What makes housings so expensive?

[Nemrod]

What is interesting is the price difference between the Cannon housing and the others. If Cannon can make a profit on theirs, why do the others charge many times more. The quality and performance on the others may be a bit better but not to justify the cost difference. Does Cannon sell that many more to allow the much lower cost? Not all of the others are CNC machines out of aluminum.

You say a "bit better" and I am here to tell you that the difference between most aluminum housings such as the FIX vs the OEM Canon stuff is like night and day, they are not a bit better, there is no comparison in functionality or quality or durability. It is easy to toss out words, so having used both, I will toss this out, no freaking way is a "bit better" an accurate statement in this regard. The Canon OEM housings are marginal at best, often leak from the start, are notoriously unreliable at depth with sticking buttons and are incomplete in terms of control function. They are essentially disposable dry cases, not serviceable marine housings, and are priced accordingly and this completely justifies the difference in price.

N

 

[ronski101]

I have had 2 cannon housings for different cameras and never had a leak over 150 dives and a few down to 125+ ft. Never had a sticky button or other functional anomaly. I doubt that I am the exception but I find it very hard to justify paying 6 times more for a housing (especially the plastic one) that is only "A Bit Better" but much much larger and more cumbersome. Typically the returns in features, are diminishing as the price goes up which is true in this case.

 

[Maddog59]

What is interesting is the price difference between the Cannon housing and the others. If Cannon can make a profit on theirs, why do the others charge many times more. The quality and performance on the others may be a bit better but not to justify the cost difference. Does Cannon sell that many more to allow the much lower cost? Not all of the others are CNC machines out of aluminum.

One of the main things to consider here is that the Canon housing is primarily designed and made for consumers who want to take their camera into and around the water to shoot holiday snaps whilst snorkeling at those exotic tropical locations or the occasional shots of the kids in the pool (Yes they are also able to be used by scuba divers but that is only a side benifit as far as Canon is concerned). The more of a product you sell the cheaper it becomes and as such the more popular it is with consumers. A Ferrarri cost a lot more than a Chrysler but they both do the same basic job, one just does it a lot better!!
I also agree with Nemrod on the issue of quality, the OEM housings are not in the same ballpark as specialist made housings be they from aluminum or plastic and as such should not be compared in the same conversation.



Peter

 

[ronski101]

I would love to see the statistics that show the failure rates (flooding, sticking buttons, etc) vs their cost normalized by the number sold. I bet it would enlighten us a bunch one way or the other. Of course if i spent a gazillion dollars on a housing and found out i could have gotton one much cheaper i would be burning up the midnight oil dreaming up ways to justify it too.

 

[Nemrod]

I would love to see the statistics that show the failure rates (flooding, sticking buttons, etc) vs their cost normalized by the number sold. I bet it would enlighten us a bunch one way or the other. Of course if i spent a gazillion dollars on a housing and found out i could have gotton one much cheaper i would be burning up the midnight oil dreaming up ways to justify it too.

It is only cheaper if it works and does what you want it to do and in many cases the "cheaper" alternatives also have some severe limitations like missing control functions, inability to use accessory lenses, require DIY optical connections because none were provided etc.

Just what you want, if you want a basic, cheap, wet case, buy the inexpensive OEM cases and go for it. A Yugo or Chevy Cobalt (about the same thing) generally got people from A to B but a BMW or Lexus is just so much nicer getting from A to B. One is cheap and basic, one is loaded with luxury and performance.

N

 

[chris196]

Economies of scale or lack there of.

 

[furby076]

Then more specific to underwater housings and gear, this is a much smaller market than the scuba market itself since many divers don't buy this type of gear.

The price on these items are so expensive that most people scoff at the idea of buying the setups creating a smaller market. A smaller market means that each unit, for those that do buy, will be higher. The higher price means a smaller market...a vicious cycle. Reduce the price and you will get more customers. For example there is a restaurant where I live. Good restaurant but charges way too much...people don't return because the costs are so high...the costs are so high because people don't return. If they reduced the price they would have more repeat business. Solid product, terrible price.

