Housing: Ikelite vs. Sea&Sea

nunomix · Nov 1, 2005

Hi guys,

I have a Canon Rebel XT (350D) and I am planning of upgrading to digital underwater photo.

Ikelite has a housing for Canon 350D for a while. Sea&Sea has just released a new housing for the Canon 350D. With regard to strobes, The Ikelite model has the opportunity to use TTL while Sea&Sea still does not have a strobe that would work with TTL. Currently I have the YS-90 AUTO with a Motormarine III but the TTL will not work with the housing, SEA&SEA people confirmed.

I would like to know your experience with regard to these two housings, not necessarily for this camera but for other SLRs. What is the best housing from the two? What are the strenghts / Weaknesses of both brands?

Thank you very much.

Regards

Nuno

Dr. Doug Ebersole · Nov 1, 2005

I shoot a Canon digital rebel (not the XT) housed in a Sea & Sea housing with dual Sea & Sea YS-120 strobes. I have been very happy with it. I often shoot the stock 18-55mm lens and the Sea & Sea housing has a focus gear that can adjust you from 18mm to 55mm so you can take "macro" and "wide angle" on the same dive.

The only "problem" I've had with this setup is that while it is easy to adjust shutter speed when shooting manual, it is a little more difficult to change apertures because of where the buttons are located. One option is you can "lock" the AV button which will fix the shutter speed but allow adjustment of the aperture. Not a big deal, but a little hassle.

For some examples of the photos with this setup, check out my website (www.debersole.com) and look under the "Galleries".

ssra30 · Nov 1, 2005

I had Sea and Sea housing for Nikon D70 and Ikelite housing for Oly C5050 in the past. Not exactly the same camera but I can give some general impressions. Please note that I have not seen the Sea and Sea housing for Canon XT yet.
Sea and Sea used to make very compact SLR housing but since they switched to acrylic, if D70 is anything to judge, Sea and Sea probably won't have much advantage over Ikelite, as far as size is concerned. I do prefer Ikelite clear housing as I have paranoid mind and like to be able to see the inside of the housing. Sea and Sea finish is a bit nicer and less industrial look than Ikelite. Sea and Sea port is quite a bit more expensive than Ikelite.
The 2 biggest advantage you get with Ikelite is eTTL capability with Ikelite strobe and service.

nunomix · Nov 1, 2005

I have some more questions. With the SEA&SEA can you swich the camera on and off underwater? And do you have access to ALL the buttons that the camera has while underwater?

debersole:
I shoot a Canon digital rebel (not the XT) housed in a Sea & Sea housing with dual Sea & Sea YS-120 strobes. I have been very happy with it. I often shoot the stock 18-55mm lens and the Sea & Sea housing has a focus gear that can adjust you from 18mm to 55mm so you can take "macro" and "wide angle" on the same dive.

The only "problem" I've had with this setup is that while it is easy to adjust shutter speed when shooting manual, it is a little more difficult to change apertures because of where the buttons are located. One option is you can "lock" the AV button which will fix the shutter speed but allow adjustment of the aperture. Not a big deal, but a little hassle.

For some examples of the photos with this setup, check out my website (www.debersole.com) and look under the "Galleries".

nunomix · Nov 1, 2005

With Ikelite, do you you have access to all the buttons from the camera? One of the advantages SEA&SEA is saying the Rebel XT housing has is that is almost the same size as the camera, which makes it quite small. The only thing which is bugging me is not having TTL. On the other hand, if I choose to have the Ikelite I will have to sell my complete underwater set (strobes incl).

ssra30:
I had Sea and Sea housing for Nikon D70 and Ikelite housing for Oly C5050 in the past. Not exactly the same camera but I can give some general impressions. Please note that I have not seen the Sea and Sea housing for Canon XT yet.
Sea and Sea used to make very compact SLR housing but since they switched to acrylic, if D70 is anything to judge, Sea and Sea probably won't have much advantage over Ikelite, as far as size is concerned. I do prefer Ikelite clear housing as I have paranoid mind and like to be able to see the inside of the housing. Sea and Sea finish is a bit nicer and less industrial look than Ikelite. Sea and Sea port is quite a bit more expensive than Ikelite.
The 2 biggest advantage you get with Ikelite is eTTL capability with Ikelite strobe and service.

Warren_L · Nov 1, 2005

nunomix:
With Ikelite, do you you have access to all the buttons from the camera? One of the advantages SEA&SEA is saying the Rebel XT housing has is that is almost the same size as the camera, which makes it quite small. The only thing which is bugging me is not having TTL. On the other hand, if I choose to have the Ikelite I will have to sell my complete underwater set (strobes incl).

Though I don't have a Rebel XT, if the D-70 is any comparison, all the functions are accessable from the Ike housing, which is typically what you want. Although there are times when this works against you - I accidentally deployed the internal flash once, and it changes the max sync speed for the strobes. Can't really push the flash back down while the camera is sealed in the housing, so I ended up taping it down.

nunomix · Nov 3, 2005

Hi guys,

I will probably go for the Ikelite when I have my gear sold. It is cheaper in all aspects and I read good reviews about it.

Against the Ikelite is that it does not look as "well made" as the SEA&SEA. And also it seems to be quite bigger than the SEA&SEA housing.

Warren_L:
Though I don't have a Rebel XT, if the D-70 is any comparison, all t
the functions are accessable from the Ike housing, which is typically what you want. Although there are times when this works against you - I accidentally deployed the internal flash once, and it changes the max sync speed for the strobes. Can't really push the flash back down while the camera is sealed in the housing, so I ended up taping it down.

Housing: Ikelite vs. Sea&Sea

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