Inon 45 degree vs Ikelite 45 degree viewfinder

Hello everybody,

are there users amongst u that uses a Inon 45 degree viewfinder on a Ikelite DSLR housing.

I'm thinking to purchase a 45 degree viewfinder but still hasitate of which brand to buy.

The original Ikelite VW version is about € 200 higher then the Inon version.

Please, share your experiences with me if you can.

Thank you,

Adri

You should really look at the Nauticam viewfinder. 

You will be much happier with the Nauticam Item. The field of view and the size of the image is great. You can read more information here https://wetpixel.com/articles/thoughts-on-viewfinders-and-mini-review-nauticam-45-degree Have a great day Bill

I use a Nauticam 45 on an ikelite housing, cost $500 used and around $100 for the adaptor. Works perfectly

1 hour ago, blibecap said:

You should really look at the Nauticam viewfinder. 

You will be much happier with the Nauticam Item. The field of view and the size of the image is great. You can read more information here https://wetpixel.com/articles/thoughts-on-viewfinders-and-mini-review-nauticam-45-degree Have a great day Bill

 

HI Bill,

I did not know there that the Nauticam could be fitted on a Ikelite housing as well.
But the price of the Nauticam are a bit steep for me

1 hour ago, Chris Kippax said:

I use a Nauticam 45 on an ikelite housing, cost $500 used and around $100 for the adaptor. Works perfectly

Thank you, Chris.

A used Nauticam 45 degree is hard to find in The Netherlands.

I also don't like the way a Nauticam is mounted on a Ikelite housing. It is just an open collar where the viewfinder slides in.

When the o-ring gets comprimised or for some reason the viewfinder get pulled of underwater my housing get flushed.

With the Inon and Ikelite viewfinder this can not happend.

The Nauticam is an excellent design and it would take a phenomenal effort to pull it from the housing. I dive in a river quite often and it is extremely mucky, when removing the viewfinder to check the o-rings they are always spotless. From memory the Ikelite is a Inon.

The below from https://www.uwcamerastore.com     may suit your needs.

4 hours ago, Chris Kippax said:

The Nauticam is an excellent design and it would take a phenomenal effort to pull it from the housing. I dive in a river quite often and it is extremely mucky, when removing the viewfinder to check the o-rings they are always spotless. From memory the Ikelite is a Inon.

The below from https://www.uwcamerastore.com     may suit your needs.

Thank you, Chris.

My first camera is been flushed cause of one screw on the bottom of a Ikelte housing was unscrewed during a flight home. I hope I would never experience that again, that why i hasitate about the Nauticam VF.  The problem is that none of the stores here in The Netherlands has those VF in store. Therefore it is not possible to make a live compare and test them on my housing

I already had contact with Onderwaterhuis.nl which is the same company as Uwcamerastore. They are not shure that this version will fit on my housing.

Do yourself a favour and buy a vacuum valve kit. It will be the best investment you can make 

7 minutes ago, Chris Kippax said:

Do yourself a favour and buy a vacuum valve kit. It will be the best investment you can make 

Chris, that is so true!

After the flood of my old house and Nikon D90 I went for a Nikon D7200.
The new Ikelite housing have a vacuum valve, so i have that already.
No stress anymore when entering the water and checking if the housing is still sealed.

15 minutes ago, Chris Kippax said:

Do yourself a favour and buy a vacuum valve kit. It will be the best investment you can make 

I could not agree more with Chris and Adri. A very wise investment! That and a 45-degree VF are the best purchases I have made.

Check out the Vivid Sentinel....

https://www.vividhousings.com/leak-sentinel.php

You need to look at the housing add on items as a once in a lifetime purchase. I agree with the purchase of a vacuum system. With the items like a vacuum system, viewfinder, strobes, arms and clamps, you purchase them once and when you upgrade your camera, you upgrade your housing and transfer all the items to the new housing. Yes you may need to get a different adapter for the vacuum system and viewfinder but that cost would be minimal in relation to the cost of new items. It may be out of your price range right now but it may be less expensive than buying a inon and then selling it and buying a nauticam viewfinder. 

55 minutes ago, TimG said:

I could not agree more with Chris and Adri. A very wise investment! That and a 45-degree VF are the best purchases I have made.

I have bought the vacuum test from Nauticam and 3D printed some special brackets to make it fit in my Ikelite housing.

As long a the LED is green there are no issues with the sealing of the house. I prepare my setup the night before the dive. Vacuum down the housing. I never have lost vacuum since i have this system. I agree a vacuum system give you great comfort. Perhaps i just have to go for the Nauticam 45 degree VF.

Regarding your original question I have used both the Inon and Ikelite viewfinders on Ikelite housings. If both are correctly placed in relation to the viewfinder them you will have identical performance. I have attached images of both the 180 and 45 viewfinders from both companies. Look closely and tell me what you see. I have also used the more expensive Nauticam 45 & 180 viewfinders and they are as you would expect better if the placement is proper. 

Phil, you mentioned proper placement for the viewfinders for best results.  I am curious what you mean by that?  How could it be placed incorrectly?

Hi Dave,  The best example would be Chris Kippax's photo shown above. The adapter bolts to the pickup finder on the Ikelite housing. This puts greater distance between the rear element on the finder and the EVF. In addition you are now looking through two viewfinders. The result is that the image size is reduced in the viewfinder. It works the same way a closeup lens works the more distance you put between the rear C/U lens element and the lens the weaker the magnification. 2 or 3 mm may not seem like much but it can make a big difference. The viewfinders that, in the case of Ikelite thread into the housing are designed to get the VF as close to the EVF as possible without hitting the EVF and causing damage. 

I see.  I am used to the Nauticam housing where you remove the original completely and put on the one.  Not much room for error.  I used Ikelite housings for many years but didn't get a 45degree until I moved to Nauticam.

Waiting for the final answer from my dealer if the Nauticam is gonna fit on my housing.   That damn delete button is really close to my original viewfinder.

Nervous, while waiting.

On 7/9/2020 at 2:20 AM, Chris Kippax said:

I use a Nauticam 45 on an ikelite housing, cost $500 used and around $100 for the adaptor. Works perfectly

Chris,

can you measure the distance between the housing and the viewfinder.
My dealer can't say for sure if it is gonna fit on my housing.

The delete button is really close to my viewfinder.  The height of the button is approx. 6mm.

Perhaps you can show it in a picture too?

Thanks

Hi Mate

I have a different housing, mine is the older style 6871.03 updated to house a Canon 5dmkiv. It is tight but fits and works fine. If Ikelite can confirm your rear door is similar in dimensions to my housing I would say you are good to go.