of pliers and a good pull). Obviously, then you have to add two new aligment posts to prevent the camera spinning around the tripod socket.

I decided to do this in the front face. Once unmounted the e-TTL converter case/tray and with a drill and thread tool, I put an screw as aligment post at the left side of the camera and a plate screwed at the front of the tray (in the right side). In order to do this, the first thing is disassembly the tray/converter case and work with the upper sidepart. The main reason to do so is that the case contains the converter circuitry and the fixing of the alignment elements must not have any interference with it. Besides, the screw head of the left alignment post implies that the drilling must have a countersink to allow perfect closing of the two parts of the case.

Adjustment were done basically with several layers of tape and a piece of plastic tube for the screw and some thin plastic layers (holded below the duct tape) in the plate case to give the main extra thickness required.

Here you can see a couple of photos of the tray with the two alingment elements:

Upper view

Lower view

Camera set in the tray with tape added.

Here you can also see that the depth of field preview control has no interference

with the left alignment post (at the right of the picture).

With this setup I made the Tokina 10-17 test photos, but I wanted to acces the left buttons too, so I make a transfer pad to solve the slight misplacement of the left buttons. This is because , at that moment, pakman haven't post their smart solution to this problem. I'll put here because it might become the inspiration for further mods.

The transfer pad mod for the left buttons implied screwing a mini PVC piece to the back of the housing (in the inner side) which holds a small transfer pad made of flexible plastic sheet and furniture door bumpers (selfadhesive).

This pictures will show clearly how I did it:

DISCLAIMER: Of course, I'm just telling only what I've done. I don't recommend to do this because it's easy to damage your equipment and I'm pretty sure it will void your warranty. Remember that if you decide to do this kind of mods to a housing, you do it at your own risk.

Besides, it's very probably that your e-TTL2 converter won't work with the 400D camera (I'm not sure yet), even in manual mode. So probably you'll have to use your strobe in manual mode with an old Ikelite sync cord (non digital and I haven't tested it) or with Ikelite-Nikonos Sync cords and a 2-Nikonos-to-Ikelite T-connector (my set-up that certainly works). ASAP I'll get news about this I'll post here.

Rai

Rai, nice! Will forward the link to my friend. I'm sure he'll appreciate it.

If your friend needs some extra info just ask for it and I'll be very pleased to provide any detail or whatever mus be required.

Rai

Hi Rai,

I though the TTL on Canon 400D was the same as with the 350D. Isn't it the same? If yes, what would be the reason for the TTL not to work? I am interested in this for the Sea&Sea 350D housing since I might consider getting a 400D in sometime.

Regards and Merry Christmas

Nuno

Hi Rai,

 

I though the TTL on Canon 400D was the same as with the 350D. Isn't it the same? If yes, what would be the reason for the TTL not to work? I am interested in this for the Sea&Sea 350D housing since I might consider getting a 400D in sometime.

 

Regards and Merry Christmas

 

Nuno

Not exactly. Many cameras uses slightly differente versions of the protocol. These differences are very small in order to allow you use eTTL2 flashes without problems but they exist. Third party converters sometimes can't handle them directly, because they doesn't implement the real protocol. They just handle the ettl2 signal well enough to control some models of UW strobes.

In this case I'm not completely sure because my DS-125 was malfunctioning (it's in its way back to Ikelite for repairing), So I can't be sure if the problems I experienced were dued to some ettl2 incompatiblity of 350D and 400D implementations or laid in the strobe itself.

For the S&S housing, I ignore if the TTL converter available (S&S) will work or not. The people I know that uses this housing with a 400D, control the strobe manually. But AFAIK it's a Matthias converter and I know that this converter has a newer version that support 400D than the previous one that support the 350D (The new one supports both, logically). But I don't know if the S&S converter can be upgraded to newer versions as the OEM version does.

Rai

Cool little mod, congrats!

Hello Ray,

i use a 400D in a ikelite housing and just came acroos your posting and was wondering whether you know a bit more about:

Quote:" Besides, it's very probably that your e-TTL2 converter won't work with the 400D camera (I'm not sure yet), even in manual mode. So probably you'll have to use your strobe in manual mode with an old Ikelite sync cord (non digital and I haven't tested it) or with Ikelite-Nikonos Sync cords and a 2-Nikonos-to-Ikelite T-connector (my set-up that certainly works). ASAP I'll get news about this I'll post here."

