got a DSLR finally, now for the housing

I have finally bitten the bullet and moved from P&S to a new DSLR. I opted for the Canon Xsi and think I will be very happy with it. I have been shooting P&S for about 6 yrs now and it was time to upgrade. So, I have the camera now with the kit lens (17-55mm) and I still have my pair of strobes from previous setup (Sea&Sea) . It looks like the only housing on the market right now is the Ikelite but I would expect others will soon follow. Does anyone have any recommendations for housing? I am a fan of Ikelite, like the clear housing and cost... any special considerations I should be looking at? Which port?

I don't plan to take this setup on a dive trip quite yet --- I will be learning the camera out of the water for now until I am ready to take it underwater. So I am not in a rush... just wondering where to start.

thanks!

first decide on a price point, ikelite on the low end (maybe 2.5-3g's for a complete setup), subal & seacam on the high end (maybe 8-10g's+) - look at size, weight, port systems, lens variety supported, availability of a large viewfinder (absolute necess IMHO), and location for when you need service.

Ikelite's cheap and has great customer service, but bulky and port & arm systems aren't great, aquatica's decently priced w/ less bulk, but has occasional QC issues, subal's a big favorite, quality, lots of accesories, small & lightweight but expensive, seatool's amazingly small & light but accomodates less lenses. And others like Sea&Sea, Nexus, Hugyfot, etc. I don't know much about.

There's a lot of great information in old threads, do some searching through the forums.

Personally I went for Aquatica for these reasons - lower price point, but still a form fitting aluminum housing (less bulky), a good port/extension ring system, and they're the located closest to me. Now they have their big viewfinder (expensive but oh so worth it) and a new 9.25" glass dome (mine is en-route from b&h), adding ability only before found in the high-end makers.

Realize that once you've chosen, you're likely stuck with that brand for future upgrades once you have all the bits & pieces. All these bits & pieces get bloody expensive - plan on $1500+ for strobe arms, focus/zoom rings, port extensions, spare orings, sync cables etc.

The other thing is lenses. Your kit lens is usable but not ideal UW. Primary lenses of choice are fisheyes(FE) and macros. For a canon, the best starting package would be either the tokina 10-17mm FE or the canon/sigma 15mm FE, and the canon 60mm macro. Some use rectilinear ultrawides (canon 10-22mm) but struggle with close focus ability and soft corners.

Hope that helps for a start. Cheers,

Chris

I have been using Ikelite for a few years and I'm very happy, but then, I haven't tried anything else so maybe I don't know what I'm missing. As Chris says they are inexpensive, generally well made and have great customer service. I really like the clear housing and having clear vision into the housing.

Also as Chris says, once you choose a housing you'll be sort of stuck with that brand. Much like choosing between Nikon and Canon: while the bodies are reasonably cheap, it's the accessories you'll have to replace if you change makers. When you change your camera body to a new model, in most cases all you need to do is replace the housing. All the ports, strobes, arms, etc. are all compatible. This means you should make your decision carefully now to save angst in the future.

I recently upgraded from a Nikon D70 to D300 and all I had to do was buy a new housing.

Your kit lens (18-55mm if I'm not mistaken) will be a fine start until you get used to the housing and decide what sort of pictures you want to take. You'll need to use it in a dome port and it will help to use a +2 or even +4 diopter lens on the front to allow you to focus a bit closer. I use an 18-55mm lens for underwater probably more than 50% of the time, especially at sites where there are subjects of mixed sizes (e.g. from nudibranchs to giant cuttlefish).

I have been using Ikelite for a few years and I'm very happy, but then, I haven't tried anything else so maybe I don't know what I'm missing. As Chris says they are inexpensive, generally well made and have great customer service. I really like the clear housing and having clear vision into the housing.

 

Also as Chris says, once you choose a housing you'll be sort of stuck with that brand. Much like choosing between Nikon and Canon: while the bodies are reasonably cheap, it's the accessories you'll have to replace if you change makers. When you change your camera body to a new model, in most cases all you need to do is replace the housing. All the ports, strobes, arms, etc. are all compatible. This means you should make your decision carefully now to save angst in the future.

 

I recently upgraded from a Nikon D70 to D300 and all I had to do was buy a new housing.

