Patima or Fisheye for a G10?

Hello all!

I guess the topic title says it all . I have a friend that has asked me which housing to buy for a canon G10 so I came down to these two (I have been reading a lot to catch up since I went dslr). I prefer to have both nikonos&optical connection so that is a point for Patima but I have read that the only housing able to get good corner quality on WA is the Fisheye with its dedicated extra portlens... And that would be enough reason to buy the Fisheye Is this true?

Any thoughts?

Thank you in advance!

You are correct. And, the Fisheye has a new 165 degree Fisheye lens arriving in the next week or two from Japan. I also like the compactness of the Fix, plus its lighter weight. Both are great housings, but I definitely prefer the Fix after holding both.

You are correct. And, the Fisheye has a new 165 degree Fisheye lens arriving in the next week or two from Japan. I also like the compactness of the Fix, plus its lighter weight. Both are great housings, but I definitely prefer the Fix after holding both.

Thank you very much for the answer!

Is the new lens called "Fisheye FIX G10 Super wide fisheye conversion lens port" ?

Yes that is it! Our last word is they will be in mid June! Let me know if I can be of any further assistance.

If I were to get a G10, I would get:

FIX Housing with the flip macro adapters

The fisheye lens/port (... and there is also a rectilinear 15mm lens/port as well)

2 x INON S-2000's and use optical TTL ... the FIX has two optical ports and the Patima only has one.

If I were to get a G10, I would get:

 

FIX Housing with the flip macro adapters

 

The fisheye lens/port (... and there is also a rectilinear 15mm lens/port as well)

 

2 x INON S-2000's and use optical TTL ... the FIX has two optical ports and the Patima only has one.

Why would you prefer optical to electrical TTL? Doesn't electrical TTL eliminate the need for the internal flash to fire, which saves both battery life and recycle time from shot to shot?

Why would you prefer optical to electrical TTL? Doesn't electrical TTL eliminate the need for the internal flash to fire, which saves both battery life and recycle time from shot to shot?

I've used both with the G9. In my experience, electrical sync cords are a 'PITA'. Expensive and prone to problems.

Using electrical will save battery capacity at the margin, but I'm not so sure about recycle time as the external strobes need to recharge as well - some external strobes are probably quicker than the internal, but not by much I wouldn't think. That was never an issue nor was battery life when I used to use optical with my G9. In either scenario (optical or electrical), I typically was able to do two dives with one set of batteries and only had to switch out for more than two dives.

I can also make my own optical cables for less than $20 each whereas electrical sync cords cost at least 5x that much ... and optical are more reliable in my experience.

Does the Patima's "Nikonos" connection support TTL? Personally I prefer the optical connections because I can flood them on every dive and not have to worry! Sure, it may cost you a bit of battery life and recycle time, but how often is that actually a problem?

I've used both with the G9. In my experience, electrical sync cords are a 'PITA'. Expensive and prone to problems.

 

Using electrical will save battery capacity at the margin, but I'm not so sure about recycle time as the external strobes need to recharge as well - some external strobes are probably quicker than the internal, but not by much I wouldn't think. That was never an issue nor was battery life when I used to use optical with my G9. In either scenario (optical or electrical), I typically was able to do two dives with one set of batteries and only had to switch out for more than two dives.

 

I can also make my own optical cables for less than $20 each whereas electrical sync cords cost at least 5x that much ... and optical are more reliable in my experience.

Makes sense I suppose, but I've never liked the optical TTL options with my (admittedly older and lower end) S80. Waiting for the camera's on-board strobe to recycle takes a lot longer than the 1.5 seconds or so my Inon D2000 strobe needs... it's ready to go again far sooner than the camera is, but I still have to wait for the camera to recycle before I can take another shot.

Currently I run the camera and strobe in manual, because (a) I've never had good results from Inon's faked "S-TTL" and (b) the internal camera flash can be forced to 1/3 power which recycles far faster than a full dump. The internal camera flash takes MANY seconds (more than 3, less than 5... never timed it) to recycle from a full dump flash (such as on rare occasions I flip to auto/UW mode for a quick shot with no time to play with settings) ... an eternity of waiting while you're trying to get shots of a moving subject. Manual mode minimizes this, but but the internal flash still takes longer to recycle than the Inon strobe does, even with the Inon putting out full dumps.

