300D Ikelite housing

Hi friends,

Due to my budget constraint, likely I will buy a ikelite housing in the near future. For now, I am practising my land skills and getting use to the camera. I shoot macro mostly with butterflies and dragonflies my favourite subject as I find them moderately difficult and interesting, at the same time practising the DOF.

I shot with a borrowed Tamron 90mm macro non-DI currently and will be returning it to my friend very soon. I will need to purchase one soon but I can't made up my mind on which lense I should get. With limited funds, likely I will get another Tamron 90mm macro, maybe with DI this time. Here comes the questions:

1) Is the form factor for Tamron 90mm DI and non-DI exactly the same? and function wise as well?

2) I can't find this lense under the "ports" page in ikelite's website. I do however, saw a 90mm macro under Sigma which I suspect them having it up wrong as Sigma doesn't manufacture 90mm for macro.

Your kind advise is very much appreciated.

PS: Please pardon my lousy English.

I have not seen the non-DI version of the Tamron lens and could not find it to see how much it cost. The DI version is more expensive than both the Canon 100MM and Sigma 105MM. I have the Sigma and really like but if i had it to do again I would have bought the Canon 100MM lens as Ikelite has a port that can do manual focusing with this lens. If you can do without manual focus than the Sigma lens is even less expensive and the lens is one I swear by on land.

Craig

Craig,

Do you have the DX version of the Sigma 105mm? Can you switch between AF and manual by turning the focus ring like the Nikon AF-S lenses? Does the focus ring stay fixed when you AF?

If so then you could use the Ikelite zoom gear to manual focus. If you set it to autofocus then you could do both manual and autofocus this way.

I've been waiting to get my hands on one of these to see if its possible.

I have the older version of the 105MM. I believe that they are essentially the same lens body but that the DX has slightly different optics. When in AF mode the focus collar is disengaged so as not to move and interfere with holding the lens, so it is not really designed to do manual focusing in AF mode.

I am not sure that the stock zoom collar for the housing would work either, the lens is pretty thick. I will try and remember to try it out sometime soon and see. I have had the zoom collar on the 18-55MM and it works fine, not sure I would really want to try and focus a lens this way though... it seems like it would be really slow.

So far my best hope with the Sigma is to engage the focus limiter and shoot with a good light to help the AF. AF on land for the lens is pretty good.

Craig

I have the older version of the 105MM. I believe that they are essentially the same lens body but that the DX has slightly different optics. When in AF mode the focus collar is disengaged so as not to move and interfere with holding the lens, so it is not really designed to do manual focusing in AF mode.

 

So far my best hope with the Sigma is to engage the focus limiter and shoot with a good light to help the AF. AF on land for the lens is pretty good.

 

Craig

When used with the Rebel, the Canon 100 mm won't manual focus in AF mode...

I've had both the Sigma 105 and the Canon 100. The Canon did better with AF in low light, less searching than the Sigma.

When used with the Rebel, the Canon 100 mm won't manual focus in AF mode...

Why not? It's a USM lens with FTMF...

~Matt Segal

You need the camera in One-shot AF mode in order to manual focus the 100mm in AF mode. Therein lies the problem. The Rebel doesn't have One-shot AF mode UNLESS you're in portrait, landscape, macro, and I believe night mode also. In M mode, the Rebel only has AI Focus.

You can use these other listed modes and gain this manual overide focus ability with the Rebel, but then you subsequently loose the ability to fully control your shutter and aperature in these other modes as you do in M mode.

So, with the Rebel you're at the mercy of the AI Focus.

You can use the DOF-Preview button to lock focus in M mode...

Additionally, people have used the Russian firmware hack to enable the * button as focus lock I believe...

~Matt Segal

Never ended up doing the hack, so don't know, but the DOF preview button isn't accessible in the A300, I think it might be in the Ike

Never ended up doing the hack, so don't know, but the DOF preview button isn't accessible in the A300, I think it might be in the Ike

err... i'm talking about the Tamron 90mm guys....