Eye Candy (Sea & Sea D70)

I just found this on:

http://www.fotop.net/muchswatch/nikon70/ip...12_aWfpBJ8Ne2aZ

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nice....

Is that 198K yen? about $1850

Where's their Canon 300D housing????????

That's about the same price they sell the DX3060, Dx100, and Fuji S2 housings for. Looks pretty sweet...

The Canon 300D will be the same mold as the d70.

And the 10D. Eric and I saw the 10D housing at DEMA and it was sweet. A LOT smaller.

Cheers

James

Love that mechanical aperture control.

Love that mechanical aperture control.

I talked to one customer on the phone who was wanting to adapt SeaCam gears to the s2, since they do focus and a/m shift from the housing. I wonder if he had any luck...

I don't see an option for a second sync connector...

Ya, you might be able to use the focus and a/m shift on the 105 using that Aperture gear on the Sea and Sea housing. I have thought about that for the D100 housing.

I'm STILL wondering why Sea and Sea put that knob on there - I guess they had left-over inventory.

Cheers

James

I'm STILL wondering why Sea and Sea put that knob on there - I guess they had left-over inventory.

 

Cheers

James

Same knob as on the D100 housing, I never considerred it because the aperture control is much easier through the camera body. It may be there for non CPU compatable lenses. Sea & Sea does list aperture gears for a couple of Sigma macro lenses.

Gerb

Mike, what are your thoughts between owning the Sea & Sea D100 and now the Aquatica Sea & Sea D100?.....besides plastic vs. aluminum

Karl

Karl, as you said there is the obvious plastic vs. aluminum with the corresponding weight and durability factors. The S&S D70 appears to be a bit smaller than the D100 so it won't be as bulky to swim through the water. It also has the tendency to be front bouyant with the dome port attached. Both have equally easy access to the CF cards, the S&S was a little easier to change batteries. The Aquatica has a much better view finder and more ergonomic controls. My only gripe with the Aquatica is glare in the LCD window makes it useless unless its completely dark. I also wish it had a view window over the mode dial.

Both have quality port systems but S&S price their's about twice what Aquatica's are.

Given the MSRP of each, Aquatica wins hands down. The S&S needs to sell for about half retail price before I'd consider it.

How soon is your D70 going to be in.

Mike

Thanks for the rundown Mike...........good points.........I didn't realize Sea & Sea was more expensive than Aquatica

Guess it will be between Ikelite and Aquatica at this point........first one out may be the winner!..........camera is due in tomorrow.........I picked up a 12-24mm this weekend, so I'm set with a 60mm, 105mm, 18-70mm kit lens and the 12-24mm

We won't dive salt water again until June........Flower Gardens..........hope this turns out to be a new gear tune-up trip before Wakatobi in September!

Karl

Karl: Conratulations on your move to DSLR! You are going to love it.

This forum is the place to be for photographers who are taking this leap - and there appear to be a lot in the last 3 months or so.

We will be publishing more articles for "intermediate" photographers moving from consumer cameras to DSLR over the next few months. As you know, there are a whole new set of questions about flash, lenses, ports, etc. Perhaps I should change my Feature area from "Wiseman Beginner Column" to "Something Else."

Cheers

James

Thanks James......I'm looking forward to learning a new system and I know that this site will be continue to be a huge resouce for shorting the learning curve.........

Maybe your Feature area should be something like "Setting up a DSLR System" with articles on camera selection considerations, lens selections, housing considerations, ports, strobes, etc.

Karl

First of all, I just picked up my D70 today a few hours ago at my local camera store---Yeah!

I'm pretty sure I'll get an Ikelite housing for this but the AF/MF and aperture dials in this photo intrigued me. From your experience with other S&S DSLR housings:

1) does the aperture dial control the aperture by the lens collar? This might be a handy thing to have as it would be easier to control with these big visible numbers than the tiny winy numbers on the body display no? The D70 kit lens does not have aperture control.

2) Can you really change between autofocus and manual with this housing? Can you manual focus and zoom with the all ports? I think with the Ikelite you can't change auto-manual and you need a special port to do manual focus and zoom?

Can't wait to see Ike's prototype.

Thanks

Hi, I'll take a stab at your questions:

1) does the aperture dial control the aperture by the lens collar? This might be a handy thing to have as it would be easier to control with these big visible numbers than the tiny winy numbers on the body display no? The D70 kit lens does not have aperture control.

No and No. The D70 kit lens is a G type lens, so it doesn't have an aperture ring on it. No again - on the D70, D100, etc, if the lens isn't locked at F22 the camera will say ERR and won't work. You have to control the aperture through the Command Dial on the camera. That knob on the Sea and Sea housing is just plain confusing!

2) Can you really change between autofocus and manual with this housing? Can you manual focus and zoom with the all ports? I think with the Ikelite you can't change auto-manual and you need a special port to do manual focus and zoom?

Hmm...Look on your camera front for that little switch that says A-M. Is there a corresponding control on the Sea and Sea housing? I don't see one in the photo. I know that Ikelite isn't putting one on their housing either. So you won't be able to switch between AF and MF during the dive. I wonder if Aquatica will be putting one???

So...the knob in the photo of the Sea and Sea that says AF-MF won't be used - it's there to control a focus gear on the lens, but it won't work unless the lens is AF-S - and none of the Nikon macro lenses are AF-S.

With a really tricked out housing like a Seacam, Nexus, Subal, etc you can flip that little switch between AF and MF on the camera. You then use a control on the port to put the lens in MF. Finally, you use that gear on the housing or a gear on the port to rotate the manual focus ring on the lens.

Hope that helps.

James

We got a D-70 camera today. Buttons appear to be moved slightly from D-100, but this will be a simple installation in the same housing we use for the Nikon D-100 and Canon digital Rebel. We can even include the AF/MF button. Will tinker with it and report later this week.............

I wonder if the knob that has the F#'s is throwing us all?

I just went back to look at the NX80 housing and the corresponding knob is the one for MF AF S.C

Could make it very difficult to use if you can't flick it into MF.

We got a D-70 camera today. Buttons appear to be moved slightly from D-100, but this will be a simple installation in the same housing we use for the Nikon D-100 and Canon digital Rebel. We can even include the AF/MF button. Will tinker with it and report later this week.............

That’s impressive! Such a fast response to demands from customers.

Maybe its a chance to suggest another’s changes / updater for the futures housing from the people that already have the D70 or have experience with the Ikelite housing.

Hurry Ike.........I picked up my new D70 today at lunch...........first one delivered in Fort Worth!

Ike, any way you can lighted up the tray brackets?....I'd pay more for aluminum if it would shed a couple of pounds.

Karl