Ikelite 8" Port Availability

[gstroupe]

Has anyone gotten any information on availability of the new 8" port from Ikelite for Nikon housings? Last I heard it would be available in November but now they are saying it will be another month or so.

Cheers

[alcina]

Have you talked to Ikelite? www.ikelite.com and send them an email.

Or talk to Ryan at ryan@reefphoto.com

[slowhands]

Check it out for $389 at Reef Photo & Video:
http://www.reefphoto.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=558&zenid=96f48f84e772e8a31759f6ae3e571615

Also, Helix has the less expensive 5503.15 port ($139), which allows pretty much the same wide coverage:
http://www.helixcamera.comwww.helixcamera.com/fs-ikelite-housings.html

[dbh]

Check it out for $389 at Reef Photo & Video:
http://www.reefphoto.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=558&zenid=96f48f84e772e8a31759f6ae3e571615

Also, Helix has the less expensive 5503.15 port ($139), which allows pretty much the same wide coverage:
http://www.helixcamera.comwww.helixcamera.com/fs-ikelite-housings.html

A 6" dome and 8" dome are not even close to the same. Although the 8" will be harfder to travel with, it will give you much better results. Also, the 8" is essential for shooting over / unders. I look at my ports as a one time investment...and change cameras / housings about every 1 - 2 years.

Dave

[slowhands]

A 6" dome and 8" dome are not even close to the same. Although the 8" will be harder to travel with, it will give you much better results. Also, the 8" is essential for shooting over / unders. I look at my ports as a one time investment...and change cameras / housings about every 1 - 2 years.

Dave

Thanks for the comments. I posted a supplier and price for both domes, which was the topic. Now, given the price difference, and that Ikelite is not convinced it is sharper when shooting wide (but is possibly helpful when shooting of over/unders), can you share the other benefits of the 8 inch dome underwater?

http://www.ikelite.com/web_pages/bigdome.html

My specific reason for asking is I plan to use the 6 inch dome 5503.50 for both my Nikon 60mm micro and Sigma 10-20mm, as recommended by Ikelite. Granted the 8 inch will also work, what is the benefit of the 8 inch? If I have to lug it around, I want compelling reasons.

[swankenstein]

Thanks for the comments. I posted a supplier and price for both domes, which was the topic. Now, given the price difference, and that Ikelite is not convinced it is sharper when shooting wide (but is possibly helpful when shooting of over/unders), can you share the other benefits of the 8 inch dome underwater?

http://www.ikelite.com/web_pages/bigdome.html

My specific reason for asking is I plan to use the 6 inch dome 5503.50 for both my Nikon 60mm micro and Sigma 10-20mm, as recommended by Ikelite. Granted the 8 inch will also work, what is the benefit of the 8 inch? If I have to lug it around, I want compelling reasons.I use a 17mm (non-digital) lens with the 6" dome. It's fine at small aperatures (f16), but anything wider than that leaves the edges of the picture blurry, because the lens can't focus on the whole curved virtual image. A wider dome should correct for this. Almost $400 seems pretty steep though.

[dbh]

here is a review from wetpixel:

http://wetpixel.com/i.php/full/canon-10-22-lens-and-ikelite-8-dome-port

MY OPINION (take it with a grain of salt): you probably won't be able to tell much difference between the two until your skills improve. At that time, you WILL get the 8" dome. As you improve, you will want to shoot CFWA (close focus wide angle) and over / unders.

I am just trying to save you money in the long run because you will end up here anyway. Buy what you want.....I have my 8" dome :-) !!!

Dave

[dbh]

http://www.myunderwaterworld.com/t&c05split01.jpg

http://www.myunderwaterworld.com/t&c05split02.jpg

[PapaBob]

Slowhands:

I own the 5503.5 (6") and the 8" ikelite dome ports for use with my 20D and 10-22mm efs lense. The 6" is a tight fit and the zoom control is stiff with it on. I also like to cover the lense with a skylight filter for protection and the 6" does not leave a lot of room. Early on I had one flooding incident during a pool test (my fault for improperly securing the port). Because it was the 8" I was able to quickly tip the camera and allow the water to pool in the ample dome. The filter kept the water out of the lense. If I had used the 6" I think the lense would have hit the scrap heap.

In a dome your camera is focusing on a virtual image created by the dome. The virtual image in the 8" is larger and more distant from the lense meaning easier focus without a diopter. I have not tested whether the difference is significant, but the 8" has become my mainstay and I love working with it.

