Got in the pool for the first time last night with my D200 and new Nexus housing, Inon 45 degree finder and Z240's. My thoughts:-

After expecting the rig to be heavier than my old Nexus Master, I was pleasantly surprised. With neoprene covers on the strobes and port and a couple of small foam sleeves on my ultralight arms it was only slightly negative and easy to hold one handed for the 90 minutes or so.

Optical TTL (a first for me) worked very well (shooting a Nik 60mm). Exposures very consistent (as per the histogram) and after 100 shots with the internal strobe firing (a previous concern), battery was still over half full.

Finder takes a little getting used to i.e. positioning your head correctly, but the large image and the fact that I get no bubbles hitting the housing - which used to annoy me at times - was fantastic. In fact it took me a while to realise there were no bubbles and I didn't have to move my head away.

I missed not having a focus lock control but then I use macro ports with MF control and don't see a problem with wideangle anyway.

Really wish there were a control for single/continuous AF though.

Inon strobes (first use for me) I found OK, but the controls were a little fiddly, especially when the strobes were positioned close to the camera body when shootong macro with this lens. But this shouldn't be so much of an issue with the 105+ or wideangle.

Overall, it exceeded my expectations & I would seriously considering this housing/strobe combination if in the market. Roll on the next trip......

Hi Andy,

Good to hear you are liking your new equipment. The D-200 is an outstanding camera and appears to be happy in its new home.

Regarding the optical TTL, it seems that this is going to be the way of the new world. All but a few pro cameras now have a pop-up flash and do not require a work around circuitry, bulk head connectors and wired cords.

Are your strobes fired from one dual optical cable and how do you rate the system againts your past dual cord systems? Did you fine the recycle time of the pop-up flash slow compaired to the twin Z-240's? Do you see any heat issues using the internal strobe?

From this limited test, the recycle time was a non issue - keeping in mind that I was shooting apertures 11 to 32 but not full dumps, on a couple of ocassionsa I fired off up to five repeated 'single frames' and in each time recycle was instantaneous and exposure identical. Which is way better than my old corded Sea & Sea strobes could perform.

I was using dual cords as the housing offers two 'ports' for them. Cables, as has been noted elsewhere, are a pain as they are not as flexible or forgiving as their cabled cousins. They always want to bunch up and tangle, but I was changing strobes from horizontal to vertical formats repeatedly and I guess it wasn't a major issue. The cords seem quite robust which is reassuring - and if that is the case I'd say the optical cords will offer reliability advantages over electrical cords.

As for heat build up, I couldn't tell if that was a problem. I'd guess it might be if you were shooting rapidly and continuously at full power, but that's not a typical shooting style. I'd guess that with less than full dumps the heat would dissipate quite quick. It may be easier to see any affects if when the water and surroundings were colder. At the end of the day though, water on a metal housing is a very effective heat dissipator.

I think there are pros and cons to this system. It is an easy one to install for a housing manufacturer. I don't like the fact that the battery is draining a little faster than I'd like, but if I can shoot a couple of hundred frames between charges that isn't likely to be an issue for me. I also don't like the fact that with the internal flash firing into a dome port, the reflections will be picked up (I'd still like to shoot medium length lenses in TTL from behind my dome). And of course, if you forget to raise the flash before you dive you're screwed.

I'm waiting delivery of the Sea & Sea TTL converter and based on the success of this will determine which my primary system will be. The nice thing is the optical TTL will always be there as a backup if I do opt for the corded solution as a primary.

Hi Andy, thanks for the review - I've managed to resist upgrading to this set-up so far but this has made that job a little more difficult!



Could you not change the mode on the camera so that the flash pops up automatically?

Cheers,

Tim

Tim, one of the many custom modes I may not have considered useful and mentally discarded. I'll check it out as I'm sure to make that mistake one day- thanks....

