G10 - Patima or Fisheye housing?

[aMc10]

I've been pointing and shooting for a while now, and have decided to move to a slightly more advanced setup.

I've just bought myself a G10, and am now looking for a housing. I'd like to have the option of adding both macro and wide angle lenses in the future and I understand the Ikelite housing has issues with wide-angle, so that rules that one out.

The other two I've come across are the FIX Fisheye and the Patima housings. They're both about the same price, but I don't really know enough to be able to differentiate much between them. Which one should I go for?

I'll also be looking for a strobe, so any recommendations there would also be appreciated.

 

[Osseous]

To do it with the Fix you're gonna need to add those attachments- and although they're the best of the best, they're not gonna come cheap. Figure on nearly $600 for wide angle and another $300 for macro. That puts your housing investment up near $2k. DAMHIK Beautiful stuff, though~

 

[Mel Moncrieff]

I have a G9 with Ikelite housing, dual strobes and Ike wide angle lens that I'm very happy with. I just got back from a trip to the Turks and Caicos--my pics are posted @ turks_caicos_explorer Photo Gallery by Mel Moncrieff at pbase.com

Ikelite has just come out with a solution for the G10 wide angle--they have a dome that slides on over the port--can even be done underwater. It is not on the market yet but will be available late Feb. This is the best solution out there, as far as I'm concerned--a great system that will allow you to shoot both macro and wide-angle on the same dive.
Check out the Ikelite website for more info.

Mel

 

[aMc10]

Ikelite has just come out with a solution for the G10 wide angle--they have a dome that slides on over the port--can even be done underwater. It is not on the market yet but will be available late Feb. This is the best solution out there, as far as I'm concerned--a great system that will allow you to shoot both macro and wide-angle on the same dive.

Aaaaaand Ikelite are back in the game!

Thanks for that, Mel. If you can change the port and lenses during the dive, that sounds like the best solution to me also.

 

[SFLDiver3445]

To do it with the Fix you're gonna need to add those attachments- and although they're the best of the best, they're not gonna come cheap. Figure on nearly $600 for wide angle and another $300 for macro. That puts your housing investment up near $2k. DAMHIK Beautiful stuff, though~

Osseous, I agree that putting together a Fix G10 setup would be expensive, but it appears it would be similar numbers for the Patima setup. I believe the housings are comparable in price. Also, a nice wide angle lens for the Patima Housing, such as the Inon UWL-100 with the dome attachment will run you approximately $700+, and Inon zoom lenses for the Patima run approximately $150 each.

Consequently, at the end of the day, I think the cost to attain either of these setups with equivalent capabilities, is in the same ballpark.

I have not personally seen the FIX Housing, but I have heard nothing but good things about it, so I have no reason to doubt that it is equivalent, if not better, than the Patima Housing.

I do own the Patima Housing for the G9, which I believe is almost identical in construction to the Patima G10 Housing, so I can speak about it. Patima makes a very solid and well designed housing, which is versatile enough for almost any setup. However, is the Patima G10 even out yet? Last time the subject came up, about a month ago, Ryan at Reef Photo said they were not delivering it yet, and he didn't even have a projected dilivery date for it.

At the end of the day, I do believe that either setup would be a great choice and would give the photographer lots of options and versatility in his/her shooting. So, I'm just happy that the manufacturers have realized that there is a market for these intermediate priced setups, and are dedicating more resources to R&D, which has resulted in more variety for us consumers!

Adrian

 

[aMc10]

I do own the Patima Housing for the G9, which I believe is almost identical in construction to the Patima G10 Housing, so I can speak about it. Patima makes a very solid and well designed housing, which is versatile enough for almost any setup. However, is the Patima G10 even out yet? Last time the subject came up, about a month ago, Ryan at Reef Photo said they were not delivering it yet, and he didn't even have a projected dilivery date for it.

I believe it's now available. The Patima link in my original post was from the Reef Photo website.

 

[John_B]

Ikelite has just come out with a solution for the G10 wide angle--they have a dome that slides on over the port--can even be done underwater. It is not on the market yet but will be available late Feb. This is the best solution out there, as far as I'm concerned--a great system that will allow you to shoot both macro and wide-angle on the same dive.
Check out the Ikelite website for more info.

What exactly do they mean when they say:

Approximately 3/4 of the camera's zoom range can be used with the dome in place.

Is that an issue focusing or an issue or a physical lens length issue (sorry, I haven't had a chance to get my hands on the G10 yet).

 

[Knut]

So if I understand it right, if you want a G10 housing with real WA and wet lenses you would have to go for the patima?

 

[Osseous]

You could get it with the Fix too- Wide angle port, or close-up port with macro lenses. You have to choose before the dive.

 

[Rynomar]

That is alot of money for a housing. Have you considered switching to a dslr and housing? You would lose a bit of versatility, but gain the use of alot of great lenses, a larger sensor, and the speed of the dslr.

I do like G series cameras and the G10 seems to be a really nice camera, I was just wanting to make sure that you had considered switching over, you would not regret it.