Help!! Questions about Underwater housing for digital camera

[mddolson]

When do you use an Underwaterhousing for Digital Cameras?
Scuba diving or snorkeling

How often do you use it?
Once or twice a month and all week for 2 weeks vacation

Which problem do you have when using it?
In cold water fogging is a problem. Adding slica packs helps.

What do you like about this product?
Quality (Ikelite digital housing), and depth rating 200ft.

What don’t you like when using it?
Single handle. 2nd is optional. +$75 US

What should be improved?
Price

What issues do you consider when purchasing the product?
Service and availabilty. (Olympus discontued the housing for my camera (c-750), but Ikelite continues to supply one.

How much do you want to pay for it at maximum?
$350 however I pad $500

How often do you buy a new digital camera and how much money do you spend on a digital camera? Once every 10 years, $500.

Mike D

 

[discrepancy]

I don't care whether you guys are engineering or marketing types. The simple fact is many divers want to take good photographs underwater, and we will pay to do that.

At the moment most of us have no option but to choose a good camera (all digital these days), and then buy a separate housing to take it underwater. And, we have come to expect to fork out as much for a good marine housing as we did for the camera.

If I'm in the market for a new watch I can walk into any shop and say I need a watch I can wear underwater, and the sales assistant will take me across the room to look at cabinets full of waterproof ones.

Why can't I do that with cameras? I have to ask whether they make a marine housing for this camera I like? If yes, the housing will usually cost almost as much as the camera.

Why can't I walk into a shop and buy a marine version of a brand name digital camera waterproof to 40 metres/130 feet? If I could I would pay extra - it's gotta be cheaper and simpler than buying a separate housing to match the camera. And if the camera dies I have a useless housing, and vice versa.

Nikonas used to specialize in waterproof film cameras. Who does that for modern digital cameras?

Is there a gap in the market? Very probably.

 

[Mike Veitch]

Very simple discrepancy....demand. The underwater market is tiny. That is why Nikon stopped the Nik V (and it was at a good time as well due to digital) UW housings etc are a drop in the bucket when it comes to camera sales.
That is why all camera manufacturer housing are cheap little plastic jobbies..
Its too bad but its the truth...
And if you want a good housing you are usually paying twice the amount of the camera, not almost as much...

 

[discrepancy]

And if you want a good housing you are usually paying twice the amount of the camera, not almost as much...

Mike,

I was trying to be charitable about the price of a decent housing versus the 'matching' camera. You are probably right that it's typically way bigger.

I'm no engineering expert, but let's face it, it seems a simple matter to design and manufacture a waterproof watch to, say 3 or 4 atmospheres (bars), but we divers pay through the nose for a watertight box to do the same job to about a few (well, okay, several) cubic inches.

Where's the engineering justice?

 

[Mike Veitch]

yer telling me, i won't be upgrading to the new D200 from my D70 cuz there is no way i could afford the housing

 

[ScubaSteve78]

When do you use an Underwaterhousing for Digital Cameras?

recreational scuba diving

How often do you use it?
2-6 times a year for about a week at a time

Which problem do you have when using it?
just purchased my first digital housing. on my old it worked well and i had no complaints it was a ikelite auto 35.

What do you like about this product?
on my new one everything is nice. easy to access buttons and camera fits well.

What don’t you like when using it?
buttons for review of previous shot is too close to other buttons making it hard to access when wearing gloves. also the clasp mechanism doesn't give the reasurring click or sturdiness you would like.
What should be improved?
possibly some shading or a slight magnifier for the screen would be cool. also since only a couple of companies manufactur lenses it would be good if a standard for add ons or at least one that fits the existing lens would be great.

What issues do you consider when purchasing the product?
price, durability

How much do you want to pay for it at maximum?
i would say half the cost of the camera

How often do you buy a new digital camera and how much money do you spend on a digital camera?

depends on technology upgrades. next one will probably be a high mp 7-9. $500

 

[AndrewK2]

I think people with smaller cameras from Canon have it great - the housings are cheaper than the cameras and in general are reasonably priced
I'd love to see Canon make housings for its dSLRs as well - if they make the for their point and shoots, they should be able to make them for their pro models as well.