Question for S2 Pro/Ikelite users

Hello all,

After months of going back and forth, I had finally decided on the S2 Pro and Ikelite housing over the D100 and ? housing. Seeing the Aquatica housing for the D100 now has me waivering towards this rig. One of the "selling" points for me is the complete access to all controls available, mainly the ability to scroll through and delete pictures within the housing. I do this quite a bit with my current system. I am leaving for a dive trip May 10th and need to decide fairly soon.

My question to you is : Are you happy with the available controls on the Ike housing or in hindsight would you want more.

For me, the largest advantage of digital photography has been the ability to see the shots as I take them and adjust accordingly on the spot. Can I do this with the Ike housing?

The lower cost of the Ike housing and TTL ability of the S2 (I currently have a DS-125) had been a huge part of my decision.

Thanks again,

John

John, I have only had my S2 on one trip but it was a liveaboard where I did 22 dives. I think the idea of not having access to the controls, bothered me more before my trip than after I had used the setup. The only function that I would like to have would be the ability to utilize both media types, giving more shots if needed. But then if you had access to that, you would have almost total control anyway. The clear polycarbonate is very reassuring, seeing that there are no leaks. The price is very agreeable considering the ever changing digital industry. I would hate to invest in a $5K housing like Seacam, or somewhere in between, only to have the camera discontinued especially since the new ones seem to rarely match up.

The thing that bothers me most is their limitted port systems. (large diameter lenses, manual focus, etc.)

I am personally satisfied with my setup and TTL was never a factor for me until I used the S2. Now, I have to admit, It allows me to concentrate more on searching and composure than I ever knew. Also, you have to remember that I jumped to the S2 from a Nikonos V and I'm probably not that difficult to please when it comes to housed cameras. I feel like I made a monumental jump, either way.

I think the questions are: Is TTL important to you? Do you require a housing other than Ike? I understand that Aquatica will soon have a back that will allow the same housing to match up with the S2.

I agree with Scotty on this one. I am very happy with my housing and the available controls. Would I be happier with complete access to the controls? Sure - if it was free...:-) No, but seriously, I'm not sure if I would use them - maybe only occasionally.

You will find that you won't need to delete photos underwater. Shooting at the highest quality JPEG, I can get 400 shots onto my card. Shooting RAW, I get 72. I think deleting shots while underwater is just a waste of time that could be better spent taking pictures...:-)

I like the Ikelite sportfinder and the ergonomics of the housing. If you compare it side by side to a Sea and Sea housing - it's actually the same size...

Cheers

James

I think deleting shots while underwater is just a waste of time that could be better spent taking pictures...:-)

Is that Churching, or Watting???

IIRC Churching is the act of showing someone a photograph of the event as the event is still transpiring in front of you :freak:

And somewhere there is an image (I think eric took it, actually), of Watt (I think) deleting pics from a digicam while dolphins swim in front of him

Seriously, if you can get 72 images raw on to a 1GB microdrive, I wonder how likely you would be to exhaust it on one dive. Of course I have never had the chance to try

[is that Churching, or Watting???

 

IIRC Churching is the act of showing someone a photograph of the event as the event is still transpiring in front of you  :freak:

 

And somewhere there is an image (I think eric took it, actually), of Watt (I think) deleting pics from a digicam while dolphins swim in front of him  

hehehe. well, we call that "Jim Watting," (e.g. "Don't Jim Watt me!") because he was doing it non-stop in the Bahamas. I do have that photo somewhere, but I can't seem to find it on my website. He had taken 900 photos of dolphin already that day.

It is called Watting but, the shot was mine.

It was posted up on another site. It has Jim looking at his screen with a dolphin right in front of him.

Does this mean Eric just infringed on my copyright?

Found it. Sorry it has been resaved as JPEG once or twice. I have the original at home.

I took it really but in color - I have the paint to prove it!

Does this mean Eric just infringed on my copyright?

um.. no, it does not. it is, in fact, not on my website.

-eric

Umm Hmm but did you lay claim to it being yours. I will consult my legal counsel on this issue. I am sure there is some sort of technicality I can utilize on this. HAHA

No sense of humour. I was kidding.

Umm Hmm but did you lay claim to it being yours. I will consult my legal counsel on this issue. I am sure there is some sort of technicality I can utilize on this. HAHA

Hehehe. with all these digital images floating around, they can get mixed up pretty easily! I should have known that it wasn't mine. normally, if it is mine, it's up on the web somewhere.