Did anyone upgrade camera and change from Nauticam to Isotta housing? positive and/or negative experience?

I am considering to acquire an additional FF setup (at present MFT user). Currently my wife and me have NA-EM5II and NA-EM1II and a moderate size collection of N120 (dome)ports and extensions plus two FF lenses (Canon-EF 8-15mm fisheye and 100mm IS Macro) that we use via adapters and plan to use also on FF. We also plan to use a WACP1. The logical housing brand for the next camera (not yet decided 100% which model) would be Nauticam and this is likely the way we will go...

I have however read a lot of good things about Isotta housings: They are lighter and (a little bit) cheaper than Nauticam. I have asked at Isotta about usability of Nauticam ports on Isotta housings, since such compatibility is for me the prerequisite for considering an alternative. Ms. Elisa from Isotta wrote me that any N120 Nauticam port or extension can be used on Isotta housing (I guess the ones with the big openings) right away and according to the Nauticam port charts, without considering any additional distance correction, when using this adpater: Nauticam to Sea & Sea Port Adaptor.

This is good news and makes Isotta an interesting alternative to consider, but there are additional questions:

#1.: How is the ergonomy of an Isotta housing compared to Nauticam? (From my personal experience I know that the Nauticam housings I have used are perfectly tailored to my right hand, e.g. I do not need to search for back-button focus or shutter, they are naturally at my fingertips. A downgrade from this situation would be an unpleasend experience, making a change not worth).

#2.: Vacuum system: I see Isotta works with third party vacuum systems. According to my internet recherches, the battery life of such third party vaccum valves is 40-100h. This is contrasted by thousands of h with the Nauticam system. I often assemble the rig in th eevening and let the vacuum on overnight before the diving day. When using a system with 40h battery life, this means I have to exchange the battery every few days (with Nauticam this is, at present every 1-2 years; this also would make a change unattractive for me).

#3.: The mechanics inside Nauticam housings looks a little bit "grafted full" compared to Isotta that looks much more simple and slim. On the other side, I never experienced a problem with mechanics with our Nauticam housings. Is the mechanics inside Isotta housings maybe just too simple? Did anyone experience problems with mechanics using Isotta?

#4.: Nauticam 45° viewfinder and zoomgears: I also asked at Isotta, whether they are compatible with Isotta housings, but did not get an answer so far. Hence I guess they are not compatible (by default one would think that zoomgears and viewfinders are not compatible between different manufactureres; compatibility would be a positive surprise). Having to acquire new zoomgears and a viewfinder (and several adapters for Nauticam to Isotta) makes Isotta an even more expensive alternative to Nauticam and less attractive...

If corona allows, I plan to go to a divers trade fair and talk to the representatives and hold the housings in question in my hand, before I will order one. In addition it would be very interesting and helpful to hear about experience when switching from Nauticam to Isotta, or even considering and thinking about switching...

Wolfgang

Dear Wolfgang,

I have switched from a Nauticam to an Isotta housing due to an upgrade of my camera (EM5-->EM1 Mk II) at the End of 2019. I was totally satisfied with my Nauticam housing so I was first planning to get the Nauticam housing for the EM1 II. A disadvantage that I saw was Nauticams small port-system-diameter, with the bigger MFT-lenses you have to dissemble the whole gear just to change batteries of the camera. The second concern was my Nauticam 45° viewfinder. For my EM5- housing I had to use the old DSLR-Version.  Nauticam seems to have  changed the connection on MIL-housings and my viewfinder is not convertible. Neither a chance to use an adapter.

At the end I decided to give Isotta a try. Since now I have done about 50 dives with it and have not regretted the purchase. The housing is really sturdy.

#1 Ergonomics are very good, shutter-trigger und back-button-focus are right at thumb and index-finger and I can reach them perfectly while having my hands on the handle, but I would recommend to try before buying.

#2 I have bought a leak sentinal xtb. It has the battery inside the housing an therefore easy to change. You dont have to open the housing to switch it on and off. It has a memory function. I assemble my housing in the evening, put on the vacuum til the leak sentinel flashes green and turn it off afterwards. I usually then only check once in the evening or morning, and when everything is all right I turn it off again. I suppose there will not be much battery consumption.

