Ups and Downs of Sea&Sea DX-5D

Nicholas asked me for my thoughts on my rig in a post on the lighting forum, so I thought I drag it over here in case anyone else was interested.

Dear Rattus

i am on the way to buy more or less the gear that you all ready have...

(Canon 5D - Canon EF 100mm f-2.8 Macro USM - S&S DX-5D housing with TTL converter - S&S YS-110)

can please tell me if you are pleased with your gear, if you are... why and if you are not, why again... :-)

thanks for your help.

Hi Nicholas,

On the whole the gear I have works well. The DX-5D is very sturdy and well engineered. The TTL system works well.

Good ergonomic points:

• '*' button on blck lever under your right thumb - use it all the time for 1-shot AF
  
• External TTL module places controls in handy position
  
• Port lock works well
  

Less than ideal points:

• Stock pickup viewfinder is narrow, you can't see all four corners at once *1
  
• Port adapter rings don't lock to port *2
  
• Housing is a little heavy in the water - now use ULCS Buoyancy arms
  

The 5D is a great camera for underwater and topside. In fact I just bought a backup/topside body I'm so happy with it. The 100mm Canon is a good lens, and with a suitable gear you have simultaneous AF and MF when you set custom function #4 to '3'. I fabricated my own focus gear for it so that I can focus from the housing body control rather need to use the NX custom macro port. Athena also do a gear that works like this. That reminds me I should post about my gear.

*1 I have engineered the Inon 45 degree finder to fit the DX-5D housing. It works much better. There are other manufacturers who sell better viewfinders for their housings, so it is worth looking around at what is available and what suits your needs/budget the best. (I'd estimate 1000 euros to upgrade another housing the way I did it)

*2 I have adapted my SX Extension Ring to lock to the flat port for use with the 100mm Canon. I prefer a simple screw lock like this to the gaffer tape I was using. I feel another DIY post coming on here.

As you can see the reservations I have had, I fixed. So the question for you is are any of these big problems for you, particularly the viewfinder coverage.

HTH,

Martyn

Rattus,

Well said. I take your point about the viewfinder, but most definately shouldn't put people off buying it. I found it to be more than adequate in 'real world' use. All in all it's a great system.

Indeed the system is well thought out, with a great range of ports and accessories. The TTL system in particular is among the best there is.

The viewfinder is adequate out of the box, but there are better ones out there and some people will find those more suited to them. I mention this largely as I feel it's a shortcoming that Sea&Sea should address, not because I think people should avoid the system. If they made available a pickup viewfinder unit (they screw in as you know) with slightly more reduction, e.g. 0.5x, that would solve much of the wideangle framing issues.

It can sometime be hard to find a way to be honest about minor shortcomings without sounding overly negative. I hope I've succeeded.

Martyn

Rattus,

Your right. I think in time i may do what you did with your viewfinder. I'm not brave enough yet to start 'fiddling'!