Maybe these aren't valid concerns with the G9/10 over my S80, but they've certainly been sticking points for me with my rig. The G10 has certainly been high on my list of potential successors but issues like these, and the limited WA options, have been holding me back.

I generally do at least four 60+ min dives per day when I'm on a trip, and a battery tends to last approx 1.75 dives, so I end up changing batteries after every dive to make sure I don't end up with a dead camera partway through the second dive. Again, this is more an issue with my specific camera and may not apply to the G9/10 under discussion.

Does the Patima's "Nikonos" connection support TTL? Personally I prefer the optical connections because I can flood them on every dive and not have to worry! Sure, it may cost you a bit of battery life and recycle time, but how often is that actually a problem?

Only with an TTL converter like this:

http://reefphoto.com/index.php?main_page=p...roducts_id=2355

I keep hearing FIX vs Patima, but how about the Ikelite solution. Has TTL and is around 400-500 less. Why would this solution not be in the running? The G10 has caught my eye but Im only doing an upgrade from my Sony W-300 if I can do some sort of TTL. Can I do TTL through fiber? Or are we talking manually controlling the intensity with fire through optics? Any input is greatly welcomed. Thanks...

Nestor

I keep hearing FIX vs Patima, but how about the Ikelite solution. Has TTL and is around 400-500 less. Why would this solution not be in the running? The G10 has caught my eye but Im only doing an upgrade from my Sony W-300 if I can do some sort of TTL. Can I do TTL through fiber? Or are we talking manually controlling the intensity with fire through optics? Any input is greatly welcomed. Thanks...

 

Nestor

I have the G10/Ikelite setup and my buddy has the G10/Fix setup. For one the size difference is night and day. The Ikelite is quite bulky, while the Fix is really compact. I don't mind the size, but some divers may feel encumbered by it. I use the TTL bulkhead synced to DS-51's. The TTL works in every mode but Manual "which kind of sucks", but is still very useful for quick action shots. When I have time to compose my image, I'll switch over to manual mode and fully adjust the settings. When I'm swimming around and trying to get quick fast moving fish, I like to use Shutter or Aperture priority with the Strobe set to TTL. You can simulate TTL through certain fiber connections, but in my experince they are not as reliable as a true dedicated TTL bulkhead such as whats used in the Ikelite G10 housing. One major downside of the Ikelite system is its lack of wet lens options. The only wide angle solutions are quite dismal "only restoring the above water 28mm "FOV". There are some better ones rumored to be in the works, but who knows when they will come out. For G10/Ikelite macro options it is too somewhat limited, but Subsee has their diopters and will also make an adapter for any wet lens on the G10. Overall I am very happy with the Ikelite setup, but if money wasn't an object, I would have easily opted for the Patima or Fix.

Can you only do fiber on Patima or FIX or only fiber? Looking at it I lack to see where the standard TTL connector would be. Thanks for the info, was very helpful.

I have the G10/Ikelite setup and my buddy has the G10/Fix setup. For one the size difference is night and day. The Ikelite is quite bulky, while the Fix is really compact. I don't mind the size, but some divers may feel encumbered by it. I use the TTL bulkhead synced to DS-51's. The TTL works in every mode but Manual "which kind of sucks", but is still very useful for quick action shots. When I have time to compose my image, I'll switch over to manual mode and fully adjust the settings. When I'm swimming around and trying to get quick fast moving fish, I like to use Shutter or Aperture priority with the Strobe set to TTL. You can simulate TTL through certain fiber connections, but in my experince they are not as reliable as a true dedicated TTL bulkhead such as whats used in the Ikelite G10 housing. One major downside of the Ikelite system is its lack of wet lens options. The only wide angle solutions are quite dismal "only restoring the above water 28mm "FOV". There are some better ones rumored to be in the works, but who knows when they will come out. For G10/Ikelite macro options it is too somewhat limited, but Subsee has their diopters and will also make an adapter for any wet lens on the G10. Overall I am very happy with the Ikelite setup, but if money wasn't an object, I would have easily opted for the Patima or Fix.