UW Set for Canon EOS350D

Hi guys,

I am planning on substituting my SEA&SEA MotormarineIII kit and go digital.

At the moment, I have a Canon EOS350D which I would like to take underwater. Sea&Sea is going to launch a version for this camera but I was informed that TTL will not work with this housing, as oposed to Ikelite. My main questions are:

- I have a YS-90 AUTO. Does it make any sense to keep this strobe since it does not have TTL? What about Ikelite 125 TTL?
- One possibility would be to keep YS-90 to use as slave. But then I how does it work with the TTL again?
- Which lenses to use for Wide and for macro? (Currently I have a 17-80mm USM Lens);
- Which housing to choose? (Ikelite or SEA&SEA)

Thanks in advance for your help.

Regards

I guess I'd go with Ike stuff. That way he can help make sure all your bits and bobs work together with minimum fuss. Ike products are excellent and as a bonus the housings are "affordable" and the ports come with nice extras like the zoom rings and a cover. His customer service is second to none.

I chose the Sigma 10-20 for wide angle. Canon also has a 10-22 - it's a lot more expensive than the Sigma. You'll need to do some research to see which lens will suit you better.

For macro there are a few choices - the 100, the 60 and the 50. I have the 60 and the 100. Adore the 100. Haven't had a chance to use the 60 yet. Do a little bit of looking around here as we've just been talking about macro lenses for the Canon systems...can't remember the thread title off the top of my head.

To use TTL with Ikelite housing, you will need Ikelite DS series strobe. Your Sea and Sea strobes will not work. DS 125 is an excellent strobe. Although DS200 is supposed to be out in the next few months. If you plan to shoot a lot of wide angle, it might be worthwhile to wait a little longer.
I would not keep the Sea and Sea for slave strobe either. I am not sure about eTTL on Canon but with Nikon iTTL, it does not seem to mix well with a manual slave strobe and exposure was all off.
On the other hand, TTL is not an absolute must have since you get instant feed back and you cna always adjust.
Ikelite and Sea and Sea both offer very good housing so check all the features and see what you would like. Sea and Sea ports are quite a bit more expensive than Ikelite but the housing is more compact.

Thanks a lot for your answers guys.

If choosing for the 60mm macro lens, doesn't the 17-85mm do the trick? Does it make a difference?

Thanks

ssra30:

To use TTL with Ikelite housing, you will need Ikelite DS series strobe. Your Sea and Sea strobes will not work. DS 125 is an excellent strobe. Although DS200 is supposed to be out in the next few months. If you plan to shoot a lot of wide angle, it might be worthwhile to wait a little longer.
I would not keep the Sea and Sea for slave strobe either. I am not sure about eTTL on Canon but with Nikon iTTL, it does not seem to mix well with a manual slave strobe and exposure was all off.
On the other hand, TTL is not an absolute must have since you get instant feed back and you cna always adjust.
Ikelite and Sea and Sea both offer very good housing so check all the features and see what you would like. Sea and Sea ports are quite a bit more expensive than Ikelite but the housing is more compact.

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Yes, you will need to check out the stats on each lens but you will find differences in focus distances, maximum apertures and ratios (the 60 macro will go 1:1, not sure about the zoom). You may find that one suits your style better than the other. You can always add the other or a different lens later as you develop.

Yes. I see. I ask this because I am a rookie with what regards to photography and I just dont want to spend so much money in lenses that in the end to not give such added value comparing to the lens I already have.

Thanks

alcina:

Yes, you will need to check out the stats on each lens but you will find differences in focus distances, maximum apertures and ratios (the 60 macro will go 1:1, not sure about the zoom). You may find that one suits your style better than the other. You can always add the other or a different lens later as you develop.

Click to expand...

The eTTL feature is very nice in the Ikelite housings... The TTL function is nice, but it really is not difficult to shoot manual with the YS90Auto strobes. Honestly if I were in your shoes, I would stick with my YS90 and go with a Sea & Sea housing. Cost is going to be a bit more of course, but you are comparing apples to oranges when it comes to the 2 different housings. I got the chance to play with the new Sea & Sea housing at DEMA and I was pleasantly suprised. The housings are much more compact than Sea & Sea's previous DSLR housings. I cant wait to get my hands on one come January.

Thanks for your insight on this. My camera set is at this moment on sale on ebay with everything (including the strobe).

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7564287845&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MESE:IT&rd=1

I will still have some time to think about whether go for the SEA&SEA or Ikelite. Indeed, the SEA&SEA looks tougher than Ikelite. And also looks less bulkier. But what about the SEA&SEA strobes. Will this housing support TTL when they find out how to make the TTL strobes? (I saw in SEA&SEA website they have a new 55 TTL strobe)

H2OPhotoPro:

The eTTL feature is very nice in the Ikelite housings... The TTL function is nice, but it really is not difficult to shoot manual with the YS90Auto strobes. Honestly if I were in your shoes, I would stick with my YS90 and go with a Sea & Sea housing. Cost is going to be a bit more of course, but you are comparing apples to oranges when it comes to the 2 different housings. I got the chance to play with the new Sea & Sea housing at DEMA and I was pleasantly suprised. The housings are much more compact than Sea & Sea's previous DSLR housings. I cant wait to get my hands on one come January.

Click to expand...

Sea and Sea has not announced anyting about TTL so far. They are very closed mouth about their products and not a lot of rumor floating around. My guess would be that if you truely want eTTL compitble system, you better stick with Ikelite as there is a very good chance that Sea and Sea will never support it (same as most other manufacturers). If you don't want Ikelite, I believe Seacam is coming out with TTL compatible strobes in the near future, at least for iTTL for Nikon but may also has eTT version as well. However, Seacam will not be cheap, I think around 1700 euros.
Otherwise, you can house eTTL flash as well. I don't know Canon well enough but for example, there are several housings for Nikon SB800 flash for people who want to shoot iTTL with Nikon. One note with Sea and Sea, if you want to go this route, you have to ask Sea and Sea to wire your bulkhead with all 5 wires otherwise TTL won't work. Generally Sea and Sea dSLR housing bulk head only has ground and trigger wires connected and the rest are not.