S90+Ikelite housing problem

[alcal]

Hi

Bought a new cannon S90 and the Ikelite housing to go with it just before Christmas ,firstly have to say a big thankyou to Jack Connick of Optical Ocean Sales in Seattle:
Camera Housings, Strobes, Arms, Trays & More! - Optical Ocean Sales Underwater Photo - 800-359-1295!

I was badly let down by Cameras Underwater of London and Jack came to the rescue with the following rig:

Ikelite Housing for Canon S90 Digital CameraOptions Product Code: 624290
Sea & Sea YS110a Underwater Strobe Product Code: SS03111
Optical Ocean Flat Tray & Arms Set 1Options: less one 4" arm not needed, Incld Ike hardware Product Code: OOFltTrySet1
Big Blue 1x5 LED Focus & Dive LightOptions: Focus Light black Product Code: FF-1X5-AFO
Fiber Optic Sync CordOptions Product Code: 6315
Olympus 2X Macro Lens 67mm ThreadsOptions Product Code: PTMC-01
Ikelite WP-20 67mm Wide Angle LensOptions Product Code: 6420
Silica Gel Packets, 10 packOptionsProduct Code: OO-Silica

Im really happy with the advice and the set up Jack sorted for me, i tested everything and then took the rig too Egypt,the problem i had while there may have showed up before but i dont remember seeing anything on the boards.

Everything works fine until ive been down for 10-20 mins then at different depths and for no apparent reason the button cluster at the back refuses to control the camera ,it losess the Macro/Mountain settings and also the flash priority settings well anything thats on that centre cluster,when surfaced and on the boat after the dive it works fine once opend.

All i could come up with was that when pressed this cluster of buttons only just pushes in past the LCD snug as they`re almost the same depth,what i think is happening is when the camera is under pressure the snug is expanding and pushing the camera just enough to stop the buttons contacting,it cost me a lot of photos while away.
I contacted Ikelite and explained what had happend and what i thought was the cause,after a weeks waiting and a second e mail reminding them of the first one they came straight back to me with the following:
If you have the hard plastic LCD framer/shade on the back of the housing, it could be replaced with the newer version foam rubber framer/shade at No Charge. It is possible that the hard plastic version framer/shade is slightly pushing the back of the housing away from the camera. Please request the foam rubber framer/shade for S90 housing from the Ikelite dealer at No Charge.

Regards, Duane / Ikelite

My temperary fix has been to carefully prise the hard plastic snug away from the 2mm backing foam tape,when removed it still had the sticky film attached which i suspect is off the top of the 2mm tape,i then removed the 2mm foam tape and again the sticky film off the bottom remained on the case.Ok well i then simply stuck the hard plastic snug back in place,i took the camera down to 75ft last night and had no probs,ill monitor it but im hoping thats fixed it,either for good or until i get the replacement snug,ill be interested to see what thickness this is.
Ok well thought you guys might find all this usefull,if your not sure of anything ive wrote or have any questions dont hesitate to ask,im no camera expert though.

Alan
Birmingham
England

 

[KhunNeal]

I had a similar problem on one dive, I think the problem was that I had the zoom dial set all the way. that left the camera zoom stuck at the edge and when that happens other buttons did not work. If I twist the zoom dial a little bit so it allows the camera zoom lever to revert to neutral, then the buttons work again.
Does that make sense ?
If I have a problem on next weeks dive, maybe I'll contact ikelite about this new back.

 

[jands]

I've done two dives with the Ikelite and S90, and had the same problem. If the zoom is 'on' then none of the buttons will work. I just need to remember to always turn the zoom dial back a microfraction after zooming, kinda like putting it into 'neutral.'

 

[Nemrod]

My bet, you have your zoom lever off center. Put your housing back together like it was. Some Ikelite housings, since there is no spring return, allow you to park the zoom control to avoid this issue, does the S90 housing? If not you will need to either remove that control or disable it or make sure it is always centered--especially when you are having the "problem". Unless you are shooting macro I see no need to zoom anything anyways. Could be wrong. I doubt the housing is compressing or swelling or whatever beyond the range of the controls to operate. Good luck.
N

 

[rudybier]

It's got to be the zoom, this happened to me a few times, but soon realized what the issue was!

One guy had the idea of marking the zoom button with tippex so that you know to centralize it.

 

[alcal]

>camera is under pressure the snug is expanding and pushing the camera just enough to stop the >buttons contacting,it cost me a lot of photos while away.

Not the housing expanding ,the foam tape on the plastic snug expanding,also i fitted the camera into the housing with the zoom capture button in its central position and wasnt using the zoom anyway on these dives.

AL

 

[alcal]

I will take this advice and be carefull of the zoom anyway,i presume when you sleaved the camera with the zoom control in the wrong position it showed up as a constant fault from the begining of the dive9is that correct ) and in that case doesnt explain why it worked for a while and then cut out even though i didnt use the zoom and it was correctly fitted , not sure of that??

AL

 

[rudybier]

You ay have just knocked the zoom slightly without noticing, but next time you dive just check it out.

It may be a simple problem!

 

[JackConnick]

Actually what the deal is that the LCD shade was a bit too thick and is holding camera too far forward. Contact Ikelite for a free replacement.

The zoom control is a bit tricky, try centering it when you install the camera.

The only other issue I've seen is that some of the ports were a tad too long at their rear and they rubbed against the bezel, causing it to bind.

As always, Ikelite has fixed everything. Alan, your parts are being shipped to me and I'll get them to you soonest.

Jack

 

[alcal]

Ok Jack roger that.

AL