 

Your kit lens (18-55mm if I'm not mistaken) will be a fine start until you get used to the housing and decide what sort of pictures you want to take. You'll need to use it in a dome port and it will help to use a +2 or even +4 diopter lens on the front to allow you to focus a bit closer. I use an 18-55mm lens for underwater probably more than 50% of the time, especially at sites where there are subjects of mixed sizes (e.g. from nudibranchs to giant cuttlefish).

Thanks for the info. We haven't set on Ikelite but it is definitely the frontrunner.

And yes, we have used Ikelite housings (for our old film camera and a current digital video) for several years now and really like them. They fit our price range (having 2 photographers/videographers in the family) and customer service is the best I have ever had from any company.

Since we already have ULCS tray and arms and 2 strobes, both Sea&Sea, we are planning to use those with the housing but we aren't sure if they will be completely compatible. What strobes do you have? Those things are more expensive than the housings and we really don't want to replace them.

As far as the dome port, you mentioned having to use a diopter - we read somewhere in a review that you don't need to use one with this lens, but since we are so new to DSLR we really don't know. Could you explain a big about that? Focus a bit closer?

thanks!

Look as to who is making the housings now for the XTi as that is who will end up making ones for the XSi. The housing that I have been impressed with is from SeaTool. I like that it is nice and compact. It will take the Ultralight system as well allow you to use Inon's viewfinders. It also comes std. with a fiber optic setup.

Since we already have ULCS tray and arms and 2 strobes, both Sea&Sea, we are planning to use those with the housing but we aren't sure if they will be completely compatible. What strobes do you have? Those things are more expensive than the housings and we really don't want to replace them.

I'm using Ikelite DS125 stobes, so my whole kit is Ikelite and I have no compatibility issues. As you have Sea & Sea strobes, you may want to go with a Sea & Sea housing as you know it will all work. Are your current strobes iTTL/eTTL compatible? Then need to be able to do the preflash thing that digital cameras use to determine exposure.

As far as the dome port, you mentioned having to use a diopter - we read somewhere in a review that you don't need to use one with this lens, but since we are so new to DSLR we really don't know. Could you explain a big about that? Focus a bit closer?

A dome port creates an apparent image much closer to the port than the actual subject. If the subject is around 3' from the film plane, the apparent image may only be 12" and the lens has to be able to focus on that image. As you say, the 18-55mm kit lens is able to focus that close and so you can go without the diopter but you will lose the ability to focus closer as close subjects will mean and even closer apparent image.

Underwater, you want to keep your subjects fairly close so you really don't lose anything by having the diopter on the lens but you gain quite a lot when you encounter small subjects (e.g. nudibranchs). It won't replace a dedicated macro lens, but will give you a little more versatility with the kit lens.

I have finally bitten the bullet and moved from P&S to a new DSLR. I opted for the Canon Xsi and think I will be very happy with it. I have been shooting P&S for about 6 yrs now and it was time to upgrade. So, I have the camera now with the kit lens (17-55mm) and I still have my pair of strobes from previous setup (Sea&Sea) . It looks like the only housing on the market right now is the Ikelite but I would expect others will soon follow. Does anyone have any recommendations for housing? I am a fan of Ikelite, like the clear housing and cost... any special considerations I should be looking at? Which port?

I don't plan to take this setup on a dive trip quite yet --- I will be learning the camera out of the water for now until I am ready to take it underwater. So I am not in a rush... just wondering where to start.

 

thanks!

I would go for the Hugyfot housing; it's the less bulkier and heavier on the market and it comes with three bulkheads installation options: nikonos 5 pin, canon e6 or fiber-optic .... I jst bought the housing and the the macro port for the Canon 60mm macro (I'm a macro fan !!!) and I will connect it to my older Inon D2000 type 2 strobe with a fiber optic connection enablin S-TTL and manual operations ... The cost for the housing and port is comparale with Subal and Sea&Sea, but the housing design, volume and weight is much better in my opinion !!!

All the Best ..... Frisco

I have also been considering housing the Canon XSi. I appears to me that there are, or soon will be, at least 5 housings for this camera: Sea & Sea, Seatool, Ikelite, Patima, and Watershot (soon?). It appears the price of Sea & Sea, Ikelite, and Patima are close. Since I want to use fiber optics for strobe control and presently have one Inon Z-240 strobe, I have basicly eliminated the Ikelite. The Seatool is probably beyond my budget. Therefore, I would be interested in hearing the pros and cons for the Sea & Sea and Patima housings.

In addition, it is unclear to me what ports are used with the Patima. Can someone clarify?

Thanks for your opinions,