G9 Ikelite Housing Questions

[Richard H]

Hi guys, I'd be really grateful if anyone could answer some, or all of my questions.

I hve a G9 in the Canon housing, a single Inon Z240 strobe, ultralight arms. I'm upgrading to the Ike housing and intend to focus on macro, but I may do a bit of wide angle in the future. I intend to buy two Inon UCL165M67 lenses for the time being and stack them for super macro.

1. Do the above lenses work on land, and if so, what would I need to buy to screw them into the G9 ?
2. Can these stacked macro lenses on an Ike achieve decent results underwater ? I read that the G9 had focusing problems with them.
3. Can my existing ultralight arms fit onto the Ike tray and handle ? Do I need to buy anything to achieve this ?
4. Can you switch Inon lenses underwater i.e. between macro and WA lenses, or from two stacked lenses to one macro lens ?
5. Can you fix a lens caddy / dock onto ultralight arms or will it fit only on to some arms, and if so which ?
6. If I was just focusing on macro do I just need to buy the Ike M67 adapter for the Ike housing and the lenses or will I need to buy the short port as well ? (I thought the short port was for WA).

Thanks so much for your help,

Richard

 

[under water]

1. Do the above lenses work on land, and if so, what would I need to buy to screw them into the G9 ?
It will work if you get an extender
http://www.lensmateonline.com/newsite/G7.html
and a 58mm - 67mm step-up ring Amazon.com: Bower Step Up Ring 58-67mm Lens Filter Size Adapter: Electronics.

However, Since the extender needs to be quite long to accomodate zooming, you may get some vignetting though and you will not be able to get as close as the G9 allows in macro mode without the extender. So you probably will get less magnification on land than if you just used the camera without the extender & INON Close-up lenses.

2. Can these stacked macro lenses on an Ike achieve decent results underwater ? I read that the G9 had focusing problems with them.
Yes. It will be harder to focus (DOF shortened), that is the nature of these types of lenses, but underwater, you will be able to magnify and get the benefits of that. Many people have great results using this combo.

3. Can my existing ultralight arms fit onto the Ike tray and handle ? Do I need to buy anything to achieve this ?
Yes. You can get these
( A ) Ball with Short Length Stem
#9577.3 SA-125 3.2cm (1.25") Ball

( B ) Ball with Extended Length Stem
#9571.3 SA-100 2.5cm (1") Ball
#9577.33 SA-125 3.2cm (1.25") Ball

from various dealers online. They fit into the Ike handle and allow you to use many 1 or 1 1/4 inch arm sets.

4. Can you switch Inon lenses underwater i.e. between macro and WA lenses, or from two stacked lenses to one macro lens ?
Yes. Don't drop them though. Being threaded, it is very doable, but a little more work than the bayonet style.

5. Can you fix a lens caddy / dock onto ultralight arms or will it fit only on to some arms, and if so which ?
I think it will fit on ultralight arms. There are a few varieties of lens caddies.
Lens Caddies : Reef Photo & Video!, The Underwater Photo Pros
I use this one.
Inon 67mm Double Lens Caddy [ino.172] - $71.95 : Reef Photo & Video!, The Underwater Photo Pros and can get it to work with Ikelite arms. Check with vendor before buying.

6. If I was just focusing on macro do I just need to buy the Ike M67 adapter for the Ike housing and the lenses or will I need to buy the short port as well ? (I thought the short port was for WA).
You do not need the short port for macro, only wide angle.
If you are going wide angle.. here is an option that includes the short port.
Ikelite W-20 wide angle lens & 9305.92 67mm flat port - eBay (item 170336039737 end time May-30-09 16:56:48 PDT)

 

[Richard H]

Thanks so much for such a comprehensive reply !

 

[under water]

Thanks so much for such a comprehensive reply !

Welcome..

6. If I was just focusing on macro do I just need to buy the Ike M67 adapter for the Ike housing and the lenses or will I need to buy the short port as well ? (I thought the short port was for WA).
The regular port that comes with the housing already has a 67mm thread, so you can just screw them on. No need for a M67 adaptor.

 

[SFLDiver3445]

2. Can these stacked macro lenses on an Ike achieve decent results underwater ? I read that the G9 had focusing problems with them.
Yes. It will be harder to focus (DOF shortened), that is the nature of these types of lenses, but underwater, you will be able to magnify and get the benefits of that. Many people have great results using this combo.

I do not use the Ikelite housing for my G9, instead I use the Patima housing; however, when combined with the Inon 67mm close-up lenses, in most cases, both housings should yield similar results.

