New Canon S90 & Canon Housing

[Nemrod]

As much as I like the Fisheye FIX housing in aluminum, I can't see spending that much money on a housing and camera that will be obsolete in a few years.

It is a more capable housing, less likely to flood, the controls are full feature with all controls provided and are very smooth and easy to use. The FIX housing can via a system of adapters support ALL current wet lenses of wide angle, ultra wide angle or macro/close up. The FIX housing is capable of diving to 200 feet, is much more rugged and precise and can be rebuilt. Having owned Canon and own Canon OEM housings, you get what you pay for.

N

 

[ozziworld]

Thanks Nemrod for your inputs on the FIX housing.

I have had a chance to check out the housing and Yes I agree that is well built and very functional.

It's just how I feel when I look at my old aquatica housing and Nikon F3 which are a lot of dollars worth of relic now.

The digital stuff just begs to be replaced every time the next generation comes out and both the housing and the camera just become too hard to simply be replaced after having invested a lot in it. The 130 ft rating on the Canon housing is the main con and really do wish it was rated for a little more. In which case the ikelite might be worth a look.

Sometimes it is the shopping around that makes this whole hobby more interesting anyway. How long did you intend to use the FIX Housing ? It is so well built that it will definitely outlive it's practical usefulness that I feel might discourage me from upgrading when the next best thing comes around. Of course I suppose I can simply ignore the $600 price difference and just splurge on the FIX housing anyway (very tempting, and if I get caught in the right mood I just might ... ). or I can spend the $600 on a strobe and some arms and accessories.

Do you use INON Lenses on your FIX Housing ? Does it require any adapters?

 

[Nemrod]

Thanks Nemrod for your inputs on the FIX housing.

I have had a chance to check out the housing and Yes I agree that is well built and very functional.

It's just how I feel when I look at my old aquatica housing and Nikon F3 which are a lot of dollars worth of relic now.

The digital stuff just begs to be replaced every time the next generation comes out and both the housing and the camera just become too hard to simply be replaced after having invested a lot in it. The 130 ft rating on the Canon housing is the main con and really do wish it was rated for a little more. In which case the ikelite might be worth a look.

Sometimes it is the shopping around that makes this whole hobby more interesting anyway. How long did you intend to use the FIX Housing ? It is so well built that it will definitely outlive it's practical usefulness that I feel might discourage me from upgrading when the next best thing comes around. Of course I suppose I can simply ignore the $600 price difference and just splurge on the FIX housing anyway (very tempting, and if I get caught in the right mood I just might ... ). or I can spend the $600 on a strobe and some arms and accessories.

Do you use INON Lenses on your FIX Housing ? Does it require any adapters?

The FIX is expensive, no way around it, for people who will shoot macro only or just through the flat port, probably no need to purchase a FIX. Especially if you will also not use a strobe and do only shallow diving with it.

Yes, the FIX housing uses a system of FIX purpose made and supplied adapters to utilize various wet lenses. I have further utilized a 10Bar adapter and it is my understanding there is a new 52mm threaded adapter available for the FIX90 port. Adapter are not a bad thing, they are a good thing.

As to your relic film cameras, I sold all of that and there was a bunch and recycled it into what I have now, yes, digi camies, even digi SLRs are obsolete as soon as you open the box, next------.

I intend to use the camera as my first line camera for a couple of years and afterward rotate it down the pecking order as something else I want comes along. That something else does not exist now and when it does exist, I will get it, be that next year or five years from now so essentially I cannot answer your question as to how long I will use it. In the last five years there have only been a small handful of cameras that can utilize the lenses I like to shoot, so who knows when another may come along, the FIX90/S90 are here now, tomorrow will have to take care of itself.

Further, I will purchase a spare S90, I don't believe in one camera and an expensive housing, a spare is needed, to easy for a single camera to be damaged and leave me looking foolish holding a housing with no functioning camera. I don't believe in half way, I am an all the way or nothing sort.

The rest of all of your FIX questions you have and don't know you have are answered here:

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/canon-corner/317325-fisheye-fix-s90.html

As to the depth capability, I am known to push 200 feet and exceed 130 feet regularly, the OEM housings are definitely a limiting factor for me. As well, while the OEM housings may be rated to 130 feet many people including me have had buttons sticking and "auto"-pressing below 60 to 80 feet, that will not do for me at all. Much of my diving is in the 60 to 100 foot range.

