Olympus or Ikelite

[masterof0]

My girlfriend recently purchased me a 1030 SW. I am researching U/W housing and there appears to be two main ones, Olympus and Ikelite. Both are about the same price range, but I am not seeing any significant difference that would get me to buy one over the other. Looking for feedback, pros and cons, from those that have used either housing.

 

[cudachaser]

I have an Olympus c-8080. The Olympus housing has a faulty design feature that caused me to flood my 1st camera. I have since gone to an Ikelite housing and I'm very satisfied with it

 

[pinkladydi]

the 1030 SW is an awsome lil camera I've seen some great pics & video from it, the housing made for it from Oly. is my suggestion, My Instructor friend uses his and it's real easy to use and small not bulky like some IKE housings I've seen

 

[Doubler]

I own 2 Olympus P&S cameras,(Stylus 710 and 790SW). The 710 is housed in an Ikelite housing and 790SW in an Olympus housing. The Ikelite buttons are very close together and clunky to operate. The Olympus buttons are like operating the camera outside the housing. The Ikelite housing is much larger than the Olympus, a consideration for travel. Owning both my suggestion would be go with the Olympus.

 

[Cali_diver]

I have the 1030 and the Oly housing and I love them both. The housing is easy to use and care for. It has been on 20 dives and many snorkel adventures. My kids even like to use it.

I am looking into strobes for it now and that could be an issue. If you go with the Ikelite housing, they have strobes that fit it specifically. Not sure if they have them for the Oly housing, I need to do some more research about the strobes.

 

[chicken197]

I have a FE-360 with an Olympus housing. I chose the Olympus over Ikelite for the compact design, ease of using ALL features of the camera, and a awesome price through an authorized dealer on Amazon. The Olympus strobes are also available and are significantly cheaper than Ikelite. BTW, Amazon is a authorized Olympus dealer(look on the Oylmpus website)...I got my package from Divers Direct using their 110% price guarantee.

 

[jlyle]

I have used many Olympus & Ikelite housings - [u/w photography is a hole into which I throw money.] Currently, both my E-330 and my wife's SP-350 are encased in Ikelite housings because I want TTL control of the strobes. I also have the little 1030SW in a Olympus housing.

IMHO, you should go with the Oly housing for the 1030 because of its size and design. Having said that, be careful as the latch on the housing is easily dislodged and can come open on the surface.

 

[masterof0]

Thanks for all of your feedback. I have settled on the Olympus housing, now I just need to find one. For some reason they are back ordered everywhere.... Go figure

 

[darook]

I wonder if you ever found the Olympus version of the housing. I could not and went with the Ikelite. I will say it is bullet proof and had great success with it on several dives and snorkel outings. My only complaint is that the function wheel does not line up exactly with the one on the camera so it does not work great but you can make it work. Small fingers (which I don't have!) are helpful too. I love the 1030 SW!