I just received my new flat port for my 105mm and notice that this port is made of several pieces glued between themself, I guess this made easier the enssamble process when flat ports are made, becuase mine look like a 60mm base, glued to an extension ring wich is glued to a final front port... I have no doubt that this is a super mega glue, water and pressure resistant and tested, but I must confess looks little scary... So I wonder how other manufacturers ports are made? are one solid piece or have this attach pieces system too?

P.S.: I try mine this weekend with a little fear of my heart... but trusting in Ike´s quality control.

Aquatica's ports use extensions for different lenses:
105mm af-d = flat port used for 60mm + an extension ring (one more o-ring to worry about)
17-35mm af-s = 8" dome port + an extension ring

Many plastic glues actually fuse/weld the two plastic parts together. Making them as strong as a single piece of the same size.

The system Aquatica use is based on two ports, a flat for macro and an 8" dome for wide angle, then you ad the extension, if needed, for the lens in use, it make for a compact, lightweight and reliable system that remain affordable. The macro port from Aquatica has a built in focus knob allowing manual focusing of the complete range of macro lenses from Canon as well as Nikon (including the monster 105mm VR), In Aquatica's case it is made of aluminum, but weither they are made of Metal, Acrylic, Delrin or Lexan, macro ports have proven themselve to be reliable and trouble free.

Has a rule the maker of your port will have it tested in harsher than reality condition to make sure you have an enjoyable dive trip

Regards

It may be a failure point, but it's so unlikely as to be ignored. Your are far more likely to flood (1) through the back, (2) through the port/hsg junction, (3) through control penetrations, or (4) through the strobe connections.

I'd be surprised (and interested) to hear if anyone has ever flooded through the glued connections on the port.

Chris

Worry not. These things have been around a long time, made this very same way. They can take quite a beating, too.

Yep, I agree with the above, I've used one for a long time and didn't have any problem.

It should be easy enough for Ikelite to make a flat port like this for his 8" dome port system. Come up with a combination that uses one of the existing port extensions (preferably the 12-24mm or 10.5mm lens extension) plus some extension length built into the port to match the 60mm lens. Then create an extension length that matches the 105mm VR for this port. This extension would need to widen at the base to accommodate a focus clamp for this wide lens then neck down again to fit the port thread. This way the 8" dome port system would accommodate all the important UW lenses with only 2 ports and 3 extensions.

Sadly, when Ikelite revamped their 8" port system page they pulled the teaser line that hinted at a flat port. I wonder if its still on the agenda.