Seacam Prelude for D 7000

So you use a D7000 seacam housing? Generally I think seacam housings rock, im only talking about this specific D7000 housing and the choices seacam made for it. I think it should have had more control buttons. But it's all seacam's choice, and I hope it turns out well for them.

Thats just the thing, the original poster (JACohen) is obviously not that happy for the reasons he stated. Having to drill your own buttons is a bit annoying Knowing him im sure he'll succeed and end up with the exact thing he wanted

 

I see this thread as feedback to seacam. I dont think seacam is a bad brand or anything, quite the contrary. They're probably the #1 housing brand quality wise.

Exactly. The point of reviews is to analyze housing's strong and weak points. So far many have concentrated on the weak points because it's a glaring omission. No housing or brand is perfect and people have to choose what suits them. I don't think anyone has disparaged Seacam, although words like insulting may be harsh, but I think it's more a reaction to Seacam's choices.

I think this thread has been rather level headed. There aren't any silly car analogies (yet!)

I understand that a aluminium housing is more sturdy, may be smaller and good a glass dome should provide a better image quality,

but for the same price of this seacam i will buy the Ikelite housing (with all buttons!), macro and dome port, D7000 and lenses.

 

Chris

Chris, if $/features were a concern, I doubt many would consider a Seacam right now, especially for the D7000. However, for some, there are features which it worth that premium. I bought Seacam for a reason and I've bought Ikelite as well. I did a comparo for the 5D2 and the Ikelite couldn't fit the 16-35 II in their housing, and that lens is a staple for WA for Canon. Things like that and the vast availability of extension rings, quality accessories like S180 viewfinders, controls etc bring much more value than can be put down in $ terms.

Exactly. The point of reviews is to analyze housing's strong and weak points. So far many have concentrated on the weak points because it's a glaring omission. No housing or brand is perfect and people have to choose what suits them. I don't think anyone has disparaged Seacam, although words like insulting may be harsh, but I think it's more a reaction to Seacam's choices.

I think this thread has been rather level headed. There aren't any silly car analogies (yet!)

And, let´s be honest, if instead of Seacam, it were a new/less known brand who produced a housing with so many controls missing we would probably give it a harder time.

I am noone to discuss Seacam´s strategy but producing a cheaper housing to "fish" new clients should be complemented with a cheaper line of ports, etc... as I think a Seacam dome is around 1000€? and, on the whole, it is still a very high priced setup.

I understand that a aluminium housing is more sturdy, may be smaller and good a glass dome should provide a better image quality,

but for the same price of this seacam i will buy the Ikelite housing (with all buttons!), macro and dome port, D7000 and lenses.

 

Chris

You get what you pay for and for those that shoot almost everyday the Ikelite housing isnt an option as the controls get sloppy after 9-12months of regular use. Actually the controls are not that refined from new (just feel the difference in the zoom gear alone). There isnt a factory option for mini domes and the Ikelite port size itself in the housing isnt big enough for larger zooms for FX cameras.

Regards Mark

Drew how does "Porsche with drum brakes" sound as a car analogy....

And, let´s be honest, if instead of Seacam, it were a new/less known brand who produced a housing with so many controls missing we would probably give it a harder time.

 

I am noone to discuss Seacam´s strategy but producing a cheaper housing to "fish" new clients should be complemented with a cheaper line of ports, etc... as I think a Seacam dome is around 1000€? and, on the whole, it is still a very high priced setup.

The Seacam Superdome and Subal 10" dome are about $2100, the similar Zen is $1900 and Aquatica Megadome is about $1600. Not that high priced for the big domes, but the housings do command a premium in the US at least due to the exchange etc.

Drew how does "Porsche with drum brakes" sound as a car analogy....

Until 1962/3 all road Porsches had drum brakes!

Oh gawd...it has begun! And FYI, the 356A/B drum brakes were competition brakes and were for me anyways, more powerful than the 356C disc brakes. Not that you'd drive very fast without SEAT BELTS!

If one simply puts this in perspective of the economy over the last few years and the change in the competitive landscape with other players upping the ante both in quality and feature terms, I think this is a desperate move by Seacam to retain some market share. Sure Seacam makes the highest quality housings available, but they also make the housing that are full featured second to none. It has always been Seacam that had innovative products like their strobes and the remote monitor, so the argument that people would buy Seacam for it's quality at the expense of features simply does not hold water. (Excuse the pun)

Unfortunately Seacam lives in the same economic environment that we all do, and I think this is bad strategy. Bottom line is that other manufacturers are now able to produce full featured housings, arguably approaching the quality of Seacam, at a significantly lower price. Like everyone else, if they cannot drop their costs and price (maybe by shifting manufacturing elsewhere) they will not survive in the long run.

Wish I could own a Porsche, but my little S2000 runs quite well with those big boys.

Actually if I had the cash I'd still blow it on a really good looking Italian Job.

WOW,

What a ongoing review! Harald how about a upgraded D-7000 housing back with buttons? or at least a decal with buttons that could be stuck on the housing back for those with button envy?

v/r

Bernie

This is an ad from a very well known shop in Spain VAT included:

And Nauticam is 2.500€, Sea&Sea 2.155€ and Isotta 1.800€...

What is the name of this shop ?

What is the name of this shop ?

Kanau

www.kanausa.com

other prices:

www.sagadive.com

Gracias

...so the argument that people would buy Seacam for it's quality at the expense of features simply does not hold water. (Excuse the pun)

Unfortunately Seacam lives in the same economic environment that we all do, and I think this is bad strategy. Bottom line is that other manufacturers are now able to produce full featured housings, arguably approaching the quality of Seacam, at a significantly lower price. Like everyone else, if they cannot drop their costs and price (maybe by shifting manufacturing elsewhere) they will not survive in the long run.

