Looking for Ikelite #6162 housing

[rakay]

Does anyone have an ikelite #6162 housing?
It is for a Kodak DX7590.
Is anyone using this Kodak yet for underwater? and with what results.

 

[11-11-67]

found one supplier. adorama. they had $440.00 price on it. Tony

 

[DRoot]

Does anyone have an ikelite #6162 housing?
It is for a Kodak DX7590.
Is anyone using this Kodak yet for underwater? and with what results.

I've searched everywhere for anyone with this housing and didn't find a sole. I've now taken the plunge (hey, someone has to be first), and purchased this housing with the 3944.77 Stobe and arm package. Heading to Maui with it and will post my findings.

This housing is just released. Many sources write that it is "...due out in February or March of 2005...". When I ordered this Ikelite told my dive shop that they would need 1-2 days to "make" it!!! Sounds like they are watching inventory very closely.

-Dan

 

[DRoot]

Adorama has terrible reviews, I was tempted to try them till I read how many people have been unhappy with them.

 

[DRoot]

I've searched everywhere for anyone with this housing and didn't find a sole. I've now taken the plunge (hey, someone has to be first), and purchased this housing with the 3944.77 Stobe and arm package. Heading to Maui with it and will post my findings.

This housing is just released. Many sources write that it is "...due out in February or March of 2005...". When I ordered this Ikelite told my dive shop that they would need 1-2 days to "make" it!!! Sounds like they are watching inventory very closely.

-Dan

I'm back from Hawaii, where I dove privately with an excellent dive operation. First a quick summary on my equipment. I bought the Kodak EasyShare DX-7590 (http://www.ikelite.com/web_pages/kodak_dx7590.html) and Ikelite 6162 Housing, along with the Ikelite DS-125 strobe as part of 3944.77 assembly (includes arm and substrobe). In addition I bought the UR/Pro filter (http://www.ikelite.com/web_pages/videoone.html#mirror).

The camera lived up to all my expectations. The underwater zoom capability was an unexpected benefit while shooting Gray Reef Sharks. The closeup/macro capability was a little more difficult to operate underwater (to hold it steady), over my prior camera that I've been using for 15 years. I have 350+ dives under my belt, and most of them with a camera in hand.

The only truly negative thing that I have to say about the housing is that when you read the Ikelite information, they left me believing that you could access ALL functions on the camera except the joystick. Although Ikelite did prioritize the buttons well, it would have been nice to know you can't access two other buttons as well. The Delete button and the Menu button are inaccessable in the housing, I personally never missed using them since I was shooting on a 1gb SDcard (cost about $75) so there was no reason to delete anything while diving.

Other strong recommendations: 1) be sure to buy an extra battery - and take it with you! I missed some great pictures because I entered the water without a fully charged battery, and then didn't have my spare with me on the boat. 2) Buy/bring extra SD cards, you never know when one might get full or even corrupt. 3) Buy an extra O ring 4) Buy extra silicone, Ikelite has a proprietary silicone that must be used. Another tip about using the zoom feature underwater: Due to the pressure that results at depth, you need to remember to pull the button that controls the zoom back (away from the housing), once you have the zoom level you want. Otherwise the zoom will stick and zoom until it is maxed out - a very frustrating "feature".

Let's talk about features I loved:
I loved the clear housing, and the ease in examining the gasket for a good seal. I also loved the ease of connecting the strobe, and I can't say enough good things about the DS-125 strobe - it rocks! You never have to wait for it to charge before taking the next picture. This is my first U/W camera that allows me to shoot movies, and since I had a large SD card I shot a bunch of them. Humpback Whales were migrating through Maui when we were diving, and you couldn't dive anywhere without hearing their whale songs - all my movies have this in the sound-tracks!!! One more feature I love is the camera itself, and this needs to be said cause if you don't like the camera you would be nuts to buy the housing, right? The camera in my opinion is about the best value on the market, the 10x optical and the street price I paid of about $350 was sweet. I enjoy the "scene" modes, and the manual settings. I also bought on eBay the 2x multiplier lens, the wide angle lens, and the 3 filters (u/v, polarize, florescent).

Hope this helps, if anyone wants to see some pictures I attached one. Otherwise email me and I'll send you some or answer your questions (DanRoot@adelphia.net)

Happy Diving!

-Dan