Looking for feedback on Ikelite WD-4 Wide Dome!

[charlesml3]

Gang,

The Ikelite WD-4 fits several different housings/cameras so this isn't really all that brand-specific. Does anyone have feedback on how well this dome works? I've read a few skimpy reviews here and there but nothing that really shows shots or talks in detail about how well it works.

To be completely honest, I bought one and once I realized how difficult it was to install and remove I sent it back. It seems to me to be a wet-mount dome with all the disadvantages of a dry-mount.

If it really makes a huge difference in the photos I might be able to just suffer the poor mount design.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

-Charles

 

[slowhands]

I have not used this WD-4, so I can't comment on it's optics. This type of "air dome" lens gives only a .7x de-magnification, essentially canceling out the magnification caused by the difference in refractive index of air vs water (1.00 vs 1.33). It's a two element lens, the front simply a hemisphere, the rear a focusing lens. Being acrylic, it's easy to scratch but that does not seem to mar the image much.

I've seen other reports that this lens is either too tight or too loose on the port. It's a friction fit, so tolerances are obviously the problem in mating to the port in a few cases. That's serious, because you may want to remove it to clear bubbles underwater, and it has to be easy to do. To make it work you would have to enlarge it's inside diameter and possibly stick on some foam rubber pads for a snug but flexible fit. You should not have to do this, but if I wanted to make it work, that's what I would do.

This is an up-sized version of the Fantasea Bigeye, which has received mediocre reviews from some folks here. The smaller Fantasea lens worked well for me, despite the reviews. I appreciate the low cost and light weight of this smaller version. I use the M67 version, but I have read reports of the non-screw-mount versions tending to fall off when entering the water -- it's held on by bungee cords . So it's far from perfect and if you want better optics, you will have to spend a lot more.

 

[charlesml3]

Yea, that seems to be what I'm hearing as well. Works fine but nobody seems to like taking it off and putting it back on. I'm looking at a variation of this from Dyron which changes out the stock Ikelite port for a shorter version and then adds their dome. I haven't seen it yet but apparently it's a bayonet mount.

-Charles