Aqutica Housing

Hi

This topic may have been covered already but I couldn’t find anything in the search

I just wanted to know if any one has had problem with the housing for the coolpix 5000 has it leaked do you have problem closing the back door with the camera in it any comments would be appreciated

Cheers

nunz

Just was on a trip with a person who had a 5000 in the Aquatica housing. No leaks, and it looked like a fine piece of machinery. The hinged door and cam lock looked nifty. Things that seemed a bit odd: no way to operate the ON/OFF switch once the camera was in the housing; and, if you use the Nikon 19mm inside the dome, you can't pull the camera out/put it back in without disassembling everything. It also seemed that a couple other buttons (other than the on/off thing) were left off the housing . . .

Mentioning names would be crass, but there is a housing that does everything correctly............

http://www.ikelite.com/web_pages/cp5000.html

I can testify that the Ike housing works flawlessly. Two UW photo pros bought CP5000s and Ike housings to use as backup on my recommendation. I did emphasies to them that the camera's auto-focus is very slooow compared to what they are use to with a film SLR. Otherwise the camera is great. Especially with the 19 mm lens. Though I was impressed with the macro shot with the camera's native lens that were posted here.

I was on a trip where a guy had two L & M housings for the 5000. Housing seemed very nice and worked well. But he didn't have dome ports for them which I think is the biggest advantage of using this camera UW.

Yes, on the Aquatica housing the on/off switch is not accessible once in the housing. Otherwise all other buttons are accessible. It is a fine piece of housing and I too liked the closure, it just gives you convidence the housing is closed.

I do not use the internal 19mm but would beleive that you would have to remove the lens to remove the camera.

Knocking on wood...no leaks.

Just got back from Northern Vancouver Island.

I have had no leaks, but my friend's housing did have a tablespoon size leak on his last dive. This was very concerning to say the least. Thankfully, his camera was ok and he plans to do a test dive empty. I couldn't see any evidence of missuse (rings looked good - no hairs, etc.).

The issue with having no on-off switch is not really a big deal. I set my auto-off (in setup menu) to 30seconds, and install the camera. When I go down, I access the menu again and reset the auto-off to 5 minutes. This has been an adequate workaround.

As for the focus, I have been extremely frustrated. I thought I had it rough with manual focus on my Nikonos V. At least I had a focus. After many macro dives, this last weekend I thought I hit nirvana when I set the focus to manual, and shot at extreme close up. Unfortunately, a lot of the images that I thought were sharp proved not to be on my crt.

As for the 19mm lens, I am seeing a lot of blur at the corners. Has anyone else had this issue? I don't think it's do to focus - I am assuming it's cromatic abberation (?). Other than the corners, the lens doesn't appear to be very sharp. Someone please tell me I am wrong. The issue with removal of the camera is accurate - you must install the camera, then install the 19mm lens, then install the dome port. This is all very fine, but you only get one dive with the battery (and card too!), so, who wants to remove so many ports/openings on a wet camera between dives???

My only other letdown with the Aquatica housing is that the shutter release is a button rather than a lever (quiet Ike), and so I can't reach it while using the excellent hand grips (optional). I have since removed the right grip and use one hand grip on the left, and the thumb-grip on the right. If I need two grips while on the move I simply hold the right arm segment. As for arm placement, I moved the angled ball mounts UNDERNEATH the base plate and found this to be an ideal system. I promise to post a shot of this arm setup soon.

The construction of the housing is superb. It's the camera and some of the features of the housing that are worth some thought.

Rob, I use the 19mm 100% of the time and I've never noticed any edge softness........usually it's a DOF issure

Karl

Might be a port issue - not a lens issue. Remember, the dome port is essentially an "add-on lens." Could also be a DOF issue or an aperture issue.

Cheers

James