Modifying Housings For Use With Another Camera

Hi,

This is my second post here in wetpixel, I've usually let everyone else's discussions answer my questions, so I'm long overdue for a posting of my own.

I'm sure I'm like many others in that I have film gear I invested in, which is quite obsolete compared to the new digital stuff. (I'll admit, I was one of those guys who swore off digital for a little too long) I have a Nikon F5 which has sat on the shelf since the day my D70 arrived. However, I miss many of the features of my F5, many of which only found in the pro level workhorse cameras. I'd like to consider purchasing a D2x or D3 at some point, but cant really afford a new housing for it. Does anyone know if a housing can be modified for use with a different camera? I started thinking about this when I saw the Backscatter.com write up on the D3 in the D2x housing, and was curious if I could do something similar.

Anyone know if I can take my Aquatica F5 housing and modify it for the D2Xs or the D3? More importantly, does anyone know of a professional which would do this kind of work? I'd certainly appreciate any input.

Jake,

Welcome to the pond. There have been examples of people modifying their housing to accommodate a similar model (usually the next rev), but it is usually next to impossible to adapt a housing unless the buttons in the new camera are very close to the locations of the old camera. Also, you must get the optical axis of the new camera in the center so that the dome port will have a minimum of aberations. Usually this means that the viewfinder won't line up properly. I'm sorry for the bad news.

Thanks for the reply. Bummer, I was hoping the D2Xs and the F5 might on some level have buttons which match up. Oh well, thanks for the info, guess I'll stick with building the savings until I can afford both.

thanks.