YRMV

N

 

[ozziworld]

Nemrod,

I have seen photos of your setup on another thread. Very Nice. Did you use wet lenses from you previous setups or did you get them specifically for the FIX and S90?

 

[Nemrod]

Nemrod,

I have seen photos of your setup on another thread. Very Nice. Did you use wet lenses from you previous setups or did you get them specifically for the FIX and S90?

I already owned them from previous rigs which I also still own. If I were buying the lenses again specifically for the FIX90 I would probably still get the 165AD or 100WAL plus dome but not both. I might also consider the Fisheye UWL-04. But I don't know much about, I do know a lot about the Inon lenses however.

N

 

[jd950]

It is a more capable housing, less likely to flood, the controls are full feature with all controls provided and are very smooth and easy to use. The FIX housing can via a system of adapters support ALL current wet lenses of wide angle, ultra wide angle or macro/close up. The FIX housing is capable of diving to 200 feet, is much more rugged and precise and can be rebuilt. Having owned Canon and own Canon OEM housings, you get what you pay for.

N

Nemrod:

Not looking to pick a fight, and I agree the Fix housing is quite nice, but I don't see how it is less likely to flood. I would accept that housings with dual O-rings may be more flood-resistant, but the Fix and the Canon both only use one O-ring.

Although one can put both 67mm and AD mount lenses on the housing, I think it is fair to say that for several of the available wide lenses, sharpness and vignetting are at least unknown and according to some owners, may be undesirable. It APPEARS to me that with some choices, by the time one zooms in enough to avoid vignetting, most of the benefit of the lens is lost, leaving the user with a very big dome that is really no wider than a much smaller wide lens.

It is a very nice little housing and I may yet get it, but with the Inon 28AD mount base out for the WP-DC35, one can also put closeup lenses and the UWL100 and a dome on the factory housing, and they are bayonet mount lenses which I think are much easier to use than threaded lens mounts.

Perhaps the biggest issue for the Fix is that for what it costs, one could buy the OEM housing, the Inon AD adapter, a UCL 165 and a UWL 100 and perhaps have a little money left over. For the price of the Fix housing and UWL 04, one could even just about add the dome for the UWL 100, giving the user closeup, wide and ultra wide lenses.

I am not saying which route is best. That is an individual decision and if I knew for sure which I thought was best, I would have made a decision and bought something.

 

[Nemrod]

Nemrod:

Not looking to pick a fight, and I agree the Fix housing is quite nice, but I don't see how it is less likely to flood. I would accept that housings with dual O-rings may be more flood-resistant, but the Fix and the Canon both only use one O-ring.

Although one can put both 67mm and AD mount lenses on the housing, I think it is fair to say that for several of the available wide lenses, sharpness and vignetting are at least unknown and according to some owners, may be undesirable. It APPEARS to me that with some choices, by the time one zooms in enough to avoid vignetting, most of the benefit of the lens is lost, leaving the user with a very big dome that is really no wider than a much smaller wide lens.

It is a very nice little housing and I may yet get it, but with the Inon 28AD mount base out for the WP-DC35, one can also put closeup lenses and the UWL100 and a dome on the factory housing, and they are bayonet mount lenses which I think are much easier to use than threaded lens mounts.

Perhaps the biggest issue for the Fix is that for what it costs, one could buy the OEM housing, the Inon AD adapter, a UCL 165 and a UWL 100 and perhaps have a little money left over. For the price of the Fix housing and UWL 04, one could even just about add the dome for the UWL 100, giving the user closeup, wide and ultra wide lenses.

I am not saying which route is best. That is an individual decision and if I knew for sure which I thought was best, I would have made a decision and bought something.

I am kinda busy now but two thing right off, one it is rated to a greater depth and supposedly therefore more stringent testing. So at 130 feet, which is more likely to flood, a FIX90 or a Canon OEM? At 150 feet?

The other is the poor quality control of OEM housing and an example of that is the long and involved thread on mold lines and flashing that some including me found necessary to polish off. Yes, mine seeped water.

No guarantees on anything, flood are always possible and not always the result of the housing but usually the operator or poor maintenance.

I am not especially impressed with the OEM glands either.

N

 

[jd950]

At less than 130' I would say they are equally likely/unlikely to flood. I believe most floods are due to damaged or improperly installed O rings or something compromising the integrity of the seal.

