G11 or S90 Ikelite or Canon?

[S Yates]

Hi all

Been following various threads on the forum which have so far given me loads of info on issues that I wasn't prevoiusly aware of.

Looking to replace my flooded Oly 7070 & case and narrowed the search to Canon G11 / S90 - with either OEM case or Ikelite.

My general feeling having owned an Olympus case is that OEM cases are a little prone to damage whereas Ikelites are more robust.

I have some 67mm screw thread close up & w/a lenses but don't mind replacing them as part of the package.

Also want the camera to be useful above water!

What would your thoughts be on the merits / drawbacks of each system?

Regars

SY

 

[H2O Photo Pros]

If I were in your position, I would go with the Canon S90 in the Fisheye Fix housing.

1. VERY compact and ergonomic.

2. Aluminum as opposed to polycarbonate.

3. Will accept your 67mm lenses.

4. Same image quality as the G11.

5. Cost of the S90 and Fix housing is comparable to G11 and Ike housing...but more lens choices for S90.

One thing I really like about the S90 is the front ring around the lens, which can be assigned to control exposure compensation, focus, ISO or shutter.

 

[S Yates]

Thanks Mike

FIX housings aren't common in the UK - so not seen one in the flesh.

Thought that all of the S90 housings had access to the front control ring, it it the rear control dial that people seem to be saying is not accessible.

Regards

SY

 

[H2O Photo Pros]

Whoops sorry, kinda late over here.

Fix housings are top notch quality. Very well built, over here in the states they are extremely popular. The S90 just arrived the beginning of January, Fix G11s have been here since beg December.

 

[KhunNeal]

S90 - great all around camera, and the size means you can take it with you topside all the time.
When I decided to replace my Oly 5050 my first choice was the G11, but after looking at the S90 I changed my mind.

For housing I have the Ikelite and like it, BUT you really should have a strobe if using this housing. (I'm using an INON S2000).
The ikelite is threaded, i have a macro lens for it (Hoya).

The FX looks great, having access to the rear wheel would be a big plus -- too bad it wasn't available when I got the ikelite (that and it costs more).

The Canon looks good, but I haven't used it. Supposedly it works better w/ built in flash than the ikelite.

 

[Jorgy]

I upgraded from the G9 to the S90.......

The G9 and G11 are big camera's to use topside and travel with......

The FIX housing is great......

But I went with the Ike due to price.........

I can confirm with without strobes the Ike housing is hard to use in anything but shallow clear water.......

dHass posted so great sans strobe pool pics.......

The Ike will accept 67mm threaded lenses.......

You cannot use the back ring but in Manual you can set aperture, shutter speed, zoom and ISO......which is all I do......

Hope this helps.......M

 

[S Yates]

No problem with Stobes, I have 2 x YS110's plus an old and tempermental YS30.

I assume that I will get some vignetting with an Epoque DCL 20 on an Ike housing with S90, but it won't be as severe as the Oly 7070 in a PT027 housing

S

 

[dhaas]

S_Yates,

The Ikelite Canon S90 housing while not having a dedicated rear wheel control can enable you to use the Canon S90 and create stunning UW images. Front Control Ring choices plus holding the "S" shortcut button plus left / right 4 way buttons allow the same as the rear wheel choices.

People lamenting the lack of this rear dial haven't shot their S90 enough to know all the functions you can access via the front control ring. Or what mode(s) works best with this little wonder IMHO......

I'm sure some folks will post great pics once the FIX housings (beautifully made) get out to good diving locales. I'm not bashing it, it's a great piece of engineering.

My opinion is 90% of shooters will simply screw up their exposures in M (manual) mode) while those who learn the camera happily shoot in Tv, Av or God forbid even Program and take home photos they are happy with

I see too many people struggle with manually setting flash power, exposures all over the board, etc. I know some get good at it.....

But the majority I see can't control the flash output well enough due to limited vacation constraints or not diving often enough, etc. Especially compared to reliable results a more automatic flash that still has some fine tuning capability can provide.

Not trying to start a flame war here just expressing an opinion from lots of observations

The port on the Ikelite housing is bigger allowing a 67mm threaded WA lens like your Epoque DCL 20, Ikelite's W20 and INON 67mm lenses to directly attach. One "tap" to about 35mm equivalent and no vignetting.

The Canon S90 built in flash is partially blocked by the larger port (compared to the Canon housing) so if you try and shoot with the built in flash you should concentrate on pics in CLEAR water to minimize backscatter from built flash's proximity to the lens angle. Use the included Ikelite housing's diffuser at maybe no closer than 1.5'.

Shots below taken in a pool with nothing but the Canon S90 built in flash.

For macro or going closer an accessory flash will give you better lighting and no shadow from the port.

S_Yates, you will likely be shooting in manual mode dialing down your S90 flash to 1/3 to simply trip your YS110 units. So you have right out of the gate what it takes to make the S90 produce great shots

Good shooting!

dhaas

 

[Nemrod]

Nothing against Ikelite cases, they are a fine product. The S90 with FIX90 case can be gotten for only a little more than the appreciably more bulky and limited capability Ikelite and G11 combo.

The FIX90 housing is purports to be capable of accepting the vast majority of wet lenses, wide angle and macro. The adapters are a little expensive but most will need only one. If you already have 67mm lenses this is a no brainer.

Nothing against the G11 either but the S90 has a faster lens, much smaller footprint and with the FIX housing it is no larger than the G11 bare. Further, both control rings are usable and operated by rotary knobs that allows for the first time in a long time (at least for me) to be able to have direct access to both shutter and f stop without button pushing.

I will add, most housing I have had, three Ikelites, two Canons I have not been completely satisfied with the added workload of aligning controls, stiff, lifeless feeling inputs and bulk. But, I admit, I am a Nikonos II/III fan, my Nikonos IIIs operated directly, smoothly above water or below and thye were small in footprint. The S90 operates so smoothly and precisely in the FIX90 housing it is as if the housing were invisible to the camera function. I don't want to make the comparison but it is there. Of course, in the end, the Nikonos III in good hand with Nikkor optics is several levels above the majority of digi cams, nonetheless, the S90 and FIX is a sweet combination, powerful and compact and versatile.

The S90 and FIX90 housing and two S2000 Inon strobes would be a great rig.

N

 

[shoturtle]

The S90 and G11 are both great camera, the G11 has a bit more options for top side shooting with add on lenses form canon, macro, wide angle and TC lenses. It is a bigger camera then the S90. Some may like that it has a VF and the larger size for the fit in the hands. The S90 is smaller and you compose with only the lcd. But you can not go wrong with either. It comes down to personal preference.