Canon 15mm Fisheye and Ikelite 8" dome port

Right now I am shooting a 20D with Ike Housing.. I am looking to add the 15mm Fisheye and the 8" Dome port to my collection, but, I am leary. I have a friend Shooting a D200 with the 10.5. Both lenses require the same Port.

Here's why I am leary. When his rig is all dressed up and ready to hit the water, the Ikelite 8" dome port is only held onto the housing by about 45 degrees off rotation. I am not very comfortable with 45 degrees of rotation being the only thing beteween my rig and the ocean.. Does anybody else have the same issue??

I feel this is a big enough issue to sell my total rig and move up to a 30D or 5D and go Aquatica.

Chris.

Chris,

Not to worry. Many here use the same equipment (8" dome with the short stalk) without problems. Just check the port before you jump in to make sure it is rotated completely. It's a good idea to assemble the port to the housing first to make sure the O-ring is in it's proper track, then install the camera and back plate. Any housing can leak if not assembled properly and O-rings checked to make sure they are clean and lightly lubricated.

I know how you feel. I just used my my first fisheye with the 8" dome and I'm trying to think of a way to just lock the port in place. I don't understand why ikelite hasn't come up with something already. It should be simple to make a little attachment on the port body that clips onto the housing. Right now I keep feeling the port to make sure it didn't somehow rotate out of place. Btw, The 15 is really awesome on a fullframe camera but for a 20d I'd go with something wider like the 10-17mm fisheye from tokina.

when i had my Ikelite D200 housing - i had a leak from where the stalk attached to the dome. check that o-ring as well as the groove that it is in.

mine had a small piece of plastic left over from manufacture, which was causing a leak when i used the 10.5

Chris,

This extension has to be that short for the Nikon 10.5mm and short type Canon / Sigma 15mm lenses to be at the right point in the dome.

When I use this shortest extension I have marks at 12 o'clock top on my dome when it is fully locked on. That way I can glance over the top and see it hasn't moved. I've even put a small piece of duct tape on the rear port body and housing to keep it from unscrewing when you should be paying attention the most, at shallow depth and low pressure

Any of the extensions can be tightened with a flexible oil filter strap wrench after greasing the o-ring. Unless you have to change extensions a lot, don't. I've never had mine off the 8" dome port!!!

Aquatica I believe bayonets on without a lock, as do some Sea and Sea and other housings. As David Moss says, just learning how to assemble it and what to double check before you hop in is the key.

I dived this arrangement in Australia a year ago testing the Canon 5D full frame dSLR and Sigma 15mm fisheye. It didn't come off

Just go dive and make photos!

dhaas

. Btw, The 15 is really awesome on a fullframe camera but for a 20d I'd go with something wider like the 10-17mm fisheye from tokina.

I agree, I didn't think the Canon 15mm FE was appropriate for a cropped sensored body like a 20D. I tried it on an 400D and it you lose a lot of the "fishy-ness". On the other hand, the Tokina 10-17 does a pretty nice job at 10mm as it was made for cropped sensors.