D300 Which Housing?

How can a housing that is physically smaller have 1kg more bouyancy when in the water? Sorry but I don't believe those numbers. If the Hugy has 1kg more bouyancy then it is substantially larger than the Seatool housing. Hugyfots look like terrific housings but physics can't be suspended.

 

The D300 is a heavy camera for its size. Any housing that is designed to be as small as possible will be heavy underwater. It's nothing that strobe arm floats can't handle.

 

Yes, attaching a left grip to the Seatool is something you will want to do. If you use a right grip then you will lose access to the back focus control. With a left grip you can have three strobe attachment points that are pretty well positioned across the top of the housing. One is a hotshoe mount, one must be a ball, and the third can be whatever your grip allows.

 

I am planning to use a ULCS tray and an Inon grip for mine. The ULCS grip is OK and has a ball on the top. The Inon is form-fitted to the hand and takes strobe adapters. I will have to buy extended M6 bolts and spacers to make it work but that's easy enough.

Well they don't state 1 kg, it's 200g. I have a Hugy D200 housing and they are about the same in size. The numbers are correct for it's size. I guess they have weighed it with the dome port on, then it's neutral in water.

I agree it doesn't make sense and I have thought about it before, when comparing the Sea&Sea D200 housing to the Hugy. I wonder if it has to do with differences in aluminum? I know the Sea&Sea D200 housing was pretty heavy UW. For the D300 housing they switched to a higher quality aluminium and it is supposedly much nicer in water.

The specs listed the housing as 800g heavier in air and 200g lighter in water. That's a difference of 1000g. That would mean it displaces 1000g more water. That's noticably larger if it's true.

Small housings are nice to travel with but small isn't the biggest priority once underwater. My housing will be a big, heavy beast once I add the 70-180 and Nexus port for it. Strobes and arms don't get smaller either.

The specs listed the housing as 800g heavier in air and 200g lighter in water. That's a difference of 1000g. That would mean it displaces 1000g more water. That's noticably larger if it's true.

 

Small housings are nice to travel with but small isn't the biggest priority once underwater. My housing will be a big, heavy beast once I add the 70-180 and Nexus port for it. Strobes and arms don't get smaller either.

"How can a housing that is physically smaller have 1kg more bouyancy when in the water?"

Ok, that's not what you wrote. I don't understand your calculation. But I agree the numbers from the manufacturers don't make sense. The only thing I can vouch for is that the size of the Hugy seems to be correct and that the D200 Hugy is more or less neutral in water without strobes. IIt makes sense that the Seatool would need extra height, for the flash. My guess is, that the number stated for the Seatol housing weight is infact without camera, as the camera is 825g. That would make them pretty much exactly the same topside. Then a 200g difference could depend on what port you use.

Correction Edit: the Hugy topside must be w i t h camera (not the Seatol without). I actually double checked the Hugy D200,don't have a decent scale I'm afraid, but can easily rule out that it weighs more than 2kg without camera body. So I'd say it's a fair assumption that's were there figures are wrong.

Housings of the same size can have different weights in water depending on material & wall thickness. As mentioned, we may not know if published weights include ports (what port?) or camera body/lens. Still sounds like a little bit apples & oranges. I just went from a Nexus D70 to D300 without a noticeable change in weight underwater.

Christian, there is what I wrote and then there's what you understood.

Here are the manufacturers' web pages: Hugyfot D300 and Seatool D300

According to the manufacturers, the Hugy is 800 grams, or almost 45%, heavier than the Seatool. Hugy doesn't list bouyancy at all. If the specs are to believed (size and weight both), I sincerely doubt that the Hugy is neutral underwater. There is 1000 grams to make up for that to be the case. I won't bother trying to explain grade school math.

Buying a housing primarily based on which is the smallest is dumb. Your housing determines your ergonomics underwater and, through it's ports, helps determine image quality.

The popup flash will provide TTL two different ways. The first is with strobes that are compatible with Nikon preflashes.

[snip]

For users of housings other than Nexus and Seatool, Zillion has a SU800 commander housing for CLS.

 

P.S. I also like the Nexus housings. The Seatool supports the back focus control that Nexus is slow to adopt and Nexus doesn't emphasize wide angle optics as much as I'd like. Their quality is as good as any and their macro port system is great. They also have wonderful grips. I considered Nexus but wanted that back focus control.

[snip]

Craig,

I don't want to hijack this thread, but I have to say many many thanks for a post packed with information that would have otherwise cost me a lot of effort to learn. This was extremely helpful for me! And probably for many others too.

Thanks to all who posted. I am strongly considering going with the Aquatica housing, save myself a few $$$ compared to the Subal. Seatool looks good but don't see the point in buying a housing without handles and then purchase handles from a 3rd party.

Now all I need is to do is get set up with a D300 and hosuing and wait for next Spring to get some decent conditions here in Ireland. Hopefully next summer is better than the last (wettest summer ever - and thats saying something).

all the best

Darragh

Christian, there is what I wrote and then there's what you understood.

