Buy Sony RX100v or house my 5dmkii

[Hoag]

Good point, Hoag. My complete system is insured 100% - if it floods, I'm out a camera for the rest of the trip, at worst.

I haven't had a camera flood in over 10 years. (The last time one of my cameras flooded, the crew popped the latch as they handed it to me and I didn't notice till I was underwater.) The camera was a couple years old and replacement cost on it was less than my insurance deductible. It would also have been extremely difficult to have found a new one to replace it with given its age.

Insurance is great when something happens for relatively new gear, but if the OP's insurance replaces his 5D MK2 with a MK3 (or MK4) then he still has to replace the housing. That is why I say never dive with a camera that you aren't willing to walk away from, but prep it like your life depends on it.

 

[James R]

If your insurance (like mine) is value based, then you get a check not gear someone else buys for you. Easy to find a 5D2 on ebay/used, or go another route.

I have had two crappy Canon compact cameras flood, one my fault. A hair across the o-ring.

All my recent cameras had or have a vacuum system, which I find makes me a lot more confident with an expensive body and lens going underwater!

 

[mattia_v]

Honestly, travel with it is not that much of an issue. I carry on only the body and lenses I need, which are usually my 16-35, 105, and 15 FE. I might carry a 24-70 for topside, but usually just my 50mm prime. Many international routes, especially to SE Asia from the US, have a 7kg carry-on limit, which (even when you push it a bit) doesn't allow for even a compact system & strobes. I check housing, strobes, ports, arms/clamps, and all the rest in a SKB case (similar to Pelican), which is pretty big, and usually 60-65lbs. I could have gone one size smaller and saved a few pounds there.

I often think about downsizing, but never once I am in the water...and if I do it right, which is never a sure-thing, the results speak for themselves.

Depends on your gear.
- Rx100 x2, spare battery: 500g
- Inon S-2000 +8 batteries: 550g
- ULCS arms: usually checked: 400g
- Acquapazza housing: 700g
- two Inon UCL-165 diopters: 150g
- Inon UWL-100 with dome: 800g
- Sony A7r: 500g
- 16-35/4.0: 550g
- 56/1.8: 300

4.5kg (rounding up)

F-stop Loka and a Small ICU (which fits almost all of the above) is - hair under 2kg. Total of 6.5-7kg. If the airline is super picky and checking I sometimes sling the A7r with zoom around my back (invisibly) and/or move the it / the UWL wide wet lens to my wife's bag. Drops weight to around the 5kg mark.

I usually have my regs in the same bag in a separate ICU that I can remove and claim as a 'personal item' (or abuse my wife's carry-on allowance..), and otherwise only have a passport, some noise cancelling in-ear headphones and my kindle in a coat pocket. Fits fine.

 

[outofofficebrb]

Depends on your gear.
- Rx100 x2, spare battery: 500g
- Inon S-2000 +8 batteries: 550g
- ULCS arms: usually checked: 400g
- Acquapazza housing: 700g
- two Inon UCL-165 diopters: 150g
- Inon UWL-100 with dome: 800g
- Sony A7r: 500g
- 16-35/4.0: 550g
- 56/1.8: 300

4.5kg (rounding up)

F-stop Loka and a Small ICU (which fits almost all of the above) is - hair under 2kg. Total of 6.5-7kg. If the airline is super picky and checking I sometimes sling the A7r with zoom around my back (invisibly) and/or move the it / the UWL wide wet lens to my wife's bag. Drops weight to around the 5kg mark.

I usually have my regs in the same bag in a separate ICU that I can remove and claim as a 'personal item' (or abuse my wife's carry-on allowance..), and otherwise only have a passport, some noise cancelling in-ear headphones and my kindle in a coat pocket. Fits fine.

I have an RX100IV in Nauticam with Sea & Sea strobes, Ultralight arms (8" x 4) with 6 ball mounts, a cold shoe ball mount and Sola video light, and 8 stix jumbo floats. the same INON UWL100 with dome port, the Nuaticam CMC, and all of the other extensive accessories along with it. I think AT BEST, I was at 22 pounds....way past 7kg. Add in my tote bag and my laptop....hahahaha.

I travel with a ScottEVest Trench (HOLY pockets..14?15? 18? and holds a lot of weight) and use that as a travel blanket as well as an "abandon ship" option if the airlines gave me crap about my carry on (Think Tank International v3.0 which is quite heavy on its own already). I had to gate check it once because of a commuter jet but that was easy, I took lenses into my pockets and carried the housing on for a short flight. The gear itself is slightly heavier than yours, but that is all weight without something to carry it in.

I was asked to check it in Indonesia outside of that recently and as soon as I opened it up and told them it was expensive camera gear, they waved me by without a bat of an eyelash. Overall, it has worked out really well for me. I no longer carry my regs and just check them now.

 

[chris kippax]

Thanks to all that replied, some good information was put forth. Local diving will be majority macro but the rig will be used for travel also. Leaning towards housing the slr as the rig will be a lot more future proof than a compact.

 

[Chris Ross]

A micro 43 system is also future proof, if by that you mean you can re-use ports when you upgrade housings, but lighter and easier to handle. To illustrate this is my EM-1 MKII rig in my carry-on which is a standard Samsonite carry-on size roller. This has the Zen 170mm dome, 2 Z-240 flashes, the EM1-MkII body and 12-40mm lens. The zip pouch has O-rings, vacuum pump, o-ring grease etc, box has the fibre optic cable, batteries in corner next to the housing handle.

Much bigger on the housing/port and you won't fit it in, this housing is on limit for height. Of course a macro or fish eye setup would be smaller. This is a neat way of carrying on, you are ignored as your carry on looks like everyone else's.. I made up the liner by sticking fabric on a some closed cell foam tiles. You can see the size of the camera body with $%5 for scale:

 

[chris kippax]

Looks very tidy!

 

[mjh]

Went through this process awhile ago. I have updated to the RX100IV as I am shooting more video. Regardless I think the following still holds up. If you go to the Galleries; Tonga, Fiji, Indonesia Ambon Alor 2015 were all shot with the RX100 II or IV. I think the Ambon/Alor shows the versatility of the RX100IV

Article on moving from DX-4/3-FX-Compact
Scuba Diving and Photography by Martin Heyn
Ambon/Alor Gallery
Scuba Diving and Photography by Martin Heyn

 

[outofofficebrb]

Went through this process awhile ago. I have updated to the RX100IV as I am shooting more video. Regardless I think the following still holds up. If you go to the Galleries; Tonga, Fiji, Indonesia Ambon Alor 2015 were all shot with the RX100 II or IV. I think the Ambon/Alor shows the versatility of the RX100IV

Article on moving from DX-4/3-FX-Compact
Scuba Diving and Photography by Martin Heyn
Ambon/Alor Gallery
Scuba Diving and Photography by Martin Heyn

Amazing photos. Thanks for sharing!