Opinion on equipment.

[danilocesar]

Hey divers,

I'm thinking about replacing my compact equipment and aquire a DSLR instead, and an oportunity arrived, but since I never use DSLR UW before I would like your opinion (especially regarding compatibility and camera quality).

What I have right now is:
RX-100
Ikelite Housing + base
Ikelite W-30 wet lens
Two YS-D1 strobes, one of it has its sync port broken (accident, long time ago), so I can only use optic cable.

What I was offered (the guy selling it to me will accept my camera+housing+lens as part of the payment)
Used Ti1 with 5000 clicks
Ti1 default lens with a adaptor and dome for it.
Tokina 10-17mm + adaptor + port (which will arrive a bit later)
Fiber optic converter (Ikelite | Fiber Optic Converter for SEA&SEA / Nauticam LED Triggers)
Ikelite Housing for Ti1 + base.

Is this a decent upgrade? I know T1i is a bit old by now, but I'm almost sure that the body's will still be available for the next 4~5 years (or am I wrong?)
Will I be able to use my two YS-D1 with that setup? I imagined plugging one of the optic cables into the converter, and another one connecting one YS-D1 to the other. Is that correct?

Rx-100 is a great camera, however I'm a bit disapointed with the flash reclycle time. Anyone here had any issue with recycle time for the Ti1? Or any complaint at all?
Ikelte housing for the Rx-100 is awful, usability is terrible. I've heard that the DSLR housings are better. Is this true?


Thanks for those who're willing to share options/experiences with me.

 

[boletus1973]

umh.... before my rx100 with nauticam and the same strobes+wetlenses i own a t3i... i don't know if this is a real upgrade... i use the t3i with a housing like the ikelite... toki 10-17 and 100mm lens... some really good shot in macro but disappointing results on wide angle... be sure that the dome port is good! otherwise the results are really bad.... worse than a cheap wetlens... :shocked2:
after one trip with t3i i sell everything(bulky, i don't like the housing and no dome port options) and i buy the rx100 i said above... same problem with the recycle time... sometimes annoing ... but in two years i achieve many good shot... with that dslr you can do better? oh yes, but don't expect is easy... about the connection of the strobe, you can open completly the t1i main flash inside the housing? in my dslr housing i can't do it... and for using my strobes with fiber optic i had to buy a LED emulator... with that the connection was really good and super fast....

now i sell also the rx100 setup for jumping in the mirrorless ring(used)...

 

[danilocesar]

umh.... before my rx100 with nauticam and the same strobes+wetlenses i own a t3i... i don't know if this is a real upgrade... i use the t3i with a housing like the ikelite... toki 10-17 and 100mm lens... some really good shot in macro but disappointing results on wide angle... be sure that the dome port is good! otherwise the results are really bad.... worse than a cheap wetlens... :shocked2:
after one trip with t3i i sell everything(bulky, i don't like the housing and no dome port options) and i buy the rx100 i said above... same problem with the recycle time... sometimes annoing ... but in two years i achieve many good shot... with that dslr you can do better? oh yes, but don't expect is easy... about the connection of the strobe, you can open completly the t1i main flash inside the housing? in my dslr housing i can't do it... and for using my strobes with fiber optic i had to buy a LED emulator... with that the connection was really good and super fast....

now i sell also the rx100 setup for jumping in the mirrorless ring(used)...

What do you mean by "good dome port"? Are the Ikelite port and Ikelite 8'' dome included in this category?

 

[darook]

The T1i is a fine camera but I consider it and the housing a disposable. Strobes and lenses matter more. How much are they asking?

 

[DENLASCUBA]

I had a Canon T1i with ikelite housing, 8'' dome, modular glass port for 50mm macro + 3.5" extension, base tray with quick release handles, dual DS 161 strobes, ulcs arms + floats. In 2012 I had my camera and lenses stolen but luckily they did not grab the bag with the u/w equipment but I decided to sell off the equipment and downgrade since I did not use it much before the camera was stolen and wouldn't have even if ti wasn't. So here is what my gear ended up selling for after about 6 months of posting various areas and slowly reducing the price. I looked into buying a new T1i and I think with he kit lens it was going for about 250-300 USD second hand.

This is what I ended up getting for the items, the strobes a bit lower than what I know I could have received but wanted them gone.

1. Housing + tray - 500 USD (great condition)
2. 8" Dome with extension port- 300 USD (perfect condition)
3. Macro port and extension- 300 USD (brand new in box never used)
4. DS 161 Strobe no battery- 450 USD
5. DS 161 Strobe+ battery+ sync cord- 600 USD
6. Dual sync cord- 50 USD
7. ULCS arms- can't remember but I did get close to what I paid new

As for the strobes you can use a optical slave sensor from ikelite.

Also I hated the ikelite housing after a while they are not any better than the compact housings, it was too bulky, heavy, and the controls were a bit hard to handle at times. Traveling with it was a huge pain in the ass literally.

 

[boletus1973]

What do you mean by "good dome port"? Are the Ikelite port and Ikelite 8'' dome included in this category?

simply i don't know... never used one!

 

[Luko]

I've heard that the DSLR housings are better. Is this true?

Ikeite housing are well... like Ikelite housing. Bulky, heavy but cheaper than other alu housings.

For such an aged camera like the EOS500D (T1i) I would encourage you to look around for a second hand aluminium housing, which will be of course more expensive than Iklite but will provide you more durability and certainly more fun. there are often some good opportunities with wetpixel.com website, check out classified section. Since it's a website that is mostly targeting "expert" UW photographers (as opposed to occasional "snapshooters"), old and budget/entry second hand dSLR housings often sell for cheap.

In my beginnings I had an Ikelite for a start, I've had issues with weight but also the strobe connexion that is proprietary and doesn't accept optical fiber. Something you should absolutely look for in your SLR housing purchase. I a skeptical about converters, which are another possible point of failure.

The brands I recommand you should look for are Nauticam (very widespread), Hugyfot, Aquatica, Sea&sea. Subal is very good but expensive and doesn't have optical connexion.