I recently purchased a Canon 10 D and am trying to decide on a housing for it.
Does anyone have any suggestions or comments on one that they either have or have heard about?
Is the Subal really worth the price or can I go with a less expensive manufacturer?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Right now you have a few choices:

Subal
UK-Germany
Jonah
Ikelite (prolly be a coupla months)
Others I can't remember

Those are probably listed in price order from most $$$ to least $$$

When making your choice, some things to think about are: help getting service - local is a plus. Choice of ports for the lenses you use, quality, materails, etc.

HTH
James

PS, probably by the time you decide, Canon will announce a 10D replacement...:-)

Hi Scubajack,

I have a 10D too, and have been using the Jonah housing since November last year. The list above is pretty comprehensive, but one housing you might want to hold out for is the Inon one.

For more information, check the news archive from a couple of months ago -- looks like it might support TTL with Inon strobes, the only housing to do so for the 10D if you believe the Japanese translation.

The INON housing does sound sexy, and I've been waiting with bated breath for it to become available; but, I'm beginning to wonder if it will ever see production.

i know me too!!! i was in contact with mark from inon america some days back and he was saying that an announcement will be imminent. also i think that there is a big camera gig in tokyo this week end (in parallel with pma) where we may get to hear more about it, i hope...
/paul

Having put the Subal C10 housing through 42 dives and over 3000 images, I can highly recommend it. I've shot the EF 15mm FE, EF16-35L, 50mm f2.5 Macro, EF28-105 and Tamron 90mm Macro with it. My strobe setup is 2 S&S YS120 strobes on manual...

Stu

My C10 is finally on its way. I should have it by this weekend, now if I can just find the time to get in the water ;-)

I had the C10 in my hands at the BOOT Exhibition. That is a nice Housing. Very Heavy and very ergonomic ... but awful expensive :-(

Simon

Ewa-marine seems to have not been mentioned on the list of housing manufacturers above. I can guarantee that they make a housing 'suitable' for the 10D, with full eTTl support no less!



I wish aquatica would make a housing. If they have eTTL sorted as is claimed, it wouldn't be hard for them to make a ttl 10D housing.

Otherwise I think Ike may be the best bet for an affordable housing, plus they say they're working on ettl. Who knows, they may have it sorted by the time the 10D housing is released!

Other than that, the available housings seem to be either very expensive or available with somewhat limited support.

Thanks for the advice so far. I priced the subal and jonah housing today and I found the subal for around $4700 and the jonah around $2000.
The only really big difference between the two that I can see is the glass vs. plastic domes. Is it worth the $2700 for glass or is the jonah going to give me what I'm looking for. I'd prefer to save the cash and go with the jonah, but in two months I don't want to regret it and be trying to buy the subal housing anyway.
What do you think?

And does anyone know a cheaper place to purchase the housings?

Acrylic is optically very good - better than most glass, but not "optical glass."

Look at it this way - and this is just my opinion - why pay $4,700 to house a $1,400 camera?????

I would be realistic - how long are you going to be satisfied with the 10D before you want to buy a new model?

That's why I usually recommend buying a "reasonably" priced camera and housing - unless you use the rig to make money (pro).

Cheers
James

PS, not to confuse the issue, but I think you should be able to get the Subal housing for less.

$4700 for the subal looks to expensive.... It is priced around 2900€ (including 16% Sales Tax) here in Germany and I think i is not more expensive in the US.

It is still expensive but not at this levels.

I Just looked at the site of Marine Camera Distribution. They Sell the Subal D60 Housing for 2900$ and Subal sells the D60 and the 10D Housing for the exact same price.

But if I had a 10D yand could wait till April I would buy an I Iklite housing.


Simon

the $4700 is for the complete system - housing, ports and extensions - not just the housing. The housing alone is $2900, but the ports are what really drive the cost up. The flat port for macro is $185 but the fish eye port is $1100. add to that extension tubes and zoom ring gears and it adds up. Also, consider that while the 10D body is $1400, throw on a $1400 16-35L lens and you have a considerable investment in your hands that is risking total loss in the event of a flood.

I'm not saying this justifies the higher cost of the Subal, believe me I looked around at everything currently available and just feel the Subal is getting the most positive reviews from everyone shooting housed Canon cameras today. Aside from the cost, I haven't seen anything "bad" about the housing. Subal is a well established company with strong US presence in every major underwater camera retailer. You get easy US support through these retailers and service is easily available. Something which cannot be said for many of the european housing vendors when it comes to their US customers.

Eric, the broken record: you cannot hit * at the same time as the shutter, unless, of course, they have changed their design.

Most people don't use it, because they have never shot that way. So maybe it's not a big deal.

