G11 Housing / Strobe / Lens Question

[BarryTX]

I have pretty well decided that my next camera will be the Canon G11. My question is on which housing & strobe package, and by extension, lenses, makes the most sense, so I'm looking for feedback from the experts.

Lets start with this: I would (I think) like the ability to do wet lens swaps; realistically I think this means a macro lens and a wide angle or fisheye. I understand that a WIDE wide angle lens isn't possible with all bodies and there are some dome solutions that restore things to the equivalent of the 28 mm available on land. This may be enough for me, but I have a nagging concern that I may want to be able to go wider sometime along the way. Is this even realistic for the G11?

In the Canon vs Ikelite vs Fisheye debate, I am leaning toward Ikelite or Fisheye from the standpoint of durability and flexibility. Beyond that I'm still confused. Are wet lens swap capabilities equivalent for Fisheye and Ikelite? Are there more potential lens changes (wet or dry) with Fisheye?

Finally, on strobes......help! I like the idea of TTL to drive the strobe, but I see some folks saying they always control them manually anyway. Thoughts? Also, single vs double strobes - is it a reasonable compromise to begin with 1 and expand later or would you bite the bullet at the outset if you expect to end up with 2? And any comparisons on the different strobe brands will be appreciated.

Many thanks in advance for your help.

Barry

 

[Nemrod]

I am kinda researching a new camera also, per your requirements it seems this is best, it will set you back about 2,000 dollars:

FIX G11 Housing for Canon G11 [fix.g11] - $1,099.00 : Reef Photo & Video!, The Underwater Photo Pros

With the semi-fisheye--er--Fisheye port, this is NOT a wet mount lens but a port that locks into the housing:

FIX UWL-04 Fisheye Conversion Lens for FIX G10/G11 [fix.uwl.04.g10] - $549.00 : Reef Photo & Video!, The Underwater Photo Pros

No, wet lenses (for wide angle), other than some macro types, will generally not work with any G10/G11. There are some bubble lens correctors that are pretty neat from Fantasea and Ikelite has a similar corrector for their housing. Some housings, like Patima, may have a short port option with a zoom lock that allows some wet lenses, not sure about that really.

The long lens throw of the G10/G11 make wet lenses very difficult. The new S90 has a much shorter lens throw plus a lens twice as fast, a bigger LCD etc which may, may, bode well for wet lenses. Per Ikelite, they work with their new Ikelite S90 housing.

Personally, just me, I would not fool with wired TTL and would prefer optical strobes from either Inon or other similar units from other companies like YS.

Good luck, I feel your pain.

N

 

[Hetland]

Research Inon's "Auto" strobe setting. Basically you set the strobe to the aperture setting of the camera, and that's all there is to it! You can use the sensor on the strobe to act as the trigger, or use a fiber-optic. Either way, that's two less failure points to worry about (sync cord).

 

[ScubaMarc]

for what is worth, i am going with g11 oem case, inon z240 with sttl and fantasea wide angle lens. The strobe will do the same with optical ttl as a wired ttl can do. The lens is not that wide but it helps. Saving 1000$ on the case will let me upgrade the camera in 2 years and the strobe will work for years to come.

 

[JackConnick]

The Ikelite housing and DS-51 combo is pretty nice, including a hardwired TTl option controlled from the housing. A lot better housing than the OEM and they have very nice add-on lenses.

Jack

 

[deeper thoughts]

I think this might be my next system also