Help with Housing choice Please

Hi all

Firstly .. apologies for all the individual questions in this post , but I'm hoping I will get some good advice from all the experienced photo takers out there ..

After using an Olympus C4040 with an Ike housing and DS50 for 5 years , I am now the proud owner of a shiny D200

My budget for a housing allows me to choose between the Ikelite , Aquatica and at a push the Nexus .. I am looking for help to choose which ( Subal , Seacam , Hugyfot are past my budget )

I am going to New York very soon which will save me a lot on the Ike and Aquatica compared to the prices in England .. The Nexus is a very similar price in the UK and US but I cannot see a dealer in NYC that sells them ..

I am definitely going to get a Tok 10-17 FE which again is much cheaper in the US so ideally my chosen subject to start with will be WA

With the Aquatica I have seen they are bringing a new version out with a dedicated Ike strobe connector ..

http://www.aquatica.ca/subpages/press_release_apr_13.pdf

Should I wait for this if I went with Aquatica as B+H don't have the new version in stock yet ?

So .. to sum up

Ikelite .. can get in the US cheaper

Aquatica .. older version , cheaper in US or save more cash and buy new version in the UK when out

Nexus ... save more cash and buy in the UK

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Can I throw a quick question about strobes please ?

Does anybody use a housed SB800 ( or 2 ) rather than Ike or Inon ??

B+H sell the Fantasea housing for the SB800 I have which I assume I can use with a TTL adaptor , or should I go for a DS125

Any advice greatly received

Thanks

Simon

The Aquatica housing can use the Ikelite TTL adapter in two ways, using a 5 pins standard Nikonos connector (use Ikelite 4302 TTL adapter) or a 5 pins Ikelite bulkhead (use Ikelite 4301 TTL adapter), either way these are a easy to upgrade and can be done in a jiffy by the user if he or she wish so.

I use a housed SB 800 also for Macro, you do not need an adapter, only a five pin Nikonos type bulkhead connector. The D200 (and other Nikon recent bodies) won't let you connect two strobe via a wired connection, the camera will freeze (with no harm to the camera as far as I know) if you do. So I tried slave strobes and optical fiber with poor result, in the end I got an Ikelite TTL adapter 4302 on a Nikonos 5 pins bulkhead joined to a second 2 pin bulkhead, this way I keep my option open, TTL with either the housed SB 800 or a pair of DS-125 trough a Ikelite ttl adapter connected to a double cord or for Wide angle with manual flash I can run strobes from both connectors.

Given the choice of Aquatica vs. Ikelite, I would choose Aquatica. My wife shoots the D200 in an Ikelite. I have switched back to Aquatica from a Subal. I have also shot the D200 in the Ike housing on occasion.

The positives of the Ikelite are that it is cheaper and has TTL built in. There are many positives for the Aquatica in comparison to the Ikelite. One negative of the Aquatica is that it is negative...very negative. I've got to add some buoyancy somewhere somehow before my next trip.

As I've opined in previous posts, if you can afford the bump to Aquatica, Sea & Sea or Nexus, do it. If you can't, get an Ikelite and be happy.

Hi all

 

My budget for a housing allows me to choose between the Ikelite , Aquatica and at a push the Nexus .. I am looking for help to choose which ( Subal , Seacam , Hugyfot are past my budget )

 

I am going to New York very soon which will save me a lot on the Ike and Aquatica compared to the prices in England .. The Nexus is a very similar price in the UK and US but I cannot see a dealer in NYC that sells them ..

 

I am definitely going to get a Tok 10-17 FE which again is much cheaper in the US so ideally my chosen subject to start with will be WA

Don't forget that, although the prices are cheaper in the States, you must still legally declare them to Customs when you return and that means VAT and duties. You may also have warranty issues.

Personally I wouldn't overlook the Sea and Sea housing. I've always found them preferable to the Ikelites. Not used the Aquatica or Nexus.

If you are starting out and have the £k's to buy these systems then I would suggest that a macro lens is your first stop. WA is not easy at the best of time and at least macro will give decent results from the off.

Daniel

Cheeky new whippersnapper here - sorry . . .

I can't answer anything about any housing, but . . .

Why would anyone declare something that could easily be claimed to have been an already-owned item? The Man doesn't need to know. And if he asks? Throw something smelling of sea in the case with it and answer, "that came out with me on my outward trip."

Sorry if this is immoral or un-ethical (I know it's illegal, but so is 32mph in a 30mph zone, but does it really matter?), but doesn't The Man get enough out of us?

I would worry about any warranty though, and maybe even servicing, spares or repairs. UK shops mightn't be too helpful if you didn't buy it from them.

FWIW, I gave my mate €650 to collect a bass guitar on my behalf from a music shop in Las Vegas. That was 50% saved on the euro price in Dublin.

I've had problems with it and the Dublin dealer doesn't want to know. US warranty means diddly here. My tough luck. In fairness, a different shop fixed it for €30, so I'm still very quids-in because of the HUGE difference between the US & the Irish prices.

Mark

I have used Ikelite for the last 4 years (3 years P&S and just over a year with a D70). I have shot over 5,000 images with the D70/Ikelite combination and have had no problems. I don't I have ever once thought "I wish it did this differently.".

That said, I am interested to hear what specific advantages the other housings over Ikelite. I may be upgrading to a D200 in the next 12 months which will mean a new housing. More than likely I will stay with the Ikelite (as I have dome ports and strobes), but if there was some compelling reason to switch, I might.

Thanks for everybodies input so far ..

Daniel .. I am going to Bikini Atol in April 2008 so that's why I'm looking at kitting up with WA

Does anybody else have any more views .. ?

Thanks

I have a ikelite housing for a 5d and it does everything i ask it to do. Plain and simple it's not the cost of the housing that will get you the great shot... it's the photographer. The only drawback that I can see with the ikelite system is that it doesn't offer a mineral glass dome port. To me it's silly to spend more on a housing than the camera and lens you put inside one!

I have and still own housings by Aquatica, Nexus, Subal and Sea & Sea.

I found that I got the least anguish from using the Sea & Sea housing and far better after sales service direct from Japan to the UK than with any UK distributor, simply because UK distributors tend to be one-man-and-a-dog outfits!

The quality of pictures I get from the Sea & Sea are equal to and in some cases better than from other housings when it comes to dome ports - and it cost less too. The only thing is that I feel that some keen amateurs may sneer at your choice. I personally don't care because all I need is the pictures.