Removable Trays for SLR Housings

After speaking to a couple of manufacturers about perceptions involving access to the camera, I'm curious about what wetpixel thinks...

I voted for a fixed tray, front half, because of problems I've had with supermacro lenses and sloppy removable trays. All of my cameras measure battery life in days, so that is not an issue either...

I'll stick with a fixed tray as long as I can get the card out easily. I have enough loose parts to think about as it is.

All the best, James

I prefer a well executed quick release tray as in the Subal F5 housing. None of my housings have had this feature, and it is one of the reasons I envy my buddy's Subal. My A90 housing has a tray but it isn't QR which kinda defeats the purpose. THe tray does make it MUCH easier to line up the MSC control, though.

My Sea & Sea housing has a tripod screw mounted block which slides into the tray in the front half of the housing.

This matches really well but my housing is brand new so this may change with time but it lock in place on all the controls fit straight on when you close the housing back.

This seems like a great solution to me and is one of the things that sold me this housing over an ikelite. The tray on the backplate seemed really clumsy to me. I can change the compactflash without removing the camera though.

Personally, I love the Seacam approach -- a screw right in the front half of the housing. A tray is yet another part that can be left at home...

I voted for the removable tray design ala Sea & Sea, Subal and my favorite being the tray design of the Light & Motion Titan D100. As I spend most of my day assembling and disassembling these housings I've found the removable tray design the easist and fastest to setup. Especially useful for battery changes.

Ryan, as you know I have a fixed tray, and now lust over the removable tray in the Subal.

This is one of a few reasons I am looking at "switching".

The fixed tray has caused me a few alignment problems I would like to eliminate...

Sliding Tray, definitely.

My original housing was the Subal Miniflex for the F801S - no tray, camera screws into a plate inthe bottom of the front half of the housing. My housing for the Fuji S2 uses the same sliding tray in front half that i believe all the newer Subal SLR housings use.

There's no question whatsoever that getting the camera body in and out, alignment, etc. are much easier with the sliding tray. It lives in the housing, so I'm not likely to leave it at home. The lens release lever is the other big plus, making it possible to switch lenses and ports without removing the body from the housing, something that is difficult or impossible with some large lenses with the F8101s.

Regards,

I don't have any problems with my removable tray, but I'd prefer it be front fixed. The key is card accessibility. I don't want to have to dissassemble all that stuff just to get to the card. Soon, if not already, I'll await the WiFi camera so I can use wireless to download images and not have to poen the housing at all. Now if only someone could figure out a way to charge the camera without removing it.....

Joe

I'd have to agree with Ryan. Too many housings with removable trays are sloppy and have control problems because of it. If Subal has figured that out then I think that's great.

One issue not mentioned is that a removable tray makes the housing taller. That's frequently not an issue because of bouyancy but it can be. I like the smallest housing I can get but I want it to be trim.

Eric also has a point about fewer parts being better than more parts. If the parts really gain you something then they are worth it, but a removable tray aids mostly in battery replacement and most cameras have long lasting batteries these days. I change every other day whether it needs it or not!

If a removable tray worked flawlessly even with the huge macro lenses then I'd like it. Otherwise I'd much prefer the approach of Seacam/Nexus/Aquatica. KISS.

I have used every kind of try extensively: Ikelite, Aquatica, Sea and Sea, Seacam, UK-Germany.

I like the tray-fixed-to-the-front approach best. With a low-profile tripod screw, this type of tray doesn't take up too much space in the housing. One thing that is key is a tripod screw that doesn't unscrew all the way so you can drop it overboard...

If the housing is designed well with appropriate bump stops then the camera can mount up perfectly just by dropping it in. The tripod screw just does the final alignment and holds the camera there.

Cheers

James

Guess I need to look at these other housings a little closer. I'm not sure what a comparison would be. My observations from using the Subal: The tray is small and not enough of an impact for me to remove it from the camera body. Plus, the camera rests in an upright position when out of the housing for what that's worth.

I'm surprised to hear though that people think the tray adds size. I've seen most of the other D70 housings, (not Seacam though) and none of them are smaller than the Subal.

I've put a 2x TC on the end of my 105 and it's rock steady in the housing. As the rails the tray rides on are nicely machined and very sturdy. Everything aligns perfectly when mounted. So, I've no real complaints and find it easy enough to change cards, batteries or download with the camera slid back just a few inches out of the housing.

Rand

Hi Rand,

The removable tray housings I've tried are the Sea and Sea and the Jonah. Both of which have plastic rails and a plastic tray. They both seem a bit flexible, but the Sea and Sea was stiffer. The cool thing about the Sea and Sea tray is that the MSC gearing is part of the tray.

Cheers

James

I've only used the Subal and the LMI D100 Titan removable trays, but these have both worked very well for me. The Subal in particular is small and works very smoothly. Once I've mounted the camera on the tray, I usually leave it on for the duration of a trip. I like that I can take the camera out of the housing, use it for some topside shots, and then just slide it back in the housing with no alignment fussing.

However, it's very likely that if I used a removable tray system that wasn't as well designed, I might hate them...

I'm also a little surprised about the size issues. How do the Nexus or Seacam housings compare in size to the Subals?

Guess I need to look at these other housings a little closer. I'm not sure what a comparison would be. My observations from using the Subal: The tray is small and not enough of an impact for me to remove it from the camera body. Plus, the camera rests in an upright position when out of the housing for what that's worth.

Yeah, just about everything about the Subal made me hate my Aquatica!

I sure did love my rig until I saw Rands Subal!

Yeah, just about everything about the Subal made me hate my Aquatica!

 

I sure did love my rig until I saw Rands Subal!

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Shh - that kinda talk can get you hurt around here. Trust me!

KC

Maybe the Subal design is better; but I've owned 2 Subals with the removable tray and I can't imagine how the fixed could be better. When on a trip I don't remove the camera from the tray. Sometimes the camera stays on tray for months at a time.

The subal trays are very nice. I regularly take the D10 out with a 105mm + 2 x TC + diopter without problems. Ive been in St Croix for 2 months now, and i never take the tray off if i take the camera topside. It doesnt add that much bulk. On liveaboards I just leave it on too when we go on land.

I have noticed 1 slight problem, but I havent bothered to investigate much. I can not get my D10 to operate all three settings of MSC (part of the tray). The range is just slightly too small, so I can either do MS or SC, but not all three. In practice I never use that anyways, but still.

Cor

I have noticed 1 slight problem, but I havent bothered to investigate much. I can not get my D10 to operate all three settings of MSC (part of the tray). The range is just slightly too small, so I can either do MS or SC, but not all three. In practice I never use that anyways, but still. 

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This is most likely due to the engagement tabs on the MSC drive gear being worn. You've got too much play at the control lever. Just one screw holds it in place and there is no timing involved. I should have the gear in stock.

I haven't used Subal. Only Sea & Sea and Jonah. Both those trays had too much slop to make me want them.

Removable trays clearly take room but it doesn't have to be a lot. Bouyancy is enough of a concern that the extra room is likely needed anyway. It's hard to imagine a smaller D100 housing than the Nexus though. I think the Subal is bigger.

In any event, the 2x 105 is not a big macro lens IMO. The 70-180 and 200 are much larger and more difficult to house. If a removable tray stands up to those lenses I'd be happy. A unique advantage of Nexus is that the fully support the front of these large lenses.