underwater housing for D50

[niaewn]

anyone know about housing for nikon D50?
Im thinking about ikelite and sea&sea for the housing, but size matters to me, may I know if somebody already have one of these housing?
or maybe somebody know about both of the housing?and already compare both?

which one smaller and easier to used?

thank you ..

nia

 

[JamieS]

Nia,

I just bought a D50 and am going to buy the Sea and Sea housing soon. I like the Sea and Sea over the Ike mainly because the sea and sea is made specifically for this camera. Ike make quality housings for lots of cameras, but they are all very similar. Ike has a few sizes of generic "boxes" that the camera fits in. Then they make the controls fit to the camera. Having a housing that is built around one camera allows it to be smaller as it is built like a glove around that camera.

The DX-50 housing (sea and sea)

Dimensions (WxHxD) : 320x183x135mm / 12.6x7.2x5.3inch
Weight: Approx. 2,500g / 87.5oz (housing only)​

The Ikelite housing from their website:

The dSLR housing measures 9.5" wide including knobs; 13.25" wide with removable handle and tray assembly attached.

The dSLR housing measures 6.75" high; 8" high with removable handle and tray assembly attached.

The dSLR housing without a port measures 6.5" deep including knobs and port lock assemblies.

A housing complete with removable handle and tray assembly weighs 7.15 pounds without port, or about 8 pounds with port.​

sorry Ike only has measurements in inches on their Website

But that makes it
12.6 to 13.25 Wide
7.2 to 8 Tall
5.3 to 6.5 Deep

So, Yes the Sea and Sea is smaller in volume by about 40% and lighter by more than 30%. (housing only, no ports)

Is that worth the difference in price, that's up to you.
US retail prices give Ikelite the advantage by a little bit. $1400 vs. the Sea and Sea for $1800 That's almost 30%.

I give the Edge to the Sea and Sea. But, I also have lots of their strobes and have always liked their stuff.

Besides, I think the aluminium housing looks cooler than the polycarbonate clear housing from Ike.

Good luck deciding, hope this helped at least a little.

Jamie.

Ike housing

DX-50

 

[ssra30]

I have not played with either housing but have used Sea and Sea and Ikelite housing in the past. Sea and Sea is aluminium only on the front segment. The rear segment is polycarbonate.
Sea and Sea port system is also significantly more expensive than Ikelite so don't forget to budget in the port system cost as well.
If you need TTL function then Ikelite would be the way to go, as long as you also use Ikelite strobe.
If you have problem with housing, I found Ikelite a lot easier to deal with than Sea and Sea.
I agree that for me, Sea and Sea looks nicer and the more compact housing is a plus but only you can decide if it is worth the extra money or not. Both will let you take equally good pictures.

 

[niaewn]

thank you for all the info jamie and ssra30, its so informative.
I will think about it with all the considerations ( but like jamie , i think im more interested in sea and sea housing )

about the substrobe ssra30, yes im thinking about buying ikelite, but the sales said that i cant used the TTL with the housing sea and sea

with your experience , do you think the newest sea and sea YS 110 (or the YS series) dont have the TTL function? or they have?only ikelite have it?
because yes, TTL its important for me.

thank you guys
Nia

 

[ssra30]

The only way you can have i-TTL function with Sea and Sea housing is if you house a Nikon SB800 flashgun (Subal and Sealux make housing for this) or use Subtronic strobe (significantly more expensive) which has a built in i-TTL converter. You will also have to have the factory rewire the bulkhead with all 5 pins connected for iTTL operation (the factory default only have the trigger and ground wire connected which is fine for manual strobe). Sea and Sea and Ikelite strobe will not work in i-TTL on its own. Ikelite housing has a built in i-TTL decoder that is compatible with Ikelite strobe. Aquatica also has built in TTL decoder available for its housing but it does not support D50.
Inon has something called s-TTL or something like that but I am not sure how that would work exactly and my
divebuddy never managed to get her to work properly on D70.

I am a big fan of Ikelite strobe and have the DS125 for a few years and just recently got the DS200. I never tried the YS110 but I definitely would not trade the DS125 for the YS90.

With digital camera, TTL is not exactly essential as it won't work all that well in some situation underwater. I think it is just as easy to learn to shoot manual and adjust the strobe with the instant feedback.

 

[RonFrank]

But that makes it
12.6 to 13.25 Wide
7.2 to 8 Tall
5.3 to 6.5 Deep

So, Yes the Sea and Sea is smaller in volume by about 40% and lighter by more than 30%. (housing only, no ports)

I think your math is a bit (or way) off. The dimensions you are using include the width of the handles. It is impossible to determine volume of either as they are not square boxes, and handles do not equal internal volume. The Ikelite would have to be close to twice the size to have 50% more volume, so 40% more volume is not accurate.

Comparing the weight the Ikelite weight includes the tray, and handles, the Sea&Sea listed weight is the housing only, no handles or trays. Again the comparison is not accurate, and certainly not in the 30% range.

Reef photo sells the Ikelite housing for $1250, and the Sea and Sea for $1700.

