Underwater Housings

<p>Forum<br>

I am in search for a source for an underwater camera housing for a 5D Mark II. Any suggestions are appreciated.</p>

<p>Gerry</p>

 

<p>Ikelite</p>

<p>I used an Ikelite housing for my Canon AE-1 back in the '80s. It worked fine.<br>

Oh to be able to have auto-focus and not have to change film between dives on a rocking boat while trying not to drip salt water into the camera!</p>

<p>In my field (archaeology) dust is usually more of a problem than water, but I have always looked longingly at the sealed housings. They are very expensive, however, and many of them (I have personally used none) <em>look like</em> they would inhibit access to controls, etc. Is it true? I hope experience will chime in and tell us.</p>

<p>Accordingly, I also have looked and even bid on Nikonos cameras as an alternative to encasing a "surface" camera. Never won, however. I gather problems with used ones are seal integrity.</p>

<p>More recently I have noticed that there seem to be a number of point-and-shoot or "bridge" cameras that are claimed to be waterproof to 3 fathoms or some such.<br>

Do any of you have experience with these as a much cheaper alternative to regular dSLRs?</p>

 

<p>I don't know about current Ikelite housings, but for the AE-1 there were controls for aperture, shutter speed, focussing and film advance. Since I used a strobe almost all the time, the shutter speed stayed at 1/60 second.<br>

Eventually I bought a Nikonos. I'm not sure it's water/or dust proof anymore.<br>

I'm not sure what I would buy now if I were in the market. I'm a land lubber now.</p><div></div>

<p>Thank you, all!</p>

G. Check out Wetpixel for everything underwater photo.

As a starting point try this 6 year old article reviewing Aquatica, Seacam and Sea & Sea housings entitled "Canon 5D Mark II underwater

housing shootout"

 

http://wetpixel.com/articles/canon-5d-mark-ii-housing-shootout/P1

 

I am currently diving my 5th Aquatica housing using Nikon. I am not sure about the form factor for the 5d mark II and III. If they are the

same then you can buy new. If not there is a decent used market. Wetpixel had an Aquatica 5d II housing sell for $1200 in May and

there is one listed just today for $2300 that includes camera and housing. He may break it up and just sell the housing. The 5d mark II is

still a great underwater camera. Good hunting.

You can post a " WTB " on wetpixel classifieds and find what you are looking for. Again, good luck.

<p>http://www.backscatter.com<br>

Housings are specific to the camera model. Then you need strobes. It's gets pricey. But this site has lots of info. Best of luck. </p>

<blockquote>

<p>More recently I have noticed that there seem to be a number of point-and-shoot or "bridge" cameras that are claimed to be waterproof to 3 fathoms or some such.<br />Do any of you have experience with these as a much cheaper alternative to regular dSLRs?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I've had a Canon PowerShot D10 for 5 or 6 years now. It's shock-resistant and waterproof. I've used it underwater many times, in fresh water and occasionally salt water. I've used it in rain and snow. I've dropped it five feet onto a concrete sidewalk. I haven't managed to damage it yet.</p>

<p>The image quality is typical for a P&S, which is pretty good in bright light, not as good in dimmer light. But perfectly fine for many purposes. The current model is the D30, which has several new features, and is waterproof to 82 feet - sufficient for snorkeling and some recreational scuba. At $300 it's much much less expensive than an underwater DSLR.</p>

<p>There's also the Nikon 1 AW1, which I haven't used, but it appears to be a good camera and probably has better image quality than the PowerShot D30.</p>

<p>I bought a used AquaTech housing for my 5D2 (DC-5 V2) complete with a dome port for about $500 on ebay. It is only rated for 10m depth but since I was primarily interested in half-in half-out photos it was perfect for my needs. This model also works for the 5D3 - but if the forthcoming 5D4 needs a different housing then this model may become obsolete and relatively inexpensive. Functions really well with access to all the camera body controls.</p><div></div>

J.D.M. - regarding Nikonos seals, don't worry about it, they are easily replaced. Or, for terrestrial use, stiff or cracked

seals can be greased to keep ou dust, if not water. I used a Nikonos II quit a bit in the past for kayaking. I preferred the II

because of it's smaller size. I could stuff it in my life jacket and then pull it out and operate it with one hand, while using

the other hand to hold onto the paddle. For your purposes, the more modern, but larger, Nikonos V would probably make

more sense. Or, for digital, perhaps a Nikon aw1.

<p>Thanks, Rick and Glen. Helpful.</p>