I did a thread search but didn't quite find the answer I was looking for. I unloaded my Oly 5050 and housing and now have a Nikon D70s with kit lens (18-70mm). I didn't purchase it with the intent of using it for UW (honest!). But now I'm reconsidering, because it's really rekindled my interest in doing UW photography. I've done a little research on housings and know I do not want to spend $2K + on a housing alone. So, it looks like my options are either the Ikelite or Fantasea or ???. I already own 2 Sea & Sea YS90DX strobes and ULCS arms, and Nikonos tray and am wondering about compatibility issues with these housings. I would like to use the equipment I already have so I can get up and running without spending a huge amount of money (yeah, I know, that's a relative term).
Any thoughts/guidance would be much appreciated!
The Ikelite is a very good housing with customer service second to none. You would be able to use your Sea & Sea strobes on manual (which is what most of us shoot anyway).
The 18-70 isn't real great u/w. I would consider maybe the 60mm for fish & smaller stuff and maybe the Sigma 15mm for WA.
HTH,
Dave
The Ikelite is a very good housing with customer service second to none. You would be able to use your Sea & Sea strobes on manual (which is what most of us shoot anyway).
The 18-70 isn't real great u/w. I would consider maybe the 60mm for fish & smaller stuff and maybe the Sigma 15mm for WA.
Thanks very much, Dave. Do I need any sort of adapter to use my strobes, i.e., I thought I had to use Ikelite strobes or an adapter would be required. Just wondering if this is the case, might this be a potential failure point, or something very straightforward that doesn't complicate the connection to the bulkhead. I figured the kit lens wouldn't be a good choice for UW work. I pretty much only do macro, and I particularly like doing fish portraits, so I was thinking of a 105mm.
You can get Ikelite sync cord that has Ikelite plug at one end and nikonos connector at the other end.
I would go with Ikelite as well. Fantasea is cheaper but does not support that many lenses. They do offer free flood insurance but recently somebody did complain about trying to claim the insurance on flooded camera on scubaboard.
You can get Ikelite sync cord that has Ikelite plug at one end and nikonos connector at the other end...
Hold on, what you need a Nikonos type connector on the housing if you have your cables already.
OR
A special double cable that fit into the Ikelite bulkhead and has a dual Sea & Sea strobe connector.
Better would be individual bulkhead connectors, so in the event of a cord failure you can still go on a single flash and simply replace the one faulty cable later.
Reduntancy a diver's best friend!
Sync cords that attach Inon or Sea & Sea strobes to Ikelite housings are descrobed on following URL. These can only operate as manual, not TTL strobes:
See buttons at bottom of the housing page on Ikelite web site labeled Recommended Strobe Systems and Attaching Non Ikelite Strobes.
Sync cords that attach Inon or Sea & Sea strobes to Ikelite housings are descrobed on following URL. These can only operate as manual, not TTL strobes:
