Check out the new housing on the Nauticam USA website. Look close, there is a lot new here. You can also read about it in the latest UWP magazine.

It should be noted that the images look computer generated. First deliveries set for Feb.

Cheers,
Steve

Man, that looks really nice Steve - I can't wait to try one. I like the way they have paid close attention to the video ergonomics. And that port mount design is wow!

Cheers
James

I just posted this press release to our front page (includes a bunch of photos):
http://wetpixel.com/i.php/full/nauticams-n...r-canon-eos-7d/

Really sweet engineering from the new kid on the block. I had a chance to handle one of their housings at DEMA and the port mount design is indeed cool and the cushy handles are a nice feature. Too bad I bought the 5D MK II right before they announced the 7D. Does anyone know if they will have an adapter to handle Sea & Sea ports?

Yes they do, second item on this page:

http://www.nauticam.com.au/products/extens...tors/index.html

I'll be using Subal ports when mine gets here late this month/early next month.

Guess we'll have to get 3 D glasses to get a real "feel" with the dCAD images provided...LOL I can't wait to get my hands on one and see how each control works. I wished the images explained the corresponding knob with 7D camera control. Which knob/dial operates what camera function?

Lots of innovative design features. Bravo!

Who will be first on a user report for this housing?

Bo

I should have one for testing in a week or two. Also, Tony Wu and I will be using them at the Night Safari Lembeh in late Feb / early Mar.

Take great notes Eric, there are a bunch of us trying to decide between the Aquatica and the new Nauticam. Not to mention what Sea & Sea comes out with.

Thanks!
Steve

Or Subal!

Phil

The o-ring sealing surface is exactly the same on both Sea & Sea NX/DX/MDX and Nauticam housings. Any Sea & Sea port that has the plastic bayonet ring held on by 16 screws can be adapted to a Nauticam housing with a replacement bayonet part.

It looks like there is no way to mount a single modeling light in the center of the top of the housing because of the clasp being where the hot shoe would be. Is there a way, or will it have to be mounted on one side or the other?

I much prefer having the modeling light dead in the center, much easier to aim instinctively.

There is a mount on the compact port base for attaching a focus light:



In the 3D CAD renderings posted earlier in this thread it is the black bit on the port just below the Nauticam logo on the housing. A ULCS AD-HS - Hot shoe adapter with ball should fit in this nicely and allow you to attach a focus light in line with the centre of the camera:

That truly is brilliant. Does it come with a cool yellow hand strap too?

Seriously, I'm thinking this is the way to go for me. I'm still slightly concerned about all the new buttons and such (piano keys, etc.). How much operational testing has the housing been through? Does any body know?

Cheers,
Steve

Doesn't look like they have a handstrap available for any of their housings. My Subal hand strap will have to modified again to fit their handles (it was previously modified to fit the ULCS handles on my current Subal housing).

Excellent Gudge. Thanks.

Steve,

I know they have been testing the units in the field and making changes off the feedback which is why the housings were delayed a few weeks from initial launch. There are supposed to be two housings going out for intense field testing anyday now. Once that is done, they will make any final changes based off the recommendations and tests before starting shipping of the production models.

I believe the latest estimate for delivery is now first week of February.

Does the replacement part preserve the same camera to port distance as in a Sea&Sea housing? I think it is important for certain lens/port combinations...

One more question, are the strobe arms designed to be attached to the handles or to the threaded holes on the housing itself? Ir either one?

If either one, what are the advantages of one attachment point vs the other?

Yes, they do.



Since the handles are plastic, they can be a bit springy with big strobes, so I'd put YS-250 or DS-160 on the housing mounts. With smaller strobes, the rig can be set up however you'd like.

Ryan just sent me this photo of the first Nauticam 7D prototype:

That looks lovely. I really want to have a play with one now.

Thanks Ryan! The pics are getting me salivating. I love the professional black, my favorite . Can't wait to get my hands on those controls.

Can anyone show us some detail on the implementation of the multicontroller on the back in some detail? Looks like a 4 quadrant button/switch on some kind.

One other question; How do the extension rings attach to the ports. If the ports require the new locking cam, (which sounds great ) is there a seperate threaded section too or ?

Oh one more, when can I get one?

Steve

The Nauticam website links to a PDF (look on the extension rings page) that demonstrates how the extension rings attach to dome ports. There is a locking mechanism in the extension to connect it to the port securely. The other observation/question I would have is that it looks to me that extension rings cannot be shared between macro and dome parts.

Hey, guys. I updated the front page post with much larger images:
http://wetpixel.com/i.php/full/nauticam-fi...sing-prototype/

There are two different types of extension rings available from Nauticam... here's the differences and uses:

- Locking Extensions:
These show up in the Nauticam nomenclature as, for example, "Extension Ring xx", where the xx indicates the length in millimeters. The locking port extensions work with all of the Nauticam domes, plus the dedicated Macro 60 port and Macro 105 port... plus they work with the port adapters, so you could use them with your Subal or Ikelite, etc port. They use a locking bayonet, the same bayonet that the housing port attachment uses. The extension bayonets have a small locking lever. Since these rings can be used with both macro and dome ports, I can see them getting used a lot.

