Ikelite or Fantasea for G7X Mk. 3?
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Hoag
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If you can get the FantaSea housing with vacuum valve for only $50 more than the cost of an Ikelite without a vacuum valve, my recommendation would be to spend the extra $50 and go for the added security of that the vacuum valve on the Fantasea housing would give. (BTW just out of curiosity, is that $50CAD or $50USD?)
I have a Nauticam housing and one of the first things I did was to add a vacuum valve and test it. (I did this before I even went on my first trip with the camera.) IMHO, the peace of mind that a vacuum valve gives is worth every penny (or nickel since we don't have pennies anymore
).
I have a Nauticam housing and one of the first things I did was to add a vacuum valve and test it. (I did this before I even went on my first trip with the camera.) IMHO, the peace of mind that a vacuum valve gives is worth every penny (or nickel since we don't have pennies anymore
).
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Hi @divebutt
I have a Nauticam housing for a G7X with a vacuum system. The peace of mind is great. However, it also saved me once when a fiber from the LOB camera table mat got caught in the O-ring. The light stayed green at the surface but switched to blinking yellow and then red shortly after I entered the water and began to descend. I simply surfaced, gave my camera to the crew for a quick dunk in the rinse tank and then placement on the camera table. After the dive, I found the fiber in the O-ring and 2 drops of water in the housing. No harm done, I have had many successful trips since then. As far as I'm concerned, the vacuum valve is worth its weight in gold.
I don't know much about Fantasea housings, but the vacuum system gets my vote. I see prices like you mentioned at Backscatter.
I have a Nauticam housing for a G7X with a vacuum system. The peace of mind is great. However, it also saved me once when a fiber from the LOB camera table mat got caught in the O-ring. The light stayed green at the surface but switched to blinking yellow and then red shortly after I entered the water and began to descend. I simply surfaced, gave my camera to the crew for a quick dunk in the rinse tank and then placement on the camera table. After the dive, I found the fiber in the O-ring and 2 drops of water in the housing. No harm done, I have had many successful trips since then. As far as I'm concerned, the vacuum valve is worth its weight in gold.
I don't know much about Fantasea housings, but the vacuum system gets my vote. I see prices like you mentioned at Backscatter.
I love the vacuum system on my one camera housing. I have also used Ikelite housings for my twho compact cameras for many, many years without a single drop of water entering either housing.
One question you should answer before you jump is - how are you triggering the DS51 strobe? If you are using wired sync cord, then confirm the housings you are considering have the capability to use the wired sync cord and have the proper connector. Switching a DS51 from wired to optical requires a separate electrical device to bridge the gap between the wired sync and optical, which is an added cost.
One question you should answer before you jump is - how are you triggering the DS51 strobe? If you are using wired sync cord, then confirm the housings you are considering have the capability to use the wired sync cord and have the proper connector. Switching a DS51 from wired to optical requires a separate electrical device to bridge the gap between the wired sync and optical, which is an added cost.
The Fantasea G7X MKIII Housing is a good value, smaller with better controls than the Ike. They now come with either their vacuum system (shipping next month) - which only checks the pressure on the surface pre-dive - not during the dive like Nauticam's. Or the Fantasea comes with an M16 bulkhead for $100 less. We would recommend adding a Leak Sentinel vacuum check in that bulkhead instead. It is a third party vacuum leak check sensor that checks the seal before and during the dive. It recently has been improved to a v5 and has a better battery and lower profile. With a pump it runs just under $300.
But all in all, the Nauticam G7XMKIII is the better housing, aluminum 300' depth rated and now comes in a G7XMKII Pro Set with with tray, handles, external trigger and vacuum valve for $1600. This saves you about $250 overall.
We have a new article on our blog that gives a general comparison of the pros and cons of all the housings we sell:
The Pros and Cons of Popular Underwater Housings
But all in all, the Nauticam G7XMKIII is the better housing, aluminum 300' depth rated and now comes in a G7XMKII Pro Set with with tray, handles, external trigger and vacuum valve for $1600. This saves you about $250 overall.
We have a new article on our blog that gives a general comparison of the pros and cons of all the housings we sell:
The Pros and Cons of Popular Underwater Housings
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