Sea & Sea MDX-D600 - problems

Has anyone had a problem with their Sea & Sea MDX-D600 housing - or a similar modern Sea & Sea housing?

I've found that the rear housing main command dial fails to connect properly with the camera. In the design there is a rubber wheel that connects with the back of the camera and this is driven by a second rubber wheel controlled from the large knob on the back of the housing.

There are two problems: Firstly, the camera is a little short of the rubber wheel. (it sometimes works better at depth). Secondly, if I try and put a shim or two in place to move the camera back on its tray a bit, the two rubber wheels just slip against each other. I'm fairly practical and am used to housing faults but finding a simple fix for this one has got me beat. It worked OK from new but after 6 months was a real pain and became unusable.

I now conclude that this Sea & Sea design is pretty darned poor - a shame as I like the housing in most other respects!

Any feedback welcome.

HI Trevor

I encountered the same problem too and it was shorter than 6 months! This is what I learnt while tinkering to get it fixed.

- I sometimes leave the camera switched on while the lever on the housing is at the off position. You can push the lever to its 'correct' position after the housing is closed but that's when I realise the sub command dial cannot be engaged anymore. When I open the housing and do everything by the book the problem goes away. Sometimes this has to be done twice.

- Another potential point is when I leave the shooting mode release lever permanently engaged. Now I make sure its released before putting the camera in the housing.

I have not encountered any problems since.

I hope this helps you solve your problem

Cheers!

Thanks for the reply, not sure how your experience relates to my housing problems though. I've been assembling it by the book!

I was hoping to hear from a few more Sea & Sea users as to how well your housing controls work. Any D600, D800, D7100 users out there - does that rear command dial work perfectly on your housing?

On the older housings (one dial) the manual specified to push and turn. Since the D600 has a second dial, I doubt that will work. When I was having this issue with my D300, it was suggested I put a piece of tape on the wheel that contacts the sub command dial.

I did have the same problem as the previous post, in that if the camera is installed with the power off and the control lever in the on position, it won't seat correctly and leaves a gap even after switching it on and off. The camera must be removed and reseated. I also managed to bend the camera shoe sheet metal slightly by leaving it on my camera in the camera bag. Bending it back to correct alignment (you can also loosen the bottom screw a bit) helped my wheel alignment issue as well as my problem with the CSM focus mode selection.

I have a MDX-PRO 700 and all works fine

I've some problems with the push button on the back of my S&S MDX D300, but only using the Sigma 8-16. For this lens I use a zoom ring modified to fit the body lens, so the problem is link to the particular configuration. But I recognized that S&S have a very very little tolerance in the camera position inside the housing.

Have you removed the plastic rear display cover from the camera body, and the rubber eyepiece too?

This is very important to make a correct "accommodation" of the camera inside the housing.

bye

I've some problems with the push button on the back of my S&S MDX D300, but only using the Sigma 8-16. For this lens I use a zoom ring modified to fit the body lens, so the problem is link to the particular configuration. But I recognized that S&S have a very very little tolerance in the camera position inside the housing.

 

Have you removed the plastic rear display cover from the camera body, and the rubber eyepiece too?

This is very important to make a correct "accommodation" of the camera inside the housing.

 

bye

I agree with the latter part " Have you removed the plastic rear display cover from the camera body, and the rubber eyepiece too". I never had any issue with my S&S housing but from the beginning i removed the plastic cover and the eye-piece.

Sometimes wiping the camera and rubbe wheels off with rubbing alchol to remove oils from your hands can help things gain more "sticktion". But we did just see a similar problem with a D600 out of box. It is covered by warranty and I would send it in, along with the camera, to be adjusted/repaired. Your dealer should be able to help you.

Have you removed the plastic rear display cover from the camera body, and the rubber eyepiece too?

This is very important to make a correct "accommodation" of the camera inside the housing.

 

bye

OMG thank you for this.