you gotta love the way the Seatool fits snug in the palm of your hand! There new DSLR housings are what every traveling underwater photographer has been waiting for! Im excited to see what they bring out for the newer 40D and D300 cameras!
Housing Size Comparison - Ikelike Compact vs. Seatool DSLR (XTi or 400D)
- Thread starter BurBunny
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pakman
Contributor
So am I
, considering that Seatools has port adapters for most of the major housings. Will give me a nice alternative to a S&S housing for my 40D.
OP
BurBunny
Contributor
Ross, thanks for posting that pic! I'd not seen them side by side, just knew how much larger the Ikelite was in my hands.
The SeaTool is so small I made sure to get the hand strap for it - it can even be used as a snorkeling camera in this housing without feeling like you're carrying around the kitchen sink. Have a feeling the housing for the 40D is going to be a blockbuster for them.
The SeaTool is so small I made sure to get the hand strap for it - it can even be used as a snorkeling camera in this housing without feeling like you're carrying around the kitchen sink. Have a feeling the housing for the 40D is going to be a blockbuster for them.
kerryw
Contributor
Seatool looks like a sweet housing, but when comparing to Ikelite it does look like the Seatool with 2 ports (wide and Std) would be about 3x the cost of an Ikelite, Which will be a deciding factor for some. Seatool fills a market need as does Ikelite (BTW anyone see the new smaller P&S housings Ikelite is starting to make)
Me I just retired my Nik V's for a Digital P&S, while I sometimes envy a housed SLR I do so far enjoy the P&S underwater and I always had fun with the Nikonos system.
KLW
Me I just retired my Nik V's for a Digital P&S, while I sometimes envy a housed SLR I do so far enjoy the P&S underwater and I always had fun with the Nikonos system.
KLW
f3nikon
Guest
Thats correct to be fair and balance about it the prices should also be listed, along with the advantages and disadvantages like:
From my observation:
The average 10mp P&S with an OEM housing cost about $400, the DSLR could be 10 to 12 times more.
Most P&S OEM housings can make use of the onboard flash, so an external strobe is not needed right away, most maybe all DSLR systems cannot do this. One can start taking U/W pictures right out of the box with a P&S.
The correct P&S systems have full manual control over the exposure and can control the on board flash.
From reading the questions presented in this forum there is no consensus on which DSLR, which zoom lens, which housings, which port, live view or no live view to get or will my system be obsolete before I finish making the payments!
Plus the fact that some U/W system makers are coming up with an expensive bolt on 45-degree magnifier for DSLR housings ($400? About the same price as an entire P&S system!) Just to help correct the fact that your dive mask has to be practically glued to the DSLR viewfinder to see some of the image, so shooting in an upward angle (one of the golden rules of U/W shooting) very difficult if not impossible.
The P&S system has the ability to use the LCD to see the image before taking the picture so this expensive bolt-on is not needed on a P&S system.
From observing images this U/W forum and others, MOST very good U/W pictures were taken by a P&S setup to the point where as an observer, I cannot tell if the picture was taken by a P&S or a DSLR U/W system.
As far as size goes, going by looks of the Seatool pictures, my entire Canon A630 OEM P&S housing could fit into the Seatool DSLR housing.
Please keep in mind that most would be photographers are just beginning this taking pictures U/W experience or any serious photography after getting their scuba certification and use a P&S system. So do NOT confuse the lack of photography skills, of using too high an ISO, shooting too far, bad composition etc. with poor image quality due to equipment limitations.
Ill leave this open to the DSLR U/W users (I have a DSLR but not housed) who may want to list down the advantages or disadvantages of their systems
caymaniac
Contributor
This is a huge problem for me! I go on maybe two dive trips a year. How can I justify the cost of the S&S, Subal or SeaTool housing compared to the Ike? I don't like the larger size of the Ike. I would like to purchase SeaTool and am willing to pay alittle more but, ... 3X more is ridiculous especially when you look at the life of a digital camera. In three years your camera is outdatted and needs to be replaced. I already have a film Ike housing, I can use my 3 ports on a new Ike housing, how much more will the ports for SeaTool be? B&H has the price for a new Nikon D80 and an Ike housing at $2100. I can use the strobes that I have currently on the Ike, how much more will it cost me to convert strobes or synch chords? Somehow I don't think somebody ... anybody should have to spend the amount that most housing manufactures charge the public.
The cost for a new housing and strobes is more than a flat screen TV system and more than a used car, COMEON "Seatool", make it affordible for us novice photographers!.
The cost for a new housing and strobes is more than a flat screen TV system and more than a used car, COMEON "Seatool", make it affordible for us novice photographers!.
f3nikon
Guest
Good point and to bring up a bit of history…Nikonos started this U/W photography craze, the Single Lens Reflex cameras were housed to help correct the limitations of the Nikonos system, limitations in terms of accurate focusing in macro and image composition, because you cannot see through the lens to see the image before taking the shot with the Nikonos system (non RS).
Fast forward to today’s high megapixel P&S systems, is like the Nikonos system (both rangefinders) with an large Liquid Crystal Display and auto fousing… so composition and focusing is no longer an issue except the lens cannot be removed plus an almost unlimited amount of shots as a bonus.
In my IMHO why spend the thousands in going with a DSLR for U/W use?
Gilldiver
Contributor
The biggest thing holding me back from the DSLR is the life of the camera. Not how long till it is out of date, how long till it dies. I figure it is 5 to 10 years above water, 7 or less under. As we all know, sooner or latter a hair will let the housing flood. When I still had my F3, it was not much of a problem, dry out the housing, get a new body and lens through the insurance, etc. But now, if you have a 5 year old camera, good luck getting it anywhere but used from ebay. You just may end up with an empty housing.
Same goes for video, anyone want an almost perfect Amphibico housing for a Sony 101 or 801 Hi8? My first camera died, and I have bought 3 used camera so far and none of them have lasted more then a year. There is something on the boards that just age and die.
Same goes for video, anyone want an almost perfect Amphibico housing for a Sony 101 or 801 Hi8? My first camera died, and I have bought 3 used camera so far and none of them have lasted more then a year. There is something on the boards that just age and die.
f3nikon
Guest
So true that salt air and saltwater droplets really can shorten any electronics life and now with digital even MORE electronics! With the low cost P&S just get another one and go diving with money to pay for some exotic dive travels. Still Seatool and others are still willing to stick their necks out in this very limited market.
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