S90 + Ikelite housing : First Impressions

[Nemrod]

Hello NEMROD ,

I interstengly read your post:

"You can make an Inon AD bayonet adapter for 67mm threads by taking an old Tiffen 67mm UV filter and removing the glass. Then look about on Ebait for any Inon AD adapter. Remove the bayonet section from the Inon adapter, those tiny little screws hold it on. Then epoxy the bayonet portion into the Tiffen filter ring. You have to do a little hand shaping, I turned mine a little on a drill press as I milled it. It can be done by hand. Then you get this, here is the Inon 165AD without but you can see the adapter I made in the background "

I need such adaptor , do you know if such adaptor is available on the market? I would like to buy it, not make it myself since I dont think I'll be able to do it

Please can anyone tell me if such adaptor is available on the market

thanks

Mario

Well, we are told that there is one, never saw one my self so I made my own, I believe that Reef Photo might be a place to check, I think that this place may be able to source them, you will just have to check with them, also, I believe that the Dyron outfit has them but------:

Camera Housings, Strobes, Arms, Trays & More! - Optical Ocean Sales Underwater Photo - 800-359-1295!

Here is the thing, if you get the Ikelite housing, I doubt you need it as you will purchase 67mm accessory lenses if at all. If you get the Canon DC-35 my adapter serves no purpose. If FIX comes out with a housing as they are reported to be working on, we simply do not know (we being the uninformed public) what it will be like, what type of port it will have etc. Ryan, at Reef Photo has said, if I have it right, that we should not make any conclusions yet (at this time) on the FIX housing as to wet lenses, mounts etc, he is the most knowledgeable person on these things so when the time comes, he is your best source of info. We just have to be patient and don't jump on something until we have the "Big Picture" (or the Langoliers might get you).

N

 

[CompuDude]

Plongimage - Bague M67 pour Canon WP-DC35

They're 59 Euros.

It's held in place with two screws. I'm not sure how stable that will be with a heavy wide angle lens attached.

I'm hoping that INON releases an adapter for the Canon housing. I currently have one on my IXUS SD780 housing and it's rock solid.

Ouch. 59 Euros? (~$90) May as well buy the Ikelite case for the cost of adding this to the Canon case. Price difference is only $40 at that point, for a better-made housing.

(I don't think the Canon housings are quite as bad as Nemrod suggests but I certainly agree the Ikelite cases are more robust)

 

[penti]

I'm not sure where to buy it, I've only found a few online shops listing Dyron gear... I

You can buy Dyron stuff online on their website : Plongimage - Plongimage - photographie sous-marine : caissons étanches, flash, accessoires...

But as Compudude says with the current euro / dollar exchange rate and shipping costs it doesn't sound that interesting to go for a Canon + M 67 adapter and unless you already have a Canon case I'd rather advise to go Ike directly...

I'm interested in the S90 which seems to be close to offer the performances of a G11 in a compact case (a precious feature for the traveller). However I'm concerned about vignetting as I would like to keep using my Inon WAL (I have an UWL100 + dome).

Someone from Dyron told me that Inon lsnses would vignette with any 28mm camera, as they are too old and were not designed for 28mm cameras.

He added that Dyron WALs don't vignette at all with the Canon case, but this still has to be proven, and we have to wait to get first results with the Ikelite case.

So I'm waiting for solutions - do you guys who had the Ikelite case in hand think there might be a short port solution to reduce vignetting as it successfully done with the Powershot Axxx series and G9 ? Is there room to -if you renounce to zooming- get the port closer to the lens ?

 

[Nemrod]

You can buy Dyron stuff online on their website : Plongimage - Plongimage - photographie sous-marine : caissons étanches, flash, accessoires...

But as Compudude says with the current euro / dollar exchange rate and shipping costs it doesn't sound that interesting to go for a Canon + M 67 adapter and unless you already have a Canon case I'd rather advise to go Ike directly...

I'm interested in the S90 which seems to be close to offer the performances of a G11 in a compact case (a precious feature for the traveller). However I'm concerned about vignetting as I would like to keep using my Inon WAL (I have an UWL100 + dome).

Someone from Dyron told me that Inon lsnses would vignette with any 28mm camera, as they are too old and were not designed for 28mm cameras.

He added that Dyron WALs don't vignette at all with the Canon case, but this still has to be proven, and we have to wait to get first results with the Ikelite case.

So I'm waiting for solutions - do you guys who had the Ikelite case in hand think there might be a short port solution to reduce vignetting as it successfully done with the Powershot Axxx series and G9 ? Is there room to -if you renounce to zooming- get the port closer to the lens ?

