UK-GERMANY 10D Review

You are too sarcastic boy

Run this by me on Tuesday!

I find this all VERY interesting and AMUSING

I will take delivery of the Subal C10 housing tomorrow for my trip to the Philippines on Nov. 12th. Will be back on the 6th of December and will post my opinions then.

I'll be configured to use the following lenses:

EF16-35L

EF 28-105 (with and without a .6 WA conversion lens)

EF 50mm Macro

Tamron SP 90mm Macro

EF100-400L (just kidding!)

Strobes will be Dual S&S YS120's. Ports will be the Subal DP-SWC and FP90 and appropriate extension rings....

Stu

Scubastu,

Congrats on the new housing for your 10D! I was torn between the Subal and the Jonah housing; for pricing reasons I went with the Jonah.

So far I've been a bit disappointed with the quality of the ports (numerous tiny scratches on the dome, one on the flat) and of the tolerances of the controls on the Jonah; I've sent the whole thing back to the dealer and hopefully they will remedy the situation. Having never owned a housing I have no standard to judge quality, and am not sure if this is a problem everyone has... I doubt that the scratches are a standard problem though

I've also been debating stepping up to the Subal housing -- unfortunately by the time you come back from your trip I'll be off to Sipadan. I would really appreciate your informal opinion on the Subal as it'll probably influence my decision to switch or not.

Few issues:

1) Have you tried using a 15mm fisheye with your current smaller dome (not the DP-FE2)? I'm hoping I can get away with no vignetting given the 1.6x crop.

2) How many of the hotshoe pins are connected to the bulkhead on the Subal housing? I'm assuming 2 or 3, but if there are 5 wires connected, let me know -- the Inon Z-220 focusing light might work with it then.

You can email me at chng@fas.harvard.edu if you prefer not to post your informal opinion on the Subal housing. Thanks a lot!

One thing that caught my eye in this review was the recommended use of exposure compensation of -2 -- that seems like an awful lot to me, is this what most people use? If shooting in AV or TV I typically use -2/3 and get excellent results.

unfortunately by the time you come back from your trip I'll be off to Sipadan.

When will you be in Sipedan - where are you staying? I'll be there the 1st 10 days of Dec, and it would be great to have a photo buddy when the girlfriend gets tired!

One thing that caught my eye in this review was the recommended use of exposure compensation of -2 -- that seems like an awful lot to me, is this what most people use? If shooting in AV or TV I typically use -2/3 and get excellent results.

I think it depends on how dark you like your water. I generally don't use the priority modes but I usually start at about -1.5 when I set my ambient exposure. -2 sometimes works for me.

Hi Kasey,

I'll be staying for 2 nights at Borneo Divers on Sipadan island itself, and then transferring to the Water village on Mabul for the next 4 nights... not sure if it was the best idea to break it up this way, but at least I'll get a taste of both spots.

Unfortunately I won't actually be in Sipadan until 20ish of December -- I'm from Malaysia and am going home for a few weeks first (but leaving the US in the beginning of December). Will you still be around then?

Yeang

Well - if the ports were scratched when you purchased the housing, that seems unacceptable and you were correct to send it back.

On the other hand, the ports are acrylic and they scratch easily, so extreme care should be taken when cleaning them. Not any old paper towel or "Kleenex" will do. First ensure they are completely clean and salt crystal free, then you can buff with a soft cloth. Additionally, scratches can be buffed or polished out of acrylic.

Cheers

James

Thanks for the advice James. I wonder if they were the same ports that you and Craig used for your Jonah D100 housing review -- they mentioned that they had the same housing that you used sitting there in the store.

Just to reconfirm -- did you guys find that the smaller 4" dome was sufficient for use with the 12mm Nikon lens? I'm considering the 4" dome for a 15mm Sigma fisheye, which equates to about 17mm FOV on the 10D, which is close to where the 12mm gets you on the D100. Did you try it and find any vignetting?

I used expensive Kodak lens paper to try and buff out the scratches, but they were already there before I touched the thing

Hi Yeang,

I don't have a 15mm fisheye to test with. But, the 16-35L does not vignette with the DP-SWC, and I think the 15mm on the 10D will equal that of the 16mm on a full frame film body, so it should work. Before the FE2 dome came out the SWC port was the one recommended by Subal for the Canon 14mm.

