FIX S95 housing - CAD pics

[Cp111]

Hi All,

FIX S95 housing is coming soon, and with some improvements over S90... like m52 thread standard for attaching uwl-04, better front command wheel position, better latch, and redesigned rear command dial for better reliability.

Some pics:

Cheers,
Chris

 

[Nemrod]

Not sure the 52mm female threaded port is an improvement. The current male threaded 47mm port allows the use of adapters that keep the accessory lenses CLOSE!!!!!!!! to the port. A female threaded 52mm port would necessarily move the accessory lenses (other than 52mm types) FURTHER from the port and thus further from the camera lens and thus increase vignetting to the point of being unsatisfactory. This, would likely, preclude the use of the Inon UFL165AD and Inon WAL100-67mm lenses and possibly some 67mm or AD mount macro lenses.

If the port comes permanently fitted with a 52mm thread, that is not an improvement in my thinking.

I don't like the relocation of the front ring control to the right either, I find it very convenient to use in it's current location by swiveling my hand from the tray handle to the control without loss of grip on the handle.

I do like the wider grip area for hand held use and I do like the new clasp and especially the wider button spread.

N

 

[Ryan]

Customers overwhelmingly purchase the 52mm threaded adapter and UWL-04 wide angle lens with this housing, so this is an improvement for the majority of our users.

The S95 lens has more vignetting with many of the lenses mentioned than s90 had, making them less useful.

 

[dogdrjohn]

I just did some test shots with an S90 and an S95 mounted in my Canon WP-DC35 housing with the INON AD and UFL-165AD lens. The housing has some little felt pads placed to allow the S95 to fit tightly but the S90 still fits. These pads are in front of the cameras, so they are both moved slightly back in the housing, farther from the port glass. The S90 is likely a little closer as it's thicker body probably compresses the pads more. S95 did vignette a little more - at 35mm the S90 has a very slight vignette in the upper and lower right corners, the S95 a little more vignetting in the same corners, but for all practical purposes the results were nearly identical. In order to eliminate the vignetting completely both cameras required one "bump" of the zoom lever. As Nemrod has pointed out, this lens is designed for 160 degrees FOV with a 35mm lens, so even slightly zoomed it will still deliver at least the FOV of the UWL-04 Fisheye lens (native 130 FOV at 35mm). The UWL-04 does seem to have the advantage of less flare from it's wider dome. On a somewhat related FOV question, when I have the camera zoomed to eliminate vignetting I cannot see an object that projects out at the corners or even the middle of the "petals" a few mm, so I think I will attach some kind of tether to the hood petals attached to my tray and arm to minimize the risk of losing the lens as Nemrod did. I will be diving on Bloody Bay Wall in two weeks. If I drop a lens there it would not likely be found by a later diver at one mile depth. I should have the SeaRec housing tomorrow to start playing with it. I resisted buying the fancy housing for a long time, but the OEM and Ikelite housings do rather cripple the camera. The multiple button pushing required to emulate the rear control ring reminds me of the old Sci-Fi story where everybody was brought down to a common level of physical and mental skills by external devices so everyone would be equal. The simpler housings essentially make this a simpler P&S camera, really no better than my old Sony P100/P150 and Sony housing, though that setup has provided me with a lot of enjoyment and many great pictures.

 

[Nemrod]

Customers overwhelmingly purchase the 52mm threaded adapter and UWL-04 wide angle lens with this housing, so this is an improvement for the majority of our users.

The S95 lens has more vignetting with many of the lenses mentioned than S90 had, making them less useful.

Does the UWL-04 vignette with the built in adapter and the S95? I am not sure I understand? Why do the other lenses vignette more so and the UWL-04 not (more so) since as it is it often shows a dark corner with several users with the S90? The S90 port glass is actually proud of the threaded shoulder so I don't think the new design will sit the UWL-04 closer than it already is?

Well, if this is true, then I am glad I bought a spare S90 instead of a S95, I guess. Cannot leave well enough alone I suppose.

Any other info on it?