#3 The mechanics are quite simple. I have to admit that I had to do a little bit of finetuning on alignment, but I could fix this on my own just by loosing and fasten some screws. I think this is a good thing especially when being on a remote trip.

#4 Isotta offered me a cheap custom-made rear window to fit my Nauticam viewfinder. It works flawlessly.

Best regards,

Oliver

Dear Wolfgang:

 Most of my housings have been Subal, but I also had a Nauticam D500 which I sold.  I now use the Isotta D500 and it is a fine housing.  I use a Nauticam 45 degree viewfinder with it, with an adapter.  

Thus far everything has worked on the Isotta housing; out of curiosity I have taken apart the controls and they are simple to remove, repair and restore, something I was not able to do on the Nauticam. 

Isotta is a fine housing, I recommend it. 

Elias 

In Sydney I know a lot of divers have converted to Isotta and are very happy.  Depending on the housing the there can be significant weight and size savings.  One particular example was a Z6 housing which was way smaller and lighter than Nauticam's version, the diver in question was changing from a Seacam D850 housing to get a lighter setup - the seacam housing was really a monster and going with Nauticam would have been a minor improvement in weight and size.  This will probably vary between models. 

One issue with Isotta is availability of ports suitable for use with the WWL if you interested to go that way - you would need to work with a shop to find a satisfactory compromise - though if indeed you can use Nauticam ports with a simple adapter that problem is solved by just using Nauticam's port.

13 hours ago, Eismann113 said:

Dear Wolfgang,

I have switched from a Nauticam to an Isotta housing due to an upgrade of my camera (EM5-->EM1 Mk II) at the End of 2019. I was totally satisfied with my Nauticam housing so I was first planning to get the Nauticam housing for the EM1 II. A disadvantage that I saw was Nauticams small port-system-diameter, with the bigger MFT-lenses you have to dissemble the whole gear just to change batteries of the camera. The second concern was my Nauticam 45° viewfinder. For my EM5- housing I had to use the old DSLR-Version.  Nauticam seems to have  changed the connection on MIL-housings and my viewfinder is not convertible. Neither a chance to use an adapter.

At the end I decided to give Isotta a try. Since now I have done about 50 dives with it and have not regretted the purchase. The housing is really sturdy.

#1 Ergonomics are very good, shutter-trigger und back-button-focus are right at thumb and index-finger and I can reach them perfectly while having my hands on the handle, but I would recommend to try before buying.

#2 I have bought a leak sentinal xtb. It has the battery inside the housing an therefore easy to change. You dont have to open the housing to switch it on and off. It has a memory function. I assemble my housing in the evening, put on the vacuum til the leak sentinel flashes green and turn it off afterwards. I usually then only check once in the evening or morning, and when everything is all right I turn it off again. I suppose there will not be much battery consumption.

#3 The mechanics are quite simple. I have to admit that I had to do a little bit of finetuning on alignment, but I could fix this on my own just by loosing and fasten some screws. I think this is a good thing especially when being on a remote trip.

#4 Isotta offered me a cheap custom-made rear window to fit my Nauticam viewfinder. It works flawlessly.

 

Best regards,

 

Oliver

 

Great information, thanks to Oliver and the others!

The custom made rear window to use the 45° viewfinder sounds good. What about the Nauticam zoomgear, does it fit?

Are you continuing to use the Nauticam ports on Isotta (but maybe you had the N85 versions)?

Wolfgang

9 hours ago, ChrisRoss said:

One issue with Isotta is availability of ports suitable for use with the WWL if you interested to go that way - you would need to work with a shop to find a satisfactory compromise - though if indeed you can use Nauticam ports with a simple adapter that problem is solved by just using Nauticam's port.

Since I got the info directly from Isotta technical service, I count on it that Nauticam ports are compatible with the Sea&Sea adapter (she also wrote BTW that Sea&Sea ports are compatible as they are).

It would be very valuable if someone could confirm the compatibility from practical experience (and maybe also report about eventual problems)...

