ikelite housings

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Siki:
I have owned several and I just purchased one. In my opinion, the housings with changeable ports are an accident waiting to happen. I would never, again, put an expensive camera in such a 2nd rate system. On the other hand the housings with a door or a snap on back and permanent port are excellent.

The comments about good customer support are well founded.

Aloha
Siki

So what is your solution to having a housing you can use for both macro and wide-angle work with a DSLR with different lenses? A unique housing for each camera body and lens combination? Some sort of flexible bellows arrangement for ports so they can cover a range of lens types?

I can certainly see how the *way* the port attaches to the body makes a difference, and every opening in the housing adds another failure point, o-ring, etc. But simply suggesting no port options at all seems to not cover the bases, IMO.
 
I personally prefer the balance and craftsmanship of an aluminum housing engineered specifically for my camera body as opposed to the plexiglas box approach that ikelite takes. I also prefer glass ports to plexi. However, ikelite's approach allows them to sell housing at a price point that other top manufacturers haven't been able to match. Also, I’ve heard nothing but good things about the customer service. If money where no object I’d opt for something other than ikelite. However, for the money it seems that ikelite makes a solid product you'll be happy with. I’ve got an older Light&Motion housing but I’m thinking of switching to an ikelite system in order to keep the purchase price reasonable.
 
Footslogger:
Only kind I've even owned. I'd say YES, they are very good.

Bought my first Ikelite housing in 1971 for a tiny Kodak 110 film camera. Had a wild (at least I thought so at the time) little hot shoe extension so that you could use a "flash cube" (remember those ???) on the outside of the housing. Pretty elementary by today's standards but I gotta tell ya ...I got some pretty neat shots, all things considered.

I had one of those too. I'd forgotten all about it.
 
dsafanda:
I personally prefer the balance and craftsmanship of an aluminum housing engineered specifically for my camera body as opposed to the plexiglas box approach that ikelite takes. However, ikelite's approach allows them to sell housing at a price point that other top manufacturers haven't been able to match. .
For an SLR or DSLR camera this is a false economy because your camera is at risk every time you go in the water. The aluminum housings are an excellent but expensive choice. There are plastic housing with changeable ports made by outfits other than Ikelite. I have seen their port attachment system and they appear to be better than Ikelite. However, I have no personal experience with these housings.

An Ikelite housing with a changeable port is not worth having. I know from personal experience. Stay away from them.

Aloha

Siki
 
Having had Ikelite housings since the early 80's I would not use anything else.I think they are bulletproof and have never had a problem with any that I owned.I just bought two new ones for two new digital cameras,a Nikon D-50 and an Olympus E-330.
I swear by them having used them for over 25 years.
 
somewhereinla:
........What I am saving by going with Fantasea pays for the camera (a Nikon P5000) that will go in it........However the Ikelite one is better looking and it seems that it would be easier to handle with thick gloves on.

I have recently purchased the Ikelite housing for this camera and am very happy with it so far. I have only had it underwater about 6 times, but am very impressed with this combination (with the DS125 strobe and TTL system as well). The only thing I can say about the Ikelite (I have no experience with any others) is that the whole thing is quite heavy. I took 4 lbs off and could probably take 2 more off and have no problems. Overall, I have nothing bad to say about Ikelite.
 
Siki:
I have seen their port attachment system and they appear to be better than Ikelite. However, I have no personal experience with these housings.

I'm not sure which you are talking about, but as you haven't actually used them it's a bit hard to accept that they are "better" since you have no real life experience with them. Perhaps if you gave their brand names others who have used them could chime in with their accounts on the pros/cons that they have personally found. More information and first hand accounts are always hungrily sought after here!

Siki:
An Ikelite housing with a changeable port is not worth having. I know from personal experience. Stay away from them.
Aloha
Siki

Not to be rude, but this is a ridiculous statement to make. *You* may not like Ikelite's design for your purposes but Ikelite is a fantastic product and their port/housing system works extremely well. I have used these systems on a variety of models with never a problem and never hesitate to recommend them. There are a great number of people who use Ikelites with their expensive slr rigs every day and the port design works just fine.

Providing examples of what you experienced is very helpful to others reading, so adding things like that would be great. Broad generalizations are not very helpful to those looking for a new system.


Siki:
For an SLR or DSLR camera this is a false economy because your camera is at risk every time you go in the water.
Not really a false economy. There is more involved for many people than simply sticking the camera in a box that will work. And these factors all must be factored into the "cost".

I thought long and hard about which housing I wanted and in the end, size, ergonomics and my perceived comfort led me to spend more on a housing by going with Subal instead of Ikelite. Didn't mean there was anything wrong with Ike at all but it did mean that for my needs at the time I found another product that seemed to suit me. I don't regret it for one minute and the extra money I had to spend has been worth every cent.
 
Bflem55:
just wondering if the ikelite housings are any good??

I just purchased an Ikelite housing for a Fuji E900 and I like just about everything about it.

However, if you are considering an Ikelite housing with a “clip on” removable port system, may I suggest that you compare port attachment systems before purchasing. A side by side comparison with a name brand aluminum housing (Subal, Sea & Sea, Nexus, etc.) would be best. Attach the port to the aluminum housing. Then, get out the Ikelite instructions and attach the “clip on port” to the Ikelite housing exactly as instructed. This should point out the poor design in the Ikelite. If it looks OK to you, buy it.

My experience was that the “clip on” system gave me problems about 2% of the time. I drowned 2 SLR cameras in approximately 80-90 dives before I gave up and got a Nexus housing.

I was shown a 10bar plastic housing (Fantasea) recently. The port fastening system on this housing looked reasonable and I would look into these housings further if I wanted to house a DSLR.

Be aware that Ikelite is likely a sponsor of this forum and criticisms of Ikelite products may be unwelcome.

Good luck.

Aloha
Siki
 
I am not sure that comparing aluminium housing to "plastic" one is fair, as many people can't afford the aluminium one, or don't want to invest thousands before making sure they will like it... I bought the Fantasea CP5000 and the Nikon P5000 for slightly more than $500 which I think is a great deal and give me a chance to experiment for a smaller tag price. I don't know how good or bad Fantasea is, but with fload insurance what do I risk?...
 
Siki:
Be aware that Ikelite is likely a sponsor of this forum and criticisms of Ikelite products may be unwelcome.

Not that I'm aware of :wink:

Constructive criticism with clear details is always welcome - no matter what brand and no matter if a company is a sponsor or not :) We are greedy for information and personal reviews!

Pointing out the clip on system as something to consider is very helpful as not everyone is aware there are differences.
 

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