Ewa-Marine housing? Don't flame me ;)

paperdesk · Oct 16, 2006

I found a housing for my Minolta DiMage 7i by Ewa-Marine, however, it seems somewhat expensive for what you get, (looks like a big ziplock bag), and I have concerns about their reliability. Has anyone used them, or know if they have a pretty good record?

I'm using a point a shoot "Ikelite Superview" right now, and have been really dissppointed with the results so far. I really want to go digital so I can immediately see what is wrong with the pic, and learn how to take better underwater photos. I'm wondering if I might even be able to find a digital point and shoot that fits in the Ikelite housing! Maybe that's topic for another post . . .

Ted

kapula · Oct 17, 2006

I haven't used ewa-marines but from what I've heared you might run into trouble. It is a plastic bag filled with air. Air compresses under water. So at some depths you will be able to use some controls of your camera and in some other depths you'll be able to reach other buttons aswell. You also could lock your camera down when you are deep enough for the bag to shrink and press for example power button or shutter

I strongly advice you to get a dedicated housing. That way you can use all the controls of your camera. Ewa-marine could be ok for snorkeling or taking pictures on a rainy day but I sure wouldn't go diving with one.

Unfortunately digideep lists only two dedicated housings and they are both expensive (http://www.digideep.com/english/digital/photo/camera/Konica-Minolta/DiMAGE-7i/23/441).
Still your camera cost money and I wouldn't risk flooding it in a plastic bag

paperdesk · Oct 17, 2006

Thanks for the heads up. I read one thread where someone talked about a bad experience, but it wasn't a first hand story. I can see the disadvantages of the shrinkage effect though for sure.

Unfortunately both housings available are more then I would invest in that camera, especially since it's already nearing the end of it's functional life.

Ted

kapula · Oct 17, 2006

Maybe you should reconsider housing that camera. There are other options out there and a big bunch of helpful people here to push you in the direction they like

I'm talking about getting a new camera and a housing for that or maybe a used camera/housing that will fit your needs underwater. Ofcourse when it comes to diving sky is the limit on how much you can spend money on it...

Damselfish · Oct 17, 2006

My husband got one of the EWA marine bags for kayaking. (For a Canon Digital Rebel.) Not crazy about it, he finds it awkward to use even above water. Maybe ok for snorkeling but doesn't seem like something you would want to use UW if you are at all serious about the photography thing.

rcontrera · Oct 17, 2006

The Ewa housing is basically a heavy duty plastic bag with a mechanical seal on one end. It works great at keeping the camera dry, but that is it. While it is rated to 100', you will not be able to use your camera at that depth due to the crushing pressure on the controls. It is best used at 30' or less.

With your camera, I suggest going with a hard sided housing such as an Ikelite. Also, make sure that you invest in a good strobe to get the best results.

pitdvr · Oct 17, 2006

I have used the Ewa Marine bag for a digital camera while snorkling only. It sprang a leak-but did not ruin my camera because I was on the surface. I would not consider using it for diving

under water · Oct 17, 2006

My first attempt at using my Canon S1IS underwater was with one of those plastic bags. As previously stated, it works well above about 20 feet, but below that, the pressure prevented the lens from moving out. When I went down the next time with the lens expanded (turn it on first) the problem then was that the plastic squeezed up against the lens and distorted the picture at depth.
Here are examples of 15 feet and 40 feet

above 20 feet

about 40 feet:

paperdesk · Oct 18, 2006

Wow, thanks for the very helpful comments! I had just been worried about the housing leaking, but sounds like the issues are much broader than that!

Here's my latest scheme. Take my Ikelite Auto 35 housing that came with a "Superview" point and shoot film camera, and find a digital camera that will fit in that housing! I think I 'll start another thread about that . . . Thanks for all your help!

Ted

diebeste · Oct 18, 2006

Based on the price of the housing, dome ports, what I paid for the camera and lenses, I decided to buy a Fuji E900 digital camera + ikelite housing for less money than just the flat port and dome port for my D100. That is still excluding the housing, plus the possible loss should I flood my expensive camera. I have only tried it in the pool so far, and the quality is OK. With RAW capability I can fix the white balance and slight underexposure in software anyway. The flash does give backscatter issues though, so I would recommend an external strobe, but you would have similar issues with any other camera anyway.

Ewa-Marine housing? Don't flame me ;)

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