Ikelite 8" Dome

Hi Guys,

I will shortly be taking the jump into the DSLR world, I will be doing so with the Canon 350D.

I have a shortlist of lenses that I will buy over the coming months but as I dont have a money tree I am wondering if the 8" Dome will be suitable for them all.

Sigma 15mm Fisheye lens

Sigma 18-50mm

Sigma 50mm

Sigma 12-24mm

I know I will definatly need a seperate dome for the 50mm macro lens, but will the others be ok and not distort the photos?.

Now onto my second question, I have heard many people recommend the sigma lenses, are they better than the canon lenses?.

Thanks

Adam

Hi Adam,

I doubt you will find anyone here who thinks the Sigma lenses are better than Canon...:-) Some are as good though, the 18-50 is an outlier- because it IS better than the Canon 18-55, but it costs more too.

Here's the ports you will want if those are your lenses:

Sigma 15mm Fisheye lens - 8" dome w/ no extension

Sigma 18-50mm - 8" dome w/ extension ring

Sigma 50mm - flat port (look up on Ike site)

Sigma 12-24mm - 8" dome w/ extension ring

Cheers

James

Thanks for the reply, it is good to hear the sigma are not better than the canon.

The only reason I chose Sigma is because I didnt want to spend all that money on an underwater setup only for the photos to be hindered by the make of lens.

If the Canon lenses are just as good I will probally go with canon as I can get them cheaper in a Package deal when I buy the Camera and will also get a money back voucher book for canon lenses when I get the camera.

So in the list of lenses I gave the sigma only beats the canon with 18-50?

If I got the canon EF-S 10-22mm would I even need the 15mm?

Sorry for all the questions

Cheers

Adam

Hi Adam,

I recently got the 350D with Ikelite, Canon EF-S 10-22mm and Sigma 50mm EX DG macro.

Few pics here from my first outing, a trip to the Red Sea.

http://www.aengusm.com/images/Red%20Sea%202005/

Note the Dolphin shots....there with the Sigma 50mm...fantastic lens, very flexible. The other Sigma shots are pretty obvious.

On the 10-22 the best bit of advice with Ikelite is to follow their recommendation and get the 8inch dome, don't go near the 6 inch dome, very obvious softness at the edges.

The eTTL2 on the Ikelte works very well, thats all I used on that trip, 2 x DS-125 and a dual sync cord.

Good luck,

Aengus

Thanks for the reply, what photos did you use the 10-22 lens on?, if I got the 10-22 do you think i would need the 15mm sigma?.

I am trying to justify spending so much on a camera that will be used primarily underwater, then I see photos like the ones you have taken and it only increases my eagerness to get one.

The threaded ikelite extension currently used can bind fairly easily, making you think that the port is assembled properly... If you plan on taking this exension off and on like james suggests, I'd definately purchase a strap wrench, and carefully testing the housing in a dip tank after installation.

Delrin is a particlularly easy material to cross thread, as well.

Personally I wouldn't suggest monkeying with the port after it is assembled.

The 10-22 and Sigma 15fe are redundant field of views, and it doesn't make much sense for me to travel with both. The 15 is a star behind Ikelite's inexpensive small dome.

Ryan is correct. Delrin is extremely easy to cross thread and the Ike threads are very fine. Once you cross thread a ring it will be very difficult to re-thread correctly.

Best just to leave the extension for the 10-22 on the port and you can use it with the 10-22 and if I recall correctly, it also works w/ the 15mm.

Cheers

James

Sigma 12-24 will not work in an Ikelite housing with any port. It is phisically to large.

While I know that was once the official position, I'm understanding that is being revisited after Ike made my web designers exotic Olympus 7-14 fit...

http://www.digitaldiver.net/yabbse/index.p...24381#msg124381

That's correct, Ike is looking for a 12-24 to borrow because he thinks he can get it to fit in the port using a special gear deisgn.

I'd loan him mine, but I'm heading to Bali and can't part w/ it.

Cheers

James

I didnt think you needed an extension with the 10-22 and an 8" dome?.

This is what I have narrowed my choice down to as far as the camera goes.

Canon EOS 350D Body

Sigma 18-50mm f3.5-5.6 DC

Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 USM Macro

Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM

Although I am still doing my daily searches of the internet to see if people have tested the sigma alternatives alongside them.

Cheers

Adam

Hi Adam,

On my link above, shots 13-22 and 43 to 54, and a few others, are with the 10-22mm.

Over this side of the world the 350D kit has an 18- 55mm. I'm told its not the best quality lens but certainly not the worst either, and a good starter.

I understand the body vs. kit cost in the US is only US$100, and the Ike port for that lens is not too expensive, so if your running a tight budget it maybe an option to just get the 350D kit initially?

On the point of keeping the cost down, maybe consider the Sigma 50mm EX DG Macro against the Canon EF-S 60mm?

As far as I'm aware, there are no extensions rings required for the Canon 10-22 in the Ike 8" dome.

Cheers,

Aengus

Here is the official information about Ikelite ports:

Canon lens port chart

8 inch dome port

The 10-22 works behind the 8'' port with an extension ring that comes attached to the port from Ikelite, no additional ring is necessary.

While I know that was once the official position, I'm understanding that is being revisited after Ike made my web designers exotic Olympus 7-14 fit...

 

http://www.digitaldiver.net/yabbse/index.p...24381#msg124381

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Wow, how did I miss out on that one. Very cool.

does anyone know if the 18-55mm USM lens produces better results than the normal 18-55mm, i heard the material used for the actual lens was of poor quality and was wondering if the same thing was true for the USM version

I have seen a canon 350 kit with the USM lens.

The USM version is no different than the non-USM version. (which is not that bad)

The only difference is the AF motor is slightly quieter.

It is not the same USM that is used in canon's more expensive lenses either. It is what canon calls micro-USM. It does not allow full time manual focus nor is the focusing any faster.

Personally I wouldn't suggest monkeying with the port after it is assembled.

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Ryan,

How about the Aquatica version? If this is true it would be bad news because you would be back to one lens for one port.