S90, Ikelite housing : internal Flash ?

Hello everyone !

I just bough a Canon S90 to replace my dead G10 and I am looking for a housing. I would like to be able to mount wet wide angle lenses AND use the internal flash when doing macro.

The Ikelite housing looks promising, unfortunatly, I have read the the internal flash is unusable in the housing due to the port.

Anyone have an opinion on the mater ? The Fix housing or underwater strobes are way too expensive for my budget.

Cheers !

Raph

Wow, quite the conundrum. I'm not sure there is a solution for you at the moment as I haven't seen any external lens interface kits for the Canon housing. Are you hard over on not using a strobe for macro? Do you have strobes that you currently use with your wet wide angle lens?

I just delivered another Ikelite Canon S90 housing an hour ago. The newest diffuser for it snaps into a groove farther out on the port. When I showed the customer on how to use macro and shot with just the built in flash the difference in wider coverage was amazing!

You still can do more with any external flash (like an AF35, virtually non-corded TTL flash control) especially minimizing backscatter, etc.

But if budget constraints make you use only the built in flash for macro the new diffuser does a nice job.

dhaas

I would like to be able to mount wet wide angle lenses AND use the internal flash when doing macro.

You need an external strobe. If you install a wet mount lens it will block the flash considerably.

Even without a lens attached the large port, which is why you can install the lens BTW (on the Ike), will block the flash, especially up close. This has just been my experience with other similar rigs. Supposedly Inon is developing either an AD or 28AD kit for the Canon DC-35 housing, there is a picture floating around the web:

There are several reasons not to use an external flash, cost, weight, more stuff to pack, must have a tray and a handle, cannot put it in the BC pocket anymore, Yeah, and, you still need an external strobe, no way around it and with a WAL you might need two. I would rather go back to shooting with flash cubes than do without my Inon D2000.

Even if the camera flash were not blocked by the WAL lens it's output is no where near sufficient to provide lighting for a WAL lens. Sometimes if you cannot afford the equipment to do what it is you want to do then you should wait until you can rather than waste money getting something that you already know cannot, but other opinions will vary.

Wow thanks for posting the pic Crawdad. I just got my S90 yesterday and have been very pleased w/ it so far. I'm even tempted to get a housing now!

Dave,

Is there a way to mount the Inon bayonet lenses on the Ikelite housing?

Cheers

James

Wow thanks for posting the pic Crawdad. I just got my S90 yesterday and have been very pleased w/ it so far. I'm even tempted to get a housing now!

 

Cheers

James

How do you find the focusing compared to the G9 you had? From some reviews I have seen it seems to be right around the same.

It's as good or better. I wonder if the face detection AF will work with fish :-) I'll give it a try w/ my aquarium later today.

Cheers

James

It's as good or better.

Hmmm, may be my next P&S. When I heard it announced and that it shot RAW it sounded interesting and the images have looked real good from what I have seen.

I wonder if the face detection AF will work with fish :-) I'll give it a try w/ my aquarium later today.

LOL. I am actually loading photos into the new Aperture and wondering the same thing

Is there a way to mount the Inon bayonet lenses on the Ikelite housing?

 

Cheers

James

I would say no, and actually I did and I said the same thing about the Canon DC-35, both based on some assumptions and some actual measurements and my owning several of those lenses and being able to measure their optimal focal lengths but it appears that Inon is making a kit of some sort as you can see of the pic I stole from the interweb, that is a S90/DC-35 housing rig so it appears I was, perhaps, WRONG but when being wrong is a good thing, I can live with it--if I am wrong.

I really doubt you can get the bayonet lenses to work but, www.opticaloceansales.com has a 10Bar 67mm to AD adapter for 10 dollars that is very nice.

Here is your homework, buy the Ikelite housing, buy the 10Bar adapter and let us know!

Second homework, buy the DC-35 and the "new" alleged Inon kit and then let me borrow it to test, lol.

The FIX housing BTW, all lenses including threaded lenses bayonet onto the housing. The (rather expensive) adapters from FIX bayonet to a universal plate that mounts on the port thus the lenses can be snapped on and off underwater, if one must. I have found R&R heavy, large, wide angle lenses underwater problematic, bayonet or threaded wither way.

IMO, the S90 focuses and shoots faster than the G9, why shouldn't it, the computer and mystery stuff inside are now two or three generations beyond the ancient G9.

James,

crawdad (Nemrod on other forums after making AD adapters for some of HIS other housings has the latest info on AD adapters as of NOW. Even if some of the current ones work I'd bet you will have to do one "zoom tap" to eliminate vignetting. How much this takes away the WA view I don't have a clue. Likely not much......

I PERSONALLY don't know if ikelite will offer an AD type of mount for the S90 housing or others ULTRAcompact housings. I'm pretty happy with what I'm shooting using the Ikelite W20 lens that is 67mm and simply threads on.

I do think a larger diameter round port would be a tad easier for even an after market company to make an adapter.

Don't forget, it still is a small sensor camera.....I have my opinions on RAW gaining that much out of such a teensy sensor (not much) but then, it's only an opinion.....

YMMV

dhaas

James,

 

crawdad (Nemrod on other forums after making AD adapters for some of HIS other housings has the latest info on AD adapters as of NOW. Even if some of the current ones work I'd bet you will have to do one "zoom tap" to eliminate vignetting. How much this takes away the WA view I don't have a clue. Likely not much......

 

I PERSONALLY don't know if ikelite will offer an AD type of mount for the S90 housing or others ULTRAcompact housings. I'm pretty happy with what I'm shooting using the Ikelite W20 lens that is 67mm and simply threads on.

