New Seatool HC7 Housing

[pakman]

Just got back from the ADEX 2007 show in Bangkok this weekend. Kenji Ohmura was there displaying the new Seatool HC7 housing. This housing is tiny, but nicely built... The control handle was nice with most of the controls at your fingertip. You also have control of the manual wheel and button upfront which can control whatever you assign to that button: for ex. manual focus, white balance shift, etc. You can use the rearviewfinder or the LCD via mirror. Housing also has a flip filter. Seems he has changed the external lens mount from the Inon AD mount to the 67mm threads.


Here are some pics of the housing.

 

[drbill]

Looks interesting Pakman. Wonder if he has distribution in the States?

 

[pakman]

I think Ryan at Reefphoto is a big fan of Seatool products... Also H2O Photo Pros sells Seatool products as well.

I'm not sure who is actually behind it, but Seatool has now arranged to have a US distributor: http://www.seatoolusa.com/

 

[H2O Photo Pros]

The Seatool HC7 is sure to be a beauty. We should have these housings available in the near future. As soon as I have word on when they will arrive in the states, I will post it! For now, we are accepting pre-orders.

 

[pakman]

Slight self hijack:

While the Seatool HC7 housing is a sharp piece of engineering, I was bowled over by the Seatool Canon 400D DSLR housing and ports. That thing is tiny! And best of all, Ohmura-san really did a good job addressing the ergonomics of housing as it fits perfectly in the shutter hand with all the dials and buttons right at your fingertips. Same with the focus/ zoom dials which are on the ports but are just at your left hand fingertips while holding the handle. And, it will have the option of taking the Inon 45 deg viewfinder

 

[robint]

yep, Reef Photo our of Fla sells them. www.reefphoto.com
Ryan can help you out with anything you want to know or need.

robint

 

[Ryan]

First shipment should be here this week, and I can't wait to get it in the water. Either Michael or myself can sort out a system for you. We are handling the USA distribution, and H20 Photo Pros is our largest dealer

I dived that cute little xti housing again this weekend, and it is even sweeter in the water! I also can't make the Inon S-TTL system miss...

 

[pakman]

I dived that cute little xti housing again this weekend, and it is even sweeter in the water! I also can't make the Inon S-TTL system miss...

Ryan, I tell you that XTi/400D housing would make a perfect compact travel DSLR setup along with a couple Inon strobes. At first I questioned why Ohmura-san went with an optical connection but now it makes sense. No need for an expensive TTL Converter, you don't have to worry about electronic cables failing or bulkheads flooding. Battery life on the 400D is pretty good so using the internal flash shouldn't cause too much of an inconvenience. You can always switch the strobes to manual...

You didn't have a chance to try his dome with that housing, did you? He said it was designed to work with the Canon 10-22 and the Tokina 10-17.

If I wasn't in the market to house my HC7, I'd serious consider selling off all my S&S gear and getting that Seatool housing...

 

[sharksdelight]

Are the Seatool buttons magnetic or spring? This may have an affect as to how long they last. From the pic, they don't appear to be of the highest quality.
Steve:14:

 

[Ryan]

I'm not sure I understand this question, but I'll try to answer it...

Are the Seatool buttons magnetic or spring? This may have an affect as to how long they last. From the pic, they don't appear to be of the highest quality.

The switches the handle buttons actuate are magnetic, but the button is built with a return spring.

I'd be hesitant to judge quality from web res images... Everything on this housing is machined from solid. Everything! Seatool's parent company is a rapid prototyping company with a very interesting client list. They only own machining equipment, no injection molding capability, and they do everything in house for fast production capability and quality control at every step of the way.