Wolfgang

43 minutes ago, Architeuthis said:

Since I got the info directly from Isotta technical service, I count on it that Nauticam ports are compatible with the Sea&Sea adapter (she also wrote BTW that Sea&Sea ports are compatible as they are).

It would be very valuable if someone could confirm the compatibility from practical experience (and maybe also report about eventual problems)...

 

Wolfgang

I recall seeing that adapter now, this is it:

https://www.backscatter.com/Nauticam-Sea-and-Sea-3-Lug-Bayonet-Ring-Converts-N

One thing to note is that some ports like my Zen dome have the port bayonet machined into the extension so cannot be adapted.  I think most of the N120 Nauticam and Zen domes have the removable lug plate so you can swap over the S&S lugs to make use of the ports.  I would think it either works or it doesn't - I can't see any eventual problems. 

For this to work at all the port opening needs to be accurately machined to the same dimensions on both housings.  Then all that needs to happen is for the chosen lug plate to mate with the locking mechanism on the housing.  Even then with vacuum systems in use the locking mechanism is a little superfluous as the closing force due to the vacuum is significant.  I did the calculation a little while back and from figures I have seen for how much vacuum is pulled (200 mBar) I estimate the closing force is about 22kg.

The only downside to the S&S port closure is it is push and turn to lock, which can be harder than the simple push of the Nauticam with its internal locking mechanism. 

The Isotta Housing viewfinder mounting hole is compatible with Inon viewfinders.

I used a "Nauticam Viewfinder Mounting Ring for Inon Housing" from Backscatter to mount my 45 degree Nauticam viewfinder: part NA-33107

Fotografit sells this ring:  https://fotografit.eu/products/42-viewfinder-adapters/440-na-viewfinder-mounting-ring-for-inon-/

As Isotta uses a bigger port-hole-diameter (102mm) the N85-Nauticam-ports do not fit (havent seen an adapter neither). This might be different with the 120mm version for the bigger MIL/DSLR housings.  I have bought the acrylic dome plus an extension ring for the fisheye. The macro port was sold with the housing. So far I have not used any zoom gear so I dont know if the Nauticam ones fit (I would guess not).

1 hour ago, Eismann113 said:

As Isotta uses a bigger port-hole-diameter (102mm) the N85-Nauticam-ports do not fit (havent seen an adapter neither). This might be different with the 120mm version for the bigger MIL/DSLR housings.  I have bought the acrylic dome plus an extension ring for the fisheye. The macro port was sold with the housing. So far I have not used any zoom gear so I dont know if the Nauticam ones fit (I would guess not).

I think unterwasserkamera.at sells an Adapter, but I can't find it on their shop. I think they produce them themselves, so probably would have to ask. They are likely not cheap though. 

I got new Info from Ms. Elisa from Isotta:

=> Nauticam Zoomgear is not compatible with Isotta housings

=> In case a lens is not in the Isotta portcharts (e.g. Sony 28-60mm), they will be happy to make a new zoomgear

=> as already mentioned above, they do not have a own vaccum system and will not make one. Every third party system works via M16.

Wolfgang

On 10/2/2021 at 11:21 AM, ChrisRoss said:

I recall seeing that adapter now, this is it:

https://www.backscatter.com/Nauticam-Sea-and-Sea-3-Lug-Bayonet-Ring-Converts-N

One thing to note is that some ports like my Zen dome have the port bayonet machined into the extension so cannot be adapted.  I think most of the N120 Nauticam and Zen domes have the removable lug plate so you can swap over the S&S lugs to make use of the ports.  I would think it either works or it doesn't - I can't see any eventual problems. 

 

 

I checked the Zen domeports that I have:

DP170-N120: there is a plate at the base that is screwed on via many screws: => seems compatible with Sea&Sea adapter...

DP100-N120: the base is machined and not "screw-on". Only a small piece of metal is removable and screwed on via two screws. => presumably not adaptable to Sea&Sea type.

=> this is what I meant with "eventually": one assumes that every Nauticam compatible port can be adapted to Sea&Sea/Isotta via adapter, but for a given port (Zen DP100-N120) a unforseeable detail in construction makes adaption impossible. But obviously my English is not good enough - I apologize...

