Ikelite Canon 100D / Rebel SL1 : review ?

...I used a single YS-D1 with the setup, and encountered some odd issues where the strobe would fire a second time after each shot. Sync was OK but batteries drained faster because of this...

 

I forgot you had the same issue I have/had with YS-D1 on the ike housing...what i noticed on my recent night dive is that it didn't happen nearly as often as my day dives. maybe 2 times the entire dive.

ikelite is saying the dome will house the new Canon 10-18mm STM (only $299!! as well and getting very good reviews) and there is no vignetting. I find it hard to believe there is no vignetting at 10mm but who knows? An SL1 with an ike housing and a 10-18mm all coming in just over $2k has to be the best bang for buck DSLR setup out there.

Having just spent the week in the Bahamas with the SL1 and Ikelite housing I am very pleased. I have the new Canon 10-18 and will post some pictures after I get in the pool next week. I hope to be able to also post some pictures of the Tokina 10-17 lens also. I installed the Nauticam 45 degree viewfinder with no problems. The only lens i used on the trip was the 18-55 kit lens with the stock ikelite dome.

Amigos,

I've shot the following WA lenses in my Ikelite Canon SL1 housing:

* Tokina 10-17mm Fisheye

* Sigma 15mm Fisheye

* Canon 8-15mm F4L Fisheye (preset at 12mm, no zoom.)

All produced great images and I also have the new Canon EF-S 10-18mm RECTILINEAR wide angle zoom I'll also be trying in a pool this week........The lens is a bargain and usable above and below water for any APS-C Canon shooter.........

Stay tuned.........

^^ excited to see these images!!

I mean i've captured some of my best images with entry level gear but just being in the right place at the right time. Gear is a small part of the equation.

But holy smokes is all this awesome new gear getting me pumped to shoot!!!

The SL1 is packing so many awesome features in a small package, the ike housing is the first compact DSLR housing they've made, and now the canon 10-18mm is really completing the package.

Not to mention price point of the ike SL1 housing being half of what any other ike DSLR housing with dome would cost and the canon 10-18mm coming in at well under half the price of any comparable wide angle.

Can't wait to get mine in the water!!

David, thank you for your feedback !

Canon EF-S 10-18mm RECTILINEAR wide angle zoom I'll also be trying in a pool this week.

I am looking forward to read about it, but I guess the 5'' dome port

might have a too small diameter to get good sharpness. Let us know !

Below are two pictures taken with the ikelite housing and ikelite dome. The first picture is taken with the Tokina 10-17 lens and the second one is taken with the Canon 10-18 dome. Both pictures were taken from the same location, tripod with 18" between the front of the dome and the subject. I have full size images but i loaded these into the editor and re-sized them only.

Thank you for these pictures ! What is the used focal length for the 10-18mm ?

It would be nice if you could show us both lenses at both end of the focal range.

So, no vignetting and proper focusing for the 10-18 ?

I don't understand your question "What is the used focal lens for the 10-18mm ?" can you please explain?

Why would you want to see images ate the zoomed in setting?

These test pictures are taken at 10mm f/14 iso 200

Bill

Thank you for these pictures ! What is the used focal lens for the 10-18mm ?

It would be nice if you could show us both lenses at both end of the focal range.

 

So, no vignetting and proper focusing for the 10-18 ?

Was the lens at 10 or 17, 10 or 18mm when the photo was taken is what I think he is asking.

Oh, sorry I misspelled length and wrote lens instead !

I understand you shot both tokina 10-17mm and canon 10-18mm

at 10mm. Like Phil wrote, I am wondering what it looks like at 17 and

18mm with the same setup.

I have a question for the group participants.

If there was a dome available for this housing that did not vignette with the Tokina 10-17 and the Canon 10-18 that provided sharper corners, provided a wider angle of view than the standard dome but did not have a zoom control would you be interested in purchasing it? Is zoom really that important for the extreme wide angle of these two lenses?

I appreciate your comments.

I do not own this housing, but the vignetting with the 10-17 is definitely a limitation.

If I were to buy the housing, I would like to have such a port.

After some research I have determined that it is not economically feasible to incorporate a zoom control and place the dome in the proper position as the nodal point dictates. There is just not enough room between the housing and the back of the dome.

I have a question for the group participants.

 

If there was a dome available for this housing that did not vignette with the Tokina 10-17 and the Canon 10-18 that provided sharper corners, provided a wider angle of view than the standard dome but did not have a zoom control would you be interested in purchasing it? Is zoom really that important for the extreme wide angle of these two lenses?

 

I appreciate your comments.

 

I would be interested. Do I NEED it? No....would I buy it? Most definitely. Once I had the $$$, of course

Amigos,

My opinion on WA lens choices is this:

* If you absolutely NEED or WANT the full 10mm of the popular Tokina 10-17mm lens then Bill's dome is tops...........Preset the lens at 10mm and go for it......But zooming the Tokina in to about 11-12mm in the standard Ikelite dome isn't bad either....

* The popular Sigma 15mm Fisheye on a cropped sensor SLR like the Canon Rebel SL1 / 100D is still very nice too........A friend will be shooting his Sigma 15mm in the Philippines on his Canon SL1 early September.

* The Canon 8-15mm F4L lens is super spectacular and can be used in the Ikelite dome preset at one focal length......I shot it at 12mm in the Ikelite dome and was very happy with the results. Bill may make a "tuned" version of his dome for this lens too.

* Finally, the inexpensive Canon 10-18mm IS STM rectilinear lens will be a great choice for Canon Rebel SL1 / 100D shooters..........It's a great surface lens and while not as wide as the fisheye choices will work well for land and UW shooters wanting to own one WA lens.....

Sample pics below from some of the fisheye choices.........First 4 pics Tokina 10mm in Bill's dome, then Sigma 15mm Fisheye (1 shot) and then a Canon 8-15mm Fisheye at 12mm (1 shot).

Also some more photos at this link. Same group of WA lenses and even some Canon 18-55mm IS STM "kit" lens shots.......A darn capable little camera....

http://www.ikelite.com/support/galleries/canon-100d-david-haas.html

dhaas

I've pushed about 1000 images through the SL-1 in the Ikelite housing now and prefer it to my Canon 40D and 50D.. the camera does everything my old ones do, but better.. the screen on back for settings is wonderful, and it carries way better than my other systems do. The vignetting on the Tokina 10-17mm is unfortunate, but not a deal killer for me.. (I guess my composition isn't so tight that a little crop is OK :-). What I'm seeing is the throat of the port- not the shade, so I'm not sure how it can be solved, but I'm all ears. My main concern was pressing two buttons to change aperture -but it is not a problem even for small hands because the housing is so tiny. My last trip I took both systems and never used anything but the SL-1.. for me personally, the electronic TTL is a key feature though.. I know a lot of you like manual strobe settings but I will never shoot manual again. The SL-1 battery hasn't been a problem, but it can't last as long, so I would not want the onboard flash going off every time (e.g. fiber optic)