Seeking advice: Best underwater housing for T3i Rebel

[tmp]

So, I pulled the trigger and invested in a quality DLSR, I LOVE my Canon T3i Rebel. I bought it with the intentions of one day traveling a little lighter and being able to use my camera topside as well as below. I'm looking into housings for it, and I'm getting a lot of different answers (and prices). For those of you with T3i housings, can you tell me what company it is from, price, and how it works for you?.. I'm looking for some feedback before I make the jump and drop a lot of money.. I currently have a Sea and Sea, and a separate strobe with an arm mount that I fully intend on recycling. Any suggestions would be much appreciated!!! Kudos to the dive camera pros out there! :zen:

 

[mjh]

There are three very good choices at their price points.

Ikelite
Great quality at its price point. We consider it a "two handed" housing. Meaning if you want to change settings, zoom you have to take one hand off the handle to manipulate the control. In addition you have to take your eye out of the viewfinder to see what you are doing. Some controls may not engage immediately but the way Ike is designed with a little attention it will work. Many cold-water divers love Ike for their large controls which work well with those who wear heavy gloves. Ike's port system has improved but there are certain lenses they do not support so you want to check on that.
Housings :: DSLR Housings :: Canon Housings :: Ikelite Housing for Canon EOS 600D Digital Rebel T3i -

Sea&Sea
On par with Ikelite for quality. Their controls are a little easier to adjust but like Ike can be a little finicky at time. Being another long standing company their port system can be confusing so again check what lenses you want to shoot. Some feel the smaller design of the housing is more streamline. But overall it is about a tie with Ike. Like Ike costs are kept down by putting controls exactly where they are on the camera so people who wear heavy goves/drygloves can find some of the buttons a bit of an issue to engage.
Housings :: DSLR Housings :: Canon Housings :: Sea & Sea RDX-600D Housing -

Nauticam
Here we have a big jump in quality of materials and engineering. A major difference between Nauticam and the other two is all the controls are at your fingertips and silky smooth. Nauticam spreads the controls out so for those who wear gloves it is much easier to engage the controls, yes you pay for that additional engineering. You can keep your eye in the viewfinder while taking full control of all the cameras functions. They have by far the best port system and able to support just about any lens.
http://www.opticaloceansales.com/ho...cam-na-600d-for-canon-600d-eos-rebel-t3i.html

There are three very good choices at their price points. Again firm up your lens line up. In addition everyone is on a budget. If lighting is part of the consideration, a Ike shooter with two good strobes will shoot rings around someone with a Nauticam housing and just an entry level strobe.

 

[danmarshell]

Ikelite may be the best choice for professional diver need take photos underwater more than 50m(165ft depth), very useful. If you guys just diving amateur do not need diving to more than 40m depth, there is some cheap brand housing for you select, such as Meikon brand T3I housing.

 

[PatW]

TMP,

I have used both the Ikelite and Nauticam housings. The Ikelite housing is an acrylic box with ad hoc controls. It is inexpensive (comparatively) and effective. The control level can be well a bit clunky.

I have the Nauticam housing. The Nauticam housing is made to its particular camera body. The controls are very precise. The housing is more compact than the Ike housing and I believe more robust. The Nauticam housing now can be fitted with a vacuum lock system that tells you when you have a good seal (green light). It tells you when your seal is being lost (amber) and when it is gone (red). So if you have that, the chance of the dreaded flood should be pretty much eliminated. The Nauticam system will set you back about $1,500 more than the Ikelite system but when you add up the costs: housing, strobes, strobe arms, ports and focus lights, the difference between the total cost will not be that great.

Shoot, you are in Chicago. If you can, I would advise you to go to one of the top retailers in underwater photography equipment. You can go to one of these places and handle the equipment. It makes a difference. I have worked with Reef Photo and Video in Fort Lauderdale and they are excellent. Backscatter is in CA and NY. They are good too. There are a couple of others also. Of course, Ikelite is in Indianapolis.