Is it worth to complete my Canon 5D (MKi) with ikelite housing set up?

Hi All!

I am currently using Olympus XZ-1 with Olympus housing with Sea & Sea YS 110a Strobes. I have a Canon 5D ( mki) which I use for my land photography. Few months back, I saw and purchased an Ikelite housing for the Canon 5D. I am thinking if I should invest further in getting the ports, angled view finder and stuffs necessary. My concern is whether the TTL can be use with my current YS110a strobe. I read on ikelite website that TTL is only compaitable with ikelite strobes. Other than the ports and angle view finder, is there any accessories that I MUST have? Thanks.

Hi Jason

The ikelite housing is not compatible with your sea&sea strobes. Ikelite housing only work with ikelite strobes. You will probably want 2 ikelite ds-125/ds-160/ds-161 strobes, arms and clamps, strobe cables, flat ports, dome ports zoom-focus gears and a viewfinder. I would suggest that you do considerable research on the viewfinder as it is a major purchase and there are a few options out there. I would also invest in a moisture/water alarm and if you can swing it a vacuum leak prevention system.

Thanks for the info Tiger Shark! Will I be able to use the Sea & Sea Strobe with this ikelite manual Sync Cord? http://www.backscatter.com/sku/ike-4118.1.lasso I assume even if it works, there won't be any TTL function available, but I'm ok with it.

As for viewfinder, do you have any recommendation?

Another thing to remember is that your ports and potential viewfinder can be used on your next housing and for the most part retain their value.

Steve

Thanks for the info Tiger Shark! Will I be able to use the Sea & Sea Strobe with this ikelite manual Sync Cord? http://www.backscatter.com/sku/ike-4118.1.lasso I assume even if it works, there won't be any TTL function available, but I'm ok with it.

As for viewfinder, do you have any recommendation?

Yes that cord should work for 1 strobe. The ikelite housing only has one strobe output. You will need this http://www.backscatter.com/sku/ike-4118.2.lassoif you want two strobes. As for viewfinders you can get a Inon 45 but I will have to make you a custom inon to ike adapter. I prefer the nauticam 45 and they have a adapter that fits the ikelite housing.

Hi Janson

The minimum you need for underwater photography is:

- camera

- lens

- housing

- ports for the lens you are willing to use

After that you can add some more items to allow you improve the results.

You already have strobes (and good ones), they do not work in TTL with the Ikelite housing, but work fine in manual. To your comfort, most underwater photographers control the strobes in manual. It is a nobrainer.

For that you need the sync cord from Ikelite. You have 2 possibilities: the cord for 2 strobes or the cord for 1 strobe (the ones that have been mentioned on previous posts).

Of course you need the arms and clamps. Probably you already have them on your current setup. You might need an adapter to place at the housing to be able to connect to the remaining arm.

Depending on the lens and type of photography you are wiling to do, the next thing you need might be: zoom gear / focus gear

At this point you are in a position I would call standard.

After this you can add several more items to your underwater photo rig

- viewfinder

- focus light

- snoot system

- wet macro lens

- filters

- floating arms

- ...

And remember, as Steve said, besides the housing and the camera, if you maintain the housing and camera brands, for future upgrades all the remaing items are usable!

Thanks for all the informations. Might have to start with the basic, getting the ports n sync cable for a start. The angle view finder seems a big investment and shall put that on hold for the time being.

Which lenses are you planning on using? Ike has a modular approach to ports and you may be able to use several lenses with the same basic port (such as an 8" dome) with different extenders. Some folks just start off macro, such as using one of the excellent Canon 100mm's, and grow from there. The 100mm macro is a relatively inexpensive flat port or you can add manual focus capability (different port). Another plus for Ike is that for some housing manufacturers, port adapters are available, should you switch brands. I moved from Ikelite to Nauticam and a $200 Nauticam adapter has allowed me to keep using almost all of my Ike ports (you do need to purchase Nauticam or third party zoom or focus gears if you want to use those functions).

Regarding the view finder - when you do get into the market, do a search on the board for discussion on the differences in technique and use of the 180 degree vs the 45 degree viewers. There have been some lively ones! I do more large animals than macro so I went with the 180. I could see owning both if you could get the use out of them. But, as you can see, they are expensive and not essential to what you want to do. I love mine (Nauticam) and think it is worth it, once you make the plunge. As others have said, Nauticam and others have adapters for other manufacturers housings, like Ike.

Good luck!

I will be shooting marco mostly, currently have a 100mm usm marco and am looking into getting the modular ports. Another lens which I most probably use will be my 17-40mm.

The 100mm macro port (fixed) comes in 2 flavors - manual and non-manual (auto focus only) at $250 and $200 respectively. The upside is they are one piece and well made. The downside is they are relatively tall and a bit of a PITA to carry around ( nothing major). The modular approach for the 100mm can be broken down to carry but comes in at over twice the cost (3 pieces for the manual option total $525). So , unless you have a future need for the components with other lenses, I'd recommend the one piece approach. The best way to house the 17-40 (IMHO) is go with the 8" dome and extension. That way you can use the dome with other lenses in the future. And, as I mentioned above, these can be carried over to Nauticam (using a Nauticam to Ike adapter).

Thanks megtooth, I will check out the fix port too since they are so much cheaper.