Quality of Nauticam housings

After many years of using P&S, I am about to make the jump into the dSLR housing world and I am in the process of putting together a Canon 7D based rig.

I was planning on getting the Aquatica housing, but the more I read about the Nauticam housings and look at the photos of their housings, the more I feel they may have dramatically better ergonomics. I am especially impressed that their video controls and playback controls are fingertip accessible; even though my emphasis is on still, I am increasingly shooting more video underwater, so, the video controls are important to me.

I spent quite a bit of time searching for articles/reviews/opinions on Nauticam housings and there aren't that many to be found. Are there any Nauticam housing users here that can maybe post more information about how they like their housings, the ergonomics, if there any drawbacks to using their housings, any experience with their customer support, etc.?

Given how much $$$ would go into this setup, I really want to make sure I get the best possible setup.

Thanks for any feedback!

KV

I have also heard lots of positive stuff, too. The design looks good and soon we will hear more of how the production housings are performing in the water.

But we have yet to see some objective reviews. The reviews so far have been of the "Nauticam have been kind enough to lend one to me to try" type, so naturally tend to not to be looking for faults. It is also hard to always get reliable opinions when people have just bought a new housing. Some, wanting to justify their purchase, can see no faults, others see only faults, having spent so much expect everything to be right.

Hopefully when more full-production units are available there will be some more objective reviews. I think it is tough to invest in a new brand without something a little more robust to go on.

Alex

I just used a pre-production Nauticam d90 housing on ~150 dives, and I've got nothing but praise for it. The massive viewfinder makes framing easy, the controls are all smooth as butter and at your fingertips, optical bulkheads come standard... for a new housing manufacturer, they seem to really know what they're doing. I'll be writing another review of the housing very soon.

But don't get me wrong - Aquatica has really stepped up their game and are making top notch housings as well... my father just bought an Aquatica housing for his d300, and he's over the moon about it.

Keri

I'm with Alex - I'd like to see more of the production models out so I can actually handle them. I'm looking to upgrade to the Canon 7D at some point, but I'm waiting for now. I love my Subal and would like to stay with them merely because I've invested in various ports and rings, but they are likely to be much more $$ than many of the others. If some of these other manufacturers have working adapters to address that concern, I'm open to any player. Does that make me cheap and easy?

Phil

I JUST received my new D90 Nauticam.

I did a lot of research and talked with a lot of people about their housings (in my case I was mainly looking at the Aquatica or Nexus) as well as handled various housings. The Nauticam is a beautiful piece of equipment. The ergonomics seem pretty spot on compared to others, even non-underwater camera friends of mine were amazed at how natural they felt playing with the housing.

I like that any time I have had a question I have been able to get a quick answer from the US rep (ReefPhoto) and from the owner in Hong Kong. They seem to have put a lot of thought into the housings. Everything seems extremely solid, all the buttons are smooth and very robust.

Of course this is my first DSLR housing and I have not put the housing through the tests yet, getting it wet on Saturday, but everything so far seems pretty impressive from a general look.

I will post more after I have had a chance to play around on some dives!

I'm with Alex - I'd like to see more of the production models out so I can actually handle them. I'm looking to upgrade to the Canon 7D at some point, but I'm waiting for now. I love my Subal and would like to stay with them merely because I've invested in various ports and rings, but they are likely to be much more $$ than many of the others. If some of these other manufacturers have working adapters to address that concern, I'm open to any player. Does that make me cheap and easy?

Phil

Nauticam says they have adapters for most major brands including Subal. They claim that everything works: ports/domes, zoom gears, etc.

I just used a pre-production Nauticam d90 housing on ~150 dives, and I've got nothing but praise for it. The massive viewfinder makes framing easy, the controls are all smooth as butter and at your fingertips, optical bulkheads come standard... for a new housing manufacturer, they seem to really know what they're doing. I'll be writing another review of the housing very soon.

 

But don't get me wrong - Aquatica has really stepped up their game and are making top notch housings as well... my father just bought an Aquatica housing for his d300, and he's over the moon about it.

 

 

Keri

Thanks everybody for your responses.

Keri, have you had any issues with the ports or leaks, or anything like that? Do they have all the accessories that you need?

KV

I had a good luck at one at DEMA. It oozed quality. As vkire said, Nauticam have adaptors available for other port manfuacturers. The design was neat, the build was excellent. I'm used to bayonet ports (Subal) and wasn't so sure about their "flick switch" port lock - but no doubt it's fine. I especially liked being able to use fibre optics to fire strobes - using the DSLRs built-in flash as the trigger. This meant the housing was slightly taller to allow the built-in flash to pop-up. It meant though that TTL was easily back on the agenda. And fibre optics cords are WAY cheaper than electric sync cords.....

It looked really good to me.

We have received a few of the Nauticam housings in through our store so far. They are top notch! The quality of design and engineering is amazing. Ergonomics are outstanding, and they are small and compact (well as much as possible anyway).

I am very excited to receive my 7d housing in a couple weeks and get it in the water! So many engineering firsts on the coming Nauticam 7d!

I've visited Nauticam's manufacturing facility (as has Peter Mooney), and the level of sophistication and capability they possess was remarkably reassuring.

Hello All,

Chris Parsons here... I am now working as the main North/South American/Caribbean point of contact for Nauticam, via Nauticam USA. I already know a lot of you guys, and I've been a Wetpixel subscriber, mostly lurker, for something like 6 years. I used to shoot a D100 in a Nexus housing, and until recently, a 5D in a Subal. I'm now waiting for my own Nauticam 7D. Hope this doesn't sound too much like a sales pitch post, but I saw this thread and wanted to just chime in with my $0.02 about some of the reasons I've been so impressed with these new housings.

