Housing Options for Canon 10D

I was just hoping I could get a little help here... I am leaving for Southeast Asia in a few months and hope to take a Canon 10D and a housing with me underwater; however, I am having problems finding housings for the camera.

I live in Dallas Texas and do not relish the import fees I will have to pay if I order a housing from Subal, but they are the highest quality 10D housing makers I have found so far.

Is anyone here shooting with a 10D? What housing are you using?

If I dont find a housing solution by the end of June, I may have to buy a Nikon D100 instead of the Canon 10D, which will blow because it means I will have to buy several Nikon lenses as well. (I shoot Canon currently, but this trip requires a digital camera because I will be shooting thousands of images.)

Thanks for any help! Direct emails are welcome.

And if anyone here is shooting with the Canon 10D underwater now, I welcome any "insider tips" about issues you encountered.

There are not currently any housings available specifically for the Canon 10D. Reefkeep reports that he is able to use his 10D in the older UK-Germany D30 housing with access to some of the controls and buttons, but not all.

I don't think that Subal (or anyone for that matter) will have a housing ready by the end of June.

HTH

James Wiseman

Thanks for the response James.

Technically, I don't need the housing until 10 September or so because I don't have to be in Bali until sometime by September 12th.

However, to be more technical, I would like to have the housing/camera decision made by sometime in August because I was given a free opportunity to go to Roatan for a week, which would give me a chance to get in the water and practice with the camera in a "real" environment.

Too bad I can't afford a pool-sized aquarium!

The issue at hand is that I REALLY want to stick with Canon because I have shot Canon for years and already have quality lenses. I have read many good things about the 10D and am more than prepared to buy the camera, but I am waiting until I am positive I can get a housing for it. (Subal states they will release one in July, but I am concerned that the July release date could easily become August - and then I could get placed in a really tight spot.)

Does anyone know if Subal's "release dates" are historically actually the dates predicted?

If the housing situation cannot be resolved by the August timeframe, then I may have to go with a Nikon D100, which would require me to purchase at least two or three Nikon lenses, which would be frustrating but tolerable. This trip will absolutely require the use of a quality DSLR, and I am pretty determined to get either a Canon 10D or Nikon D100 (with the preference towards Canon).

I read about Subal's housing for the Canon 10D but am unclear as to whether it supports some control options, such as auto-focus.

Also... I am also somewhat concerned that Subal will be overwhelmed with orders for the housing and that I could be placed on a very very long waiting list.

So that is the situation I am facing.

I figured there would be more housings available by now...

Subal has been pretty good about their release dates....but I'd expect it to be more available in August. Not much time to prep for a trip. Why not look at a D60? Beats buying the D100 and new lenses...Subal's housing is already out.

As much as I'd love to house my 10D, I think I'm staying put with my EOS A2 in the Subal.

my 2 cents...

Stu

I was actually looking at the D60, but the 10D is definitely a superior camera - and I figure why buy the 60 and a housing only to sit there craving the 10D?

I actually know someone who bought the 60 and a housing and never even got it wet - now he is looking at the 10D too. I could buy his rig from him as a "Plan B" just for this trip... but the 10D is calling to me....

Buy me.... love my pixels... house me and share my shots with your new friends at Wetpixel....