Equinox Housings

Hi. Just wondering if any of you girls/guys have had any experience with the Equinox Housings from the USA? Its for a normal shooter using a Sony HC9 camera. Compared to the ants pants housing here you are looking at $1000USD compared to $4500USD so the savings is awesome. They come with a 3 year warranty and rated to 75 meters and can have the white balance added. So unless they have severe problems they seem ok to me. Thanks to anyone who takes the time to answer.

Hi. Just wondering if any of you girls/guys have had any experience with the Equinox Housings from the USA? Its for a normal shooter using a Sony HC9 camera. Compared to the ants pants housing here you are looking at $1000USD compared to $4500USD so the savings is awesome. They come with a 3 year warranty and rated to 75 meters and can have the white balance added. So unless they have severe problems they seem ok to me.

So far heaps of views but no replies?! Does no one know or just too afraid to go againest the "big brands"? Please leave some feedback.

Hi

I"m new to video but have been doing UW photo for a few years.

I bought a Equinox 2 months ago and used it last month in Wakatobi Indonesia. I have only good things to say about it so far and the communication with the company have been excellent.

Since I've been back I did some modification to it by adding acces to WB control which was not offered by Equinox, at least for this model. I did this using my camera's remote control which I instaled in the housing and with Reed switches (magnetic).

For now I'm just anxiously waiting to use it in two months in Bonaire.

Hope this helps,

Michel

Michel

thank you for the help. I did email Equinox about the WB and they said they could add it at the factory for about $100. They replied quickly and were friendly. So a good sign. Cheers.

Hi,

I use Equinox housing for the third year, during time I passed over 300 dives and I am very pleased with the product. I have Pro8 DVX version with all controls (iris, focus, zoom, WB, ND, etc.). I love simple design and simple solutions on housing which worth its money.

I don't have major problems with housing, when I needed some spare parts, the TJ Mansfield sent me for free of charge, which I was pleasantly surprised. Although I am from Europe and producer from USA, customers support working very well. So far, I have only good experiences with the Equinox products.

A few short underwater shoots can be viewed at www.potapljanje.si.

/peter

Peter

thanks for the info. They seem like the way to go at around a quarter the price of a Gates and the support seems good. Take care, but have fun.

Be wary of them, they ripped me off... I bought a housing from them, I didn't like the size and bulk for doing split work and they said return it. I did, then they kept my housing and money.... I tried to fight it through my credit card but they said it was non-returnable and I signed a invoice that said so. I got screwed. They never made good. Be careful of Equinox, I got a Gates housing and love it!

Seems a bit harsh for any company to do something like that in such a small world now. If the bulk was the only thing wrong it may be still OK for me. Everyone has different opinions of different things/companies etc. Some people are only Sony, others only Canon. It is life, but thanks all the same. But why did you not at least get them to send the original housing back to you? Better to have something than nothing. Also what is split work? Yes I dont know much about the tech side of videography.

I did some research on this, in 2005 Kevin order a custom built housing for a Sony FX1 (PROFESSIONAL) camera and on the proforma invoice it clearly states that each of these units are built to order and payment is required at the beginning of production and all sales are final. This is a unit that has almost 20 man hours in to each one as these are built by hand (this is not a DVD player you get at Best Buy). These units are built to order and it is the customers responsibility to actually research and find out the spec's (all of which is posted on the website and sent to the customers as part of the sale process) of what they are spending $2800.00 on.

This may not be the case in this situation, but these requirements have been placed on orders because unfortunately not every person is honest. As a manufacturer in this industry it is prevalent in these high end models like Kevin bought to be used one time to make a shoot and then returned as not up to their liking. Now it is unfortunate that Mr. T. thought the unit was to bulky for him, the 10 series is a big unit, but it is the customers responsibility to know what they are buying and do the research; there was no misleading on Equinox's part as to what Kevin was receiving.

Rest assured since that time hundreds of 10 series units have been sold the exact same way and used for obtaining high quality footage on prime-time TV shows (to see this exact model featured in a show and the footage used please watch CSI: New York episode: Deep).

