Im a Still Photographer starting to get into underwater photography. I use a Canon 40D and looking to get an underwater housing unit for it. If any one is interested in selling or know of a good place to buy let me know please. Also no underwater bags. I don't trust those. seems like bad news bears
Thanks everyone
There were a lot of housings made for the Canon 40D. They're all discontinued, time marches on. But you can find new old stock and used ones. To get a feeling for all the housings that were produced for it, check out the Digideep site for it:
List of underwater housings that turn the Canon EOS 40D into an underwater camera
There are reviews posted there and elsewhere on the net, worth reading considering the investment you will make.
Different people will champion different brands, based on good experience with them. As you guessed, the bags are worthless. Don't go there. As is often true, you get what you pay for.
Ikelite made the least expensive reliable housing, the 6870.40 model which sold for about $1425 new, less used if you can find one. (I'd make sure to get the
4 lock port latch modification, especially if you plan to use the modular port dome). This does not include ports for your lenses, but Ikelite's ports are the least expensive available. A housing, plus dome port for wide angle (about $400), plus flat port for Macro (say $200), will total about $2,000 for the system. Interestingly, you can upgrade the Ike 40D Housing to a 50D housing for $200, which gives you some options. If you think you might do that, just get the 50D housing, which already fits the 40D (Ikelite 6870.50, same price). You will want to add at least one strobe for another say $1000.
This is the least expensive solution for a reliable housing. Ikelites are bigger and heavier than the competition, because they use a standard (oversized) housing blank to custom machine to fit a broad range of different cameras. This is how they keep costs way down, but the design is not tuned to a particular camera body and it ends up heavier and bulkier than optimal. There are many many people satisfied with them, and the outstanding support from Ikelite is legendary.
The next step is a big one in cost, to a more sculpted body with nicer ergonomics. Others have mentioned Sea&Sea, Aquatica, Hugyfot, Seatool, Subal. These are very nice, and much more expensive. Each has it's partisans, I'm not going to go there. You'll end up spending $4000
and up for this class of housing with ports.
If you have a chance, you should handle each one you are interested in, to see what suits you best. Barring that, you may want to confer with one of the several reliable dealers who post here. Dealers charge a little more, and for that you get support. For many, it's worth it many times over.
