Housing recommendation

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aboalreem

Contributor
Scuba Instructor
Messages
388
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Location
Chicago
# of dives
500 - 999
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?
 
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.
 
How about the Ikelite?
 
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.
 
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.
 
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?
 
I Like Ike!
 
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¢
 

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