I will get a 500D for family photos now, but would also like to use it UW, and is considering the options as I'm stepping (up) from a S&S compact rig. I'm really into WA shooting, so I want to get something like the 10-17 Tokina + Dome right from the start. This is somewhat of a "budget SLR WA setup", however I know that the budget and UW SLR don't go very well together :-)
* How does Ikelite compare with the RDX S&S housing in terms of bulkiness and usability?
* I have a YS110 (not alpha) already, can I use that in full with both options, or do I need to trade it for a Ikelite flash?
* Recommendations of any other housing options I should look at, please? I have no UW SLR experience at all. I'm thinking Ikelite because they seem to have a big user community, and Sea&sea because I use them today (I have not so positive experiences of S&S support).
Cheers
O
I recently went through this same decision process, upgrading from a compact to a DSLR housing for the 500D so I might be able to give you some insight. Take everything I say with a grain of salt, as I have yet to actually get into the water with any DSLR housing.
I was slightly surprised by how bulky the S&S housing was when I first saw it in person, and I think the Ikelite is even larger. I did not initially consider the Ikelite housing because I was dead set on the S&S RDX housing, but I eventually returned the S&S and went w/ the Watershot housing instead. The cost of the two housings is actually somewhat comparable because the watershot comes with a standard port (which I plan to use with the 60mm macro lens). There were a few things about the Watershot housing that seemed to be an improvement over the the S&S (at least to me):
- RDX is polycarbonate, while the WS is aluminum. Both housings are nice, but the WS just feels more solid.
- WS housing is more compact. One thing that I really liked about the WS is that the housing is designed so that the flash is only partially open, making it more compact whereas the S&S houses the camera with the flash fully popped up. To me, it indicates that some thought was put into the design.
- WS comes with a leak sensor
- I am using ULCS tray/handles, and because of the design of the latches with the S&S, I would need to adjust or remove the handles every time I wanted to remove the camera from the housing because of the way they pop out laterally on both sides. I don't think this is an issue with the S&S tray/handles, though, as there is a removable tray.
- The fiber optic connectors on the WS are nicer IMO. You can plug the fiber directly into them, whereas with the S&S you need a small rubber plug to hold the fiber in. This is minor, but it's 2 more small bits you don't have to worry about losing.
It may sound like I'm a big fan of the WS, but there is a *big* problem with that housing right now -- there are still no ports available other than the included standard port. Like you, I was planning on using the tokina 10-17 for WA but the dome port is not yet available, and AFAIK there's no definite date as to when they will be, although I keep hearing "soon". The wetpixel.com review mentions that there is an adapter that allows it to use an Athena dome port, but this isn't actually true. In any case, this is a worrying sign as the housing has been out for well over 6 months. I really do like the design of the WS housing, but unless the company gets their act together I can't recommend going that route unfortunately.
If you can stretch your budget, you might want to look at the seatool housing.
