Recsea WHS-RX100 housing with Mk 2/3/4/5?

[Seadog83]

I recently came across a WHS-RX100 housing at a thrift store for a song, so thought t might be worth making a new UW system. I have an old basic Canon SX230/WP-DC42 setup that was somewhat amateurish, so figured this might be a good deal to build a system around.

A couple questions though, will this housing fit the RX100 mk 2-5? They all appear to be similar dimensions, and not that there is anything wrong with the mark 1 aside from a big of age, but would it be possible? I did notice they make additional cases for the newer ones, so that doesn't bode well.

Secondly, what's the point of the front port control ring? It seems like it would double as the zoom or focus on an SLR, but where this housing is for a compact, what is the point of it? Is it normal there is a big of wiggle when lock ring is engaged? I've searched probably 2 dozen sites and reviews, all list "front port control ring" as a feature, but none explain exactly what the purpose of it is.

Finally, what's the difference between WHS-RX100 and CWS-RX100 aside from price and depth? It mentions on a CWS site that it's "upgradable" to RX100 Mk 2? Anyone have any idea what that entails?

Recsea CWS-RX100 Underwater Housing for Sony RX100 Compact Camera

Anyway to give this a good pressure test short of going for a dive since I'd like to know if the seals are good before buying a camera? Hard to come by in Canada in Dec, and a bath tub might not be a strong test...

 

[Barmaglot]

A couple questions though, will this housing fit the RX100 mk 2-5? They all appear to be similar dimensions, and not that there is anything wrong with the mark 1 aside from a big of age, but would it be possible? I did notice they make additional cases for the newer ones, so that doesn't bode well.

There are some universal housings that fit multiple models of the RX100 line, but they use internal part swaps to fit models I, II, and III through V, so you housing will almost certainly fit only model I. Also, the internal flash location has moved between different models, and fiber optic ports for strobe triggering need to be located accordingly.

Secondly, what's the point of the front port control ring? It seems like it would double as the zoom or focus on an SLR, but where this housing is for a compact, what is the point of it?

The RX100 only has one dial on the back, and no top dials, but it has a ring around the lens which can be mapped to multiple functions besides zoom, while zoom can also be controlled by a rocker switch on top of the camera. If you want to shoot full manual, you can map aperture control to rear dial and shutter speed to lens ring, or vice versa, and control the camera that way instead of digging through menus for every setting change.

Finally, what's the difference between WHS-RX100 and CWS-RX100 aside from price and depth?

CWS-RX100 does not give you access to the rear dial, limiting you to just the lens ring. WHS-RX100 is made of aluminum, while CWS-RX100 is made of plastic.