Obviously, Seacam thinks you are wrong They may have certain stats on sales figures the public may not have. For instance, Seacam made a Prelude for the Canon 60D but not the 7D, which is universally accepted as the better camera. Why? Could it be that the 7D is not selling so well for underwater photogs? According to industry types, the 60D is outselling the D7000 even. Still chosing a camera that is replaced every year is a risky proposition.

Wish I could own a Porsche, but my little S2000 runs quite well with those big boys.

Actually if I had the cash I'd still blow it on a really good looking Italian Job.

And doesn't that illustrate another point? Features aside, the Seacam has that certain prestige appeal, often because it's the most expensive. Humans are funny that way. How else can you explain why people still clamor for a certain Italian job that has sold out even though about 15 cars burst into flames? Or having your passenger hold the drinks because the manufacturer won't design cupholders for cars sold as GT cars? Badge appeal does work. As been shown by countless luxury brands, economic downturns didn't put them in red and some even had growth in the last 3 years.

Btw, if you want your Italian job, just get rid of the kids!

Btw, if you want your Italian job, just get rid of the kids!

Working on it...

Btw, if you want your Italian job, just get rid of the kids!

Damn, that's the secret, oh well, 15 more years before he's 18!

Working on it...

We did, but sometimes they boomerang, ouy!

Bob

... I remember the D7000 can allocate certain functions to different buttons so ISO control is available ...

Today I had a post from my friend Bob Gleeson, who has a SEACAM for a D7000 and is diligently trying to find functionalities beyond the obvious. He shared this with me:

<<Steve, (Share this with Liz and any other owners concerned with lack of ISO adjustment)

Manual ISO is fixed for me. Using the proper menu command you do not need the ISO button on the camera.

I finally dug through menus to the point where I found a menu under custom settings “Shooting/Display”, Selecting this option you will find a setting “ISO display and adjustment”, selecting this option gives you a setting “Show ISO/Easy ISO”.

When the “Show ISO/Easy ISO” is selected it replaces the images remaining display on the (top) control panel with the ISO setting. Since we do not have a window for the (top) control panel this is a no brainer. Even if the top control panel was important switching to either user mode will display shots remaining as long as the user mode was not disabled with “Show ISO/Easy ISO”.

When the “Show ISO/Easy ISO” is selected you can use the subcommand dial to reset ISO at will. The images remaining and the ISO are both displayed on the (back) monitor in the “Info mode” (press the info button) the only thing that was a little confusing until I turned my Japan brain on was that in M both subcommand dials are already occupied. You have to set the mode to A, S or P to get a free subcommand dial which allows you to change the ISO. Once the ISO is selected you can go back to M and shoot the selected ISO. When the camera is set up in the “Show ISO/Easy ISO” all of the actions needed are made while looking at the monitor and it is very quick and easy to do.

Bob>>

Something funny happenned to me on saturday. I went diving with the Hugyfot D7000 for the first time and, since I thought hugyfots and nikons are more or less the same, I did not study the camera properly. So I was underwater and tried to change WB (which I do much more than ISO) and THERE WAS NO WB BUTTON! ,I could not believe it. So I went through the menus and changed it... I remembered this topic so I looked for the dreaded ISO button... THERE WAS NO ISO BUTTON EITHER!!! So I started laughing at myself thinking about this Seacam topic...

I ended the dive, opened the housing and VOILÁ! I found out that this camera has the WB, ISO, QUAL buttons under the same buttons "?", "Zoom-" and "Zoom+" respectively and that they were indeed in supported in the housing and labeled as "?", "Zoom-" and "Zoom+"... so I guess I need to study the camera a little bit more!!!

Today I had a post from my friend Bob Gleeson, who has a SEACAM for a D7000 and is diligently trying to find functionalities beyond the obvious. He shared this with me:

 

<<Steve, (Share this with Liz and any other owners concerned with lack of ISO adjustment)

 

Manual ISO is fixed for me. Using the proper menu command you do not need the ISO button on the camera.

 

I finally dug through menus to the point where I found a menu under custom settings “Shooting/Display”, Selecting this option you will find a setting “ISO display and adjustment”, selecting this option gives you a setting “Show ISO/Easy ISO”.

 

When the “Show ISO/Easy ISO” is selected it replaces the images remaining display on the (top) control panel with the ISO setting. Since we do not have a window for the (top) control panel this is a no brainer. Even if the top control panel was important switching to either user mode will display shots remaining as long as the user mode was not disabled with “Show ISO/Easy ISO”.

 

When the “Show ISO/Easy ISO” is selected you can use the subcommand dial to reset ISO at will. The images remaining and the ISO are both displayed on the (back) monitor in the “Info mode” (press the info button) the only thing that was a little confusing until I turned my Japan brain on was that in M both subcommand dials are already occupied. You have to set the mode to A, S or P to get a free subcommand dial which allows you to change the ISO. Once the ISO is selected you can go back to M and shoot the selected ISO. When the camera is set up in the “Show ISO/Easy ISO” all of the actions needed are made while looking at the monitor and it is very quick and easy to do.

 

Bob>>

Thanks very very much Stephen,

This is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for taking the time to find out for me. I don't suppose he as a work around for the white balance too does he? Not quite as important, but it's still something I use for magic filters.

Julian