Best housing for Nikon D7200

Hello everyone,

Former active member here who's been out fo the game for a few years. Used to shoot with a Nikon D70 in an Ikelite housing with dual Ikelite 125 strobes. I'm putting a new rig together and hoping to get back in the water soon. Decided on the D7200 camera because you can get them at a great price these days, so easy to have a spare. Coming form the D70 it is still a huge upgrade for me. Now I'm trying to decide if I want to stay with the Ikelite housing and strobes, or if I shoudl consider something else. Intend to shoot both macro and wide angle.

Thx!

There were some Nauticam D7200 housings listed recently for about $1000. You'll pay more for a new Ikelite. I'd put up a WTB listing do see what's available.

On the other hand, I have a very nice D800 body sitting on the shelf. An amazing camera that has lots of used housings available. (Sorry, sold my housing already)

Thanks Dave - good idea on posting the WTB. Some of my lenses are DX, ncluding my preferred WA, so not ready to migrate to a full frame camera at this time. Ikelite still offers the 7200 housing new - it didn't occur to me that other housing manufacturer's might have discontinued theirs by now. Food for thought and more research for me to do there.

How's integration of Ikelite strobes with other housings? I really like their strobes.

Thx!

You can use Ikelite strobes with other housings, even Optical connections with an adapter. ( I have a pair of Ikelite Optical adapters for sale on the classifieds) The Ikelite housings are OK. I used them for many years myself. The Nauticam and other aluminum housings are just a lot nicer. As you are planning to use an older camera ( The D7200 is from 2015) you might be able to get a much more for your money buying a higher end used housing.

jcfig,

Subals are amazing. Im on my 4th Subal Housing.I have a sweet used (95% freshwater) Subal d7100/D7200 housing I havent listed for sale yet as my new Subal nd850 is in transit as I type this. All photos in this recent Alert Diver article were taken with the housing and the 7200 (or 7100 topside shot). Has a Nikonos bulkhead which I ran a double strobe cord off of (as right side was too crowded for additional cord for me). It also has fiber optic capability. It has a fitting for type 3 ports which is great if you want to get them off EBay for reasonable prices. Or the fitting can be swapped for type 4 ports but those are more expensive and probably not needed for your application. Everything lines up perfectly for both cameras. U/W videos on my FB all taken with this housing too. Subals are more resistant to the elements than many other housings. They rarely need servicing. Ill be listing it soon but I saw this thread and thought Id let you know. You can PM me or email me.

Heres the article Enchanting Manatees of Crystal River exclusively using the housing, page 36:

https://s3.amazonaws.com/dan-2010fw/AlertDiver_Spring2019/2019_Q2_Spring_AlertDiver/HTML/36/index.html

Best, Carol Grant

Gorgeous photos of the manatees Carol. Yes I'm interested in the housing, just need to educate myself regarding ports and how to make the strobes work - prefer if I can work using TTL, at least at first. I will PM you.

Dave - thanks for the insight - can you point me to a source where I can educate myself about the Optical adapters?

Thx

For what it's worth, my efforts with digital SLRs for underwater started with a Nikon D7100 housed in an Ikelite housing. I bumped-up to a D7200 when the camera became available. Both cameras have worked very well. Photographs can be seen on my website (www.cortezbluephotography.com) if you're interested in taking a look.

The only real limitation I've noted with my Ikelite housing (D7100/7200) is the fact that I can't use my Nikkor 17-55mm 2.8G DX lens. It's not a huge limitation because there are lots of excellent Nikkor alternatives.

My Ikelite DS161 strobes have worked incredibly well too. I've crossed paths with quite a few underwater photographers who use different strobes and have expressed some frustration because of issues they've had.

As I look at housing my Nikon D850, I'll probably look seriously at purchasing something other than an Ikelite housing. Affordability was a major issue when I assembled my D7100/7200 system and I not quite as concerned with that particular issue now.

-AZTinman

Thanks for the feedback AZ - my first two setups were both Ikelite and I was extremely happy with them, particularly the strobes. I guess one consideration for me is ports, and the fact that Ikelite doesn't have a true glass port, specially for WA applications. But cost is still a major consideration for me.