Eric, so which one are u suggesting?
I have spoke to a few people and they have told me that jonah has worked out their initial "problems." does anyone dive with this housing? is it any good?

FWIW...my friend and I have done rather extensive testing with the Subal FE port v.s. their standard 6"D DP-SW ports....with the reduced image of the 10D, you cannot notice any difference in sharpness. This was using the Canon EF 15mm FE. I've also shot the EF16-35L behind the DP-SWC and with a +4 diopter, you can almost touch the subject with the port and still render it sharp. I believe the DP-SW ports are MUCH cheaper than the FE2.

As for Eric's comment, having been used to shooting by the half shutter button method, I don't miss the "*" button.

My only complaint about Subal is that they changed their zoom gear size changed and I had to get new gears...

Stu

Stu - have you tried shooting super macro with the "half-way down" method? It may drive you crazy.

Hey Eric,

I've shot the 90mm Tamron with a +4 screw on AND an external diopter...works ok =)...full frame pygmy seahorse pics...that was on film, this is with the 10D, and Woody Mayhew's diopter...

http://www.scan-conversions.com/kualapygmy.jpg

Stu

Hey -- that's pretty good. I have had some good luck with 100mm and diopters, but as soon as the 2X goes on, autofocus ... starts to not work so well. I could not use the half-down method with the 2X converter.

Come with me to the Philppines sometime...my next attempt will be with the Tamron 90 with a 2x tamron telecon and then a screw on +4 diopter...on a reduced frame DSLR, that's likely a 3:1 if not better! There's a mimic nudi over there that is a "touch" small... =)

Stu

Eric and Stu, what 2x teleconvertor are you using?

Scubajack,

I had the same debate as you did between the Jonah and the Subal. In fact Stu and I talked a bit about the two housings... he almost convinced me to go Subal.

But I'm glad I didn't, and here's why -- having the Jonah makes it less painful to upgrade to the new wave of TTL-enabled housings that are coming. Furthermore, the differences in _functionality_ between the Subal and Jonah housings are small. What I would really pay more money for, the Subal does not have, i.e. viewfinders ala Seacam, eTTL compatibility, or ROC strobes control ala L&M.
So you are paying for higher quality ports, a nicely finished, higher quality and possibly more reliable housing (no one has reported floods in their Jonah yet, so there is no data here) with the Subal. However, the functional difference in the water wasn't worth the price difference to me.

Having said that, the boatmen at Mabul always offered to carry another diver's L&M D100 housing before he even looked at my roughly-finished Jonah... it's a dog eat dog world. (Sterling, are you reading this?)

Yeang

Hey Yeang,

Don't feel so bad, when I was in Anilao diving with Woody Mayhew, his Nexus Housing got preferred billing from the boatmen...and there were 2 of us with Subals on the boat! Guess it helps that he's been using the same boatmen for the last few years and gives great tips! ;-) But, when we went to Puerto Galera, I think there was a slight role reversal...and I got my housings first because I've dove the same boat for 3 years!

:mrgreen:

How do you like shooting the Sigma 15mm FE? I'm in the market for a new FE lens...I was shooting a borrowed Canon one on my last trip.

Stu

Hey Stu,

I guess it's the tips and not the finish on the housings!

I really like the Sigma 15 on my 10D. I don't notice the distortion UW at all, and it's REALLY sharp. My WA pics at Sipadan didn't turn out as well as I had hoped, plus viz was very bad for the area, so most of my WA shots were chucked due to backscatter.

On a side note, the shutter button on my 10D broke off underwater! All of sudden I could only focus but not trip the shutter... apparently the shutter lever on the Jonah wasn't hitting the shutter button dead center, and the torque eventually broke the shutter button off.

having said that, here are some with the Sigma 15 that were ok:

http://www.pbase.com/image/25379352
http://www.pbase.com/image/25325030
http://www.pbase.com/image/25379305
http://www.pbase.com/image/25325033

Didn't want to insert the images in line as this isn't really a photo thread.

Yeang

Hi Yeang,

Nice shots! Here's some of mine from the Philippines with the 15mm FE

http://www.scan-conversions.com/maro2.jpg
http://www.scan-conversions.com/CRW_1877.jpg
http://www.scan-conversions.com/2102.jpg
http://www.scan-conversions.com/Beatrice_01_AND4.jpg

Bad news about the shutter button....see, my Subal hasn't broken and it's got almost 4000 (if not more) shutter presses on it now! :wink:

Stu

Beautiful sunballs, Stu! I so wish that viz was better -- in Sipadan by the time I reached 30' the sun was just a vague glow above

You misunderstand -- the shutter button that broke is on the Canon Though I guess it might be Jonah's fault for not aligning the lever properly!

I taped it over with Scotch tape and it kept going...

Yeang

Exactly as it should be.

