S&S MDX700 opinions

Mike, I have a D7000 and am interested in the Sea & Sea MDX-D700. Is it still available? Can price be negotiated? Please let me know the details.

I am seriously considering the MDX-D700 housing and would appreciate if anyone can share their experience with the housing. Can't find many hand on review on this. Thanks,

Vince

I would like to buy the S&S D700 housing but cannot find much reviews or comments from those who have hand on experience with it. Would appreciate if any one can share their experience, both good and bad. many thanks,

Vince

Usually I try to leave these alone for unbiased user comments, but since it doesn't appear that very many people bought this, I'll chime in.

This is one of the best housings I've ever used. In fact, I think Sea & Sea nailed it.

Command wheel access is outstanding. AF-On/AE-L access is outstanding. Angled buttons for the functions on the left side of the lcd are outstanding (Sea & Sea was the first to do this, but others have quickly copied).

The standard viewfinder is just ok. I usually dive this housing with an Inon 45 installed.

The housing doesn't have a black & white lcd window, which I miss on occasion, but isn't necessary if you press the info button to bring up the same info in larger print on the color lcd screen. Old habits die hard...

I wish the housing had a lens release, as changing lenses when I have 14-24, 17-35, or 105VR mounted is sometimes a pain.

I am seriously considering the MDX-D700 housing and would appreciate if anyone can share their experience with the housing. Can't find many hand on review on this. Thanks,

Vince

I have #55/100 but I've only used it on a single dive trip to Bonaire last month. I also have limited experience with other housings (only the Light&Motion D100) so I don't have much to compare it with. I chose this housing for a couple of reasons. Primarily I wanted to upgrade my camera from the D100, and although I had a L&M housing, I was using Sea&Sea ports which I wanted to retain. Also, this housing was designed with fiber optic flash connectors which makes it tremendously versatile when it comes to flash. I use Inon Z-240 strobes, and have not tried to connect them via fiber optics yet, but I do intend to try that on my next trip. I find that all the controls I want to use while shooting are easy to reach, and intuitive. The camera itself mounts into the housing very simply, and securely as well. I also love that Sea&Sea includes a lanyard connection on the housing's handles. This makes carrying it - and more importantly handing it to someone else to carry - much more secure. I could only think of two minor things to complain about, but actually they point out virtues of this housing. First, adjusting the camera's top left hand controls (WB, ISO, and shooting speed.) These are all two-handed operations, that are a little awkward to manage, but hey, all of these adjustments ARE accessible. My second complaint was the absence of a window to view the camera's top LCD panel. However, all of the information found here is also found either on the back LCD panel, or in the viewfinder, so it was just a matter of learning to look elsewhere for it. No adjustment on the camera was out of reach, and I found that a great relief when I got into the water and discovered I had to reset a few things I forgot after shooting topside. I'm sure all of the other brand's housings for this camera are excellent as well, but I think this is the only one with the addition of fiber optic strobe connectors. That option alone makes it worth considering. I love the D700, and I love the Sea&Sea housing. I hope this modest review helps a bit.

Randall Benton

Hello,

I too am interested in this housing. Would anyone know whether the housing would also allow use of the D300? As the body is smaller I imagine that it can accommodate the D300 but would the key functions such as the shutter release work?

Any insight it very welcome!