E-3 housing + 8" dome port

I have just purchased the Ikelite E-3 housing (#6851.30), extension port body #5510.25 and 8" dome port (#5510.45). I am concerned about the integrity of the extension port to housing body seal. The seal is made by an O ring push fit and the extension port and dome are retained by two sliding clamps. The port is large and heavy and when in place it doesn't feel at all secure; there is some lateral movement and the dome itself can freely rotate. Also, the O ring is only recessed by a few millimetres into the body cutout, it wouldn't take much movement for the O ring to leak. I haven't yet used the setup in water and I guess that water pressure will hold the port in place, but I am concerned when using the housing in shallow water or if it should be subject to rough or choppy sea conditions. If Ikelite had fitted 4 retaining clamps instead of 2 it would give more confidence. I also own an Ikelite housing for the Olympus C-8080 and that has a really solid screw mounted fitting for the dome port. I don't see why Ikelite didn't go for this much more robust option instead. I imagine that the E-3 housing set-up will turn out to be OK once in the water but design and construction of a housing is not just about a system that works it is also has to instill confidence in the user and the E-3 housing just doesn't do this. I am also concerned that the strobe electronics in the housing are not water proofed. If the housing were to flood, not only would the camera and lens be a write-off but also the housing electronics would need replacing.

I would like to suggest that simple improvements such as fitting 2 more retaining clamps to the body (or even making the port body a screw fit) and encapsulating the strobe electronics in epoxy resin would be simple and cheap to incorporate.

I would be interested in Ikelite's response.

Thank you.

Steve

I am not with Ikelite, just chiming in. I tend to agree with you that the 2-port attach seems scary at the surface. I've frequently thought 3 at 120 degrees would be plenty - and I wish that one of the three was a 'split' foot fitting over a raised dashmark on the extension to prevent rotation as well. (Granted losing free rotation would mean you'd have to be much more careful about dome shade alignment, but still...) I'm personally not a fan of either screw fits or bayonet mounts on that large a diameter opening however - the former has much more surface area to take damage and kill the housing by early wear and tear, not to mention much more likelihood of pinching an o-ring or introducing sand/etc that can't be seen. And the latter (bayonet) is just as bad as clips unless it's a quarter-turn with some sort of retention (a clip again, or pin of some sort) and can 'spin' on you the same way the 2-clip design seems like it could 'tilt' on you.

That said, I've had my DSLR rig underwater almost every dive on a trip in Dominica and wasn't completely "anal" about rinsing - just a good dip and swish in a tank after each dive - and never saw a leak. I am still a bit concerned about what might happen in rougher surface water, as that trip was really calm and the camera was never more than 3" above the water's surface dangled on my handle attachment by the boat driver when I grabbed hold of it. My upcoming Flower Gardens trip in May may be a different story - 6' high giant stride entry, camera lowered down on a rope and clip by the boat DMs, with potentials of 3-5' surface seas. Let's just hope it doesn't take a swing against the hull on the way down, m'kay?

Seriously though, even if engineering has "proven" that 2 clips work perfectly well, with all the times this comes up, both in existing users and as nay-saying by the more expensive brand users who claim it's reason for Ikelite's "inferiority", is it really that much cost to add a 3rd clip point to the new housing molds?? Even if they can't be a perfect 120 degree equiangular arrangement, any 3rd clip would vastly reduce the "rocking" sensation and give a great improvement to user confidence levels. (Of course none of the above will help me - I'm not planning on upgrading anytime soon, and I don't think retrofitting a housing will be possible.)

Three clips would be better than the two fitted and if one was fitted with a "split foot" as you say would be a big improvement. I am not too worried about being at depth as the pressure will keep the dome port firmly attached. It's at the surface that I am more concerned, especially if the boat crew pass the housing down holding the port and not the handles.

As you say, the dome port is quite heavy and wear and tear could be a problem. I just find it strange that for such a small cost the housings and Ikelite's image could be so much better.

Cheers,

Steve

The current two-lock design was carried over from our line of film SLR housings. At the time (and still) the design was considered to be time-tested, reliable and of course allowed attachment of existing ports with the new housings.

The seal of the port is absolute--shallow or deep--as long as the o-ring is clean and properly lubricated and both locks are completely engaged. Some rocking or rotation on the surface is normal and will not affect the waterproof integrity.

We are looking at ways to modify our port locking system to increase customer confidence and reduce the potential for assembly error. If a modification is made we intend to make it available for both new and existing dSLR housings. I don't expect this to be happening overnight... hopefully we'll have something in production by late '09.

I always recommend carrying equipment insurance for protection against accidents of any nature.

Regards,
Jean / Ikelite
IKELITE Underwater Systems

Jean, Thanks for your comments and good to hear that you are reviewing the connection for future production. I am completely convinced that a screw thread between the port body and housing body, with a compression O ring seal, would be the perfect solution and would bear the weight of the large dome port without problem. This was implemented in the Olympus C-8080WZ housing and the joint was rock solid.

Thanks for your feedback.

Steve

Jean:

Thanks from me too for the response. I'm still not a fan of screw or bayonet mounts for this diameter aperture, unlike Steve (sorry) and hope you didn't think my comments were bashing. I firmly "believe" the rocking is just a psychological issue, as I've never had a problem. But it still scares me every darned time, and I don't like being scared that way.

I do carry insurance - since my camera is already a couple years old and finding a replacement body is iffy at best - how else could I ever afford to upgrade?

Great to see that Ikelite are now fitting 4 locks to their port system instead of the previous 2. A simple and cheap mod that will give much more confidence to users and security to the system.

Steve