Aquatica 8" dome/Ikelite split shots

Just did some split shot with the Aquatica 8" dome (Original Aquatica product) in a D70 Ikelite housing and the 10.5mm Nikon fisheye, aside from a leaky dry suit and 39F degree water between my shoulder , flooding a strobe and getting a speeding ticket on my way there kind of diverting my attention to the job at hand the thing's went well. Since it is not my purpose to test Ikelite products I’ll not comment on this part of the rig, just want folks to let them know there is an 8" dome that will allow split shot like the one we are used to seeing all the time from the aluminum guy's.

Thanks Jean.....I've got the 8" dome.....now I need the 10.5 extension adapter.....can I get that from Ikelite or Aquatica?

Karl

Karl, this is not an extension or an adapter, it's a 8" dome made for Ikelite housings, since Aquatica use's it's optics and machine's the proper flange they can move the dome closer to the housing, Ike's approach is different, they use the older discontinued version of Aquatica's dome and machine an adapter to adapt it to their housing, that is OK, but if you want to shoot a fisheye and especially in the case of split shots you need to move the dome right up that mythical optical axis and the adapter does'nt allow it. I know it's a little too late, but what you need is this version of the dome.

Regards

Jean....so this version is only for the 10.5mm?....can't be used for other lenses by changing an extension ring?

Karl

See the explanation on our homepage.

Cheers

James

Nope, what it mean "au contraire" is that given the proper extension from Aquatica you can fit a whole slew of lens and zoom Canon or Nikon starting and including the 10.5mm fisheye, basically the same array as the Aquatica line up for the large dimmension lenses like the 14mm and some zooms this due to the opening of the housing flange and not because of the dome per say.

Regards

Jean, I like your pictures. What technique did you use to keep the top of the dome free of water drops or streaks? For example, did you keep the top dry by carefully lowering the port into the water? Or did you use a wetting gent of some sort and if so what did you use?

Karl, I think the port that Jean has is the same one you have but with a short extension that keys under the latches of the Ikelite housing when rotated to get it close enough to the housing to avoid vignetting on the 10.5 mm fisheye.

Hi Peter, just slow and patient positionning, this being a protected body of water and me being in shallow water definetly makes thing easier, using this approach in a short chop while floating around in an inflated BCD, mmm! go for the wetting agent.

The part per say is the flange upon wich the actual dome is mounted, this part is machined from the start to be mounted on a Ikelite housing, their version use an adapter to convert our old type (discontinued) screw mount into a Ikelite mount, this cannot be done without adding substantial thickness to the actual flange, hence the incompatibillity with fisheye lenses. Be as it may, you benefit from the optical quality of an 8" dome of the highest quality in both case. it's just that if you plan on including a very wide lens in your line up i think the Aquatica route makes more sense (Bare in mind I am closely attached to Aquatica )

Cheers

I just ordered a 8" dome from Ike. I am going to use the 18-70 lens initially and I need to know, do I need to use a +4 diopter?? Thanks for helping a newbie.

Here we go again! :-) I would try it with a weaker diopter first - perhaps a +2. If you find that the rig isn't focusing close enough for you, only then would I resort to the +4.

YMMV - I haven't tried the setup myself but would be happy to test it.

Cheers

James

Where can one buy the Aquatica 8" dome? What is the price? And does one need extensions to get it to work with the 12-24 lens on an Ikelite housing?

SD

The Ike dome is not the "same" as the standard Aquatica. It has a different mount. In other words, you would want to order it from an Ikelite dealer.

I would choose Ryan at Reef Photo. He is a site sponser, and can be found at www.reefphoto.com and ryan@reefphoto.com