Canon G16 Housing - Ikelite vs. Fantasea

[grouchyturtle]

I'm trying to decide between these 2 housings. Does anyone have any experience or opinions on either.

The Fantasea is a little cheaper, but not enough to be a determining factor. I've always used Ikelite housings in the past, but there are a few things I like about the Fantasea. It's a little smaller than the Ikelite, has a built in moisture alarm, and an LCD hood (although this adds to the overall size of the housing, and I've never had problems seeing the LCD underwater, and I always use the view finder for shooting anyway). Also the optional dome for the Fantasea is a little bigger then the Ikelite dome. I've read reviews for both domes that say you can get some glare if shooting towards the sun, but one of the Fantasea reviews said they got worse glare on that dome than any lens they've ever used. Even the strobes reflecting back caused glare.

 

[oly5050user]

I'm trying to decide between these 2 housings. Does anyone have any experience or opinions on either.

The Fantasea is a little cheaper, but not enough to be a determining factor. I've always used Ikelite housings in the past, but there are a few things I like about the Fantasea. It's a little smaller than the Ikelite, has a built in moisture alarm, and an LCD hood (although this adds to the overall size of the housing, and I've never had problems seeing the LCD underwater, and I always use the view finder for shooting anyway). Also the optional dome for the Fantasea is a little bigger then the Ikelite dome. I've read reviews for both domes that say you can get some glare if shooting towards the sun, but one of the Fantasea reviews said they got worse glare on that dome than any lens they've ever used. Even the strobes reflecting back caused glare.

Always had good service from ice lite. Ike housing allows ttl via sync cable.currently have in use 3 Ike housings for my Nikon and Olympus cameras .i use Ike strobes, 125 and 51.

 

[ScubaMarc]

I have the fantasea and I like it. What type of strobe are you using ?. if using the fiber optic, the fantasea hides the internal flash and has ports for the cable,less backscatter. If using TTL, then the ikelite.

Also, lens might be a consideration, what do u need?

 

[grouchyturtle]

Right now I'm using DS-125s (currently for sale). Either going to upgrade to 161s or after reading a few articles and blogs I'm considering going to Sola video lights. I love the idea of shooting with continuous lighting, not to mention the small size and weight of the LED lights.

 

[Interceptor121]

Reefphoto have already covered this in detail
http://www.reefphoto.com/kb.php?id=57

 

[grouchyturtle]

Reefphoto have already covered this in detail
Choosing a Housing for the Canon G15

Thanks for the link...but they're missing one, the one that I'm actually considering. Ikelite also makes a non TTL housing for the G16 that's much smaller and much closer in price to the Fantasea.

 

[Interceptor121]

Thanks for the link...but they're missing one, the one that I'm actually considering. Ikelite also makes a non TTL housing for the G16 that's much smaller and much closer in price to the Fantasea.

But the articles contains enough information to draw your conclusions. The fantasea is the only housing that does not accept the new Inon zoom wide angle lenses, the air dome is not wide enough other than fish portraits

So if you want to shoot other than macro and close up you need to choose one of the other housings.

Note that since reef produced that article inon has created an adapter base for the canon housing INON NEWS: Accessory for Canon PowerShot G16/WP-DC52

Shape wise you may try to attach this to the fantasea but am not sure if it will fit

If you are not interested in electric TTL I would rank the housing as follows:

1. Nauticam because of moisture alarm, build quality and superior ergonomics
2. Ikelite better than canon but not as good as Nauticam - note the comment on ergonomics and gloves
3. Canon cheaper end can't use all controls but it does take all accessories and is cheap not serviceable

 

[grouchyturtle]

Err...never mind. Finally found my answer on about the 100th site I looked at.

 

[jbilicska]

I know it's a year later but what did you decide on and why?Thanks Joe

 

[grouchyturtle]

I went with the Ikelite, since I've always used them in the past and because it's a slightly smaller housing overall. The really bad reviews I saw on the Fantasea dome were also a factor. The moisture alarm is a nice feature, but not needed on the Ikelite, since it's clear. I actually just wrote a review about it on my site.