I just heard from Mark at Inon USA and he says they might not release in USA due to support issues. End of February for him to know.
BVA

Bummer - it looks like a great housing.

Cheers
James

Thanks for all of the advice. I think I am leaning towards the Jonah now. For my purposes the dramatic price gap for the subal isn't justified by the few additional features.
I'll keep everyone posted.

Any suggestions on where I can get the cheapest jonah housing? Or are the standard places (UWphoto,etc.) the best route?

It's finally here!

My Subal C10 arrived today along with a FP75/3 flat port for the Canon 50mm & 100mm macros, FE2 dome port for the Canon 15mm fisheye and an extension ring and zoom gear to use my Canon 17-35/f2.8L in the FE2 as well. What a beautiful work of craftsmanship this piece is.

I can't wait to get this into the water

Anyone want to buy a 1 year old Tetra 5000? :wink:

Marty,

You're going to love the C10, I'm diving up Jervis Inlet with mine in 2 weeks.

Stu

"On a side note, the shutter button on my 10D broke off underwater! All of sudden I could only focus but not trip the shutter... apparently the shutter lever on the Jonah wasn't hitting the shutter button dead center, and the torque eventually broke the shutter button off.

Am I the only one who thinks it's a little unusual for a housing to break the camera that is in it and people still want to buy the housing. I too am looking at a housing, stuffing the D10 in the Sea and Sea D60 housing only gives access to the shutter and command dials but at least nothing broke. Still hoping to see the Inon but proably be buying the Subal.
Bill

Before I get sued for libel, I should say that it is only conjecture that the Jonah housing caused the button breakage on my 10D.

I have not actually quantified the exact spot where the lever presses the shutter button -- it seemed the most likely explanation to me at the time though.

After all, it could just be shoddy Canon plastics coupled with a very skinny (plastic) column under that big ol' shutter button on the 10D.

Yeang

I know photographers who have broken their D60 shutter buttons with Sea & Sea housing shutter leves. But I'll bet it's from mashing down too excitedly, because I've never broken mine that way. Jim Watt (one of the people who has broken the shutter) says that his Sea & Sea shutter contact point was slightly off center, which contributed to shutter failure. He ended up taping up the shutter area with black electrical tape to distribute and dampen the downward force. I believe David Fleetham just replaced the tip of his shutter lever to something fatter and softer.

If this is the case by accidently hit the shutter lever which induces
breakage of the shutter button, it is becuase the lever is too close to the
button. Probably, we should move back the shutter lever a little bit, although
the rotating angle becomes somewhat larger than before. It is easy to
fix the problem, just straighten the lever a little bit by a plier or shorten
the end of the shutter lever to avoid the accident.

KTKIM, Jonah Housing

For what it's worth - it's possible to break a camera's shutter button with ANY housing, whether it's Jonah, Sea and Sea, or Ikelite. With a big "lever arm" like we have inside the housing, you can put quite a bit of force into the shutter button.

Add cold hands, dry gloves, and/or surge and you have to be careful.

I broke the shutter on my Coolpix 990 and so did a friend of mine. It turns out we just couldn't deal with the shutter lag and just kept pushing harder and harder! Note to self: don't do that.

Cheers
James

FWIW, I've got about 30,000 exposures through my 10D body, of that, there were between 3000-4000 shutter releases using the C10 (that's releases, not counting the half press required for AF, god knows how many of those I have, both through the housing and just for topside shooting!)....so far (knock on wood), I've had no problems with the shutter button...this is the same with 2 other friends who have the C10, though I've had my 10D for longer than they. A friend with the Nexus D100 housing has had no problems either.

My previous Subal housing for a Canon film body was also problem free.

Stu :wink:

p.s. and I've shot mine in both tropical and cold water conditions.

Hi,
I bought the Jonah housing in October last year and have only used it for one trip thus far, I took about 1200 exposures underwater and about 100 topside. The shutter release button on the camera shows no signs of wear or damage. My purchasing decision for this housing was primarily cost and availability at the time. The housing performed well IMHO and I was very happy with the results. The support from the distributor and manufacturer has been very good indeed and they are currently creating a custom zoom gear for another of my lens which I am planning to use on my next trip in April. The total cost was around $2194 plus tax this included the 30mm extension and the 4" dome port.

Cheers,
Dave

Thanks again for all of the replies. If cost were no factor, I'd get the subal. Unfortunately, however, it is and I still can't find a good enough reason to justify the additional costs for what I am trying to do.
I think I'm gonna go with the Jonah housing. I'm pricing it now and maybe by next week I be able to post what happened.

Thanks again for all of the input...and you still have a few days to help me change my mind

Good luck on whatever you decide. In the end, it's not the nuts and bolts of the camera and housing that make a good image...it's the nut behind it!

Stu