ALERT! Great News ref Ikelite Housings

[Merphotog]

I don't know if this has been posted but figured it's worth it to post it again.

FOR DSLR Housings with interchangeable ports, Ikelite has made a great decision and improvement [ Nov. 2009]. They have upgraded the front two port latches to FOUR latches. (Ikelite will upgrade older housings for $150)

I have the Ikelite housing for a Nikon D70. The front port was held in place with only the traditional 2 latches. When someone crammed another camera on top of mine in a rinse tank, a port latch was forced loose. With only one latch left, the port tilted, the housing flooded almost completely. Yup! Bye-Bye strobe interface electronics. Bye-Bye D70. Bye-Bye Lens. (Note: $500 to repair housing -- $240 to repair lens -- D70 "not economically repairable). If the housing would have had the 4 latch system, there would have been three latches still holding the port on. If two latches can hold the port on then 3 of 4 certainly should.

Since my incident I have heard "Rinse bins flood more cameras......." So NOW they [other photographers] tell me.
With only the two latches I've been concerned about possible accidents. I see the 4 latch system as a great improvement.

Some people will surely grumble at the $150 upgrade. After what I had to pay, i see the upgrade as cheap insurance. Seriously, had the upgrade been available beforehand, it could have saved me well over $1200.

 

[cberk]

I had ordered a housing for my new D90 and recieved in Oct. (2 lock system). Ikelite will complimentary upgrade to the 4 lock system, if ordered after Oct.1.

 

[philmayer]

Link to the announcement thread in the Ikelite forum: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ikelite/309292-changes-ikelite-dslr-port-system.html

 

[glyncasnod]

I have had just the same problem due to an SMB being put into the fresh water tank. The Ikelite housing for my D90 has not long since been returned to me after being repaired. I shall certainly be sending it back again for the modification and would advise others to do likewise - a lot cheaper than replacing the D90!

 

[danishDiver]

Thanks for the tip.

I will definitely send in my Nikon D200 housing, to get the extra latches, and also a annual service.

 

[bmark]

Hmm, I wonder if that is what happened to me. My D300 flooded last year at the very beginning of a dive so I handed it up to the boat captain and continued the dive (I knew right away that the camera, lens, and housing electronics were toast). I had the camera and lens insured, so I paid my deductible, but I had to pay $500 for Ikelite to go through the housing. I just returned from a trip on the Belize Aggressor and they would not allow us to keep our cameras in the camera tank, that tank was for rinsing only and checking for leaks. They too communicated that most flooding situations are caused by leaving the camera in the rinse tank. I had no problems with my housing on this last trip (first time in the water after the flooding incident), but I was especially careful.

Lets face facts, most flooding situations are due to user error or not appropriately seating the O-rings, etc. So now I am especially careful. Of course, I tell me wife that it is not a question of whether or not a housing will flood its a question of when it will flood.

I can understand if Ikelite needs to be paid for upgrades, but this seems like a deficiency in their housing design and I would expect them to give us a better deal to correct older housings. Honesting, after seeing one in action I'm thinking about dumping my Ikelite and going to Aquatica. I know it is more expensive, but they use the rail system to install the camera and the front port twists and locks similar to a camera lens.