S&S RDX vs Nauticam housings- worth extra $1000?

[Entacmaea]

Hey all, so I need your help- I'm struggling with the housing decision a set-up for a canon t4i- the S&S rdx housing - about $1450, vs the Nauticam housing, which is $2,400. RDX housing seems adequate for a starter set-up, but I've heard that the nauticam housing has much better controls. I care less about he polycarbonate housing vs. aluminum, but do care about whether the better controls make taking pictures easier- especially as a start to learn. I have no doubt the nauticam housing is better, but is it $1,000 better:

-Port selection with different port bases for RDX and the Nauticam seems to be the same, etc.
-You have to remove the tray to open the housing on the RDX, vs. the Nauticam
-I imagine the polycarbonate RDX is lighter than the aluminum Nauticam, but aluminum is stronger
-Better ergonomics and spacing on Nauticam controls
-integrated tray and handles on Nauticam...

I'm just learning, so want to buy right, but not spend another $1,000 if I don't need to.

Thanks all appreciate it.

Best, Peter

 

[bvanant]

Well I think you need to put together the whole system to see what the real price difference is. If you put together the system for the Canon 60 macro and the Tokina 10-17 with appropriate ports I think the difference will be about $400 or so after spending about $3K or about 12% or so. One problem is that with S&S you will need port bases to use the better S&S ports with the RDX system. Ergonomics are a bit nicer with the nauticam (changing cards or batteries) but there are probably no pictures you could get with one that you couldn't get with the other.
Bill

 

[Entacmaea]

Thanks Bill- yes, I'll save probably $400 or so on not having to get the port base S and L, but on average the nicer ports for the Nauticam are about $100 more each (for the 60mm and 100mm macro), so all told it is just a few hundred in savings. But, on the other hand, without the port bases, the Nauticam also has one less o-ring- which for some people seems to be a fair consideration. I am more concerned with the controls on the RDX housing being not as good, especially for someone just starting out, and if they will effect the learning curve or the actual ability to take good shots- easily. I suppose one would adapt to either housing eventually. One large annoyance on the RDX is that you have to remove the handles/tray to open the housing (the GripStayII has a quick release apparently). I'm making my tray/handles (if I go the RDX route), so I guess I would have to engineer something so they would fold out of the way easily.

Anyone else with thoughts?

 

[Tzetsin]

There are a number of factors that you need to address before anyone could really say one way or another...

How often will you use it? its it a spontaneous purchase and you'll probably only use it once? or are you an avid diver that shoots every trip?

Are you a photographer on land? Are you competent with the t4i and its controls outside of automatic mode?

These are relevant questions because you absolutely should get the Nauticam, but not if you're probably never going to use it. Neither housing is going to get a better image than the other, as the camera and lens do that, but here is something that all UW photographers should think about.

I call it the PITA factor.

All people have only a finite amount of BS they can handle. the more of a PITA something is, the more BS it takes up. Taking photos underwater is a huge PITA. The cheaper the camera, the more difficult the housing, the patience of your dive buddies, these are all going to escalate the amount of a PITA it will be to shoot underwater. The bigger the PITA, the more BS you have to put up with. There will be a breaking point where the BS is higher than the reward. (the images)

The nauticam housing might be more expensive, but its less of a PITA than the RDX, so ultimately every time you dive with it you'll have just that much less BS to deal with.

Its also important to know how well you can use the t4i... if you don't know how to use it on land, you going to hate that thing underwater. You don't really get to play with the buttons and dials so much under there, you must know the limitations of the camera (and its strengths) you need to know how to set the cam to raw, and have raw processing software on your pc. The more you know about your camera, the less of a PITA it will be under water. The less of a PITA, the lower amount of BS you have to deal with. If you are REALLY fluent with your camera, then the amount of a PITA between the nauticam and the RDX wont significantly increase the BS factor, so maybe that 1000 bucks is more significant.

All that said, if your not fluent in your camera, you dont know how to process raw images, and you probably wont use it all that much, then perhaps a decent underwater Point and shoot is the better (and cheaper) fit. i've got a Pentax Optio wg2. it works great underwater. It wont give you professional looking shots, but neither will the t4i if you dont know how to use it.

Underwater photography with a dlsr is very challenging. It requires that you really know your gear.

anyhoo, enough from me, I hope that actually made sense.

 

[debb]

I just listed my nauticam housing for sale because it does not fit my hand but found it an excellent housing.

 

[PatW]

Well, I have shot both polycarbonate housings and aluminum housings. I first shot with an Ikelite housing with a Canon G11 (advanced point and shoot). The ikelite housing is serviceable. The controls can be clunky at times. The housing is a box so it is on the bulky side.

Now I am using a Nauticam housing with a Nikon D7000. The Nauticam housing is designed from the ground up for the camera body. The controls are very precise, much more so than the Ikelite housing. Also, the housing is more compact than the Ikelite housing and I think, more durable. It also costs twice as much as the Ikelite housing. But when you add the costs of ports, strobes, focus lights, and so on, the Nauticam premium is not that great.

Left to my own frugal devices, I would have probably gone with the Ikelite housing. My wife strongly suggested that I go with the Nauticam (my wife is an expert diver and a photographer .. she just does not fool with underwater photography). In the end, I found that my wife was right. Also, do not take this as any criticism of Ikelite. They make good, serviceable and economical housings.