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Jonah ND100 Housing for Nikon D100

by Craig Jones and James WIseman

Introduction

We were fortunate to receive the “test housing inch from Jim Bullitt at Oceanbrite (www.oceanbrite.com) the California distributor for Jonah housings. Not only were we told that this is a one of the first Jonah D100 housings made, the front of the unit actually has a sticker saying “Test Housing inch so that there can be no confusion

I received the 4 inch dome, the 8 inch dome, and the 60mm flat port w/ extension ring for the review

Craig got to do some pool tests with the housing and his D100, and I used my camera for some studio shots of the housing. We both booked a trip to the Flower Garden Banks aboard the M/V Spree to give the housing a thorough underwater trial over Labor Day weekend. But that was not to be – no sooner did we reach the Flower Gardens (110 miles offshore) than Tropical Storm Grace brewed up and we had to head back to the dock. We did get a nice boat ride though – free of charge.

Size and Construction

The fit is very good, leaving just enough space for the moisture alarm.

Again, excellent fit – the hotshoe fits snugly into the housing with no wasted space.

Simply put – this is a small housing. It fits the D100 perfectly, as shown in the photos. To give an idea of the size as compared to other digital setups, see the shots showing the unit next to the UK Germany D60, the Nexus D100, and the Aquatica S2. I was really surprised at the small size and light weight of the Jonah ND100. I'm not going to spell out the size and weight of the housing here in the review – if you are interested in the specs, consult the manufacturers website at: http://www.jonah.co.kr/

The housing construction seems very good – with tight tolerances. Like the Aquatica S2, the Jonah uses one main o-ring in a groove. The front of the housing also has stabbing guides to help the user line up the front and back before closing. The two locking lid snaps have a recessed area that allows the user to get a thumb underneath to open them – making the combination very streamlined.

Compare to the UK Germany D60 housing which is VERY small.

Here is a photo by Craig Jones showing the comparison to the Nexus D100 housing with 4 inch dome

As compared to the Aquatica S2 housing (The S2 is a larger camera)

Functions

The following photo/graphic illustrates the location of the controls on the unit. The only major difference between this and other D100 housings I have used is that the rear command dial control is on the top of the housing. This is nice in that it means you can reach it with your face pressed up against the viewfinder optic.

The controls are very well laid out. The focus lock and shutter are right at your fingetips and the front command dial can be turned with your thumb and middle finger.

I especially like the focus lock lever on this housing. The photographer can program the D100 to focus using the focus lock button and then immediately take a photo using the shutter release. This can even be done with one hand. Alternatively, the focus lock can be used with a lens in autofocus that is having a hard time achieving focus lock. Simply lock focus on a high contrast subject, then move the housing in and out like you would when shooting manual focus. This will be especially useful for macro and super-macro. The only function control that I found missing is a lens release button or lever on the front of the housing, however, I expect to see this on the newer revisions of the unit.

One excellent feature of the Jonah housing is the clear panel which allows you to see the mode dial setting. Photo by Craig Jones.

Available Ports and Lens Combinations

I was sent a flat port, an extension ring for the 105mm, a 4 inch dome with built-in shade, and an 8 inch dome with built-in shade.

I received the 4 inch dome, the 8 inch dome, and the 60mm flat port w/ extension ring for the review

The port system is bayonet mount and the port bodies are made out of metal and some kind of high density polymer like HDPE. The flat port for the 60mm Micro is extremely small and has a neoprene sleeve on it which makes it easy to grasp and turn.

The 4 inch dome and extension allow the housing to be used with a wide variety of lenses - perhaps a good solution for the 60mm Micro and the 24-85 AFS. More pool testing is needed.

None of the ports we received for testing came equipped with manual focus knobs or focus or zoom gears. I anticipate that Jonah will be releasing some zoom gears soon, followed by a flat port with focus gear suitable for use with the 60mm and 105mm Micro lenses. I would like to see a zoom gear for the 12-24DX lens first though.

Workability

The quick shoe mounted on the camera. The camera slides into the housing and the shoe locks automatically.

This housing is light and easy to handle on the boat and in the water. I can't comment on the underwater handling and balance when using the various ports, but hope to in a later update to this review. The placement of the controls is good and allows the photographer to switch focus points quickly, change ISO, and change shooting quality between RAW and JPEG – all the functions that I find important. Breaking open the housing for servicing is also a breeze. Because the camera mounts to the front of the unit, it is easy to change memory cards. With the quick shoe design, it is also easy to pop the camera out for topsides use, or to change the battery. The viewfinder optic on the ND100 makes full use of the small-ish viewfinder on the D100.

When set up with a single strobe, the housing is pretty small. This is of course not the optimum arm arrangement, but it shows the size.

Conclusion

Jonah has certainly made quite an impact on the scene with their new housings for the Nikon D100 and the Canon 10D. At a very reasonable pricepoint, these housings are quite attractive to photographers making the jump to a digital SLR camera. At this time, the available ports accommodate most if not all of the popular lenses used with the D100. I would not hesitate to recommend this housing to friends. Here is a quick bullet list of pros and cons:

Advantages:

This is the first digital housing produced by Jonah and they have done an excellent job. I have noted here a few small areas that could use improvement and I hope they will be incorporated into future revisions of the housing.

Needs Improvement: