underwater housing for D50

[RonFrank]

Having just bought a DSLR housing (a Subal for my D200) you left out a few very important factors to consider.

1. Ergonomics and ease of use. The Ike housing controls do not provide nearly the same level of feedback and require a lot of finesse when loading the camera.

2. Balance in the water. If you do not go to a variation of the UCLS handles with the Ike, you are adding a lot of weight and less flexibility as the arms need to be cranked down to hold the large DS strobes. The handles are part of cost of a S & S, Nexus or Subal package.

3. The Ike Sync cords and conections are subject to a high failure and fall-out rates.

4. The large DS (excluding the 50's) strobes produce outstanding output, but are huge, heavy and require a big charger and unique battery packs.

All that being said the Ike price point is quite competetive. But I don't know anybody who has a Aquatica, Nexus or Subal that would ever go back to an Ike.

Of course these are just my opinions.

I'm really not sure what you mean by "Ike controls do not provide the same level of feedback"?

I think one problem is that a lot of divers don't have the opportunity to try various housings to determine what really makes a difference. Heck, there are a handful of dealers in the country that carry one brand of DSLR housing, much less several.

I'm not sure I've talked with any IKE users that have used anything else or VisaVersa? There certainly are a lot of happy Ike users, but users of other housings are also happy.

So anyone out there start with Ike, and now uses something else that wants to comment. Maybe on WetPixel I could find more users who have actually used all this stuff.

I've certainly read a lot of reviews, but they seem generally less than subjective as most people who commit thousands of dollars into a system defend it, and don't have much in the way of experience with other brands to really do a side by side comparision.

Boy would I LOVE to see a DSLR housing shootout done by an objective group of professionals!

 

[kidsdream]

I'm really not sure what you mean by "Ike controls do not provide the same level of feedback"?

I think one problem is that a lot of divers don't have the opportunity to try various housings to determine what really makes a difference. Heck, there are a handful of dealers in the country that carry one brand of DSLR housing, much less several.

I'm not sure I've talked with any IKE users that have used anything else or VisaVersa? There certainly are a lot of happy Ike users, but users of other housings are also happy.

Many people that I know as well as others that often post on digitaldiver.net started with Oly or Ike housings and them migrated from there.

A frequent progression is an OEM housing for a digicam -> Ike and then a Aquatica or Subal, ect. for a DSLR.

You are right in the fact that you may not understand what you are "missing" until you try other housings. Even with a compact digital camera there are huge variations in capabilites (# of usable controls, feel, durability) and ergonomics. As example for my old Oly 5050, the options included: the low cost Oly housing, mid-priced Ike housing and the top of the line Light & Motion housing. This is the same as saying formica countertops are "nice" until you have ever had a kitchen with granite or Corian. With my L & M housing the camera fit in like a glove. The buttons were perfectly aligned to the camera and you could adjust the strobe output using the ROC system.

With the high costs related to a DSLR housing it is key for the user to have a chance to feel or in the best case, Demo the housing. Top notch retailers like Reef Photo are willing to do this for serious buyers. Reef Photo sells Ike, Sea & Sea, Subal, Nexus housings for the D200. Underwater PhotoTech sells the Subal and the Aquatica (and maybe the S & S) ....

I demo'ed the Nexus D200 housing (which was my first choice originally), and did not like the a few issues including the stroke of the rear buttons, the lack of a sliding mounting tray, and the screw on (vs. 1/4 turn) lens port mounting. This made my decision to go with the Subal easier even if it added $1000 to the system price (housing and ports for 60, 105 and 12-24)

The feel and ease of use of the IKE housings are not even in the same playing field as a a top-shelf housing, but only the individual buyer can decide what this level of performance is worth in hard earned dollars. You can take great pictures in both cases, it is just more convenient to do so with some equipment - and in the worst case you can miss a shot or a dive due to a control or strobe failure.

 

[Mariozi]

I have a Sea&Sea DX-D50 housing, and I am VERY pleased with it.

 

[niaewn]

I still waiting ( it took like foreverrrrr order this housing) for my housing.
So what strobe that you used? YS 110? It is true that the only strobe with TTL its YS 110?

if you have nikon lens 18-55m , fish eye and 12-24, what dome you prefer to buy? since theres many option the offer.
thank you

 

[Mariozi]

I am not sure about the TTL capability with the YS110. I use one YS120 paired with a YS90.
I would (as I do) always go for the big Fisheye Dome Port. It is much better for zoom lenses, that don't focus as close as fixed lenses.
The lens/accessories I use are the following:
- Nikkor AF-D 105mm/2.8 micro
- Nikkor AF-D 16mm/2.8 fisheye
- Nikkor AF-DX 10.5mm/2.8 fisheye (ordered not arrived)
- Nikkor AF-D 24-85mm/2.8-4
- Nikkor AF-D 20mm/2.8
- Sigma 8mm/4 true fisheye (used mostly on my F80s with NX-80 housing)
- Nikkor AF-D 50mm/1.8 (never used UW)
- Kenko Pro300 3x teleconverter
- Kenko Auto-Focus Extension Tube set

Those I use with the big dome or compact macro port system and (if needed) one or both of the Extension Ring 40 or SX Extension Ring, I also have ordered the ER22 (wich is a small one for the compact macro port system) and one multi-shoe ring for placing strobes on the macro ports.
Best

 

[Mariozi]

All that equipment is a result of 6 years of SLR shooting...
When you switch from one digicam to another you loose (or have to sell) most of the equipment, but one thing that many people pass right by when moving from a compact digicam to a housed DSLR system is that lenses, strobes, cables, acessories and ports (once you choose a maker like S&S, Aquatica etc...) become a life-long investment.
I have made the move from compact to SLR in 2000, from a Motormarine IIex to a housed Nikon F80s, at first I bought a Hugyfot housing (german) wich was a good compact and ergonimic housing, but the company was sold, and I was left unattended for a few years, now they are back in business from Belgium and under new management, and seems that they are doing a good job by the looks for their D200 housing! But now I am already a heavy S&S user and I would loose money swithcing systems.

Best.

 

[RonFrank]

but one thing that many people pass right by when moving from a compact digicam to a housed DSLR system is that lenses, strobes, cables, acessories and ports (once you choose a maker like S&S, Aquatica etc...) become a life-long investment.

at first I bought a Hugyfot housing (german) wich was a good compact and ergonimic housing, but the company was sold, and I was left unattended for a few years

But now I am already a heavy S&S user and I would loose money swithcing systems.

Best.

Ironic that you start out by saying it's a lifelong investment, and then give a perfect example of how it was NOT a lifelong investement resulting in a brand switch.

Lifelong warranty's, life long equipment investments, etc. are only as good as 1) the company behind them, and 2) the technology.

If Nikon changes their lens mount to offer FF next year, and the end result is that lenses get larger in diameter then boom, the current ports could become worthless.

I *THOUGHT* I had a lifelong investement in camera (film) equipment 10 years ago.. snicker. My investment became somewhat worthless as I watch digital devalue $20,000+ worth of Large & medium format, and darkroom film equipment to about $4,000.

The only constant is change, and while I know what you are saying and agree to a point, I'm not sure I'd base decisions entirely upon the premis that you can get more than a decade out of most photo related gear in this day and age.

Just some food for thought.

 

[Mariozi]

Well I have some of my lenses for more than 6 years now, the 105, 20 and 16mm are the oldest of them bought at Smiles in NY (store is closed now...)
Maybe "lifelong" was an overstatement, but considering the F-Mount it ins unlikely that Nikon would make a move like that, but considering that the F-Mount is around for how much? 50 years??? And late digital bodies are coming compatible with old Nikkors, I feel safe enough.
If you look closely at the DSLR market, you may notice some of a tendency of returning to full-frame sensors, specially with the new competitors on this market Nikon and Canon will be pressed into this differential... but thats another topic.
As for the housings, when I bought my first housing Hugyfot was "dying" or "transitionting" into a new concept, but I would loose a few years of good service, and I got a good price, other than that I got lucky selling it here in Brazil, and one of the motives I went for S&S is the NX Port line, its been around for some time, and since it is just a port system (not much optics involved) it is easy for S&S to make all adjustments (not a very hard thing to do) in the housings to keep the line of NX Ports, by the way if you look at it you will see that actually this line of ports is growing, an indication that will not change drastically in the near future of a few years.
Every now and then you see someone changing from Nikon to Canon, Sea&Sea to Aquatica, Ikelite to S&S... it is normal, but these changes cost money and time (the learning curve or adaptation). When I see someone new asking for advice, I try to give my best, based on my experience of what I did that was good and/or not as good. Althoug things are not static, there is not as much chaos as you say, and we have to try to study the market and try to see some order in the movement when you send such money (at least for my pocket)
Nowadays I try to avoid as much as possible this brand switches, and the thing you mentioned about the FullFrame (maybe next year) is one of the things that worries me most, so much that I think the 10.5mm is the only DX optic I will buy. But you have to remember that the NX Port system was originally projected for full-frame 35mm.
Best,

