Housing for Canon Mark II and surfing photography?

Hi, i `m working with a Canon 1D MarkII and want to do surfing photography with this camera. I want to shoot in the lineup inside the waves. Does anyone have experience in shoots like this and wich housing would be the best for it?

Thank you from Austria,

Reinhard

Without creating a housing debate, you should be looking at the most solid "abusable" housing possible. AS most are aware, the most dangerous time for a housing is in the "entry" into the water, as there is no pressure to help seal the unit. AS you are using a very expensive dslr, and the waves will be beating the hell out of you (and it), I would think you should look at the higher end solutions. Not sure about camera coverage, but Subal seems to have the smalles lightest, and also very sturdy housings for high end cameras. I use Aquatica, bit you may find them a bit heavy to deal with in the surf. Also, Ikelight seems to be a bit bulkier than most and I am not sure how well the ports on them would seal "at the surface" in the waves.

Lets hope some folks with a lot more knowledge of the housings available for the Mark II will jump in here with more (and likely better) advice!

Thank You Richard, that`s new for me, i thought the pressure is the problem, but i understand now a little bit more of these things. I think about to buy alternative the D-20 and take the MarkII for "beach-shots", so the risk is not so high and the housings are also cheaper. I will contact ikelite in germany and ask them about the ports...

Reinhard

There is another thread (older) here at Wetpixel about surf housing, with some excellent housing manufacturer links posted.

Do a search. Good luck!

Cheers

James

Suggestion:

http://www.aquatech.com.au/index.htm

Convo on Wetpixel

http://www.aquatech.com.au/index.htm

Info on wetpixel:

http://www.wetpixel.com/PNphpBB2-viewtopic...ight-surf.phtml

Lars answered this on Digideep a while ago

http://www.digideep.com/forum/viewtopic.ph...&highlight=surf

All convo's are right. Polycarbonate will cut down on weight. but if it gets bashed isn't as strong (but not by much). I would however say that you would want the polycarbonate housing. I have noticed ike's new housings getting a little more compact but I would never have said they were light in the past, infact some were heavier than the cameras and strobe.

When it comes down to it .. if you want a typical dive housing.. they may be more expensive but Subal Housings are the lightest and they are aluminium so they are strong and no one can fault their seals. So it is all down to if you want to spend that money and wait for when they will get the new housings out.

Thank you for all this tipps. I decided to buy a second digital body, the 20-D Canon with the 10-22mm lens. The housing i got is from aqua-tech, they manufacture this esp. for sport-photography inside water. Its not realy for diving (10m deep) but its verry light over the waterline. I will post my first results in a few month, have a good time, Reinhard