The reason that housings cost so much is that they are essentially hand made, one at a time. A very big very expensive CNC machine will be able to make only one at a time. There is no volume effect where is you make a bunch you can automate. Ikelite molds their housings so once the mold is made you can make the second one a lot cheaper than the first one but the first one costs a ton.

Wait there is someone hand making the camera setup? These are not machine made? Meaning if I take housing X and place it next to housing X they will look somewhat different? I am pretty sure these devices are machine made. The first product, in ALL manufacturing, is the most expensive. The first pill for a new drug line costs millions, the second pill costs 25 cents. Hence the pill costs $1 per pill. Same with this. The first housing will cost some very high number...each additional one is marginal (relatively speaking). The problem is that buying a camera setup can easily cost you way more then your entire scuba setup and that scares most people.

Go find your local machine shop and ask them to quote you on a housing (and bring them an example) Bill

This is not a great example. If my housing were a unique product it would be a great example but it is not. Dive photography is a small market but the market is so small because it is so expensive. One poster mentioned the Canon housings...yes they are not as good as they other brands, especially the aluminum ones. Still going from $150 to $3,000 - $5000 is HUGE. The material costs are fairly irrelevant, so it's the design, markup, and volume sales. We are a niche market, but it's also self-inflicted pain.

I also know many divers who use the Canon lines and never had an issue with it. I used my Canon G11 at 130 feet without a single issue.

There are ways to reduce the price of these products 1) get more people to buy, 2) improve manufacturing, 3) reduce costs to customer. Unfortunately it's hard to get more people to buy when costs are so high. It even gets worse that when you want to upgrade something like a dome and the price is high. Even worse...for the rig that I bought to get the MFG rope/screw was $40...I mean come on I think we can all agree that an 8" rope attached to two screws should not cost $40. Or can someone illustrate to me how an 8" rope and two screws is justified with such a high cost?

 

[ronski101]

If I wanted a Lexus type camera system i would not be using a G10 but would go to one of the SLR systems. Of course, I dive AND take pictures I don't dive TO take pictures. Lugging around some humongous camera system is one Big Big pain especially is rough shore conditions. I can not justify spending thousands more for a housing that is just a bit better in functionality and lens adapatability.

 

[Larry C]

OEM housings are designed while the camera is in the premarketing stage. They are produced in limited quantities designed to sell out. Their cost is probably based on expectation of 100% sales level based on an expectation that X% of camera buyers will buy a housing. When they sell out, they don't build more. Generally the mfg. doesn't care when they build the next version of the camera if it fits into the old housing or not.
The aftermarket housing is designed after the camera becomes available to at least the reviewers and resellers. The mfg. must first wait to see if the camera will be popular, then if it has the features to be popular underwater. Then they have to judge the demand and produce the housing in limited quantities to satisfy the customer who was not entirely pleased with the quality of the OEM offering. Often the camera becomes obsolete soon after the housing becomes available. Low quantities, plus higher level materials and design, plus surplus product due to obsolescense, plus retail mark-up = more expensive. Is it worth it? If you plan to keep the camera long after it is obsolete and want the additional features/safety/ease of operation of the aftermarket product, yes.
I paid $300 for my first underwater P & S and $195 for the housing. By the time I added strobes, arms, lenses...I had more than $2500 in it. Most of that was transferrable to my next camera. The housing is not necessarily the biggest expense you'll face, so get one that works for you and average out the cost.
Another factor is ease of use with other elements of the package, e.g. if you want to use Ikelite strobes, the Ikelite housing is designed to work with them and allows you features that you couldn't use with the OEM housing and a different strobe.

 

[Lenaxia]

my wife and i still have our k1000s buried in the bottom of the old camera bag. can't bear to throw it away, my first SLR from 1978.

You are not the only one. I may only be 24, but I have inherited my parents' K1000. It is an amazing camera and superbly reliable. I hope that it will last until I can pass it on to my children.

I am looking to purchase some new lenses for it as the older ones did not hold up as well as the body did.