Attemping to piece together my first underwater setup.

[TTSupra]

Hey everyone, I've been browsing around recently reading different posts and articles trying to figure out what to get for my underwater setup. I've been looking at getting a Canon G12, and I'm stuck on housings. I tried looking in the info thread under the main photography forum, but some of the posts are 404 links.

My main question right now the housing and connector options for strobes. I'm not sure whether to grab the factory Canon housing, FIX, or Ikelite. The topic discussing this in the information thread has 404'd. I've been seeing people discuss a lot about strobe connections on the Ikelites and such. Can someone fill me in on this? For the time being I'm not purchasing a strobe, but I def. plan too in the near future, and want to know what kind of compatibility issues I'll have in the future.

Thanks for any info you can provide on pointing me in the right direction for housings.

 

[ChainDiver]

I am at the same point.

On Saturday I was in a local camera store looking at the G12. They had ordered the Canon housing so I could look at it. It was great to actually hold the product. Other than the clasp seeming a little flimsy it looks great. The dials move easily. The buttons have a nice feel to them. There is a black sleeve covering the lens body, preventing reflections inside the housing from the internal strobe. (I had heard that was a problem with other clear housings)

I would love to see the Ikelite housing. It looks bulky and weighs about 6lbs with camera.

Have you been able to get your hands on the Ikelite housing? I live in Ottawa Canada, we have some good dive shops, but none that stock Ikelite housings.

Mike.

 

[TTSupra]

No I haven't been able to see one. I live in a small area in FL, so there's no actual shops that sell these kinds of things. I'd have to order it all online, which is why I'm asking community advice before doing so.

The FIX housing looks a lot nicer, but Ikelites have a great reputation from what I see.

 

[M_Bipartitus]

There are two main types of strobe triggering, Optical and wired. Optical triggering uses a sensor or fiberoptic cable to detect when the internal strobe on the camera fires. Wired strobe connections allow an electrical communication between camera and strobe circuitry. Different strobes may also allow automatic exposure or manual exposure. An automatic optical strobe typically relies on matching the duration of the internal flash and assumes the camera will cut the internal flash when the proper amount of light has been collected. Wired automatic connections typically communicate using the camera's proprietary strobe protocols (E-TTL for Canon). Manual strobes need to be set to a specific power and use the trigger just to inform the strobe when to start.

The Canon housing only allows for optical triggering, so far as I know. The ikelite is designed for automatic wired triggering. I've heard good things about the FIX, but I don't have any first hand knowledge of it.

For more detailed recommendations you may want to say more about your underwater photography goals. For example, the G-series does not go quite as wide as some wide-angle underwater photographers like, so the availability of "wet-lenes" can be important. If you are more interested in macro photography, you may not need as large of strobes.

 

[PatW]

I have an Ikelite housing on a Canon G11. It has an electrical connection with the strobe. That is really nice vs the fiberoptic approach. The Ikelite is also a solid and dependable housing. I am very happy with it. The Ikelite housing allows the use of Macro wet mount lenses. But the option for wide angle wet mount lenses are limited.

There are people on this board who use the Canon housing and are very happy with it. I do not think there is much option for wet mount lenses. Also, some people have had minor leak issues (as if any leak is minor). I understand that there is a fix for it.

I have never fooled with a FIX housing. I have heard rumors that FIX is being discontinued. From what I have seen the FIX housings allow really nice wet mount wide angle lenses which is a big plus.

There is also the cost issue. Canon housings are something like $200. Ike $400 and FIX $1000.

I believe Aquatica makes housings for the Canon G series and are similar to FIX. So it FIX is defunct maybe that would be a similar option.

I have had some dealings with a Backscatter. A store that has a web presence and 2 brick and mortor stores. Their people seem pretty familiar with the different options out there. So you might give them a shout.

 

[TTSupra]

Yeah I was looking at ordering from Backscatter at some point.

I don't have a main goal at the moment other than to get dive experience using the camera. Play with different things, attempting some wide angel and close shots. Just a wide array of different things. Once I have experience and played with different kinds of shots, I'll look into getting equipment more specific to my needs. I had just figured the G12 was kind of an "all around" camera.

 

[HerraduraDivers]

TTSupra,
give Reef Photo and Video a try as they are in Ft. Lauderdale and it is maybe not too far from you.

