deeper thoughts
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Sounds like Ikelite is the way to go
G 11 housing question
- Thread starter gobylvr
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Hi, Liz;
Without significant expertise with Canon and its housing (I just got G10 with Cannon house), I have to throw down the BS flag on this, from a purely logical point of view.
Fogging is caused by water in the case condensing on the case. Period.
The camera heats up under heavy use. The manual says this is normal. This is simply a fact.
Therefore, IF you do not have water in the case, AND if you use a desiccant to take care of any humidity that locks into the case with the camera, you WILL NOT have a problem -- unless your case leaks.
Leaking case is a whole 'nother matter, but I will tell you I drilled most of the G10 and Canon case threads on this board before I went this way, and there are many that are just thrilled with their Canon cases.
I recommend you read this http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/canon-corner/315202-canon-housing-leaks-easy-diy-fix.html if you do have water issues.
Otherwise, someone is trying to sell you an expensive case, IMO.
The concept is that with the larger Ikelite case or an aluminum case, large or small, the air in the housing never heats up enough for condensation to form. The fogging is not from a leak, it is from the air in the housing and within the camera. The smaller space of the OEM housings heats up more rapidly, being a more confined space. The larger Ikelite case has more volume and is slower to heat up, aluminum housings are more conductive of heat and transfer it to the water more efficiently. My Canon housing will fog if I do not use the little desiccant packets, my larger Ikelite case does not tend to. My new aluminum housing, don't know yet. N
The desiccant packs can be a PITA having a fresh one and keeping them in a dry package and the recharging them etc but, they work, I like them, I use them. I like the little clear tubes that start out blue and then go pink when used up. They are not expensive and one per day of diving is usually enough to keep your camera happy and your lens and port dry (from condensation--not a leak). That has been my experience with them. It was not such a big deal with mechanical film cameras because they did not get hot during operation and fog the housings up. N
jjardin
Contributor
I have a G9, Ikelite housing, arm and DS51 strobe.
The camera is wonderful. The rest I am struggling a bit with.
Housing:
The housing functions very well as designed--although in super humid tropical environments I have struggled with fogging on occasion--so this is not limited to just the canon housing. Some of the spring features (e.g. the zoom) on the camera are not enabled in the housing and you have to remember to put it back to neutral--but takes just a little bit of learning. The ttl works well. I also like the fact that it is clear and you can see the o-ring or if any water is starting to seep in when you do a test dunk...
However for such a small camera, this thing is frigging huge. You are really committed to taking serious underwater photos with it--sometimes I am a bit jealous of other point-and-shooters that have nice compact housings and cute little flashes. This is especially true topside--there is really no chance of lugging this up the mountain path to the waterfall or even using it as a waterproof all weather housing for the compact camera--say on a fishing trip-the thing is huge. Big isn't bad, but you might as well move up to a DSLR at this size--I wished I had spent a little more.
The arms have been wholly disappointing. The 4075.1 arm is super strong but doesn't really allow you to aim the strobe, so I spent the 220+ to buy the 4086.62 1" ball arm system. This came defective--to Ikelite's credit within 2 e-mails a new one was sent--but after my last dive trip, so I haven't used yet. It seems a bit weak, however I have cut a 1" inner tube and slid them over the balls which seems to increase the holding power substantially.
DS51--the cheapest stobe--you get what you pay for. TTL works well. Worked well a year ago--doesn't seem to work as well this year. Not sure what it's issue is--worked well on the surface, worked for a few shots, then stopped, then didn't work on the surface, then did work at surface.
The camera is wonderful. The rest I am struggling a bit with.
Housing:
The housing functions very well as designed--although in super humid tropical environments I have struggled with fogging on occasion--so this is not limited to just the canon housing. Some of the spring features (e.g. the zoom) on the camera are not enabled in the housing and you have to remember to put it back to neutral--but takes just a little bit of learning. The ttl works well. I also like the fact that it is clear and you can see the o-ring or if any water is starting to seep in when you do a test dunk...
However for such a small camera, this thing is frigging huge. You are really committed to taking serious underwater photos with it--sometimes I am a bit jealous of other point-and-shooters that have nice compact housings and cute little flashes. This is especially true topside--there is really no chance of lugging this up the mountain path to the waterfall or even using it as a waterproof all weather housing for the compact camera--say on a fishing trip-the thing is huge. Big isn't bad, but you might as well move up to a DSLR at this size--I wished I had spent a little more.
The arms have been wholly disappointing. The 4075.1 arm is super strong but doesn't really allow you to aim the strobe, so I spent the 220+ to buy the 4086.62 1" ball arm system. This came defective--to Ikelite's credit within 2 e-mails a new one was sent--but after my last dive trip, so I haven't used yet. It seems a bit weak, however I have cut a 1" inner tube and slid them over the balls which seems to increase the holding power substantially.
DS51--the cheapest stobe--you get what you pay for. TTL works well. Worked well a year ago--doesn't seem to work as well this year. Not sure what it's issue is--worked well on the surface, worked for a few shots, then stopped, then didn't work on the surface, then did work at surface.
skynscuba
Contributor
10-packs for ~$3 plus shipping. Get 2 or 3 10-packs for a lifetime supply.
McMaster-Carr
or if you have a more spacious (ikelite) housing, get the next larger size, 3492T12
I shove a couple in my Canon housing, but I am pretty sure one would do.
If I'm staying where there is a kitchen, I just bake them in the oven at ~150-175F for about 20 minutes, until the indicator window shows deep blue, and use them over and over. When I went to Fiji, I took a factory sealed 10 pack as a backup (or I could have asked the cook to bake mine if I had to), along with 10 fresh baked used ones in a ziplock. In a week of diving, I never needed to open the sealed backup or bake the ones I used.
Hey, thanks, Guys!!! :wavey:
OR . . . if you live in Southern AZ, you just leave them out on the table and they'll turn blue by themselves!
13% humidity
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