 

Here are the manufacturers' web pages: Hugyfot D300 and Seatool D300

 

According to the manufacturers, the Hugy is 800 grams, or almost 45%, heavier than the Seatool. Hugy doesn't list bouyancy at all. If the specs are to believed (size and weight both), I sincerely doubt that the Hugy is neutral underwater. There is 1000 grams to make up for that to be the case. I won't bother trying to explain grade school math.

 

Buying a housing primarily based on which is the smallest is dumb. Your housing determines your ergonomics underwater and, through it's ports, helps determine image quality.

This is very ackward. They actually did state that is was neutral on their old web site, from which I just copied the numbers yesterday. Last night I noticed that it was down and today they've lanched a new site where in water weight is not stated... Anyway. This is getting ridicoulous, but you did write that the Hugy had 1 kg m o r e boancy when in water. If one housing is stated as being neutral (0g) in water and one housing is stated as weighing 200g in water - that's a difference of 200g, not 1kg?

I wouldn't stretch as far as saying it is dumb to prioritize size. It depends on the needs of the photographer.

This is getting ridicoulous, but you did write that the Hugy had 1 kg m o r e boancy when in water. If one housing is stated as being neutral (0g) in water and one housing is stated as weighing 200g in water - that's a difference of 200g, not 1kg?

Yes, I did. The difference is 200g PLUS the 800g stated difference in weights, or 1000g. This is the difference in amount of displaced water between the two housings which drives home the point that the Hugyfot is NOT smaller than the Seatool as you said. Either the specs you quoted are wrong, the Hugy is bigger, or it is not is neutral. The combination you claim is not possible. See the definition of buoyancy.

I also didn't say it was dumb to prioritize size, I said it was dumb to make it of primary importance. There's a difference. Perhaps you could explain what "needs of the photographer" there are that could make a 400 or 500 or 800 gram difference in housing weight a deal breaker?

Seatool looks good but don't see the point in buying a housing without handles and then purchase handles from a 3rd party.

Seatool makes their own tray and grips so you could just get a standard package. Their grip is minimal, like their housings, so it's personal preference. I don't like the grips on Seacam or Subal either. I prefer formed grips like Nexus, Sea & Sea, and Aquatica. That's why I opted for my solution. In reality, buying a ULCS tray for the Seatool is not really any different than buying the strobe arms and the attachment points. You have to put together your rig from parts in any case.

"Yes, I did. The difference is 200g PLUS the 800g stated difference in weights, or 1000g. This is the difference in amount of displaced water between the two housings which drives home the point that the Hugyfot is NOT smaller than the Seatool as you said. Either the specs you quoted are wrong, the Hugy is bigger, or it is not is neutral. The combination you claim is not possible. See the definition of buoyancy."

I think we both have agreed that there's something funny about the numbers. I'm guilty as charged for being lazy and just copying them from the manufacturers' websites. But I have sent an e-mail to Pascal on Hugyfot and asked for an explanation. I know how to calculate boancy, but there are, as someone pointed out, a couple of onknown factors about exactly how the numbers for in water weight was percieved, so I think that you cannot really make a correct calculation. A big domeport can certainly add quite some lift. I have a Hugyfot D200 housing, sitting beside me, I have a ruler in my hand and it is roughly: 170mm high, 210 mm wide and 120 mm deep. I don't have a D300 housing at hand, but I'm pretty certain it's about the same. The D200 housing is more or less neutral with a domeport without strobes, but then I think 100-200g would be persived as "neutral". Perhaps if you put a big dome on the Seatool, it will float?

"I also didn't say it was dumb to prioritize size, I said it was dumb to make it of primary importance. There's a difference. Perhaps you could explain what "needs of the photographer" there are that could make a 400 or 500 or 800 gram difference in housing weight a deal breaker?"

The size can certainly be of great importance if you travel a lot.

I love my Sea & Sea housing for my D300....however, I sorely wished that they offered the space for the pop-up flash for use with fibre optic cables. There are rumors of a new housing from S&S that may do that.....

Seatool looks good but don't see the point in buying a housing without handles and then purchase handles from a 3rd party.

 

all the best

 

Darragh

Funny, I had a Sea&Sea housing for my 10D. Handles ate into my hands and gave me cramps. Hated them. Passionately. Had to strip them off and add a very clunky looking aftermarket arrangement including a couple ULCS handle Terry and Dave made special for me (PS -- anyone want to buy a pair of extra long ULCS handles?). Also hated the handles on my old Ikelite housings. I much prefer to be able to configure my housing with whatever handle arrangement works for me! Like I said, I also prefer shooting by gripping the housing directly now that I can. Moral of the story -- to each his own!

Mike

PS -- I also like the fiber optic arrangement with my Seatool and the INON Z-240s. It is very liberating to be able to flood my sync cords on every dive .

You can actually swap out a strobe underwater when using fiber.

I always carry a strobe on my BC for creative opportunities. A couple of times I've needed to mount it into the arm because of dead batteries. With fiber that is easily done but sync cords make that messy.