My setup doesn't work. I can use it with a single strobe but not with 2 strobes. If i connect 2 strobes and turn them on both don't fire. If i switch off the 2nd strobe the main will fire.

Did you get anymore info ? How does your's work ?

Thank you !!

Adapting a Canon 350D S&S housing for a Canon 400D it's very easy: just put the new camera in the tray and you can take it down. The great miss in this case it's the acces to the left buttons that are slightly displaced more to the left (in order to give more room fot the big LCD screen of the 400D). All this has been commented in wetpixel and even Pakman post a very smart solution to acces the left buttons in this thread:

 

http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=15364

 

But all this simplicity can't be just applied in the case of the ikelite housing due mainly to the Ikelite tray (and also e-TTL2 converter case) and his back alingment posts. This posts prevent the 400D be aligned with the tripod socket. So I had to make some extra mods to achieve the same in my Ikelite housing.

 

First of all, I have to say that all my mods are extremely rough and requires some adjusting afterwork to make it function properly. I don't have the proper measuring and machining tools (and specially time) to do it at home in a pro looking way. So I used very odd materials and solutions, but the important thing is that, despite the blotched job look, they work pretty well, at least for me.

 

In the Ikelite case, there are two kind of mods. The first ones allows you to put the camera in the Ikelite tray (which has the e-ttl2 converter within) and the second ones are intended for allow acces to all buttons.

 

As far as the main difference with the S&S housing lays in the back posts, the first thing I did was to remove them (with the help of pliers and a good pull). Obviously, then you have to add two new aligment posts to prevent the camera spinning around the tripod socket.

 

I decided to do this in the front face. Once unmounted the e-TTL converter case/tray and with a drill and thread tool, I put an screw as aligment post at the left side of the camera and a plate screwed at the front of the tray (in the right side). In order to do this, the first thing is disassembly the tray/converter case and work with the upper sidepart. The main reason to do so is that the case contains the converter circuitry and the fixing of the alignment elements must not have any interference with it. Besides, the screw head of the left alignment post implies that the drilling must have a countersink to allow perfect closing of the two parts of the case.

 

Adjustment were done basically with several layers of tape and a piece of plastic tube for the screw and some thin plastic layers (holded below the duct tape) in the plate case to give the main extra thickness required.

 

Here you can see a couple of photos of the tray with the two alingment elements:

 

Upper view

Lower view

Camera set in the tray with tape added.

 

Here you can also see that the depth of field preview control has no interference

with the left alignment post (at the right of the picture).

With this setup I made the Tokina 10-17 test photos, but I wanted to acces the left buttons too, so I make a transfer pad to solve the slight misplacement of the left buttons. This is because , at that moment, pakman haven't post their smart solution to this problem. I'll put here because it might become the inspiration for further mods.

 

The transfer pad mod for the left buttons implied screwing a mini PVC piece to the back of the housing (in the inner side) which holds a small transfer pad made of flexible plastic sheet and furniture door bumpers (selfadhesive).

 

This pictures will show clearly how I did it:

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Of course, I'm just telling only what I've done. I don't recommend to do this because it's easy to damage your equipment and I'm pretty sure it will void your warranty. Remember that if you decide to do this kind of mods to a housing, you do it at your own risk.

 

Besides, it's very probably that your e-TTL2 converter won't work with the 400D camera (I'm not sure yet), even in manual mode. So probably you'll have to use your strobe in manual mode with an old Ikelite sync cord (non digital and I haven't tested it) or with Ikelite-Nikonos Sync cords and a 2-Nikonos-to-Ikelite T-connector (my set-up that certainly works). ASAP I'll get news about this I'll post here.

Rai

Sorry Rai,

forgot to mention that i use this cable: #4103.52

http://www.ikelite.com/web_pages/sync_cords.html

Which one are you using ?

Thanx a lot !!

Hello Ray,

 

i use a 400D in a ikelite housing and just came acroos your posting and was wondering whether you know a bit more about:

 

Quote:" Besides, it's very probably that your e-TTL2 converter won't work with the 400D camera (I'm not sure yet), even in manual mode. So probably you'll have to use your strobe in manual mode with an old Ikelite sync cord (non digital and I haven't tested it) or with Ikelite-Nikonos Sync cords and a 2-Nikonos-to-Ikelite T-connector (my set-up that certainly works). ASAP I'll get news about this I'll post here."

