Housing for 5DII with 16-35 mkII

Hello all..

i've been searching a lot during the last couple of months for a housing for my Canon 5D mark2.

I'm new to underwater housings and the first problem that came up with some products that caught my attention was that there is no dome available for the 16-35 mkII lens. Also, i see great difference in prices amongst different brands, up to 200% and more. Is that difference substantial in built quality or is it possible to find a viable -financially- solution that will last in time ?

Also, are the strobes cross compatible between brands ?

Thank you for your time in advance for helping another noobie ..

Hello and welcome to the 5DMkII world - a great place to be.

Many of the underwater housings support the 16-35II lens. Just make sure you have an 8" dome, the port opening is big enough, and you can get a zoom gear onto the lens. I use the same zoom gear for the 17-40L as I use for the 16-35II which is nice.

Yes, strobes are cross compatible. No strobe will give TTL "out of the box" though. You'll need a converter circuit installed into your housing.

Regards

James

James, thank you very much for taking the time to answer!

So the whole package would be the housing, the port and a proper dome to fit the 16-35.

All that plus the strobes, the converter circuit, the brackets and the cables complete the setup i guess.

Is it possible to use the same port and dome for another lens (i'm thinking 100L Macro ) ?

Yes and no, yes in the sense that your 100 macro will fit inside the dome/extension no problem, but no as you get to the minimum distance you will find that this dome will make lighting very dificult due to its wide side and it will be easy to scratch at this close disatnce to the subject. you might want to consider using a close up lens on the 16-35mm to do close up wide angle, that alone is quite spectacular.

with most housing manufactures you will need the following:

The housing (pretty obvious, this one )

For the 16-35mm a port of 8" or bigger (smaller will not give suitable results in the corner sharpness department) with its extension (or a dedicated port with built in extension) and a zoom gear to rotate the zoom mechanism of the lens.

* you might want to add a +2 or +3 diopter for close up to the above

For the 100mm Macro, a flat port and the proper extension (or again a dedicated port) and if you decide to use manual focus, make sure that the port or housing allow you to do so via a focus gear.

You could use a single strobe with Macro, but you will feel soon restrained if you don't add a second unit, so budget for dual strobe and adequate cables, plus strobe arms to hold everything together. then be nice to your wife/girlfriend for a while and tell her they are necessary tool of the trade and you have absolutely these to be competitive

Cheers

Thank you both for all the info..

Next step will be reading the rest of the forum and hopefully in a few months i'll post my first pics.

then be nice to your wife/girlfriend for a while and tell her they are necessary tool of the trade and you have absolutely these to be competitive

That's a necessary step before each new purchase

Tell the wife/girlfriend the camera system is necessary protection from big sharks! hahaha

You asked about the differences in housings. There are many things to consider when looking at a housing:

1. Material (machined aluminum is better than polycarbonate)

2. Size (aluminum will definitely be smaller)

3. Ergonomics. Some housings have better ergonomics and control wheels than others.

4. Availability. Some housings are readily available, as are parts and spares. Others consistently have lead times or backordered parts.

5. Service. You want a manufacturer that has great support if it is needed.

6. Reliability. This is a get what you pay for industry. When you are on a tropical island, you want to know your gear is going to work the whole time trouble free. Service and support doesnt mean anything when you are in the middle of nowhere.

Enjoy your hunt, let me know if I can be of any assistance or if you have any further questions.

Jean is doing an admirable job of not actively promoting his brand, but as a former Subal owner and one who now has a Aquatica 7D housing waiting for him with Backscatter...I highly recommend you look at the Aquatica housing for the 5dmk2. It was what convinced me to sell my old Subal for the 5D.

Stu

we can talk about my "suck up" fee later!

p.s. for those who don't get the above comment....I'm kidding! Just a satisfied new owner. OK, 1 nit...I miss my Subal's hand strap on the right side grip.

James, thank you very much for taking the time to answer!

 

So the whole package would be the housing, the port and a proper dome to fit the 16-35.

All that plus the strobes, the converter circuit, the brackets and the cables complete the setup i guess.

 

 

Is it possible to use the same port and dome for another lens (i'm thinking 100L Macro ) ?

First and foremost Jean doesn't have to push his brand since it's the best housing on the market for the Canon 5D MarkII Believe me I have put my hands on every housing made for the camera and let me tell you its the cats meow.Don't get me wrong many housings have great features but as a whole fall short but for instance those who want a vacumn check can have one installed thru Backscatter or those who want the Inon 45 finder (like me) can get the adapter from the gang at Backscatter or for those who have other brand name ports can get port adapters from either Aquatica or the gang at yes again Backscatter. And just to be clear I don't work for Backscatter I pay for my gear just like everyone else even though i have been a photo pro on a liveaboard. If cost is the issue try to find some of the parts such as ports, arms ,and finders on Wetpixels classifieds or e bay that's what i did also many of the items I needed were availabe at Backscatter in their used section.In closing Aquatica has been one of if not the longest standing maker of UW housings with parts availablity quite good imagine if you will as my friend buying a housing from europe and to get a feature he wanted only to find his buttons and gears didn't match up and having a nightmare getting the problem solved.THAT is why I bought Aquatica AND that's why I bought it from Backscatter Iv'e known Berkley since the shop was a little hole in the wall on the pier in Monterey and he and the staff are stand up people and a big shout to Marshall who handles the service dept for always making sense of the insanity of UW gear.In closingyou will be able to achieve your creative visions once you have a housing in your hot little hands so make the jump and get shooting.All The Best DeeDee :-))

Jean is doing an admirable job of not actively promoting his brand, but as a former Subal owner and one who now has a Aquatica 7D housing waiting for him with Backscatter...I highly recommend you look at the Aquatica housing for the 5dmk2. It was what convinced me to sell my old Subal for the 5D.

 

Stu

Actually it's the one that i'm saving my $$ for ( ), but i wasn't sure there was a port for the new version of the 16-35.

Thanks scubastu!

Also have a look at the Sea & Sea MDX Pro housing. I should have a comparison out of the 2 in a week of so. It is comparable with the Aquatica housing and each have certain differences in design philosophy which makes choosing a bit more personal.

I have been using the 16-35mm II and 100mm L Macro with 5D Mk II in Aquatica housing. Jean at Aquatica has give me very good service and I can recommend Aquatica for other. I'm very pleased with my UVhousing.

Dag

www.sue.no

Also have a look at the Sea & Sea MDX Pro housing. I should have a comparison out of the 2 in a week of so. It is comparable with the Aquatica housing and each have certain differences in design philosophy which makes choosing a bit more personal.

The Sea & Sea products are out of my budget i'm afraid..

I was between Ikelite and Aquatica and hopefully in a few months i'll have the later

Glad to hear you are a pleased user of the housing Dag !

Also have a look at the Sea & Sea MDX Pro housing. I should have a comparison out of the 2 in a week of so. It is comparable with the Aquatica housing and each have certain differences in design philosophy which makes choosing a bit more personal.

Hi Drew,

Looking forward to your comparison between the Aquatica and the Sea and Sea. I am a Newbie too and have been looking at the two brands and have kind of hit a wall. The information on the web about each seems limited, and I don't have a good retailer nearby - I was wondering if anyone had an opinion about the Sea & Sea vs. the Aquatica.

I'm also curious about the compatibility of the Sea and Sea Strobes with Aquatica housings, and having an Ikelite 200 laying around, wondering it's compatibility with the Aquatica or Sea and Sea.

Thanks in advance...