(I just checked the dictionary: "eventually" means finally, while the German word "eventuell" means possibly. So "eventually" and "eventuell" have different meanings, this explains everything)

Wolfgang

Eventuell is better translated as possibly. 

On 10/1/2021 at 6:31 PM, Kraken de Mabini said:

Dear Wolfgang:

 Most of my housings have been Subal, but I also had a Nauticam D500 which I sold.  I now use the Isotta D500 and it is a fine housing.  I use a Nauticam 45 degree viewfinder with it, with an adapter. 

Yester

I AM SO HAPPY TO HEAR THIS!   I'm moving from a subal (from 2009!) to the Isotta and I was nervous!  Glad to hear it.  I'm going to check out that 45 degree viewfinder -- Is the Isotta hard to use without the viewfinder?

My experience with viewfinders is with Isotta, Subal and Nauticam housings.  For all three housings, the view with the "small" optical viewfinder is quite limited and 'hard to use', as it can be difficult to find and frame the subject, not enjoyable. In contrast, the large view finders, straight-180 and 45 degrees, are a pleasure to use, and well worth the cost.  
 

4 minutes ago, Kraken de Mabini said:

My experience with viewfinders is with Isotta, Subal and Nauticam housings.  For all three housings, the view with the "small" optical viewfinder is quite limited and 'hard to use', as it can be difficult to find and frame the subject, not enjoyable. In contrast, the large view finders, straight-180 and 45 degrees, are a pleasure to use, and well worth the cost.  
 

Thanks so much for the speedy reply!  This is a big help!   What adapter do you need?

For the Nauticam 45 viewfinder I got the

Inon viewfinder mounting ring NA-33107 from Backscatter,  

as Isotta and Inon use the same size viewfinder hole in their housings.   (The Isotta viewfinder hole is too small for Subal viewfinders)

But please do not take my word for this, first talk with Backscatter, they are most helpful and -professional  (as is Reef Photo in Florida.)
- - -

I have  had pleasant experiences dealing with Eliza at Isotta, prompt professional replies. I took my Isotta apart, (I take everything apart except my cameras) and put it together again, no problems, it is really easy to maintain.  

Cheers   

Thank you!   And wow the Inon viewfinder is a HELL of a lot cheaper than those Nauticam ones!

Hi Wolfgang, did you ever end up making a decision on this?  I am looking to switch to an Olympus OMD-5 MkIII in an Isotta housing and have also been following your thread on using the Canon 8-15mm FE as that is an interesting option for me.

If this is easily accomplished with an Isotta housing just using the sea&sea adapter to use Nauticam 120 ports that would be great, though it seems like the Zen DP100-N120 will not work which is too bad as that would make for a travel-friendly setup.

I wonder about the N120 140mm  dome port, there are no pictures of the base plate on nauticam's website so hard to know for sure.

Maybe something like this would be required to adapt the Isotta 102 port for their Olympus housing to the 120 port and then use the Nauticam to Sea&Sea base plate adapter:

https://www.unterwasserkamera.at/shop/catalog/en/product_info.php?info=p6048_isotta-portadapter-isotta-b102.html

12 hours ago, Whiskeyjack said:

Hi Wolfgang, did you ever end up making a decision on this?  I am looking to switch to an Olympus OMD-5 MkIII in an Isotta housing and have also been following your thread on using the Canon 8-15mm FE as that is an interesting option for me.

If this is easily accomplished with an Isotta housing just using the sea&sea adapter to use Nauticam 120 ports that would be great, though it seems like the Zen DP100-N120 will not work which is too bad as that would make for a travel-friendly setup.

I wonder about the N120 140mm  dome port, there are no pictures of the base plate on nauticam's website so hard to know for sure.

Maybe something like this would be required to adapt the Isotta 102 port for their Olympus housing to the 120 port and then use the Nauticam to Sea&Sea base plate adapter:

https://www.unterwasserkamera.at/shop/catalog/en/product_info.php?info=p6048_isotta-portadapter-isotta-b102.html

That should allow you do do what you are proposing, It will add some extension which you will need to account for .