Canon 40D Housings at DEMA

For the Folks at DEMA, If you've recovered from the Happy Hour

You're probably the only folks on the planet who have seen all the new housings for the Canon 40D. Reading all the great input from Eric, it looks like almost everyone has a prototype at the party. Did any one stand out? It sounds like some of the housings could have some issues with ergonomics. Any other thoughts would really be appreciated.

Steve

Having looked around all the photos from the reports the Subal looks the sexiest to me and I am sure that they have left nothing out .. it almost looks like plastic from the white finish (I am assuming it is a powder coating of some sort as the prototype must be a working model right ?)

Sea and Sea and Aquatica look like close seconds, your mention of ergonomics i can't tell if that BULKY lokoing Aquatica would be a good thing in your hands or a pain. I am guessing Hugfot will have a very sexy looking housing out soon, it's just a question of if it is ergonically better than some of their previous ones where people have had complaints about one handle and one strobe mount etc etc

I bet we will see more from Seacam other than their remote system, as of yet i don't think anyone has mentioned ANY new housings from these guys. I expect they will match what Subal are doing.

I am not a Canon user but I thought the SeaTool and Nexus offerings were quite nice and both offer the option of fiber optics, some others seem to be avoiding any redesign to accommodate easy use of fiber.

Phil Rudin

This is going to be a tough choice. Eric mentioned the Nexus housing ergonomics were a little off. The Subal looks great but the window looks smaller than the 40D 3" size in the photo. It may be just a prototype "feature" or my sense of scale is off. It's great that the wetpixelers are down there in force so those of us out in the hinterlands can still get the info. Any other thoughts from folks who got a look at the housings would be appreciated.

Steve

Since I've built up a bit of an investment in various S&S ports/ domes, I'll be anxiously awaiting the release of their 40D housing next year. The Seatool might be tempting, especially now that they are offering various port adapters. Also happy to see that S&S is working on an angled viewfinder...

In Japan, Housings for Canon 40D are known as below

1.Zillion

http://www11.ocn.ne.jp/~zillion/EOS40D/index-e.html

2.Nautilus NEO

http://babel.altavista.com/babelfish/trurl...utilus_neo.html

Price:JPY228,000(with tax)

3.Seatool

http://seatool.net/list/40d.htm

Materials:Machined corrosion resistant aluminum alloy

Weight:1,700g

Price: ?

Available Jan 2008

4.DIV Hands

http://www.div.co.jp/product/canon/canon_EOS40D.html

Materials:ABS resin/Acrylic resin/stainless steel

Weight:1,650g

Price: ?

Available Jan 2008

I bet we will see more from Seacam other than their remote system, as of yet i don't think anyone has mentioned ANY new housings from these guys. I expect they will match what Subal are doing.

Hi Giles - Actually, we don't expect to see a Canon 40D from Seacam, as they tend to dedicate themselves more to the flagship cameras.

To that end, the Canon MKIII will begin delivering in January, and the Nikon D300 likely in February or early March. The D3 will be produced, but whether it happens before a high res (D3X) is available is still in consideration. I'm sure the 40D is a great camera, but not one Seacam will be supporting.

Meanwhile, our latest post-DEMA newsletter with all the new products is available as PDF by clicking the link on the home page at http://seacamusa.com/

SEA&SEA has announced the release of a New housings MDXï¼40D,MDX-D300,MDX-PRO Markâ…¢(for 1Ds Markâ…¢&1D Markâ…¢) on December 27, 2007

MDXï¼40D

http://www.seaandsea.co.jp/press/1198717614.html

Weight:2,700g

Price: JPY283,400(with tax)

Depth Rating:60m

Available Jan 2008

MDX-D300

http://www.seaandsea.co.jp/press/1198718144.html

Weight:2,500g

Price: JPY294,000(with tax)

Depth Rating:60m

Available Jan 2008

MDX-PRO Markâ…¢(for 1DsMKâ…¢,1DMKâ…¢)

http://www.seaandsea.co.jp/press/1198716370.html

Weight:3,250g

Price: JPY504,000(with tax)

Depth Rating:60m

Now on sale

I wasn't at DEMA but I do have my Hugyfot 40d Housing in hand... very nice! The rear window matches that large LCD on the camera which looks much larger than the Subal housing.

There is a third bulkhead for some cool extra features hopefully available in the new year (i.e. Vacuum tester, USB connector). Assembly is a bit fiddly but I'm sure that is the same with all housings.