The have a huge choice of housings there and i would strongly suggest to go there and hold the housings in your hand.
The FIX housing cost almost the double of the Ikelite housing, but it's smaller and theoretically more sturdy. The FIX don't have a electrical strobe connector, while the Ikelite don't work well with a optical strobe connector.
The Ikelite gives you a mature and well experimeted, sturdy acrylic housing and one of the finest and powerful strobes on the market, but housing and strobe are bulky and heavy. The FIX housing gives you a snug housing - so snug that you may have problems to get the camer out of the housing- in a nice, sturdy aluminium housing and a dedicated port to mount the optical cables to trigger a optical strobe. This gives you access to the big - and still growing - world of optical triggered strobes providing working "TTL", small size and lightweight strobes.
I have a G11 in a Patima Aluminium housing and a INON D-2000 Strobe and i am very pleased with it and Reef Photo and Video provided me camera and housing.

Chris

 

[TTSupra]

Thanks for the info Herra. I live in Destin, so sadly Ft. Lauderdale is quite a trip. However I'm leaning more towards an ikelite housing. FIX is quite expensive...

I guess what it comes down too then is determining the differences in optical versus electrical strobes, which I imagine would be an entire new post in the strobes forum :\

Am I looking at any hold backs with strobes if I choose ikelite? Apparently I'll be missing out on a range of wide angle lenses if I chose ikelite over FIX, but I can accept that for a first camera.

 

[HerraduraDivers]

TTSupra,
the Ikelite is a very nice built housing and with the right care you will have fun with it for a long time. I have 2 Ikelite housings and there are no complains at all.

Even professional photographers are accepting and switching to optical triggered strobes, as some of them the provide you ttl like automatic exposure, semi-automatic and full manual exposure control giving you the best of all 3 worlds.
I would not consider anymore a electrical triggered strobe, except i have to (like with my D90 in a Ikelite housing) because the electrical connection is prone to problems while the fiber optic triggering works flawless.
The problem with choosing a Iklite strobe is that you go in a one-way road and with another housing you can use the strobe "only" in manual mode. Optical triggered strobes gives you the freedom to choose almost all housings on the market if:
1. they are transparent or have a transparent port were the camera strobe can flash trough
2. the housing allows the camera flash to open.
Exactly this is the problem on my D90 Ikelite housing; the houing is slightly too small so the camera strobe can't pop fully open and remain disabled and i HAVE to use a electric triggered strobe on that housing.

To use a optical triggered strobe on the Ikelite G11/G12 housing you have to stick-on the fiberoptic cable shoe and tape the rest of the housing in order that the camera strobe don't exit the housing. A more sohisticated solution is to stick a piece of fully exposed 35mm film in front of the camera strobe, this will avoid that the camera strobe is visible but the invisible light will still trigger the external strobe.
I would suggest to talk with Reef or Backscatter to verify the possibility to use a optical triggered strobe on the Ikelite G11/12 housing and if so, go with one or two INON D-2000 or Z-240 strobes.
I have a 2007 D-2000 strobe with about 200 dives made and i had never any problem with it.

Chris

 

[muzikbiz22]

Thanks for the info Herra. I live in Destin, so sadly Ft. Lauderdale is quite a trip. However I'm leaning more towards an ikelite housing. FIX is quite expensive...

I guess what it comes down too then is determining the differences in optical versus electrical strobes, which I imagine would be an entire new post in the strobes forum :\

Am I looking at any hold backs with strobes if I choose ikelite? Apparently I'll be missing out on a range of wide angle lenses if I chose ikelite over FIX, but I can accept that for a first camera.

I'm using the Ikelite/S90, with the Sea & Sea YS-01, firing optically all day long with 100 % success. And here is how; drill a tiny hole in the included Ikelite deflector (not diffuser) to mount one end of your Sea & Sea L-Type Optical cable facing right in front of the flash. Again, it works perfectly ! Reef Photo actually did this for me when I purchased my housing, strobe, etc. I agree with HerraduraDivers above, give Reef Photo a call. Not saying anything bad about any of the other fine & upstanding underwater camera retailers, as there are a lot of them out there to choose from. I have had nothing but superior service from Reef, and I can be a little picky at times. I've been to their retail location, and ordered on-line. They have always delivered for me !