Housing for Canon G9

[ejg62]

I recently purchased a Canon G9 and need to buy a housing. I am considering the canon housing or Ikelite. The question is how good is the Canon housings? Has anyone had problems with leaks, breakage or other problems that have destroyed their camera?

I previously shot with an Oly. If I go with the canon housing I have the Sea & Sea YS-90DX auto with fiber optic cable to work with it. This strobe however is not ttl compatible with the Ikelite.

Is the Ikelite housing and strobe with ttl that much better? Is there a substantual benefit with ttl vs. the fiber optic cable?

Thanks

 

[SCOOBA PHAN]

one important thing to consider is the ability to attach various lenses to the housing. with the canon housing you can not , with ike you can. to me it is a toss up on ttl vs. fiber. depends what strobe you want to use. ike is more expensive but gives you the most options for the long run. tom

 

[okiediver1]

I am in the same predicament. I was set on an IKE housing because of the lens thing, but then I found this:

UWdigitalcamera.com

Now is it worth all that extra money for the TTL thing?

 

[vkalia]

TTL is nice to have but manual isn't that much more complex. With a little practice (a few dives), you'll find manual just as easy to use.

If the Canon housing is anything like the other compact housings, fogging may be an issue. Repeated strobe use heats up the camera, which increases the propensity of the housing to fog.

 

[KARELNIJEBOER]

HI;

i had the same choise to make: Canon at half the price or Ikelite. I drowned 2 canon S-80 cameras in my canon housing, and i was treating it with coution. There are big downsides on the Canon, and few on the Ikelite:

-Ikelite allows you to use the rotary control, the aperture control becomes very intuitive then! On the Canon you do not have this control, and you need 2 hands to do this.
-The ISO button is also a rotary control available on the Ike, not on canon I think.
-The trigger release is but and very accurate. this allows you to press the button half way down to focus, just like you can do topside. This you can do with gloves on. Don't even try this with the canon housing.
-the housing is easy to inspect, you an see the o-ring sealing very easy
-the housing is bigger with ike, underwater this is no issue. What is great is that the camera sits in the middle of the casing, with about a 1 inch space around it everywhere. Even with some water in the housing, it may survive. I know, the Canon has much less margin here.
-The housing comes with a ergonomic handle, this stabilises the camera.
The built quility of Ike is fabulous, it is rated to 60 meters, thus has margin built in.

I am stuck with 2 dead Canon cameras, and a housing I don't trust(only 1 year old); I exepect my ikelite to safeguard my camera much better!

Regards;

Karel

 

[randini]

The YS90 is only not TTL cabable when fired via synch cable in the ike housing. AFAIK, if you use the G9's internal flash to trigger the strobe via fiber optic, it is should work just as it did in the oly. From what I've read when a bulkhead is connected to the G9's hotshoe, the camera automatically disconnects the internal flash, so for this to work, you'll need to leave the bulkhead disconnected.

If you do connect the strobe to the hotshoe through the bulkhead, then you'll have to manually set the strobe.

Mind you I am a UW photo n00b, I do not own this camera, any ikelite housing nor do I have a strobe (yet, but it's on it's way here). This is all purely based on what I've been reading on the forums in researching strobe options.

 

[okiediver1]

Karel, since you have the IKE housing can you tell me if the grip for the G9 will fit when the camera is in the housing?

I dont know if you have seen it, but I really want to purchase this grip so that the camera is easier to hold onto topside.

It appears that it would.........

here is a link to the grip:

G9 Grip (4 photos): Canon Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review

Thanks, I think you sold me on the IKE.

 

[KARELNIJEBOER]

Hi; Yes , I did see this grip, and I agree this is a nice and useful thing to have. There are 2 pins on the ikelite baseplate to position the camera; and one is on the position of the grip. I would need to check the dimensioning of the camera mounted in the housing. Too late now(in holland); and tomorrow 'm off to Germany. When I'm back, I'll be happy to check for you. I'm sure this can be made to work; it could involve shortening a positioning pin, or drilling a hole in the ikelite mounting plate.

More later

Karel (who finds the weather horrific here, and is not willing to go out to the shed through storm and rain...at 1:15 at night

 

[okiediver1]

Karel,

Thanks so much! I would really appreciate you checking for me as I would really like to put this grip on my G9--if I do, that rules out the Canon housing as I know for sure it wont fit in that one. Hope the weather improves! We are getting freezing rain here in Oklahoma

 

[KARELNIJEBOER]

Hi Okiediver;

Well, Oklahoma made the news also here in Holand, because of the weather! Well, wind has gone here, so I went in my shed to make a picture for you. The modification involved is indee easy I am sure. There is a metal pin with a soft plastic cap locating the camera. The hole in the plastic plastic plate can be moved forward. I would think it can be made to fit. Let me try to upload the pictures:

Questions? Just ask!

Karel