 

I do think a larger diameter round port would be a tad easier for even an after market company to make an adapter.

 

Don't forget, it still is a small sensor camera.....I have my opinions on RAW gaining that much out of such a teensy sensor (not much) but then, it's only an opinion.....

 

YMMV

 

dhaas

Since I am currently marooned, I dove the FIX90 in the hot tub, zooming to 35mm takes nothing away from the FOV because almiost all wet lenses are meant to operate at 35mm equivilent.

Please don't laugh, lol, but here are a few test shots I made whilst screwing around with different combinations of this and that:

S90 at 28mm native:

S90 at 35mm native:

S90 with Inon UFL165AD-FE with camera zoomed to 35mm:

If you don't think that is an increase in FOV then you or I need glasses . Shooting distance about 12 inches or so.

Here is a pic with FIX90, FIX adapter, 10Bar adapter and lens in assembly:

Assembled:

10Bar makes various flavors of AD to 67 or 49mm adapter rings that are inexpensive. Stocked at one of your favorite dealers! ;)

Jack

10Bar makes various flavors of AD to 67 or 49mm adapter rings that are inexpensive. Stocked at one of your favorite dealers! ;)

 

Jack

And I must say, they are just jiffy, perhaps a nano-meter thicker than my DIY but excellent quality and very thin and a killer price.

Thanks guys for the infos ... though I don't yet know what housing to choose ...

As I am freediving, I would need a very compact rig. The Fix90 is the dream housing, but totaly out of my league price wise, especially if you add a strobe.

I am convinced that the strobe is important, but sometimes, you just can't afford something and you have to do without.

So I am trying to decide what would be best for the two kind of photo I take underwater :

1) macro with flash not deeper than 20m, usually around 10m. ( bare housing with internal flash )

2) other people freediving ( No flash, subject is too far away, possibly a wide lense if I can afford it in the future )

I understand the internal flash will be useless if used with a wet lense.

so Canon cheap but good enough case, hoping that fix will sell the mount for AD lenses or Ikelite with the risk of not being able to use the case for macro for a long time (the internal flash of my g10 with canon housing was doing good. If Ikelite casing does not block too much light, it might be the good option ) But I am very scared to get a housing that is finally only good with external strobes and that cut half of my underwater photo possibilities.

I will wait and read more comment from experienced user for a time I guess

Inon is developing the adapter in the photo, allegedly, not FIX for the Canon DC-35 housing. It is said it will be out in a month or less, we shall see. Which lenses it supports, 28AD or AD, do not know. FIX/Seatool/Fisheye (whatever that relationship is) will not being developing anything for the Canon or Ikelite housings, they have their own equipment to develop for and vice versa. Inon has a long track record of developing mount kits for Canon housings.

IMO, based on your constraints, the DC-35 is your best bet, assuming Inon actually develops a wide angle adapter kit for it. This is an unknown until they put it on their page.

http://www.inon.jp/customer/catalogue_download.html

http://www.inon.jp/products/line_up.html

http://www.inon.jp/products/mountbase/mb_canon.html

http://www.inon.jp/Information/news.html

http://www.inon.jp/_userdata/DL_PDF/inonlens2009_en.pdf

Here are a few photos from my marine aquarium.

http://reefpix.smugmug.com/Portfolio/Reef-...789493559_nVpZo

I'm quite happy with the camera performance so far. What I'm not happy w/ is the "plasticy" feeling of the camera. I also have an SD850IS that I got for my wife for Christmas and it feels loads better in the hand - nice magnesium case and well built. The S90 has a GREAT control layout and I love having a rear command wheel (just like my MkIII!!!) but it just feels a bit clunky.

(Note, some photos were taken w/ the S90 and some w/ my MkIII - so check the photo info.)

(Additional note: ALL corals in my aquarium have been grown out from cuttings obtained from fellow aquarists. All clams are maricultured.)

Cheers

James

I am pretty sure the S90 case is metal. In fact, I know that it is.

I love the way it feels, but you have to hold the S90 camera old school with your left fingers, thumb/index on the ring and the camera cradled in the left palm, the way a camera is supposed to be held before they removed the f stop, focus rings from the lens to stupid buttons and multi-command dials with menus. If you pinch the camera the way people hold them now the flash will be trapped under your left index finger. The camera finds this to be rude and does not like you when you do that.

YR and opinions MV.

Crawdad, thank you for your answers !

I will get the canon housing and hope for the inon adapter. It sounds like the best option for me.

On the "clunky" feeling of the S90, I must agree with James. Compared to my old G10, it feels more "plastic" and cheap, especially the dial. Though I am pretty pleased with my S90 so for. I didn't take it underwater yet.

Cheers, Raph

I guess the dial is the thing I like the best but no matter.

I hope it all works out for you with the Canon housing. It does look like Inon will pull some sort of trick out of the hat, hopefully it will be a useful one

Good luck.

Crawdad thanks for handling tip and you're right.

I just tested my S90 front half is metal and rest is plastic. As far a feel, its not so much plasticky, its just plain damn small. Sure my old C5050 and I suspect the G9/10/11 series handle better, you can grab them easier with the right hand grip. Topside I out a extension on the lens with a daylight filter and my C5050 handled even better. BUT those cameras are TWICE the size of the S90. I wanted small and I got it!

Ahh but the S90 handles BETTER in the Fisheye FIX housing than my Ikelite for sure!

raph, I would have gone with the Ike hsg. You get a for sure strong hsg for depths and easy work arounds for the shooting you do. I have seen too many complaints about Canon OEM hsg leaking. Ike hsg is smallest they make and not much larger than the Fisheye.

Anyone have new lessons learned on u/w exposure with Inon D2000?