Honestly, it is a good set up - but not cheap. I resisted upgrading from film until now. Without getting into a debate about that, I am very happy with the quality and usability of this set up. As said, it has exceeded my expectations by far.

hi guys,

i can confirm what andy says about the optical TTL. i am using a INON X2 housing with INON strobes. i can confirm that the ttl works fine. using these cables quite a while now ... and am quite happy with them. they just cannot fail.
concerning the not popped up flash ... in my housing ui have control to pop the flash out AND in. quite usefull ... because i also forget sometimes to pop it up.
since i have it now, i've seen already quite a lot of traditionall cords fail ... it is quite good not to worry about this anymore.

greets, serge

Doesn't look like it can be done on the D200. It was possible to get it to pop up on my old D70.

Anybody know if it is in a custom setting somewhere?

for popping up the flash maybe you could try to switch the camera to automatic mode and focus on something that will underexpose without flash (shouldnt be so difficult to find under water) ... then the flash should pop up. then just switch back to manual and dive. give it a try ... normally that should work fine.

serge

Hi Andy,

Glad you like it.

Re: the viewfinder, i always twist mine so it faces down when on a trip as this prevents the sun going through the optics and potentially burning the camera inside. It also prevents a little pool of cater collecting in the eyepiece - when that evaporates it may leave scale nackering the viewfinder.

With my nexus i have started carrying a little lp air blower thingy (about £8) to blow the water out of the crack between the perspex back and housing as if you are in a hard water area, scale can collect there and pit the housing around the seal which cant be good.

I know all the blah blah stories about never using a compressed air on your housing but i used one everyday on my photo and video housings for years and never had any problems.. I wouldn't recommend it on a point and shoot housing though

Thanks for the tips Si. The water collecting in the finder is a tad annoying - good idea. Shame there wasn't a drain hole.

ANdy

Regarding the use of S&S TTL converter - make sure that you isolate the camera from the housing, including the threads on the mounting thumb screw. There is an electrolysis issue with this combination. Tried the converter with my D70 housing & it wasn't happy. Stainless connector on the converter attached to the aluminum bulkhead on the housing with a battery in the circuit isn't good.

The Sea & Sea TTL converter corrodes even on a Sea & Sea housing (I spent a happy evening on Mabul with THREE photographers trying to free-up a seized unit...). I'm saving my pennies to upgrade my Z200s to Z240s (the difficulty with being ahead of the game in being an early-adopter of inon strobes!) and go optical TTL. In the meantime manual Inon-tweaking is still working well in difficult situations, like this one: looking downwards at 52m in the Sudan:

Click to view attachment

Tim

More: I forgot a week of cold-water diving in St Abbs, Berwick, Scotland with my D200!

Probably because of hypothermia: my ten-year-old drysuit is now very soggy, and the British summer has not helped with rain, winds and floods.

My D200 performed well in decidedly sub-optimal conditions. I have been using two UK miniQ40s as focus lights, and they caused my only problem: the shoe on the Nexus housing looks like a standard hot-shoe element and is held onto the mounting plate by four small screws that stripped the threads on the shoe itself. I've fixed the shoe with two aluminium flanges, and a little epoxy putty. The flanges are held in place beneath the mounting plate with pressure from the sturdy screws that hold the plate onto the housing itself:

Click to view attachment

And the results?

Click to view attachment Click to view attachment Click to view attachment

Tim

Even more:

I don't have the angle finder; it looks like a weak point to me. I also don't think that it be found in the UK: I believe that it isn't actually made by Nexus/Anthis.

Is it tougher than it looks?

Tim

The 45 degree finder is made by Inon and is being used by Sea & Sea, Light & Motion, SeaTool and others. It appears to be holding up very well from the reports I have heard and read.

Phil Rudin

The finder is available from Ocean Optics. I spent some time playing with it on the day I picked my housing up and although it looks 'prone', it is well fitted and I believe quite robust. I had the same concerns. As soon as you see image in the finder though, you may be sold on it.....

