Excellent thread guys.
I bought a RX100 Mk2 last year after picking up a used Ikelite housing, I added the Ikelite tray and I was up and running. The RX100 ii was a vast improvement over my previous Olympus TG-1 rig - no more high ISO noise, far superior focusing and much more.
I had been using mirrorless cameras such as the EM-5 and EM-1 on land for several years so I was quite familiar with all of the technical details of digital cameras (although not an ace photographer). This previous technical knowledge made my transition to the RX100 much easier than it would have otherwise been - it is quite a complex and sophisticated animal and probably a bit daunting for newbies to photography. Learning underwater photography was still a big challenge of course - long way to go yet.
A local retailer went into liquidation and dumped all of their stock so I picked up a couple of new Olympus UFL-1 strobes for a bargain price. The UFL-1's are just a re-branded Sea & Sea YS-17 and can do slave TTL with any camera. The strobes were mounted on flex arms with floatation provided by some hollow foam from one of those swimming aids that your grandmother uses. I also added an Inon UWL-100 with dome plus various other lenses including Inon the UFL-165AD, UCL-165M67 and Epoque DCL-20.
This was quite a basic rig but it worked well. Having the UWL-100 + dome and 2 strobes opened up a whole new world in terms of wide angle.
I did find the Ikelite tray far too wide - I couldn't easily hold the right handle and reach the shutter release. The Ikelite tray offered no option to move the housing along the tray - it was fixed in the centre position and this is difficult for people with small hands. The buttons on the rear of the housing are very close together - particularly those on the 4 way control wheel. Pressing just the centre ("OK") button was a struggle when wearing gloves.
These gripes didn't dampen my enthusiasm as the RX100 was such a great camera. THe UFL-1 strobes were fine but the flex arms were awkward if you wanted to get the strobes down at the same level as the camera and slightly behind the housing - a common position for placing strobes.
I then upgraded to a Recsea WHS-RX100ii housing when Backscatter had them on sale. I wanted something small after the bulky size of the Ikelite and the Recsea fitted the bill. It was also far more ergonomic with no issues and I liked the feedback from the shutter lever for the half press. I mounted it on a dual handle Nauticam Flexitray and chose a ball and clamp arm system. I bought Inon 8 inch mega floats mated to 8 inch Howshot carbon fibre floats. I replaced the UFL-1 strobes with Inon D-2000's.
This is how it looks.
Its a new rig other than the camera itself. I am very happy with this rig - not much to complain about. The Inon D-2000 strobes can be confusing at first - you need to read up on exactly how to operate them as it is not intuitive from looking at the controls. They are excellent strobes and I love the "Auto" feature where the strobe uses its own sensor. In this mode it also uses a long pre-flash to fool the camera into thinking that the scene is overexposed so it emits only a very brief main flash which saves draining the camera battery - very neat. You can of course do TTL and full manual. The extra reach of the arms is useful for wide angle.
I added a L&M Sola 800 focus light along with a BigBlue VL1800.
With all of these extras (and bigger strobes) the dry weight of the rig can get well over 5kg, especially when using heavier lenses such as the UWL-100 + dome and the Olympus PTWC-01 (a brilliant but huge lens).
Even the large floats can be heavy when out of the water.
I recently started shooting video so I succumbed to the inevitable temptation and bought a RX100 Mk4. I did this not so much for 4k but for the 100/120 fps at 1080 plus the high frame rate capability - I like doing slow motion. To house the Mk4 I bought a Fantasea FRX100 V housing which is future proof to the Mk5 (I do envy those who have the Mk5 - my next rig).
I am very impressed with both the camera and housing - haven't had them in the water yet but I have high expectations. I will be very grateful to be able to use auto ISO in manual and to set a minimum shutter speed for the automatic modes - my biggest gripes with the Mk2.
The Fantasea housing is even more ergonomic than the Recsea housing - it feels very comfortable in your hands. Unfortunately it doesn't work too well on the Nauticam tray (can't move far enough to the right) so it will spend life on an Ultralight tray.
I wish I could give some more feedback on this combo - hopefully within a couple of weeks with photos.
The only problem with upgrading to the RX100 Mk4 is that I don't want to let go of my Mk2 - it is great for stills with the 28-100mm lens.
I think my addiction to RX100's has a long way to run yet.