Clearly there is some amount of risk in going with a new housing manufacturer like this. This is something we, the Nauticam Team, are acutely aware of and are taking steps every day to mitigate. I've been very impressed with the feedback cycle to the designers that we have. Where we've found problems in the pre-production units, they have done a great job in incorporating changes. I have every reason to think this will continue... that we will continue to refine the design while standing behind our early adopters.

Nauticam is using proven materials, finishes, and design concepts where appropriate, and innovating to improve the user experience. The locking port mechanism is a very good example of this type of innovation... it firmly locks the port in place with no twisting so the o-ring cannot extrude.

Edward Lai's 20 + years as a precision mold maker provide an experience base that enables use of manufacturing processes that are just not easily available to the other manufacturers. Nauticam is not a small company with limited resources. I'm not trying to knock any other manufacturer here... just trying to say that Nauticam is here to stay, and we have a serious interest in standing behind these products.

Yes, we have lots of work to do. We have most of the ports, extensions, focus/zoom rings, accessories, spare parts, etc, that we need already in production, but we want to expand the ranges of lenses we support, and support some of the more esoteric combinations. Right now we are working on Canon ports, and I in particular have an interest in moving that along so we'll be ready for the 7D and the Canon lenses.

I'm sure there will be issues that pop up, as there are with all brands. The true test is how we respond to them. My job is to be the point person for Nauticam in the western hemisphere.. and I, along with the whole Nauticam team, am prepared to set a new standard. Please feel free to contact me either here on Wetpixel, or by email, and shoot me whatever questions you might have.

Thanks,

Chris

Hello All,

 

Chris Parsons here...

Thank you for your post here Chris. It is good to read your response to questions and concerns.

This is my perspective as a potential buyer. I have been a loyal customer with Ikelite since 1970's, they have done well with me with much attention to service and affordable products. But with my 7D I'm looking for full access to all it's capability and in an ergonomic design, I'm willing to consider to spend twice to what an Ikelite sells for, but I will make that decision only after I have had the housing in my hands and play with the controls and look through the VF and then after an actual wet trial in pool or ocean.

Andy from H2OphotoPROS many years ago provided Sea&Sea housing trials on a local diveboat trip for my then new Canon 60D for a local UWphoto club. This is what I would like to have available again hopefully in my decision to house my 7D.

BTW. I'm a photographer and pictures make me much more excited than computer drawings. So for me get the real pictures of the housing, get an honest real review from a well respectable source, and a real housing to my local dealer to hold and play with this beauty .

Bo

Keri, have you had any issues with the ports or leaks, or anything like that? Do they have all the accessories that you need?

Ports - I didn't get to use the native Nauticam ports - I used my Ikelite modular port system instead. Their adapter ring system made the normally 'wobbly' Ike port rock-steady, which was really impressive.

Leaks - And I DID have a monumental 100% flood... but it wasn't caused by Nauticam - I was taking pictures of a local kid on Ambon who I let hold the Nauticam housing... and I guess he got curious about what those shiny metal latches were for on the sides, so he popped them open underwater right in front of me!!

Accessories - To list a few: Big+bright viewfinder, carrying rope, housing body mounting holes (1/4-20 threads), port adapter rings, leak detector, standard optical bulkheads....... very satisfied.

Keri

Leaks - And I DID have a monumental 100% flood... but it wasn't caused by Nauticam - I was taking pictures of a local kid on Ambon who I let hold the Nauticam housing... and I guess he got curious about what those shiny metal latches were for on the sides, so he popped them open underwater right in front of me!!

Faint....

Bo,

as soon as the 7d housings arrive in our store next month I will let you know, you can come hold one, and even go diving with one with me to Catalina!

Bo,

 

as soon as the 7d housings arrive in our store next month I will let you know, you can come hold one, and even go diving with one with me to Catalina!

Awsome! Thanks Mike

Faint....

Faint?............ Bring the damn vibrilator to restart my heart!..... OMG.

Keri, have you been able to make a good laugh about it yet?

Bo

Chris,

Are there plans for a 45 degree viewfinder? These are becoming more and more popular and I wouldn't consider a housing if one wasn't able to be fitted - either OEM or aftermarket such as Inon.

On the 7D housing it looks like the split point between the two parts of the housing is quite a way in from the back - what is the process to pull the camera out to change batteries and memory cards? Do you have to remove the port and lens first or does the camera just come straight out? Will any lenses need to be removed first before pulling the camera out?

Are there plans for a 45 degree viewfinder? These are becoming more and more popular and I wouldn't consider a housing if one wasn't able to be fitted - either OEM or aftermarket such as Inon.

 

On the 7D housing it looks like the split point between the two parts of the housing is quite a way in from the back - what is the process to pull the camera out to change batteries and memory cards? Do you have to remove the port and lens first or does the camera just come straight out? Will any lenses need to be removed first before pulling the camera out?

We're considering a 45º viewfinder but we do not have a committed plan for it right now. A version of the Inon 45 degree viewfinder is available for Nauticam housings right now.

You will not need to remove the port or lens to remove the camera from the back. I'm hopeful you'll be able to open the card door without removing the camera but I will let you know once I get one in my hands to test.

Thanks,

Chris

Nauticam looks quite interesting and the price is significantly lower than my Subal housing. I wonder if there is a plan to support 14-24mm lens or not since I cannot find it on Nauticam's port chart. I assume that there will be support for one since there is a D700 housing. Personally I am going to wait until D900/D700x whatever and if there is a port of 14-24mm, I would seriously consider Nauticam instead of going with Subal again.