Hot shoe connector

[Bent C]

I have my second Ikelite housing, a 5D M2 housing that recently was refitted with the four port locks. I had severe strobe problems with my first housing (5D), to the poin that the electronics of the housing was replaced, however with no effect on the strobe reliability. I tested a lot of different things, and finally found that the problem was that there was very little space between the hot shoe connector and the roof of the housing, causing the hot shoe connector some times to be pushed ever so slightly backwards when the camera was inserted in the housing, leading to erratic strobe ttl behaviour. On the first version of my 5 D M2 housing this wasn´t an issue, but the upgraded version that I now dive the problem is as bad as ever. It seems that even slight wobbling during dives lead to ttl malfunction well into the dive, alternatively on later dives of the day. I have more or less solved the problem by pinning a piece of cut-to-fit eraser rubber between the hot shoe connector and the back of the housing, but would very much like a more elegant solution. Is there any way of securing the hot shoe connector that you know of?

BTW, this is not only my housing that exhibits the problem, my dive buddy has the same housing version and the same problem. On his former housing, however (a 30D housing) no such problems were experienced.

Finally, and luckily, only a couple of times have I been totally without strobe. Most often it works pretty well to set everything to manual, and shoot manual for the rest of the dive. But as my primary reason to use Ikelite is the ability to use ttl, I would much rather choose when to use manual rather than be forced to use it.

Best regards

Bent Christensen (which by the way really likes the four port lock system!).

 

[Ikelite Staff]

I'm sorry to read of your problem with the hotshoe connection. There is supposed to be a "pocket" machined into the top center of the inside of the housing front to allow clearance for the hotshoe. If you look into the front of the case, can you tell if there is a pocket?

If there is a pocket, is there a gap between the lidsnap insert bolts and the case?

Regards,
Jean / Ikelite
IKELITE Underwater Systems

 

[jdcpa]

It will work, you just have to be careful getting the camera in the housing. There is enough room for everything. Admittedly, it is tight in there.

My experience with all of the Ikelite housings I have used is that there is not a lot of clearance between the hot shoe connection and the top of the housing.

You must therefore be careful when you insert the camera in the housing.

As a tip, you need to test the housing on land to see if the strobes are working.

If not, it is not difficult to pull the camera and back out slightly and use your finger to reinsert the hot shoe connection. Then retest.

The whole porcess adds less than a minute or two to my dive routine, which includes setting up four Ikelite housings.

BTW: I have the same type issues bumping the limit switch on the Canon 100 MM lens when inserting it in the housing. I have to test it as well.

I also always check the aut ofcus on the lenses in my predive routine.

There just isn't a lot of extra room inside the housing.

However, I love my Ikelite housings.

 

[Bent C]

Hi Jean and thanks for your reply.

There is a machined pocket corresponding to the hot shoe connector, and as far as I can se, there is no gap between the bolts and the casing. Thus it actually probably is not the clearance itself causing the problems. However, the front end of the hot shoe connector touches the front edge of the pocket when the camera is fully inserted. Moving everything around a little bit I found that even the slightest camera movement will dislodge the hot shoe connector, as it has no room to move at all. With the pocket 2-3 mm longer this would probably not be a problem. I guess my eraser rubber will be there to stay, alternatively I could dremel the pocket slightly longer. Scary though, so the eraser it will be for now.

Also, one of the now four plastic port latches are broken on my housing. For a number of years I have been diving with only two, but given th upgrade now three feels way to unsafe. Is there any way to get hold of a spare latch (actually two, as I would like to have a spare with me on trips).

Regards

Bent C

 

[Bent C]

As a tip, you need to test the housing on land to see if the strobes are working.

BTW: I have the same type issues bumping the limit switch on the Canon 100 MM lens when inserting it in the housing. I have to test it as well.

Sure, I do test my strobes porior to diving. I am also very careful when assembling. The real problem is that the hot shoe connector gets bumped out while I am diving, so despite a pre dive check which shows that everything works, at any time during a dive suddenly the ttl goes erratic. The last time this happened was about 40 minutes into a dive, where the ttl had worked flawlessly on an number of subjects, and at my first shot of a hairy frogfish, on the last dive of the trip, everything stopped working. I got the shots anyway after shifting to manual, which for the shot in question was better than ttl anyway, but I had a couple of seconds during which I certainly felt a massive lack of love for my housing :depressed:.

I have managed to bump both the limit and the af-manual switch on my 100 macro. Now I simply use duct tape to cover the switches when I am on dive trips.

Regards

Bent C

 

[jdcpa]

Bent:

That is really a weird one that your hot shoe gets bumped out during the dive.

If I read it correctly, the connector pushes against the front of the pocket in which it is supposed to reside.

Yes, they sell the port locks. You can email Ikelite Repair or call them and they can send them. Not very expensive as I remember. I carry spares on trips as well. Good idea.

Speaking of which, Jean, is the port lock now used for the four part locking system the same as the one on the two lock system? Or do I need to order new spares?

 

[Bent C]

Jean, what would you recommend me to do? I could either extend the pocket or shorten the hot shoe connector. Do you know how much of the connector that can be sanded away before electronics are affected?

Regards Bent C

 

[Ikelite Staff]

Sorry for the late reply. I've been trying to come up with some creative solutions.

You may try loosening the screws which attach the camera tray to the back of the housing. Make sure the tray is as far down as possible and re-tighten. This could gain you a little room on top. You could try sanding the front/top of the hotshoe but there is not much material there to remove.

Are you tightening the camera mounting bolt securely with a screwdriver or coin when you attach it to the tray? This is the most likely source of movement (hence intermittent contact) during a dive. Also does there appear to be enough cord so that it doesn't pull on the hotshoe when installed?

I definitely do NOT recommend trying to increase the size of the pocket on the housing front. I hate to say that the best overall solution would be to return the housing to us again.

Regards,
Jean / Ikelite
IKELITE Underwater Systems

 

[Bent C]

Thanks Jean

I do tighten the mounting bolt, but, as the hot shoe connector is touching the front part of the pocket, it takes just tiny movements to displace the connector. I will try to place the tray as far down as possible. I have not tried that yet. Together with a little sanding and my piece of eraser, I guess that that will solve the problem. If not, I will send it in again. However, this is quite expensive from Sweden, so I would much rather not do that.

How do I easiest get hold of some spare port locks here from Sweden?

Best regards Bent

 

[Ikelite Staff]

You should be able to obtain them through our distributor in Sweden:

Scuba Supply AB
Malmoe, Sweden
Distributor for Scandinavia
Phone 46-40-186262
e-mail: info@scubasupply.se
URL: www.scubasupply.se

Please PM me if you have difficulty obtaining them.

Regards,
Jean / Ikelite
IKELITE Underwater Systems