N

 

[flareside]

...S95 did vignette a little more - at 35mm the S90 has a very slight vignette in the upper and lower right corners, the S95 a little more vignetting in the same corners, but for all practical purposes the results were nearly identical. In order to eliminate the vignetting completely both cameras required one "bump" of the zoom lever....

I resolved this problem on my S90/DC35 setup using a thin paper shim installed at the right end of the camera. There is a minor amount of side to side slack in the case to allow the camera to be inserted more easily and the spring on the cog which accesses the front control wheel pushes the camera off center to the right. I found a sticky note folded to 6 thicknesses, wedged between the camera and the right side stops got me back to perfect alignment.

Regarding the lens tether, I suggest the Fantasea 4110 Snap Cord (2.95 shipped from Adorama). Just tuck the thread behind a screw on the lens hood and retighten. Also works great on the Inon UCL-165 which is probably the hardest lens out there to tether.

 

[Nemrod]

I guess I am confused on this, how do we know the new FIX95 houisng and S95 combination will or would vignette more with certain lenses (port re-design aside) when the housing does not exist yet?

dogdrjohn, yeah, put some sort of tether on it, a mile deep, you will not luck out like I did. I am still amazed completely and am quite sure my wife's prayers to St Anthony, patron saint of lost things, resulted in the recovery a few days later of my UFL165AD in 80 feet of water lost during a wild drift. Better make sure the cord will not be in your FOV, once in the water, the effective FOV may increase for you. Have a safe and fun trip!

N

 

[dogdrjohn]

Received the SeaRec S95 housing today. Tried to fit the S90 but the back would not close and I didn't want to force it. Everything seems to work so far. Same outsided threaded port as the FIX S90 housing, although a 46 mm threaded ring slides over the threads instead of screwing, so maybe it is a 44-45mm thread? Tried a few indoor shots withthe S95 and the little flash diffuser it comes with is the best on any of the UW housings I have owned (all OEM Sony/Canon/Fuji) - almost no shadowing of the flash with shots as close as the macro focus allows. I'm sure that is the result of the small port diameter. Haven't quite figured how I will mount my INON AD lenses yet, and I am not going to put out another $200 for the FIX AD adaptor right now, so my Cayman trip may just be the camera in the housing with 2 INON LE-550W lights and a D2000 strobe mounted on a small flex mount on the "cold shoe" for a nice compact outfit for still and video shooting.

 

[Nemrod]

Received the SeaRec S95 housing today. Tried to fit the S90 but the back would not close and I didn't want to force it. Everything seems to work so far. Same outsided threaded port as the FIX S90 housing, although a 46 mm threaded ring slides over the threads instead of screwing, so maybe it is a 44-45mm thread? Tried a few indoor shots withthe S95 and the little flash diffuser it comes with is the best on any of the UW housings I have owned (all OEM Sony/Canon/Fuji) - almost no shadowing of the flash with shots as close as the macro focus allows. I'm sure that is the result of the small port diameter. Haven't quite figured how I will mount my INON AD lenses yet, and I am not going to put out another $200 for the FIX AD adaptor right now, so my Cayman trip may just be the camera in the housing with 2 INON LE-550W lights and a D2000 strobe mounted on a small flex mount on the "cold shoe" for a nice compact outfit for still and video shooting.

I tell you what, I would not wait very long because it appears the new S95 housing will not use those adapters and I imagine the (FIX90 adapters) future availability will be very short.

It does not appear at this point the FIX95 housing will be suitable for use with Inon AD/28AD or 67mm threaded lenses for whatever reason just from what little info there is.

N

 

[mantababe]

not overly keen on this new housing [admit i dont know anywhere near as much as you guys] theres no fibre optic cable access on the diffuser, also not liking the poss of not being able to use a choice of lens!! it also looks bulkier than the SeaRec housing? i do like the extra space between the buttons on the back tho, searec are bit close together. be interested in hearing what you think of the searec one underwater dogdrjohn.

for the price i dont think its worth paying that, rather have the searec!