I am concerned to hear about eltrolysis problems with the converter on Sea & Sea housings. I though that couldn't happen as they shared the same polarity ground. Not what I want to hear when I've just purchased one. Do you have any more details on that Tim? I hope if that is the case that they'll be recalled or replaced/upgraded in the future....

The TTL unit wasn't mine, I'm pleased to say. This guy ( Keith Ellenbogen ) was making a study of the impact of diving and fishing on conservation in Sipadan.

Click to view attachment

He was getting major electrolysis corrosion because Sea & Sea's recent cables and connectors combine aluminium alloy and non-ferrous components. [edited by Wetpixel, 9/4/07]

The answer seems to be having to strip down the unit every day, wash and lubricate it. A German photographer told me that SeaCam supply the best lubricant and also do a really useful penetrating oil to free up seized threads (I think that it's a secret that SeaCam owners are sworn never to reveal).

Tim



PS Steve told me last year that he didn't do the angle finder!!

He He - Steve told me he didn't do the finder either. Then my housing came with one! Apparently it's now a statndard option from Nexus. The finder is marked up as Anthis and when I queried if it was Inon manufactured, he reckoned that the Inon ones were actually made by Anthis i.e. Nexus.

Anyhow, it provides a great image. Thanks for the info. on the S&S converter.

Andy

I have just bought a Nexus d200, 10-17FE and 12-24mm

Hello Andy H,
What dome are you using with your 10-17, is it sharp corner to corner?

Could the housing flood with the accessory viewfinder. I found the corner to corner viewing disappointing after my nexus master but I am also concerned about its vunerability on dive boats.

What dome are people using for the 12-24 with the nexus d200? Sharp corners?

Thanks
mary

Hi Mary,
I have the 170 but am still awaiting delivery of the 10-17 FE. I'm reliably informed that it's sharp with that dome....

As for the finder, it has a double o-ring seal and feels robustly fitted but I'll be taking more care than normal when handling the rig, passing it on/off the boat and storing it during the ride. I guess it's possible it could flood thru the finder but I'm not sure how well it's sealed internally to prevent that i.e. a flood in the finder seeping thru into the housing. It does appear well made and a number of people on this forum are using them now with so far, no bad reports. Otherwise it would take a major accident to physically remove the finder and cause a flood. I did have similar concerns but the size/quality of the finder image surpasses the old F90 and is more akin to when I viewed an F4 some years back.

Regards,
Andy

Well that's done it. I just happened to wander into Dixons in the tax free area of Heathrow's T4 the other day and spotted the d200 body and a whole host of lenses. Not long later I walked out with a body and the 18-200lens ready to take photos in Chicago. Price? To good to be true for the UK thats for sure!

I haven't told my wife yet.

Now, how to get a Nexus housing without her noticing (or my bank manager for that matter!) Anybody feel like donating one?

Well, I only have a Nexus D80, but I'll add my two bits. Maiden voyage for this rig was Bayan Bay in April. I used 2 Inon Z240s with and optical link in sTTL most of the time. The bay was usually mucky at that time, so I did only close ups and macro. The sTTL was right on; only requiring normal extra dark or light back ground adjustments. I used the +/- adjustments in the camera and left the strobes in STOL. The rig still had plenty of juice after taking 300+ shots.

Pros: D80 has all the controls and features I need. Small and compact. Optical connections - no corrosion and minimal maintenance. Z240 - plenty of power & excellent sTTL.

Cons: The viewfinder (both of them) suck big time. I wish Toshi would redesign and retro fit.

I have had corrosion problems with Nikonos and Nexus housing using Ikelite strobe. I think they ground thought the housing. I used zinc plates to minimize this problem.

Has any one tried the Sigma 18-50 mm f2.8 macro (well sort of at 1:3) in the Nexus housing - either dome or flat port. If so, what zoom gear, extension, and ports?