Anyone with experience with Easydive Leo3 Wi housing?

I did a quick search and honestly only came up with 1 tread talking about this housing. For those unfamiliar, its a unique type of housing where it fits multiple cameras because the controls are actually electronically synced to the camera through a USB port, instead of being mechanically connected. Here is a link to the housing of interest: https://www.easydive.it/en/underwater-housing/mirrorless/leo3-wi.224.html#It has a few strong appeals for me:

1. Multiple camera compatibility over time - Clearly this is the main factor. I currently have an a6300 with Ikelite housing, but bought a new a7iii and was looking for housings. Cost of supporting a new camera is around 300 EUR for a new software update that you do from home; Cost savings will be substantial over time especially when changing cameras

2. Full electronic and not mechanic - less likely for leaks and misalignments happening; I had some issues with button alignments on my previous ikelite housings after it getting knocked a bit

So here comes the question, anyone have experience with it? Really looking to have some feedback from the community to see if there are any issues / recommendations. The only person I know from the forum is Eitan (who has an amazing IG feed too), but not much else

Hiya! I ran across one on ebay a while back and asked a friend of mine who is a professional underwater photographer from italy (where that leo is made).

His reply was 'I know it very well but is not good. Slow shooting and a lot of others problem'.

So I could see why that might be an issue.. everything that gets between your finger and the shutter button is going to add delay, even if its thousandths of a second. If the processing unit has to 'DO' something to trigger the shutter and at the same time you are tweaking other settings, and firmware isnt up to date, etc, I can see that being an issue.

Also its pretty bulky!! Depends if that is a priority.

And adding another layer of complexity, another set of batteries/electronics that can go wrong, plus a limited control set?

Not sure, would need to be able to rent one to try out for a while to make my mind up!

Do you know which version of the housing he used Chris? The Leo3 is somewhat new - maybe 2 - 3 years old, so not sure it was the same version .Yes slow shooting is one of my fears, after looking at the video,

It does seem however all the functionality works well, and since in all cameras including the Sony you can customize the menu, so most of the key functionality should be available. They also seem to have their own fibre optic trigger system that can trigger my YS-D2s. hmmmm

Hiya! I ran across one on ebay a while back and asked a friend of mine who is a professional underwater photographer from italy (where that leo is made).

His reply was 'I know it very well but is not good. Slow shooting and a lot of others problem'.

So I could see why that might be an issue.. everything that gets between your finger and the shutter button is going to add delay, even if its thousandths of a second. If the processing unit has to 'DO' something to trigger the shutter and at the same time you are tweaking other settings, and firmware isnt up to date, etc, I can see that being an issue.

Also its pretty bulky!! Depends if that is a priority.

And adding another layer of complexity, another set of batteries/electronics that can go wrong, plus a limited control set?

Not sure, would need to be able to rent one to try out for a while to make my mind up!

Bump! Really no one has tried these housings?

Here in Italy Leo housings are somewhat popular.

My buddy has an "ancient" Leo 1 and while he admits that it's becoming obsolete he is satisfied. He started with a Nikon D200 twelve years and now it use a D7500. Five cameras same housing. Easydive just programmed the internal controller for the new camera (I guess) for about 2/300€. Just think to the huge money saving...

On the other hand I consider Leo housing owners like a sect You will never know if they have/had problems with their housings. this is the reason I never pulled the trigger.

The housing is inevitably bulky: it's the prrice to pay for being able to load a Sony A6300 or a nikon D850...

Regarding the WI model my main concern would be battery life and lag. I know that some camera are very power hungry with WI-FI turned on. i would prefer the Leo II which controls the camera via Lanc protocol. Of course, if you already have the camera you can check yourself on the couch regarding WI-FI battery requirements and potential command lags.

Bye

Wow thanks for the input Davide. Yes totally agree, at the moment the only people I can find using it are Italian's on Instagram but they all seem to be sponsored so it hard to get a sense on how good they are.

Are you sure it uses wifi to communicate to the camera? I think it uses USB interface to directly communicate with the camera, but the buttons communicate to the brains of the housing with wifi? I found a few videos on their FB that shows minimal to no lag in the usage.

I think primary issue is clearly I am a sucker for new photography gear, and sony has been crazy in releasing new camera's all the time which I am inclined to spend money i shouldn't be spending on new cameras, and that would be nice not having to sell my entire kit to buy another housing every time this happens haha

Here in Italy Leo housings are somewhat popular.

My buddy has an "ancient" Leo 1 and while he admits that it's becoming obsolete he is satisfied. He started with a Nikon D200 twelve years and now it use a D7500. Five cameras same housing. Easydive just programmed the internal controller for the new camera (I guess) for about 2/300€. Just think to the huge money saving...

 

On the other hand I consider Leo housing owners like a sect You will never know if they have/had problems with their housings. this is the reason I never pulled the trigger.

 

The housing is inevitably bulky: it's the prrice to pay for being able to load a Sony A6300 or a nikon D850...

 

Regarding the WI model my main concern would be battery life and lag. I know that some camera are very power hungry with WI-FI turned on. i would prefer the Leo II which controls the camera via Lanc protocol. Of course, if you already have the camera you can check yourself on the couch regarding WI-FI battery requirements and potential command lags.

 

Bye

as an Italian I have seen many of them… but I also know more than one person who sold it due to small or less small problems....

they are extremely large and heavy ... the last time I saw one with a flat port and a sony a6x00 mirrorless, it looked like a washing machine... my nauticam with omd-em1mk2 was half the size... half!

the idea is extremely interesting, but in some cases if you have to keep the focal point in the right place to work with the domes, you won't be able to get the LCD or the vf in the right position and viceversa... the last one I saw had the screen very far away from rear glass(3cm or more)... depend from the size of the camera... my thought is that a single housing cannot properly fix(screen-vf on the back and right focal point on the front) all the cameras on the market(also with 3 housing sizes)... with some camera it will be excellent but with others it will be necessary to compromise ... i dont know if the a7 fit perfectly...

I have only one friend who uses it and takes excellent pictures... with both leo2 and leo3.. mostly macro.... it's a canon dslr user... ;-)

my two cents...

Thanks for you input! Yes size also seems to be another thing I will be giving up, and also weight as its heavier than other housings.

Didn't think about the problem of alignment which you brought up! Yes if the screen is far from the glass could make it very hard to see underwater. Guess the only way I will know is trying it, but thats like 4000 EUR for a full set to try it out haha

as an Italian I have seen many of them… but I also know more than one person who sold it due to small or less small problems....

they are extremely large and heavy ... the last time I saw one with a flat port and a sony a6x00 mirrorless, it looked like a washing machine... my nauticam with omd-em1mk2 was half the size... half!

the idea is extremely interesting, but in some cases if you have to keep the focal point in the right place to work with the domes, you won't be able to get the LCD or the vf in the right position and viceversa... the last one I saw had the screen very far away from rear glass(3cm or more)... depend from the size of the camera... my thought is that a single housing cannot properly fix(screen-vf on the back and right focal point on the front) all the cameras on the market(also with 3 housing sizes)... with some camera it will be excellent but with others it will be necessary to compromise ... i dont know if the a7 fit perfectly...

I have only one friend who uses it and takes excellent pictures... with both leo2 and leo3.. mostly macro.... it's a canon dslr user... ;-)

my two cents...

Late to this party, but I wrote about it here: https://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?/topic/66750-easydive-leo-3-wi/