 

[bfdc]

I have a Sea&Sea DX-D50 housing, and I am VERY pleased with it.

thinking about the S&S D50 as well and had a couple of questions:

how well does the shutter mechanism operate underwater? does it simulate the same feel you have with the shutter button on the camera -- easy to hold halfway for focus lock? is it sensitive enough to have the camera on burst or continuous mode and still fire just one shot?

also, how is the optical view finder thru a mask? easy to compose shots, etc?

do you find you "miss" any controls using the D50 and housing?

...and finally, how would you rate the "ruggedness" of this housing? does it have to be "babied" all the time or can it take some knocks or neglect when on a small boat with no rinse tank, etc

how would you rate the main o-ring seal? easy to seal or do you have to be careful and "fastidious"?

thanks in advance

Paul

 

[Mariozi]

Well lets go:

how well does the shutter mechanism operate underwater?
R: It works GREAT, the NX-N80 was already good at it, the DX-D50 is even better.

does it simulate the same feel you have with the shutter button on the camera -- easy to hold halfway for focus lock?
R: yes, definitelly.

is it sensitive enough to have the camera on burst or continuous mode and still fire just one shot?
R: Never tryed to use burst mode UW, but I think so.

how is the optical view finder thru a mask?
R: About the same as it was on the NX-80, this is restricted much more by the small D50 viewfinder than the housing itself.

easy to compose shots, etc?
R: there is a little story I like to tell. When I bought my first housing (Hugyfot) I went to Germany to buy it at the factory. I had been shooting a Motormarine IIex and my viewfinder eye was my left eye. When Mr Hugensmith handed me the housing I looked through it with my left eye... he took the housing from my hand: "Na, na, na, na... you see this (pointing to a recess in the housing) this is for your nose, so your left eye goes here (pointing to the viewfinder)".
It was a hard thing to do, and sometimes when I was uw and having some difficulties trying to shoot something, I realised I was looking with the wrong eye... so I trained my right eye to be my "first" or "main" eye.
The NX-80 housing also has this reccess for the nose, but the DSLRs due to their controls on the back does not permit housing to have such a feature, so you will need some scanning of the complete viewfinder image to correctly frame a picture, this can be done in a fraction of a second with practice.

do you find you "miss" any controls using the D50 and housing?
R: No... nothing I miss. The only 2 controls you cannot access are the Shooting Mode butto (rarely used) and the Flash Sync (pop-up) also rarely if ever used.

how would you rate the "ruggedness" of this housing?
R: I would prefer an all aluminium housing like the D200. Even with the NX-80 I would never leave a housing on the rinse tank (where most of the flooding/breakage occurs) or unguarded on a small boat, but I do some zodiac dives, where I keep the housing on a wet towel until I can clean it in fresh water. Also send all your housings for bienal repair/service at a speciallized facility (I recommend Sub Aquatic Camera Repair Co.). If you dive on a big boat I strongly recommend for ALL housings the use of a Pelican Case, its a U$100-200 one-time-payment insurance.

how would you rate the main o-ring seal?
R: It seals really well even better now with the 3 locks. There is a recommendation here, when openning, go first for the top lock then the side ones together; when closing go for the sides first at the same time, then the top. This avoids unwanted forces on a single lock.

easy to seal or do you have to be careful and "fastidious"?
R: Strangely as it is, when compared to earlier housings this housing seems to have larger (longer) o-ring that needs some care when putting it in place as not to let it be bitten between the two parts of the housing, but its not a difficult thing to do, just a characteristic.

Above all, as I use to say, of all uwphoto equipment:
It is not fragile, but it requires care.
There is a GREAT document called Nikonos Workshop, that gives you a great idea on how to care of an UWhousing or camera.

Hope I did not overwhelmed you, best.
Any help feel free to call me at mariozi@fotografiasub.com
And also check the thread called "DX-D50 Adaptation"