- Threaded Extensions:
These show up in the Nauticam nomenclature as, for example "Compact Port Extension xx", where the xx again indicates length in millimeters. These extensions work in conjunction the Standard Port Base plus a Compact Port. This is a flexible and lightweight solution, but does not work with the dome ports nor the Macro 60 or Macro 105 ports. The compact port and extensions are threaded. The Standard Port Base is threaded on the outboard side, and has the bayonet on the inboard side as above. Using different sized extensions, you can cover a lot lenses, but since these only support the flat port, you won't get the wider lenses with this setup. The main advantage here is the lighter weight. The extension rings are less money than the locking version above, but I think when you factor in the cost of the two piece port it is pretty much a wash.

Unless the weight is a primary consideration or you have a lot of different lenses that need a flat port, I'm leaning towards recommending the first approach. Hope that helps...

Chris

Does anybody have the weight and dimensions of the housing handy? I'm upgrading from the XTi/Seatool and I'm curious how much weight and bulk this is going to add to my kit.

The 7D by itself is quite a lump next to the XTi.

Thanks Lute and Chris for the info. I dug around and found the link showing how the Extension ring locks in. It's here ; http://www.nauticam.com/images/product/p_50.pdf

So the extension ring locks to the port and then gets locked to the housing with the lever/ring. That's very cool. No more worrying about the big dome twisting off and flooding the camera.

I think I followed you Chris, thanks! but I'm really a visual kind of guy and I was wondering when the Canon port chart would be coming out. I'm thinking that for a lot of us who already have existing posts we might only need to get the adaptors if we decide to go with the Nuaticam.

Cheers,
Steve

Thank you! Now I can read the various control functions.

Salivating and now anxious to see and hold the real thing.

Bo

I had posted this question in a different thread.. the wrong thread... so here it is again... thanks

Did'nt they have an assessory camera housing strap on the web site... I thought I saw it the other day, its gone now..

Just wanted to see what it looked like and how it works... I'm suprised more houseing manufacturers don't have these
straps..

Is this what you mean?:


Pretty simple and works well. On my subal I had something very similar (homemade yet still crude and unrefined :-). I'll probably replace one of the shackles with a bolt snap on mine so I can clip the housing to me when doing things that need two hands. For example shooting an smb.

Chris

I think what Dixter means is the hand strap on the right grip of the Subals, it's not meant as a carry strap, more of something that holds the camera to you while shooting. You don't need a death grip on the housing say to shoot 1 handed.

S.

As far as I know, we don't have the grip strap like on the Subal's.

Yet. :-)

Chris,
I was wondering when the Canon port chart would be coming out. It's hard to mentally put a 7D system together without it.

Cheers,
Steve

Hi Steve,

We have a working version here, but it's not quite ready for public consumption. The chart looks a lot like the Nikon chart, if that helps any, and the real one should be out very soon. I'll post/blog/facebook etc once I have it available.

Both the Nikon and Canon charts will be a work in progress. We're trying to hit all of the major lenses immediately, and then picking up others as we go. Looking at the list on your sig, we have you covered. And I will say that we should be able to cover most every reasonable lens you might want to try, even if it does take a custom zoom/focus ring (which we can get made).

Thanks,
Chris

Its looking great Chris, keep up the good work! I cant wait to get these bad boys in my hands!!

@Saudio, As for specs on the housing (correct me if Im wrong Chris) they are not yet released...but will be VERY soon.

If you wait a couple of weeks I can do a side by side comparison with my wife's Seatool/400D rig.

Hey Chris, question about the ports: I'm interested in using a Sigma 17-70, and I understand it needs an extra wide flat port to allow for the zoom extension and still not vignette at the 17mm end. Do you know if such a port is in the works?

Thanks.

PS, I have a 7D housing on order.

In a couple weeks I'll hopefully have them side by side on my desk :-)

As far as I know, Nauticam does not have a plan for a flat wide port, but, one nice thing is that with the range of port adapters we have, you can use one of the existing flat ports (i.e. S&S, Seatool) that might work. Right now none of the 17-70's are on our port charts... which one are you planning on using? What diopter are you planning to use? Are you set on using this in a flat port - would you consider a dome?

This one

I was hoping to use this lens as a substitute for both my Canon 60mm Macro and my Canon 18-55, but I do own and want to use a Subsee 10X with the sigma, so a dome port is not going to work.

Can anyone tell me that, if the Nauticam support INON port and 45 degree viewfinder or not??

i'd like to know that too.

I designed this hand strap for my Sea & sea housing to mimic the ones on the subals. The metal plate was laser cut out of stainless steel and bent to shape and the strap part was stitched up by a local wetsuit shop. I have also designed a similar hand strap for the bigger Gates housing handles. They really make quite a difference.

Mark




Click to view attachment

Can we see a shot from the bottom of the housing? I have to make one of those for mine.

No problem

Click to view attachment


Click to view attachment

Thanks, nice work. A hand strap is hard to do without once you have gotten used to it.

I think Chris posted somewhere that the Inon 45 degree viewfinder can be used on Nauticam housings, but after reading the reports of everyone raving about the Nauticam 180 degree viewfinder I'm going to hold off until Nauticam release their own 45 degree viewfinder because it sounds like it will be significantly better than the Inon - I hope they get it out before I go to Bali at the beginning of May as I want to shoot macro and I need a 45 degree viewfinder for that.

It will take Inon viewfinders with a 32mm barrel. on my one for nexus it has 2 locating pins, that might be an issue. I suspect that as the Nauticam viewfinder is compatible with Sea and Sea housings then any of the Inon viewfinders intended for Sea and Sea will fit the Nauticam.

Nauticam viewfinders are compatible with nearly all housings, however mounting rings are generally necessary for each housing. Currently there are mounting rings for Ikelite, Sea & Sea, Aquatica and Nexus housings.