I suppose at 150' the OEM might be more likely to flood because it is beyond its rated depth, although I suspect the depth rating has more to do with functionality of the various buttons than it does housing integrity.

I am sure there may be some exceptions, and I am also sure a lot of people want to blame the housing when they destroy a camera, but for the most part, the OEM housings have a very good reputation. You and I have had different experiences with OEM housings. I have had 4 Canon housing and one Fuji housing over the past several years and have never had any problems. If your experience is different then I can see how that would lead you to feel differently than do I.

I don't know what an OEM gland is.

 

[Nemrod]

Nemrod:

Although one can put both 67mm and AD mount lenses on the housing, I think it is fair to say that for several of the available wide lenses, sharpness and vignetting are at least unknown and according to some owners, may be undesirable. It APPEARS to me that with some choices, by the time one zooms in enough to avoid vignetting, most of the benefit of the lens is lost, leaving the user with a very big dome that is really no wider than a much smaller wide lens.

You make good points, I am not picking a fight either but I also like to stay based in facts and this statement is not true at all and over and over I have posted various photos demonstrating the results. The dome lenses, be it the 100WAL or 165AD produce significantly wider FOV than the native flat port and there is evidence to indicate that they are at least as wide if not wider than the Fisheye-04. I have measured the 100WAL plus dome at 125 degrees diagonal and the 165AD at approximately 155 degrees diagonal and both are sharp, as sharp as they would be on any other camera for which they are alleged to work and I do have a Canon 570IS with both Ike and OEM housings and an Oly with the Inon AD fisheye adapter and appropriate adapters to make direct comparisons and have. The FIX shoots as wide and as sharp, actually more so in terms of quality as you might expect from a more advanced camera, the dynamic range is clearly superior based on my now direct experience.

I think the Ikelite housing is a cost effective compromise, for me, my opinion, based on what I know, the OEM is definitely the least desirable option. The only wide angle lens that is known to work with it, per Inon, is the WAL100-28AD and when you add the dome that is an eight hundred dollars lens and the fact is the WAL100-28AD with dome vignettes naturally per Inon and requires a 95% crop from the get go.

As to which housing is best or most effective, personal needs are paramount, some might say something is better than nothing and others like me might say nothing is better than something which cannot accomplish the requirements, my requirements, to the extent other's requirements differ, please of course adjust your decision process to reflect that. I have said that many times.

"OEM gland", the controls that pass through the housings are routinely referred to as a gland and the OEM means or meant as I intended, original manufacturer, being Canon supplied.

You are right, I don't feel inspired with confidence by my Canon DC-12 housing based on my experiences with it.

I also fully agree, most floods are user generated due to poor practices and contaminates etc as you have stated, exactly right, yes, that said, the Canon housing is not a confidence builder for me and the other limitations imposed in this application make it a no brainier, none purchase for me.

People like to (budget) high end a dSLR and low end a P&S and maybe that is why there is a limited number of middle ground options.

N

 

[ozziworld]

jd950,

I am glad to hear you have had good experiences with OEM housings.

You mention the cost difference between the FIX and the canon housing being able to cover the cost of the adapter and lenses for the Canon housing is pretty much what I had in mind. Though I was thinking strobes and arms.

The UWL100 28AD + UCL165AD + 28AD Lens mount does make a lot of difference and pretty much gives me more flexibility down the road given the investment.

My biggest concern with the FIX housing is the fact that the camera it is housing will be obsolete in two years or so when newer models come out.

The dollars that go into the lenses can be adapted to a new camera and housing with the change in adapter. Though I think the UWL100 28AD would be adaptable only to a 28mm Camera and only if INON will make a suitable 28AD adapter for it.

As much as I REALLY liked the FIX housing when I had one in my hands, it felt "over engineered" for my long term goals of getting started again in underwater photography with a system that will lend itself to the inherent obsolescence of digital cameras. To spend 2x the amount of the camera on a housing was counter intuitive for me. I could just by another S90 and OEM housing for the price difference involved if I should encounter a flood with the OEM housing. I would ultimately be looking to upgrade the camera and housing anyway if an interesting enough model comes around in a year or two.

You seem to have had a lot of camera/housings. Is this a result of new models coming out that supercede the technology of previous models? If so, what parts of your system have remained compatible and usable through the course of the upgrades? You also seem familiar with the INON System which I have been looking at closely as a basis for my re-entry into the hobby.