Personally, I'm happy with the results I've gotten with the Inon lenses. I've posted them before, but here's a few pics I've taken with my G9 and Inon 67mm close-up lenses which will show you the results I've gotten:

4. Can you switch Inon lenses underwater i.e. between macro and WA lenses, or from two stacked lenses to one macro lens ?
Yes. Don't drop them though. Being threaded, it is very doable, but a little more work than the bayonet style.

However, keep in mind that, switching lenses underwater from macro to wide angle will come with serious limitations, because you can't switch the port (short/long) underwater, so vignetting will be a problem.

Adrian

 

[under water]

However, keep in mind that, switching lenses underwater from macro to wide angle will come with serious limitations, because you can't switch the port (short/long) underwater, so vignetting will be a problem.
Adrian

That is why the short port is more or less a permament fixture on my housing. I don't find myself changing from WA to close-up during a dive much though. At least, not yet. Sometimes I use the WA just to get closer.
BTW. Those are fantastic pictures! How close were you to the blenny?

 

[SFLDiver3445]

That is why the short port is more or less a permament fixture on my housing. I don't find myswelf changing from WA to close-up during a dive much though. At least, not yet. Sometimes I use the WA just to get closer.

Same here - yep. I'd say I 99% of the time I shoot wide angle, even though my domed wide angle lens will allow me to zoom close and get wide angle macro.

I generally stick to larger wider shots, because I tend to do most of my diving on wrecks.

Next week I'm going on a livaboard trip in Dry Tortugas, where I'll spend five solid days diving deep wrecks (primarily 175' to 250' depth range). On that trip, I won't even take my long port and close-up lenses - should be one hell of a trip

However, on a trip like that is where one of the G9's deficiencies really becomes noticable. At that depth, light usually gets considerably filtered by the time it gets to the bottom, and high ISO shooting becomes critical for me. Unfortunately, the G9, like most point-n-shoot cameras, just doesn't have high ISO capabilities.:depressed:

Hopefuly the visibility on our trip will be so nice, that the suns rays will still make it down to those depths, and I won't have to rely on high ISO to lighten up my shots.!:signofcross:

BTW. Those are fantastic pictures! How close were you to the blenny?

Thanks!

In the first two pictures of the blennies, where they're sticking their heads out of the soda bottles, I was using one Inon close-up lens, and I would say the end of the camera lens was probably 8 to 12 inches away from the blennies.

On the last blenny shot, I was using two stacked Inon close-up lenses, and I would say the end of the camera lens was problably a couple to a few inches away from the blenny.

With both stacked lenses, DOF really suffers. For me, the only way to get a decent shot that way, is to take many of the same shots, and see which one focuses on the ideal area. I suppose if I were using a tripod, it would be much easier, but I haven't tried that just yet, but that's probably, because as I mentioned, I rarely shoot macro.

Adrian

 

[under water]

However, on a trip like that is where one of the G9's deficiencies really becomes noticable. At that depth, light usually gets considerably filtered by the time it gets to the bottom, and high ISO shooting becomes critical for me. Unfortunately, the G9, like most point-n-shoot cameras, just doesn't have high ISO capabilities.:depressed:

Hopefuly the visibility on our trip will be so nice, that the suns rays will still make it down to those depths, and I won't have to rely on high ISO to lighten up my shots.!:signofcross:

Adrian

Do I hear .. "I want a DSLR for my birthday" ?

 

[SFLDiver3445]

Do I hear .. "I want a DSLR for my birthday" ?

It's definitely on my wish list as well! However, if I make the move to slr, I don't want to settle for a low-end slr/housing combo, so I'm holding out until I can afford to spend the amount I would need to get the camera/housing/lenses/ports I really want.

Fortunately, I already have a couple of quality strobes/arms, but even with that, to switch over to the system I want, I'm probably looking at another $7K to $10K!:shocked2: In these tough economic times, where most of us could easily become an employment statistic at any moment, I don't think it would be prudent to spend that kind of cash today.

 

[ChristyV]

I absolutely love the pictures. Can you tell me what Patima housing model you have your G9 in. I have a G9 in a Canon housing with an Ikelite strobe. I really only want to take pictures of small creatures, especially small gastropods, but I'm not very happy with my macro photos. Any advice on a housing model and lenses that are easy to use for someone who is really not very good at photography would help a lot. I love the camera and would happily upgrade housings or lenses with advice but don't want to wing it and make expensive mistakes. Thanks, Christy