Ikelite vs Nauticam for lx5

[sirensongs]

Does anyone have experience using the Ikelite housing with the lx5? I have heard a lot of mixed information from early this year. I would like to order a housing asap for a trip to Anilao, and am torn between the economy of Ikelite and the good craftsmanship (but large expense!) of the Nauticam. Any input from users of either would be great!:kiss2:

 

[cardog]

Does anyone have experience using the Ikelite housing with the lx5? I have heard a lot of mixed information from early this year. I would like to order a housing asap for a trip to Anilao, and am torn between the economy of Ikelite and the good craftsmanship (but large expense!) of the Nauticam. Any input from users of either would be great!:kiss2:

I am not a fan of Ike, mainly because of their proprietary system that they use. The Ike housing will not give you anywhere to attach fiber optic cables, the diffuser is a pos and the zoom does not have a spring. Spend the extra $$$ if you can and buy the Nauticam.
Also, the Ike housing does not have a cold shoe on it for mounting a focus light.....

 

[HollywoodiversImaging]

There is quite a difference when it comes to the ergonomics of the two housings. The Nauticam is smaller, has very easy to use controls, all of which can be used without moving your hands from the handle. The rotary latch is very nice as well. Size of course there is a difference. The big thing that you will benefit from is the ability to use fiber optic cables, which also makes it easy to choose from a variety of strobe options (Sea & Sea, Inon, Ikelite).

If you are looking for a savings, we have a BARELY used set up listed in the classifieds that we used just to shoot some sample photos and video with.

 

[sirensongs]

Thanks for both of the replies. I plan on using this mostly for video, any experience there? I've made this choice because of the manual exposure and iso access, fast lens, and continuous focus. I had the S95 but was unhappy with the lack of continuous focus and manual modes in video. Also, some housings heat up very fast on these little compacts when you roll a lot of video. I am hoping to avoid fogging of course. Hollywood -- I am not interested the strobe and arm --how bout an inon le550 video light instead -- with attachments for the hot shoe but I will contact you directly. The housing package you have looks appealing! Again, thanks for sharing info! Any more input on this subject is welcome!

 

[sirensongs]

Hollywooddivers Imaging -- thank you for your reply to my thread. Any knowledge you may have on how well the system works for video would be great. have you tried it out with wet lenses? Did the autofocus still perform ok?

As I said, I would be interested in the housing package with tray etc. but am looking for close up lens instead of wide (minor) and an economical video light to mount using the cold shoe. Are there adjustments you can make to the package at all? It looks like a lovely housing -- very excited to make my purchase soon and start rolling off reels! Send me an email contact and I will move forward.

 

[scipionems]

@sirensongs,
I have the Lx5 with Nauticam housing and i use it for photo and video.
I am not an expert of the video, but if you want, you can see some videos made underwater with the lx 5 here:
scipionems's Channel - YouTube
scipionems's Channel - YouTube
scipionems's Channel - YouTube
I find this camera fantastic for both photo and video.
Ciao.
Scipionems