The lens port arrangement looks similar to most Ikelite cases. On my Ikelite case for the 570 I removed the port, a friend with a mill cut it shorter. This allowed me to use the smaller AD lenses without vignetting. It turned into a huge project that I would not do again. Warning, this is a good way to ruin a case, I came very close to doing so. Even a few MMs is often enough. This is probably not a workable solution for most people.

I believe the Inon 100WAL with dome will work with the Ikelite/S90. Even if you have to crop the photo slightly you should still have a FOV around 110 plus degrees. Ikelite says on their website the 67mm lenses will work with slight vignetting.

Regarding my comment on the Canon housing, it was somewhat unfair, I have had good service with my Canon case, other than having to take it apart and replace the springs and a few O rings. You know, just once I would like something I don't have to re-engineer.

What if Inon, like S&S etc, what if they put their own camera out or a housing for the S90 with a built in AD port and corrector lens. Could only wish.

N

 

[dogdrjohn]

I"m not sure how much it matters, but I was looking at my new S-90 (No housing yet) and playing with the zoom and noted that at full wide (28mm?) the lens is NOT fully extended. On my old Sony P100 and P150 cameras, the lens is fully extended at the full wide setting. I am assuming that this may be part of the problem with WA lenses on ANY housing for this camera - too much distance from camera lens-to-port-to-WA lens. Is this right? If so, the short port may be the only solution, limiting zoom capability underwater, but with the WA lens zooming may not be that important anyway. I am interested in the Dyron WA lenses if they ever make it to the USA at a decent price, and if what they claim is true, but both of those are open questions at this time.
John

 

[CompuDude]

I"m not sure how much it matters, but I was looking at my new S-90 (No housing yet) and playing with the zoom and noted that at full wide (28mm?) the lens is NOT fully extended. On my old Sony P100 and P150 cameras, the lens is fully extended at the full wide setting. I am assuming that this may be part of the problem with WA lenses on ANY housing for this camera - too much distance from camera lens-to-port-to-WA lens. Is this right? If so, the short port may be the only solution, limiting zoom capability underwater, but with the WA lens zooming may not be that important anyway. I am interested in the Dyron WA lenses if they ever make it to the USA at a decent price, and if what they claim is true, but both of those are open questions at this time.
John

I'm not certain of the details of the optics involved, but from from what I've gathered, there are two kinds of cameras: Those where the lens is extended fully in the widest position, and those where the lens is retracted fully in the widest position.

I think the usual situation is cameras with especially long zoom lenses tend to have housings that accommodate the most extended position, which messes things up the rest of the time with a port that's far from the end of the lens in the normal shooting position.

I could be wrong on this, but that's pretty much the picture I've gathered.

 

[marmagi]

auto mode sucks on the canon S90 ? damn how can that be? this is very strange

 

[marmagi]

how much zooming is needed to eliminate vigneting? if not so much zooming is needed then its not too bad, off course much better if there was no vigneting

 

[penti]

I am assuming that this may be part of the problem with WA lenses on ANY housing for this camera - too much distance from camera lens-to-port-to-WA lens. Is this right? If so, the short port may be the only solution, limiting zoom capability underwater, but with the WA lens zooming may not be that important anyway.

Yes, you're right. Distance is the problem, it was solved with the short port fo the Ike cases for the Canon A series and G9 (sems not to be sufficient in the G10 and 11 cases anyway). Wonder if they can make a shorter port for the S90, if it's for the benefit of a wider FOV I don't care for zooming and am ready to renounce to it.

I am interested in the Dyron WA lenses if they ever make it to the USA at a decent price, and if what they claim is true, but both of those are open questions at this time.

Well, for the question of price just check their website... Their lenses cost around 290 euros, which is around $ 430... Don't know if it's decent compared to other manufacturer prices in the US...

The other question IS more opened, as they made exactly the same claim for their lenses on the G10 with short port and it came up completely false (picture examples taken with a G10 in Ikelite using a short port + the DY67WA24 WAl : http://www.nikidive.com/public/medias/Photos/Evenements/2009/2009-02-02%20Test%20G10/TestPiscine/28mm-85cm-G10_WA24.jpg http://www.nikidive.com/public/medias/Photos/Evenements/2009/2009-02-02%20Test%20G10/822-28mm-G10%2B67WA24.jpg

So I'd say... wait and see the results of tests before making up your mind...

 

[penti]

how much zooming is needed to eliminate vigneting? if not so much zooming is needed then its not too bad, off course much better if there was no vigneting

35mm for most WALs according to Ryan