Difference in Ikelite 6" dome ports?

[Diver Dennis]

Don't worry Catherine. You can rent my 8" dome plus my laptop with CS2...for a small fee. he he

Besides the 8" might be a little scratched when I get home from the PI in June...

 

[Cacia]

that's another thing..... all these trips are starting to annoy me too.

Speaking of scratches, I hear if they are on the outside, the water fills it in. Only on the inside is worrisome. don't know if thats true...

the "small fee" is looking more and more attractive. Maybe JB will help out with his combat pay.....now, don't you feel better?

So, why is Ikelite making this port so pricey? Should I call him and ask him? You know if you call late enough sometimes he is there at night and answers the phone. I talked to him once, he still loves his business. I wonder if they have any factory "seconds".

 

[Rooster]

that's another thing..... all these trips are starting to annoy me too.

Speaking of scratches, I hear if they are on the outside, the water fills it in. Only on the inside is worrisome. don't know if thats true...

the "small fee" is looking more and more attractive. Maybe JB will help out with his combat pay.....now, don't you feel better?

So, why is Ikelite making this port so pricey? Should I call him and ask him? You know if you call late enough sometimes he is there at night and answers the phone. I talked to him once, he still loves his business. I wonder if they have any factory "seconds".

My guess is that it's a whole different process for them. Ike's 6" domes are bonded acrylic. The dome is glued or bonded to acrylic stalks or bodies. They can easily and cheaply produce the bodies in different lengths. On the 8" dome the dome is acrylic but the backing and the interchangeable bodies are machined out of billet aluminum. The cost is mostly for the machining process. You also have the extra cost of anodizing the aluminum parts to keep them from corroding. My guess is this is why Ike resisted producing the 8" dome for so long. His price for the 8” dome is right in line with Aquaticas 8” port.

 

[Cacia]

oh. yea, I believe you. I know they were pressured into it with all the whining about Aquatica having it... thanks. I am just having a really hard time coveting one and not being able to justify it right now. I should just bite the bullet and shut up already. I think I will wait and see if Dennis floods his camera, it is possible they have not worked all the bugs out since it is a new process and all.

 

[Rooster]

Yea it is kind of nice to let others take the plunge first. That way you can wait and see what works and what doesn't. Or maybe you're just trying to make Dennis nervous

 

[MarkH]

What's the point of an aluminum mount for the dome port on an otherwise all-polycarbonate housing (except for the port=acrylic)? For the scratch question: I've been through a few dome ports and I've noticed that the very light scratches are invisible underwater, but most others are visible and can show up in the pictures if the angle of the sun is right and the port is not shaded. Serious scratches (from banging against barnacles in the surf, etc.) can be visible in the pictures as out of focus light or dark "blotches".

 

[Ryan]

The new port mount and bezel are machined plastic, not aluminum.

Award Winning Photographer Karl Dietz and I dove them all weekend long, and I was really surprised how well the port handles in the water. it is cut down a bit smaller than the previous version, making it far less bouyant, and the strong backward roll less pronounced.

 

[sharkbaitDAN]

I still however don't understand the difference between the 5503.50, and the 5503.51.

I have the 5503.51 for my Canon 17-40, and I think it is slightly shorter than the 5503.50. As far as I can tell that is the only difference. I do know that when I started looking, Ikelite did not have the .51, which would have been last fall. My guess is that there was some demand for a port that would be a better fit for a few wide angle lenses that were a bit less than 4" long. The 17-40 is 3.8" and the 12-24 is 3.5" long. My lens comes very close to the end of the port, less than the thickness off a screw on filter. I for got one was on the lens and could not figure out why the port would not fit.

 

[Rooster]

The new port mount and bezel are machined plastic, not aluminum.

Award Winning Photographer Karl Dietz and I dove them all weekend long, and I was really surprised how well the port handles in the water. it is cut down a bit smaller than the previous version, making it far less bouyant, and the strong backward roll less pronounced.

Plastic?!! :06: I'm a little surprised. From the photos it looked like anodized aluminum. Obviously I assumed allot from what I had seen in all the photos. I wonder what type of plastic it is. I spent a good part of my life machining aircraft parts out of high tech metals and plastics. I guess the all plastic bubble accounts for the roll problem. I know some plastics can be as hard to machine as aluminum. I can see why some might have a hard time paying the same price for an all plastic part, as opposed to an aluminum one.

 

[dbh]

What a bunch of whiners....my Subal Dome is 2.5X more than the Ike 8"

Dave