Inon or Epoque for ikelite video housing ?

[Scubacastor]

Hello,

I own an ikelite housing for Sony DCR-HC32/42. I am wondering if some of you have been using one of the external wide angle lens Inon or Epoque on the Ikelite video housing and if you have experienced vignetting or not. I am currently using an internal wide angle lens with no vignetting but I'd to be able to switch lens underwater so any experience is highly welcomed !

Thanks !

 

[simonspear]

We've just bought the Epoque lens for our Ikelite housing but have not had a chance to use it yet. From what we could find out there is more chance that the Inon lens could cause vignetting, but it is more likely on a 35mm camera and less likely on a camcorder. We wont have a definate answer until the new year after our trip to the Bahamas, but hopefully someone else might be able to help as I'd love to know myself!!

 

[Scubacastor]

Thanks for your answer

Mmmh, I have lots of mixed comments... that's bad because I don't know which is the best (maybe both, maybe not) :

- For the person I spoke to at Ikelite , Epoque is the best choice but they haven't tested it neither Inon but she warned me that they may have to change the port to approach the thread to the camcorder.

- For my dealer, Inon is probably best because, the first lens close to the camcorder is bigger and the thread can be chosen to be closer or further (Type I or II UWL-100) . Apparently Epoque Lens standard thread is 55mm so the other threads like 67mm are just adaptation. Inon is a native 67mm lens (so in a sense, if the 55mm-67mm epoque version is okay, why would the Inon lens be bad ?)

Hey Simonspear, any chance to put the housing with camcorder and lens in a bath to check ? Pleaaaaase

 

[simonspear]

Hey there, sorry for the delay in getting back to you, but I hardly had a chance to check the boards before Christmas and then I was away....

Well I used the Epoque lens a lot while we were in the Bahamas. The good news is that I had no vignetting whatsoever! The lens also gave a good angle of coverage, but not quite as much as I expected. It was great for wrecks and like all wide angle lenses you basically get the most out of it when you get really close up and are still able to see the whole subject you are filming. It wasn't therefore so good for sharks or anything else that didn't let you get close, although I did get some fantastic close up footage of a Loggerhead with it.

I tried to change the lens underwater and had a really really hard time. You can take it off fairly easily, but getting it back on again was almost impossible (at least it was for me). The thread on the lens port is so small that you always feel like you are going to damage it when you put it on at the surface let alone underwater. I ended up either just diving with it on or with if off, but after my first few attempts I didn't bother to try to change it again underwater. The only good thing is that if you are out for 2 dives and think you need it on the first and not the second then you can take it off and leave it on the boat with out having to open up your housing.

The other thing that I found with it was that I got a lot of solar flaring when filming towards the sun. This is the first time that it had happened to me so it may be more common than I think, but it never seemed to happen without the Wide Angle on.

Overall I was very happy with it, although if you already have an in internal Wide Angle lens then personally I'm not sure if this one is practical enough for swapping underwater.

Hope this helps.

Best Regards, Simon

 

[ronrosa]

I have the INON W/A lens on my Gates housing. I don't have any vignetting. My housing and lens combo has a bayonet mount, so switching lens underwater is a breeze. The wreck footage on my Aruba video and the manta night footage on my Kona video show the W/A lens in action.

One advantage of the INON, is they have a dome option that attaches to the W/A lens. It expands the angle on the lens from 100 degrees to 130. I have one on order.

 

[simonspear]

The bayonet option sounds like a great idea. It's a lot more practical than trying to screw it on while underwater! Did you adapt it yourself or was it an off the shelf option for the Gates housing?

 

[ronrosa]

The bayonet option sounds like a great idea. It's a lot more practical than trying to screw it on while underwater! Did you adapt it yourself or was it an off the shelf option for the Gates housing?

I bought if from Gates. They call it the Multiport lens system. Let's you switch lens underwater in seconds.

CLICK HERE


Click the above to see fast you can change lenses.