The charge was disputed and it was decided that the manufacturer was honest in its dealing and how the sale was presented. After the dispute is settled the customer receives a credit for that amount for 1 year to use on any product. Apparently Kevin choose not to contact Equinox after the dispute was lost, sometimes people feel embarrassed by trying to handle the process this way and choose not to follow up. We don't hold a grudge.

These forums are great resources for people to get feedback on product, but please remember there are always two sides to each story and sometimes no matter how hard you try everyone is not always going to be happy. Rest assured everyone is treated fairly.

I look forward to posting this text where ever needed to make sure the KTI depiction of Equinox is 100% accurate.

Best regards,

Sam

Equinox Housings

I bought an Equinox Pro10 housing about a year ago. It was the first video housing I got, and I've had no major problems with it. Nonetheless, I have decided to buy a Gates now due to the following:

1. The Pro10 is extremely heavy. It's probably not a big issue if you dive & shoot where you live, but if you like to travel by airplane, it is just way too bulky and heavy to travel comfortably.
   
2. Because of its size, it is quite difficult to handle under water. Tilting it up or down takes a lot of effort. It is also quite a handful for the poor guy who has to hand you the housing from the boat, and lift it out of the water again.
   
3. LCD screen and its battery pack is fitted inside the housing, and the battery pack lasts only for 1.5 to 2 hours. This means you are forced to open the housing between dives to charge or replace the battery pack. This is quite a tedious exercise since you need to be extremely careful to avoid getting dirt in between your o-rings and the back-plate.
   
4. Response to emails was a hit and miss affair. Sometimes I got an immediate response, sometimes I got none. It could very well be that they have email problems on their end or whatever. A phone call would probably be a better means to contact them.
   
5. The dome port I have has a small imperfection. It's nothing dramatic, but it does show up in certain situations. I don't know what it is, but it looks like a tiny small white speck or bubble. Maybe I scratched it, I don't know, but what ever it is, I cannot get rid of it.
   
6. It looks like there is some rust forming at the back of the hinges attached to the back-plate. It is forming at the edges between the hinge and the plexiglass. It's not at the bolt connecting the hinge to the back-plate itself so it will probably not come loose anytime soon, but it may become kind of worrying over time.
   
7. The wheel that attaches to the aperture control of the camera slips a bit, which is quite irritating when you have the perfect shot developing in front of your eyes but your aperture requires quick adjustment.
   

I'm sure 4, 5 6, and 7 above can easily be resolved with Equinox, but unfortunately I do not live in the US and getting the housing shipped for the above is just an immense exercise. With the first three reasons, and the fact that fixing the other items would not be easy for me, I decided to go with the Gates. The Gates, of course, is a lot more expensive.

So in my opinion, the Equinox is a great housing considering its price range. In the time I have used it, I have learned a great deal about underwater videography. Most importantly, it never got my camera wet! However, to make full use of the warranty and service offering for the big Pro10, it is better to live in the US, or a country where you can easily ship items back to the States.

Oh yes, if you do decide to go with Equinox, I do suggest getting a bigger LCD display since the standard one is very small (at least on the Pro10).

Fred.

Fred

I was aware of the weight and was not too worried travelling but its a good point about if you need to return for even a quick fix. Though there are distributors in other countries(inc Australia) now so I will check to make sure you only have to return to your local dealer. Otherwise to send once would be pretty expensive. For the price I guess if you got 2 years worry free would be good. That way I would know what I wanted to do(upgrade or not).

So thanks

7

Thanks Fred, we value that kind of feed back and look to find ways to make our housings better and easier to use.

Also please note seven1970 you are looking at an HD6 housing and Fred has the 10. Two very different housings in regards to features and weights.

HD6 weight out of the box is only 16lbs.

thanks guys, great feedback!!

While I have not used an Equinox housing before, though I have of problems within their service dept in the past, I think it is great that an Equinox representative monitored and professionally responded to users concerns. There is nothing better than a good and responsive service dept.

Don't know if that problem with the lens was there on purchase or was done by the diver, but any unit from any manufacturer should always be thoroughly inspected and the manufacturer contacted before its use if a problem is noted. That is the buyer's responsibility and commend Fred for noting that it might have been a scratch that he himself incurred rather than blame it on Equinox.

Steve

Cheers to all for the help.