---Bob

[ssra30]

I never used Ikelite dome so take this with a grain of salt. In my experience, certain lenses such as Nikkor 12-24mm does not mix well with diopter and does not match very well with smaller dome regardless of extension ring that I use. It performs much better with bigger dome without diopter. On the other hand, 10.5mm seems to play well with just about any size dome including Sea and Sea compact domeport. Dome price is all relative and $400 is actually not bad at all for 8" dome. 8" domeports offered by other manufacturers such as Subal or Seacam are significantly more expensive.

[dbh]

missed part of your earlier statement:

shooting a 60mm thru a dome may work OK for fish shots....but not for macro. I will only shoot mine through a flat port. You can also add a "Woody" to a flat port for more magnification.


Dave

[Cacia]

Has anyone gotten any information on availability of the new 8" port from Ikelite for Nikon housings? Last I heard it would be available in November but now they are saying it will be another month or so.

Cheers

I spoke with Ikelite yesterday because I had these same questions. (I wanted a good reason to spend 400 dollars, VS 140) I did not see this thread until today....

Anyway they told me they will be filling orders in February.

I am still not sure what I want to do. I wish I could see some examples of pictures with both ports using the 10.5.

I am sort of not too thrilled about the extension ring, just seems to add failure points for a flood.

I think it adds acouple o-rings to the whole equation.

[fdog]

Catherine, FWIW it seems like just about everything I shoot has an extension ring of some flavor, instead of a plain port.

I wouldn't be too concerned, it hasn't been an issue for me.


All the best, James

[Diver Dennis]

I too use the 6" dome right now for my Canon 10-22mm. It seems to work well and Ike says the 8" dome results are not necessarily better. Have you guys used one? I'm thinking of ordering one.

[Cacia]

That's pretty much all I needed to hear. I just don't want to spend 400 dollars for one port. But, Dennis you could give it to me for my birthday, since you do own a hockey team and all.

I love splits....thats the only tempting thing.

[gstroupe]

Anyone out there gotten a new 8" port and care to comment on pro's and con's?

[Rooster]

B&H has 8” dome in stock. Just got an e-mail from them yesterday letting me know that they have come in. Don't know how many they got, so they may go fast. I'm still on the fence with this. I haven't decided how I'm going to house my lost in the mail D-200, so I'm holding off on the $375. Ike port. If I go with an Ike housing for the D-200, than I'll definitely get the 8" dome. If I go with the Aquatica housing, I already have the 8" dome from my F-100 set up. IMHO 8" is the only way to go for WA.

[Cacia]

thanks!

[Ryan]

Seems that Ikelite is all caught up, because we have them too.

In my experience, the optics of the 10.5 arel not noticeably different behind either the 6" or 8" ports. Fisheye lenses are incredibly tolerant of different dome ports.

The 8" Dome handles poorly underwater, w/ a pronounced backwards roll.

The 8" Port is better for over/under shots, as the water line will be less pronounced in the photograph.

If you plan to add a 12-24 later, the 8" port is noticeably better with that lens.

[Rooster]

Seems that Ikelite is all caught up, because we have them too.

In my experience, the optics of the 10.5 arel not noticeably different behind either the 6" or 8" ports. Fisheye lenses are incredibly tolerant of different dome ports.

The 8" Dome handles poorly underwater, w/ a pronounced backwards roll.

The 8" Port is better for over/under shots, as the water line will be less pronounced in the photograph.

If you plan to add a 12-24 later, the 8" port is noticeably better with that lens.

Thanks for the info. Since I'm using the Sigma 10-20 there is a slight softening around the edges with the 6" port. Nothing bad, but I think the 8” would make a difference here. I can see how there might be a handling problem since the housing and 8" dome are all acrylic. Did you try it with the weight installed in the tray? Just from the looks of it I doubt the weight would help much. In fact I think it may make things worse. The weight would need to be out close to the end of the dome to help. This is not a problem with my Aquatica F-100 set up. Since everything is Aluminum except the acrylic dome, and I use the aluminum dome shade, it doesn’t seem to make much of a difference. Perhaps if Ike added an Aluminum shade it may “help” a bit. Since I’m still undecided on how I’m going to house my D-200, this is great info for the Ikelite vs. Aquatica pro and con list.