Ikelite vs. The Competition for D100

[tschroeder250]

Hi Everyone,

This is my first (real) post here. I am a newbie to U/W still photography, but I've been doing video for years. I just bought a Nikon D100 and I am trying to decide which housing to go with. Once that decision is made, I'll follow up with questions on strobes, lenses, etc. although the sticky posts and the tons of info here have been awesome so far!

I was originally looking only at the L&M Titan housing, but as I priced out everything I would need (I am starting from scratch), the price tag got a little (little!?) unreasonable. I started looking around and saw other options, with the Ikelite seeming to be optimal in terms of durability, features, prices, etc.

Please share your thoughts and opinions on the pluses and minuses and whether you think the Ikelite is a good choice, or the Sea & Sea or Light & Motion options are better (i.e. worth the price). If there are other options, please pass those on as well.

I dive a lot in Northern California, and beach entries are not unknown. I am going to British Columbia for 10 days in June. Aroound here, low viz is a regular occurence, as is lots of suspended matter in the water column.

Thanks!

-Todd

 

[chippy]

Aquatica housings ar also worth a look (but I would say that )

If your careful, you can get away with using some zoom gears and port extension rings for more than one lens, saving cash.

 

[DesertEagle]

I'm also an Aquatica user. I house my Nikon 8008 in an Aquatica 80 that has been through quite a lot of use. Aquatica makes one of the best aluminum housings and their pricing is moderate compared to Seacam, Light & Motion or Subal.

Ikelite makes a good product and they back it up with good service. At $1200 the F100 housing is much more than Ikelite's film housings cost but comapred to $2600 for the Titan it's a relative bargain. The more expensive housings like the Titan, Subal or Seacam give you options for exotic glass dome ports or swivel viewfinders. For "normal" wide angle or macro you should be very happy with Ikelite.

 

[ssra30]

Ikelite makes excellent housing. The only 2 possible problems I can think of for D100 is that 1) Ikelite currently only has 6" dome port whereas most other housing manufacturers have 8" domeports. 2) Ikelite supports most of the common lenses like other housings except for the Nikor 70-180mm zoom macro. If neither of these factors bother you then Ikelite should be fine. Sea and Sea D100 housing is huge and the port system is easily twice as expensive as Ikelite.

 

[Curt Bowen]

Hi Everyone,

This is my first (real) post here. I am a newbie to U/W still photography, but I've been doing video for years. I just bought a Nikon D100 and I am trying to decide which housing to go with. Once that decision is made, I'll follow up with questions on strobes, lenses, etc. although the sticky posts and the tons of info here have been awesome so far!

I was originally looking only at the L&M Titan housing, but as I priced out everything I would need (I am starting from scratch), the price tag got a little (little!?) unreasonable. I started looking around and saw other options, with the Ikelite seeming to be optimal in terms of durability, features, prices, etc.

Please share your thoughts and opinions on the pluses and minuses and whether you think the Ikelite is a good choice, or the Sea & Sea or Light & Motion options are better (i.e. worth the price). If there are other options, please pass those on as well.

I dive a lot in Northern California, and beach entries are not unknown. I am going to British Columbia for 10 days in June. Aroound here, low viz is a regular occurence, as is lots of suspended matter in the water column.

Thanks!

-Todd

I own the D100 and have it in an Aquatica Housing and a dome port with a 10.mm wide angle. I love the housing and it takes GREAT shots. The Aquatica housing is bullet proff, good bouyancy and has all the manual settings and automatic settings so I can use the camera to its fullest capabilities.

I would suggest buying an Aquatica D100 housing, remember you get what you pay for.

 

[Marriard]

I own a Fuji S2 in an Aquatica housing... however if I had a D100 I'd have it in a Nexus housing in a minute (they don't make one for the S2).

Prices are comparable, but the macro system for the Nexus and the simplicitiy and ease of use of a Nexus housing is unmatched.

I still miss my Nexus N90s housing. Aquatica is still great btw, and you wont be unhappy if you buy it, but the Nexus is well worth a look at the same time.

M

 

[louisianadiver]

Hi, Todd. I've been using an Ikelite with an N90s for a number of years. The housing is very comfortable in the water and in no way infringes on the capabilities of the camera, which is all any housing can do. However, since plastic cannot be molded as finely as metal, the housing traps a bit more air than metal housings. This, in turn, means that more ballast is needed in the tray to make it neutral in the water. The result is a system that is quite a bit heavier on land than a metal housing system, but just as good in the water. I'm happy to expend a little more muscle power on the boat in return for the significant savings, but others might disagree. Ikelite is legendary for the quality and speed of their service should anything need repair.

 

[nusspli]

Hi Everyone,

I was originally looking only at the L&M Titan housing, but as I priced out everything I would need (I am starting from scratch), the price tag got a little (little!?) unreasonable. I started looking around and saw other options, with the Ikelite seeming to be optimal in terms of durability, features, prices, etc.

Thanks!

-Todd

I JUST purchased the D100 and will be getting the L&M housing anyday now. It was extrememly expensive, but I was sold on it because there is an adapter available for the housing that enables 2:1 macro shots.