Sorry that I couldn't be of any more help...

Stu

Craig and I never got to try the D100/Jonah underwater, so it's hard to say which lenses work w/ what ports.

As a general rule, I'd use an 8" dome port for a lens with that angle of coverage simply because it will let you focus closer (for CFWA) and will probably give a sharper picture. But with a fisheye lens the 4" dome may perform better than it would w/ a rectilinear lens.

So give it a try - maybe it will work with the 4" and you will get results you like.

Cheers

James

Thanks for the information Stu -- great to know that 16mm doesn't vignette full frame. The 15mm fisheye comes out to be about 17mm equiv. on the 10D.

Now the question is, is the DP-SWC significantly cheaper than the DP-FE2 they were trying to sell me.... maybe I can afford the Subal setup then.

Yeang

The 15mm fisheye comes out to be about 17mm equiv. on the 10D.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but would the 15mm multiply out to more like 24mm? Don't you calculate it by 15mm x 1.6MF = 24mm?

The confusion is that it is not a rectilinear lens, so you'd be comparing apples to oranges.

The field of view of the fisheye is roughly comparable to the 12-24DX at 12mm. There really isn't an equivalent Canon lens yet.

Cheers

James

Well, I just got my Subal C10, the FEDEX guy never knew what hit him!

First Impressions:

It's a Subal,well built, smooth operation of controls. A bit bulkier than my old film cam Subal but still pretty compact. Comparable to the Nexus D100 housing. I like how Subal has integrated the handles into the housing, whereas my old setup needed a separate base tray.

My current set of ports work with no problems. my only beef is that the zoom gear configuration has changed and I needed to get a new set of gears...and also this means that I can't zoom using my film housing....not that it would be a big deal as I don't expect to use it much but if I wanted to use my 16-35L for full frame then I'd have to set it to say 16mm and that's it.

Subal also changed the body O-rings and the ones for the C10 are quite a bit beefier than the ones from the film housing.

I'll be taking the setup into a pool this weekend for some test shots. Can't wait for my trip to the Philippines in 2 weeks!

Stu

I'll be configured to use the following lenses:

 

EF16-35L

EF 28-105 (with and without a .6 WA conversion lens)

EF 50mm Macro

Tamron SP 90mm Macro

EF100-400L (just kidding!)

Stu

Have you figured out if you need a dioptre for your 16-35mm ? Just wondering because I am considering getting it. I used the older 17-35mm and required a +4 diopter with my set up but then the minimum focussing distane isquite a bit longer.

Hi Andre,

I have a +4 on my 16-35L. I've shot it using film. I've tried it with and without a diopter and on the SWC dome, you'll definitely need it.

Here's 3 more bits of info on the C10 housing:

1) Specific to the 16-35L, yes, you do need a new zoom gear, but since the gear is located more forward on the zoom ring, there's room to slip on the zoom gear for the film housing....now why would you do this? To be able to use the 16-35L at a full 16mm! I expect that I'll be shooting digital on 95% of my dives, but when there is a need to get a super wide angle shot....I'll stick a roll of film in my EOS 5 and take down the film housing. Cheaper than buying a 15mm fisheye...for now

2) For those who bemoan the lack of access to the "*" button (I don't use this myself), you can elect to not use the right housing handle, this will put your hand in a comfortable setup to use the rear dial, "SET" button, "*" button and the shutter release. My major nit is that with the handles, my thumb can't reach the rear dial...on the film housing, the control was offset to be right where my thumb rests.

3) The ULCS flip tray for Subal film housings will not work with the C10...the LCD window sticks too far out and the mounting holes are different... :angryfire:

I'll be taking the C10 into a pool tomorrow night and will post more opinions on the housing... likely on Monday....if anyone wants me to try something specifically, let me know.

Stu

Thanks Stu

Another 10D issue : I have just received a notification of a firmware upgrade. See http://www.canon.co.jp/Imaging/EOS10D/10D_firmware-e.html.

The change in Custom function 4 may be of interest.

Andre