Methodology used to select the right housing for me

I thought I would document the methodology and logic I used to determine which housing to purchase for my Canon G5 digital camera. Perhaps it may help others in their decision. I was indecisive as to whether to purchase the Subal or Ikelite housing.

First of all I utilised a number of forums to solicit comments from other users and would be users of similar products. Wetpixel.com Digitaldiver.net and SCUBAboard.com

The factors I weighed up were:

 Size and weight of housing
 Depth rating of housing
 Whether the housing was neutrally, positive or negatively buoyant underwater
 Attachment fittings for attachment of strobe and base plate (not all housings will operate with all strobes)
 Robustness & ease of scratching
 Ergonomics (large square housings are difficult to move about underwater)
 Lens ports (glass verses plastic) – the later can cause chromatic aberrations when shooting towards the sun (starbursts)
 Ability to add macro/wide angle lens to lens port
 The volume of air inside the housing (condensation problems?)
 Housing construction (aluminium, polycarbonate, plastic) and closure clips on the housing
 O-ring placement and sealing ability and reliability – is it protected or unprotected – easy to remove and service
 Housing visibility – what I mean here is whether you can see the camera in the housing or not. I judged this as important as a dark housing will allow the LCD to be more brightly illuminated, in contrast to a clear housing which will allow light to enter the housing causing possible difficulties in viewing the LCD. Also light entering the housing can cause extra reflected light to enter the lens. Furthermore, a clear housing will allow the air inside the housing to heat up more quickly which may cause condensation issues
 Water entry alarm or sensor
 Construction and ease of operation of knobs and switches – when wearing gloves
 Functionality of the camera in the housing
 LCD viewing through the housing. Is it framed, hooded, shaded or indented causing the LCD to be more easily viewed in strong sunlight
 Ease of repair in your country – not just the USA
 Whether the camera fits snugly in the housing and is easy to install
 Strobe connection. Either a Nikonos plug system and sync cord or an optically fitted cord (slave technology). The former does not utilise camera battery power, the later does lowering the life of your camera battery. Furthermore, if your camera is pre flash, there is the risk of heating the air inside the housing as the pre flash fires to trigger your strobe. Heating the air may cause condensation problems – and if it gets very warm your camera may go into auto shutdown mode (depends on camera type and model)
 Your requirements and the type of diving you will be doing (shallow, deep, snorkelling, etc)
 Life span of the camera before replacement
 Opportunity for ordering problems such as wrong attachments, plugs etc. Probably not an issue if you live in the USA, but for buyers in countries outside the USA, the wrong product sent can often cause innumerable and costly problems which consume considerable time, patience and frustration to sort out
 User, dealer and forum comments and the consistency of information received

You may note that aesthetics (what is looks like) and price did not come into the equation.
I went through this process, then looked at the price, and weighted up the pros and cons.

Please note that I am in no way recommending or condemning either Ikelite or Subal. Both companies produce excellent housings, but cater towards different segments of the market. Additionally, some of the comments above may not seem important to you, and that’s fine. The list was compiled to help me in my decision. Ultimately, it is up to you, but I hope that some of these comments may assist to steer you in the right direction. Good luck……………..Iain

Thanks for putting the time and effort into that research.
And for posting it.

Thanks for taking the time to document it....I'm sure it will be a big help to others, no matter what rig they are considering.

Thanks for this....

I see you bought the Subal housing...

iainwilliams:

 Housing visibility – what I mean here is whether you can see the camera in the housing or not. I judged this as important as a dark housing will allow the LCD to be more brightly illuminated, in contrast to a clear housing which will allow light to enter the housing causing possible difficulties in viewing the LCD. Also light entering the housing can cause extra reflected light to enter the lens. Furthermore, a clear housing will allow the air inside the housing to heat up more quickly which may cause condensation issues

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I would add a couple of points to this.

1) A big plus for clear housings (to me anyway) is the ability to see if there's a problem with leaks. (Yes I know maintenance should be done thoroughly, but I like to be reassured that I've done a good job)
2) Are you talking in, or out of, water?. Either way, I'm not completely convinced a clear housing will heat up faster than any others.
3) I don't know about other housings but my Canon housing has a black "lens-hood" in it which prevents extraneous light from entering the lens. (I tested this in a pool at night with a dive torch)

iainwilliams:

 Ease of repair in your country – not just the USA

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Or at least has a good, efficient shipping policy to get repairs done outside of the country

iainwilliams:

price did not come into the equation.
I went through this process, then looked at the price, and weighted up the pros and cons.

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Well there's the rub.... it always boils down to price, but point taken.

One thing that influenced (to a minor degree) what camera I bought, was what housings were available for it.

Again, thanks for the effort.

sbloomer:

2) Are you talking in, or out of, water?. Either way, I'm not completely convinced a clear housing will heat up faster than any others.

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I forgot to add that plastic or polycarbonate housings are much more susceptible to warping if left in the sun, so that may be a factor in someone's decision.

Good thoughts! thanks for posting!