 

My setup doesn't work. I can use it with a single strobe but not with 2 strobes. If i connect 2 strobes and turn them on both don't fire. If i switch off the 2nd strobe the main will fire.

 

Did you get anymore info ? How does your's work ?

 

Thank you !!

Sorry Rai,

 

forgot to mention that i use this cable: #4103.52

 

http://www.ikelite.com/web_pages/sync_cords.html

 

Which one are you using ?

 

Thanx a lot !!

Hey :

What about just getting the backplate and the conversion circuit for the 400XTi housing from Ikelite and just use it whenever you are using the XTi?? Then you still have the XT and backplate available??

Asumming it will fit, dual camera housing!!!

I will contact Ikelite to find out.

Jose

Hey :

What about just getting the backplate and the conversion circuit for the 400XTi housing from Ikelite and just use it whenever you are using the XTi?? Then you still have the XT and backplate available??

Asumming it will fit, dual camera housing!!!

I will contact Ikelite to find out.

Jose

Ikelite answer:

"Sorry, we do not offer retro-fits, or the sales

of components to retro-fit our housings."

Hey :

What about just getting the backplate and the conversion circuit for the 400XTi housing from Ikelite and just use it whenever you are using the XTi?? Then you still have the XT and backplate available??

Asumming it will fit, dual camera housing!!!

I will contact Ikelite to find out.

 

Jose

Ikelite answer:

 

"Sorry, we do not offer retro-fits, or the sales

of components to retro-fit our housings."

Stuff this conversion circuit, i wonder how i can connect the cam to the strobes without using that conversion circuit ?

Shouldn't i be able to connect the cam directly to the strobes ?

Any idea anyone ?

Thank you !!

It looks like your question has been snowed under,

this topic was about the conversion and not a particular problem witht the camera.

The conversion circuitry is needed to use TTL, but not for manual (then you have only the manual settings on the strobe, not the small steps on hte housing).

The TTL works only with ikelite DS-strobes. So I assume you are using those.

If not: Which strobes do you use....

first bit: did you remember to put the DS-50 / DS-125 switch on the underside of the plate in the correct position ? I use DS50's, so that is easy. If you use a mixed set, the manual says which one you have to choose.

second: did you remember the strobes in the right position (TTL, I suppose).

Is the right strobe on the right end: the primary strobe is the one on the unmarked end, the secondary is marked red.

other then that it could be a broken synch cord as well, unless its really new..

Gerard

It looks like your question has been snowed under,

 

this topic was about the conversion and not a particular problem witht the camera.

 

The conversion circuitry is needed to use TTL, but not for manual (then you have only the manual settings on the strobe, not the small steps on hte housing).

 

The TTL works only with ikelite DS-strobes. So I assume you are using those.

If not: Which strobes do you use....

 

first bit: did you remember to put the DS-50 / DS-125 switch on the underside of the plate in the correct position ? I use DS50's, so that is easy. If you use a mixed set, the manual says which one you have to choose.

 

second: did you remember the strobes in the right position (TTL, I suppose).

 

Is the right strobe on the right end: the primary strobe is the one on the unmarked end, the secondary is marked red.

 

other then that it could be a broken synch cord as well, unless its really new..

 

Gerard

Hello Gerard

Thank you for your reply !!

I do have 1 DS125 and 1 DS50.

What i don't have is a user manual for the housing, i bought it second hand without the manual. And Ikelite is not providing manuals online (Hello Ikelite !!).

If anybody has a scanned in manual, i would be very grateful if you could e-mail (wolfgang@waterworxbali.com) that to me. Thank you !!

I was assuming that if the DS125 is as the primary strobe on the unmarked end of the cable then the switch on the underside of the plate should be on 125/200 (but then again: assumption is the mother of all f... ups) ??

Now with your answer i dared to try with the DS125 on the unmarked end of the cable and the switch on the underside of the plate set to 50 and both strobes fired.

The strobes set in either TTL or manual mode.

So tomorrow i will have it in the water again and hopefully now i have it right !!

Thank you again for your time !!

I found my manual back: and it indeed says that if you use mixed DS strobes, the switch should be set to DS-50.

Ikelite will send you a manual if you ask for it. I asked for manuals of both the housing and the strobes when I updated my DS-50 strobes to be compatible with e-ttl. I dont think they even charged for it, but am not sure any more

Good luck !