The Sea and Sea will support iTTL with the Heinrichs adapter, but that will add $300 to the cost of the kit.

I agree that Alum housing are a bit sleeker, and look cooler. Looking cooler is not important, and I can find no evidence that the alum housings are any less flood proof vs. Ike's. Get Insurance!

Watching the reaction by some divers when a photographer brings on board a DSLR and strobe combination... well lets just say they are not thinking cool. They wondering where is my PnS going to fit in the rinse bucket, or thinking look at that monster, how obnoxious! :lol:

If you want to see a comparison on Ike vs. Alum housing size go http://www.ikelite.com/web_two/2d200nikon.html
and at the bottom there is a compare size window that will bring up a pop up comparing two D70 housings.

I think a lot of people find all sorts of reasons to justify their decisions. I would love a sexy expensive housing, but objectively reviewing a lot of data on all these housing Ike wins hands down IMO for four reasons, price, iTTL built in functionality that works, service, price.

If I could find data that proved that alum housings were less prone to flooding, I'd consider spending the extra bucks. However what seems to be true is that flooding is generally user error, and taking good care of the orings and inspecting all seals seems to be what will help prevent a flood vs. who manufactured the housing.

 

[JamieS]

Ron,

I don't think my math is way off, just the way we both interpret what makes the size of a housing.

Yes, the numbers I quoted for measurements included the handles. But, this is how most people will pack the camera for traveling. The handles can be taken off of both the housings for packing. This will make both of them smaller.

As far as weight, well, yes the weight I quoted for the Ike housing includes the tray and handles, but the weight for the Sea and Sea also includes the handles (no tray needed). I believe comparing the weights of two things in the way they will be used is a fair comparison. I didn't add port weights because I didn't look hard enough to find them. So, comparing 7.15 pounds (Ike with tray and handles and no port) to 5.47 pounds (S&S with handles and no port {87.5 oz divided by 16 oz per pound}) is about a 30% weight difference. 5.47 times 1.30 equals 7.111. I think that is a fair comparison. Also, that 1.68 pound difference can be one more lens in your bag while flying. The popular Nikon 12-24 mm lens weighs 1.1 pounds, so add that to the sea and sea housing and it still weighs less than the Ike with no lenses.

I agree with you, anyone can justify their choices in many different ways. Maybe I missed it, but I didn't see anyone in this thread mention flooding differences between any housings. I have flooded aluminum SLR housings, plastic point and shoot cameras, strobes, etc. And, yes, it was usually user error. I have had a chance to hold and work with the S&S housing and its controls are well placed and very easy to use. I can't speak for the Ike because I have never held one.

So, Make a choice and go diving. I ordered my Sea and Sea housing today and should be in the ocean with it in about 2 weeks.

Jamie.

 

[RonFrank]

Hi James,

I think you have made a great decision on a housing. I don't want to get into a pissing match, but the sea and sea weight you quote from their site does not include the handles, and that will make a difference. The Ike is also not 40% larger no matter how you do the math with or without handles.

In any event, Ike often takes a beating because many point out the housing is so large. I agree it's larger. Does less than an inch in all dimensions make much of a difference? IMO not really, and ALL DSLR housing are rather huge.

If size is that important, then IMO choose a different route vs. a DSLR. I am just suggesting that IMO size should likey not be the primary consideration as we are just not talking that much difference.

For myself with the D200 it's a no brainer. Ike housing $1385, everything else is $2500+

 

[Darnold9999]

Where are you getting the $1,385 price for the Ike housing. I am considering the D200 and trying to work out all the bits and pieces I need to buy.

Thanks

 

[kidsdream]

If you want to see a comparison on Ike vs. Alum housing size go http://www.ikelite.com/web_two/2d200nikon.html
and at the bottom there is a compare size window that will bring up a pop up comparing two D70 housings.

I think a lot of people find all sorts of reasons to justify their decisions. I would love a sexy expensive housing, but objectively reviewing a lot of data on all these housing Ike wins hands down IMO for four reasons, price, iTTL built in functionality that works, service, price.

If I could find data that proved that alum housings were less prone to flooding, I'd consider spending the extra bucks. However what seems to be true is that flooding is generally user error, and taking good care of the orings and inspecting all seals seems to be what will help prevent a flood vs. who manufactured the housing.

Having just bought a DSLR housing (a Subal for my D200) you left out a few very important factors to consider.

1. Ergonomics and ease of use. The Ike housing controls do not provide nearly the same level of feedback and require a lot of finesse when loading the camera.

2. Balance in the water. If you do not go to a variation of the UCLS handles with the Ike, you are adding a lot of weight and less flexibility as the arms need to be cranked down to hold the large DS strobes. The handles are part of cost of a S & S, Nexus or Subal package.

3. The Ike Sync cords and conections are subject to a high failure and fall-out rates.

4. The large DS (excluding the 50's) strobes produce outstanding output, but are huge, heavy and require a big charger and unique battery packs.

All that being said the Ike price point is quite competetive. But I don't know anybody who has a Aquatica, Nexus or Subal that would ever go back to an Ike.

Of course these are just my opinions.