Let me know if you decide to move to your D850 and want to sell your 7200 housing

If you're buying a true glass dome port, Zen is making one for the Ikelite DL housings. Like most glass dome ports, it's pricey.

Thanks for your comment about my Ikelite D7200 housing. When I get around to housing my D850, the D7200 housing will join a couple of Sea & Sea MDX D300 housings that underwater photography students will be using.

It seems like used Nauticam housings show-up from time-to-time in the Classifieds.

-AZTinman

Oh that's good to know, never heard of Zen before - I'll look them up.

Makes sense about the housing being used for students. If you need more cameras for your students, I'll be selling my D70 housing with two bodies. Have a few ports available for it. Make me an offer if you're interested. I rather see it used than collecting dust.

J.C.

Zen have been around for about ?10 years. I've had couple of their domeports and can recommend them.

If anyone wants an Ikelite D70 housing I will happily send you one for the cost of shipping. I think I have a D70 body as well. Neither are in A+ condition but I know the TTL circuit on the housing still works as I used to test some old Ikelite strobes I was selling a few weeks ago.

Hi there-

Wasn't sure if you decided on the D7200 housing yet or not, but I am selling my Ikelite housing in excellent condition. The reason for parting with it is simply to upgrade to the DL housing. Along with the housing, I would sell my 8" dome port for the Tokina 10-17mm and my port for my 60mm macro lens. If interested, PM me, and I will come up with a reasonable price. Just decided to sell few days ago, so I'm still getting my parts listed. I will soon be putting on the scubaboards and wetpixel as a formal advertisement to sell, but since I seen this request, I am responding to this thread first (although this is an old thread).

thanks,

lhgpixdiver

@jcfig, given what you describe, an other option which could be good for you is an Easydive housing.

When I bought mine, I was using a D7200, then moved to the D7500 keeping the same housing, and with the D7200 as a back-up. To switch camera, you just need to use a different tray to hold the camera inside the housing.

I have the Easydive Leo3 Plus, which is a bit heavy on land, but has great ergonomics underwater. It is very robust, and the limited number of O-rings means that there are much less risk of flooding. The o-ring system is very reliable, easy to maintain.

Not all camera features are available, but all the usefull ones are there. You could still use your D70 as a back-up, with the D7200 as your primary camera. The housing may be a bit more expensive, but you wouldn't have to buy two D7200 in the short term. It provides a smoother upgrade options for your cameras.

I may provide a more detailed feedback on my experience with this housing if some people are interested.

On 1/2/2020 at 1:14 PM, Algwyn said:

@jcfig, given what you describe, an other option which could be good for you is an Easydive housing.

When I bought mine, I was using a D7200, then moved to the D7500 keeping the same housing, and with the D7200 as a back-up. To switch camera, you just need to use a different tray to hold the camera inside the housing.

I have the Easydive Leo3 Plus, which is a bit heavy on land, but has great ergonomics underwater. It is very robust, and the limited number of O-rings means that there are much less risk of flooding. The o-ring system is very reliable, easy to maintain.

Not all camera features are available, but all the usefull ones are there. You could still use your D70 as a back-up, with the D7200 as your primary camera. The housing may be a bit more expensive, but you wouldn't have to buy two D7200 in the short term. It provides a smoother upgrade options for your cameras.

I may provide a more detailed feedback on my experience with this housing if some people are interested.

Thanks for the info Algyyn. Will definitely look into the Easydive systems.

The Subal ND7100 for the Nikon D7100 and D7200 is a super housing for these two excellent Nikon cameras. I was fortunate in receiving from Carol Grant, the Manatee Lady photographer, her Subal ND7100 and Nikon D7200. They are now my main camera & housing as I quite deliberately sold my Nauticam NA500 to shoot with them.  

For someone looking for a super housing the Subal ND7100 is now a bargain when purchased directly from Subal, as the price is reduced to eu 1.990-.  The Nikon cameras are available almost for a song on the used market, B&H Photo or eBay for example.  Hard to go wrong.

http://www.subal.com/a340c73c2c1/Housings/UW_Housings/Nikon/ND7100.aspx                 https://www.bhphotovideo.com/