Nikon D-70 / Ikelite buoyancy

Hi All, I'm still awaiting the new D70 iTTL housing from Ikelite and was just wondering about the buoyancy of the setup. I am going to be adding 2 new DS-125s as well. Anyone have a similar setup?

Hi Warren,

I saw the D70 iTTL housing this weekend. It shouldn't weigh appreciably more than the standard D70 housing, because all that is added is a small circuit board and some buttons. That might add 1 oz.

Kark Dietz uses this setup, so hopefully he'll chime in here. There is a BIG difference in underwater weight when using the 8" dome port.

Cheers

James

Hi Warren,

The Ikelite housing with dual DS-125's and standard macro flat ports or 6" dome ports will be about 1-2 pounds negative....very easy to handle underwater. The influence of the iTTL module will be negligable.

The 8" dome for WA lens will make the housing positive....I use a 2 lb dive weight on the handle tray to make it barely negative. The dome will try to float up, but I really don't notice it.

Karl

The Ikelite housing with 2 DS125s is slightly negative. I use 4x8" Ultralight Control Systems bouyancy arm segments as well. The system is easy to control underwater. I haven't measured the exact weight but it isn't tiring to use and IMHO doesn't need additional bouyancy compenation.

With the standard dome ports it has a slight tendancy to nose up, but this also isn't hard to control.

Thanks for the replies, guys. I knew I could count on you.

I was wondering about the buoyancy as my current setup is maybe about 1 pound negative. I recently switched to diving with double steel tanks and I've found that my trim seems to be fairly sensitive to small changes compared to my single tank setup and just wanted to see what I was in for as far as the buoyancy of the D70 setup.

I have on order the iTTL D70 Ike housing (word has it it will be shipping as of June 30), and to that I will be using whatever arm system comes with their DS-125 package (times two for dual DS-125s), along with my Nikkor 12-24mm and the 5503.50 6" port.

From the sounds of it, if it is 1-2 lbs negative, it shouldn't be a problem.

I handled the iTTL housing last weekend while at Seaspace in Houston.

The iTTL module is mounted vertical to the left of the camera instead of horizontal under the camera for Canon eTTL.

I thought it looked weird at first, but realized that I can push the module buttons with my left thumb without my hand leaving the handle like you have to do with the Canon version. Should be nice

Karl

Do you really have two left thumbs Karl?? :D

Sounds like an interesting setup anyway. I assume it is in the same housing box Ike (and you) have already for the D70. Did you get a feel for the release date?

Do you really have two left thumbs Karl?? :D

 

Sounds like an interesting setup anyway. I assume it is in the same housing box Ike (and you) have already for the D70. Did you get a feel for the release date?

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From what I understand, June 30.

Damn... I was hoping to get mine before that. i got a 5 days of diving planned for the end of this month.

Murphy- the dive buddy that never let me down... <_<

That was my understanding - the end of the month. I had called Ikelite about a question about some part numbers and happened to speak with Ike and mentioned the June 30. Keep in mind they will be shipping the waiting list in the order the orders were received, so I would get on that list if you aren't already on.