Housing recommendation

[aboalreem]

Which manufacturer housing is your preference for SLR like the Nikon D200....I would assume the picture quality is the same with any housing right?

[Mariozi]

well the housing will say what ports you will use, so I'd rather say that housing has a minor importance in pic quality. Most thing that matter is lens, lens/port relation, body sensor and firmware.
Housings for D200 are something like Canon x Nikon dispute.
I like Sea&Sea more than Aquatica, Aquatica is a bit less expensive, and maybe you will find more service for Aquatica in the US. Sea&Sea is nicely finished, have a better big dome, more compact macro ports.
Choice is up to you, with the two you cant go wrong.

[aboalreem]

How about the Ikelite?

[kidsdream]

As others have said, if you already have ports then your choice is more limited.

The cream of the crop are most certainly the Subal or Seacam.

While I know this can be debated, but once you "feel" the difference in ergonomic and precision you might understand.

That being said the Sea & Sea is a nice piece and the Aquatica housing for the D200 is certainly their best effort yet as it includes a saddle type camera mount.

[Cacia]

Ikelite is what I bought because it is less than half as much, I think. I worry about investing too much in a housing with the technology changing so fast.

I had a quote on the Aquatica housing with strobes and it came in around 5,ooo with the various ports, etc. just too much for me, although that is my favorite housing I think. The customer service from Ikelite has been excellent. I like being able to see inside the housing..the buttons, water, etc.

That Aquatica is one sexy housing though.

[King Kong Matt]

Is the whole TTL thing (I'm not sure I even fully understand what that is) exclusive to Ikelite strobes? If it is, is it not such a big deal that people were willing to go with other housings?

[Diver Dennis]

I Like Ike!

[HowardE]

I have used both the Sea and Sea housing and the Ikelite housings for the D200.

Here's what I thought...

The S&S is more durable, made from aluminum (I believe) - it's labeled on the outside of the housing... and all of the controls are precise and easy to use. The shutter action is also cooler than the ike. as a side note, the front action wheel on my ikelite housing (the F-Stop adjustment when in Manual mode) has given me problems, and I've had a total of 4 dives where the camera was "stuck" in the F-Stop that I was in... in one case it was F8 which wasn't SO bad - but anyway, it should function perfectly, which the S&S did.

Also - the next main difference is the ports -
1) The Ike ports are acrylic, and can scratch fairly easily... the S&S ports are glass
2) the ike ports clip in with 2 "retaining clips" - the S&S you push and turn on similar to a lens.
3) the way the zoom lenses interact with both are different too... Ike has an acrylic zoom gear which is somewhat generic... the S&S has a zoom gear for each specific lens.

The last big thing is the TTL. Basically, Ike has it - and nobody else does (have it built in).
In other words... the ikelite has the iTTL control on the back of the housing... it's really easy to use. S&S if you want to use TTL, you have to purchase an additional TTL converter (MORE MONEY)

So - my choice for now is the Ikelite... If I come up with a spare $3000+ I may sell my ike and get a S&S, but for now, I'll use the ike... The pictures come out the same.

You can get an Ike with a port for about $1500
You can get a S&S with port and TTL converter for about $3700

That's my 2¢