D70 Housings

[tingkka]

I have few questions for some who may know the answers to any below.

-which housing do you use for your D70 camera?
-I heard that Light and Motion D100 housing works with D70, but not sure. Are Sea and Sea better than L&M?
-I'm interested in L&M for its ROC control, but how useful is it?
-Ikelite any good?
-How come there is Canon Corner but no Nikon Nook?
-Do you fold or do you crumple your toilet paper after number 2?

 

[kdietz]

Good questions

1. My wife and I both use Ikelite housings for our D70's
2. The D70 will not work in a D100 L&M housing. What does better mean?
3. ROC would be great, but L&M isn't going to make a D70 housing
4. I think Ikelite is the best value for the money. Remember, a housing is just a box that keeps the water out. A housing doesn't contribute to the quality of your shots..IMHO...that's only in the hands of the photographer
5. I didn't know there was a Canon corner
6. definitely fold

Karl

 

[Mo2vation]

I have few questions for some who may know the answers to any below.

-which housing do you use for your D70 camera?
-I heard that Light and Motion D100 housing works with D70, but not sure. Are Sea and Sea better than L&M?
-I'm interested in L&M for its ROC control, but how useful is it?
-Ikelite any good?
-How come there is Canon Corner but no Nikon Nook?
-Do you fold or do you crumple your toilet paper after number 2?

Now that I'm the newest D70 owner, I'll need to look into a Nikon Nook.

Crumble. Please - no contest there.

Ken

 

[ssra30]

I think for the price, it would be hard to beat Ikelite but I did not get Ikelite for only one reason, Ikelite does not support the 70-180mm macro lens which I like. Ikelite housing is quite big but underwater, it is not a big deal.
I ended up with Sea and Sea and one of my dive buddies has Nexus housing for his D70. Between Sea and Sea and Nexus, there are both positive and negative points. Nexus is aluminium, appearing more compact. It has specific domeports for each wide angle lens so it feels more customized but then if you have a few WAL such as 12-24mm and 10.5mm fisheye, you will need two different domeports. However their dome is nice and compact. Once the camera is in the housing,it is not easy to take it in and out quickly. Sea and Sea on the other hand looks much bigger but in reality, it looks bigger because of the tray/handle and because it is boxy. Absolute dimension of the housing is not very different between the two. The camera slide in and out of the housing very easily. You can use compact domeport with various extension ring for 10.5mm, 12-24mm and 18-70mm lens using various diopters or you can use its giantic fisheye domeport also. Rumor has it that Nexus may produce a big view finder like Subal/Seacam which would be extremely nice. Nexus has auto/manual focus switch but Sea and Sea does not. Price is very similar for both, at least over here in Thailand.
Lever for bracketing is much better on Nexus but AE-lock lever on Sea and Sea is much better than Nexus so take a pick

 

[tingkka]

We should make Nikon Nook, yea? Let's patition for it.

I fold my tp definitly. i heard that crumbling the tp can be harsh on your skin and will need lotion afterwards (i don't know the vadality of this statement). And with lotion, i heard that when your butt starts to sweat, it feels like you've been leaking all day long. and also, on the down side, crumbling can get on your fingers easily. but then again, some countries don't use tp.

 

[Rooster]

I think a Nikon forum would be cool. I've shot Nikon UW in one form or another for about 13 years. My current rig is an F100 in an Aquatica housing. I also have a CP995 in an Aquatica housing. I just picked up a D70. Although it will be a few months before I get a housing, it will definitely be an Aquatica.

 

[chippy]

Count me in for the Nikon forum too ;-)

 

[fdog]

Tingkka, I look at the lenses I'll be using first. Then find the best ports for them. The box (housing) that attaches to the port just kind of comes along.

Soooo...I'm a wide angle shooter primarily, and I've ended up with Aquatica. As a bonus, the housings are nice.

However...I've always griped about the dinky viewfinder with digital (everyone who grew up with film and SportsFinders knows what I mean), and I'll confess I'm leaning toward Subal with the GS viewfinder. Or Sealux; after all, Subal and Sealux get their optics from the same source. (Blake! Are you listening? Get this viewfinder, or a long time Aquatica user may defect...)

Is Sea & Sea "better"? Sea & Sea makes a quality product. Only you can decide if the features, design, materials, service and parts supply are better for you.

Ikelite has incredible service and support. Hands down the best. I have no Nikon digital housings from Ike, though, because my 14mm will not even fit into an Ikelite dome. See paragraph #1.

Nikon forum...thanks to Ken, we can vote and be heard...

Fold or crumple???? Yeech!

All the best, James

 

[mjh]

Will chime in with a vote for Aquatica. I am using the housing for D100 and have only seen pics of the D70 housing. But.... if it is like the D100 housing it is easy to use, easy to maintain, and tough. Thats important for those long, remote dive trips. I am a complete rookie, went from a simple film point and shoot to this set up. You can check my gallery for some untouched pics I have taken. I have alot to learn but you can get some pretty good results w/the Nikon + Aquatica set up.

 

[dbh]

I went with the Nexus. It is very compact and very well-made.

Personal preferences vary so much, I would recommend that you contact a dealer that handles multiple Brands and discus the pros and cons of each housing.

Alot of us here have purchased alot of our gear from Ryan at underwatercamerapros.com. He carries Nexus, Subal, Ikelite, Sea & Sea and Aquatica for the D70.

HTH,
Dave