400D Questions - Should I buy it?

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

ScubaBOBuba:
The 400D comes packaged with the latest version of the Canon Zoom Browser. Although not as complete as the Adobe Raw Converter (ACR) in Photoshop, I have played with it and it does a great job considering you do not have to buy it.
You can also download for free, from Canon, Digital Photo Professional which is quite a bit nicer than ZoomBrowser.
 
Ok, got it in the mail today! The wife seems to like it!

Is it possible to use the LCD as the viewfinder? If so, how? We can only seem to get it to show settings and pictures already taken...
 
Addict:
Ok, got it in the mail today! The wife seems to like it!

Is it possible to use the LCD as the viewfinder? If so, how? We can only seem to get it to show settings and pictures already taken...

Nope, it is a digital SLR, which means there is a mirror that sits in front of the sensor until you trip the shutter. So you have to use the viewfinder on top.
 
if you can wait a till next month I will give a report on te seatool housing I just bought. Just note as others have said it aint cheap. Body is slightly cheaper than some but ports are more expensive as all focus zoom controls are on the ports.

Dome for example is about US$1400 probably about the same price as the camera and a good lens.
 
lukeROB, dang that's a nice housing... I had a chance to look at the seatool 400D housing at the ADEX show last month. Very nice compact housing... Was tempted to sell off my S&S housing for it if I hadn't already invested so much in S&S ports and gears... :D
 
I have been MIA for a while. I wasn't really getting along with my Ikelite and so went over to the darkside of video. Was good learning though because it gave me a pretty good idea of what was most important to me in a housing. The seatool on paper came close to meeting most of them.

Nope don't have it yet - it is in transit as we speak. Looks like I'll have it by the end of the week and will try and get it wet asap and give a quick run down of first impressions. I'm off to the Philippines next week so will give a more comprehensive report when I return. I'll give a 'dry' review - if I don't get it before the weekend. I'm sure there are many others, like I was myself, that are looking for more info.
 
For what it's worth, I had a chance to take a look at the Seatool 400D housing at last month's ADEX show in Bangkok. I was oohing and aahing over some video housing so I forgot to take some pics of the 400D housing.

This is probably the smallest DSLR housing I've ever seen (and this is coming from someone who currently uses a pretty compact S&S 350D housing). Honestly, it makes my S&S 350D housing look like a beast. Kenji Ohmura has done an amazing job machining this housing. The camera body goes directly into the front of the housing. There is no need to screw in an additional mount on the tripod hole.

All rear buttons on the 400D are operational (well maybe not the direct print...). What I really liked about this housing is the attention placed on button dial placements for the right hand. Ohmura-san has incorporated a right hand grip so that the shutter, AE/AF lock, & Shutter speed/ Aperture Dial are all right at your fingertips.

The housing is secured by two solid clamps on each side. There is no focus/zoom dial directly on the housing. Instead, Seatool decided to incorporate these controls into the ports/ extensions. With their handle attached, this works out perfect as the port focus/ zoom knobs are right at your left hand fingertip.

In terms of lens, I think they will have a port that will fit both the 60mm and 18-55 kit lens, 100mm macro, and an optical glass dome for the Canon 10-22 and Tokina 10-17 Fisheye? According to Ryan at reefphoto, this is the same glass as used in the popular Athena 170 dome which is currently being sold by S&S.

Another interesting thing about this housing is that it doesn't come with a nikonos bulkhead. Instead, it can accept optical cables to control your strobes. Ohmura-san did say they will also provide an option to install a nikonos bulkhead. The argument here is that, say paired with Inon strobes, 1) you would have full S-TTL without having to purchase/ install a 3rd party TTL controller and 2) not worry about nikonos cables/ bulkheads flooding or failing.

If I hadn't invested so much in ports, domes, and expensive gears for my existing S&S housing, I think I would love to get this Seatool 400D housing.

Check with Ryan at www.reefphoto.com. I think he's been able to test drive this set up and is a big fan of the housing.

edit: forgot to mention that the housing can be fitted with the Inon 45 deg viewfinder. While it wasn't attached to the 400D housing, I got to look at the viewfinder on a Nexus housing. Very nice... :D
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

Back
Top Bottom