Housing my 40d - (Sea & Sea, Nexus or Subal??)

[ka7]

Does anyone here have a housed 40d? About to get mine diving with me and looking firstly into the different choices for housing, three options.

Subal
Nexus
Sea and Sea

Wouldnt be buying from camerasunderwater but can actually get the following at trade Cameras Underwater: Sea and Sea MDX-40D housing for Canon EOS 40D from elsewhere. From what I hear from other dealers regarding the Subal / Nexus it could be a longish wait trying to source one as with the 40d being fairly new it takes Subal a little while to roll out the new housings. But in saying that I dont want to just buy one as its the easiest buy I would prefer to get it right even if it means a little wait or a little more expense.

Different housings of course suit different users as to size of hands etc but use of camera functions may differ with different housings so would be really interested to know of anyones thoughts on the above, ESPECIALLY if its the 40d they have housed.

Thanks

 

[pakman]

ka7, I've got the S&S 40D housing (and fortunately before the yen ran up against the US$ ). Thumbs up on the housing. Well made and I haven't had any major issues with it. If you go to wetpixel.com, I briefly wrote about the housing there. Alcina, the moderator for this subforum, I believe took delivery of a Subal for her 40D. There's a big price difference, but I have to admit some of the small details Subal pays attention to, such as button ergonomics, etc seem pretty nice.

 

[ka7]

Hi Pakman.. thanks for reply.. yes I had heard the S&S didnt have the best button layout in the world. You get on with yours ok though? Are there any 40d camera functions that are NOT possible to use through the housing buttons?

I have the chance to go and play with a S&S next weekend, the subal I would love to try for a comparison but I cant seem to find (uk based) anywhere that has one in stock and so I have been told it could be a 3 month wait.

 

[alcina]

I've had my Subal housing since January

A search with the advanced function might find my mini-review of it.

I love mine.

 

[pakman]

Hi Pakman.. thanks for reply.. yes I had heard the S&S didnt have the best button layout in the world. You get on with yours ok though? Are there any 40d camera functions that are NOT possible to use through the housing buttons?

All the buttons are accessible. Only niggles I have are:

1) the shuttle dial - the way it's been setup via two gears, it takes twice as many spins on the housing control to register a change in shutter speed. And since it is very close to the housing shutter trigger, I found myself firing off a few shots while quickly trying to change shutter speed.

2) Twin nikonos bulkheads but one is wired for use with the S&S TTL Converter (6pin vs standard 5pin). So if you don't use/ have the TTL converter, you need to pick up a dual cable (2 to 1) to use two strobes. Maybe not a bad thing as it's one less bulkhead you have to worry about flooding, but if you've already got single nikonos cables, you'd have to go out and buy an new cable.

3) The on/off dial on the rear sticks out a bit from the rear so depending on what type of regulator (1st stage you use) you use, you might find your regulator exhaust banging into it and making a hard to get your mask lens right up to the viewfinder (I use a low volume frameless mask). I think I've gotten used to it now.

4) Cosmetically, not sure if it's some new coating they are using or part of the new machining process on the MDX series, but the housings seems to attract some nasty water stains that require some elbow grease to get out after it's dried out.

Overall, these are small niggles. Other than that, it's a great housing for the price. Clear view of the big 3" LCD. The only change I would consider is trying to get someone to convert an Inon 45degree viewfinder for it. The decision for me was easy as I already had quite an investment in S&S ports/ domes/ extensions/ focus rings.

 

[ka7]

Pakman, once again thanks for useful reply.

I feel that if I can live with the small niggles (hence me being keen to find what people find as niggles on the S&S) then for the price which is cheaper than Subal etc (esp. as I can get trade on the S&S) then its going to be my best option.

Regarding your points:
1) thanks, will make sure to take note of that when having a test of it, but I guess if that is one of the main function niggles whilst on a film set up it would be pretty annoying I suppose on digital it wouldn’t worry me too much.
2) I currently don’t have any underwater gear (apart from little canon powershot) so again will take heed of comment
3) I use scubapro MK 25 S600, mask is a Tusa but not sure which model off hand, but after reading this will take these two things along with me when looking at housing, something I wouldn’t have thought of.
4) Will take note of that also!

 

[ka7]

I've had my Subal housing since January

A search with the advanced function might find my mini-review of it.

I love mine.

Thanks for that.. dont suppose you have the link to your review? Havent managed to spot it.