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Pana - why no underwater housing for LX3??!

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The visual impression was very positive, small with good build quality. After a short test (not under water), i found this housing painful to use.

I'm not an expert, my opinion is only based on a TZ1 and a Panasonic housing that i used for some years.
  • The joystick, is hard to use and doesn't allows aperture and exposure adjustment as advertised!
  • Zooming in and out, is like turning a rusty bolt and must be done with 2 fingers.
  • The pressing then turning many of the buttons is really annoying und need to be repeated to work correctly.
  • I had to shake the housing to get the camera out of it. This will damage the cam in the long term.
  • I connected my INON D-2000 STTL Strobe with an optical cord (slave mode), the synchronization with the camera was excellent.
The camera was set to manual. The LX3 did a better job with the same strobe then the TZ1 .
  • The housing has a nikonos bulkhead for connection with TTL strobes, but i can't say if it's standart!
My strobe isn't a TTL one, so i couldn't test that connection. The bulkhead can be removed, maybe can you also replace it by a standard one.

Regarding the TTL converter, i believe it works only with cameras that have preflash.

Regards
 
Have you done any more testing with the 10bar housing? Underwater as well?

Do you still think it is uncomfortable/hard to use?

I am close to buying this camera, but if the underwaterhousing is bad thats a deal breaker for me (primary use for me will be during diving so this has to work well).
 
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Hi

Yes, i still find it uncomfortable to use, specially for zooming.

There's a good new, the joystick issue is apparently addressed and new models are delivered with a "full joystick functionality".

The 10bar support is really bad, i sent them an e-mail 5 days ago and i'm still waiting for a respond!

I also bought the lx3 for diving and i see no alternative to this housing, so i have to live with.

In 2 weeks i will be in the Maldives, i will test it there underwater and hope it's waterproof.
regards
 
Thanks.

Does your housing back part and joystick look like this?



Or like this (this is supposed to be the new version - 10bar sent a image to me after I requested one):



Are all the other buttuns push down buttons or do several require turning or other other movements?

I dive in cold water (current water temp here is 3C/37F) and I use thick drygloves, I just want to be sure I am able to operate the buttons.
 
Seems like the first picture was lost.
Does your housing back part and joystick look like this?



Is the button with red arrow the zoom knob that requires turning?
 
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  • Yes, i have the same housing, without the new joystick but a simple button.
  • All buttons with a white dot are push/turn ones.
  • Yes the red arrow shows the shutter AND zoom button, it's a push/turn button too. I found it too small and has a spring that makes it hard to turn (i have small fingers!).
Using the cameras four-way kontroller will be hard to use with gloves too, even thin ones, ther's one button to go up, down, left and right, and an other as a menu/set button, both are push/turn ones!
 
Thanks again!

So thats what the dots are for..

To use the four way controller one has to rotate it to the correct position and then push the knob?
Sounds a bit cumbersome..

Does the housing come with a (detailed) manual? Maybe you have it in a electronic format (pdf?) I can take a look at?
 
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hi
  • the white dot shows the right position of the cameras button you will press. Yes, it's very annoying!! If i you can get a housing with the new joystick you will be able to do without the for-way controller.
  • The housing comes without a manual! Strange, isn't it? I believe i'm one of the first buyers, maybe they did sent me a prototype! :-) I asked them about the manual, but i still have no respond!!!
 
I have also contacted 10bar requesting more information including a copy of the manual several days ago, but I havent received anything yet..
 
I received a response from Ada at 10bar very soon after my email a couple of weeks ago. I wonder whether the delayed response time from 10bar is because of Chinese New Year?

I am about to order the LX3 housing and was assured by Ada and Digital diver that it is the version with the fuly functional joystick control. I will test it out in our pool at the weekend then post.....

A little concerned re: the comments re: cumbersome controls, I suppose it is just the reality of having a small camera in a small housing :)

cheers

roger
 
My initial mail to 10bar asking about joystick functionality and housing availability was answered fast as well.

You may be right about the small camera/small housing issue, but I dont have any problems using dry gloves on my current Sony camera ( http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sonydscp150/ ) with original Sony housing.

I will probably manage the LX3 housing as well.
 
In addition to any others already mentioned, for canoeing and other activities where your camera may get exposed to elements it does not like (wind, sand, water etc) you should also look at the "housings" made by Ewa Marine.

Although these people claim to make housings for underwater use I would be most reluctant to use them for that purpose, I provide that advice having been an underwater photographer for decades.
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Cheers,

Christian
 
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Hi

I received this morning a new back cover, 10bar sent it 2 days ago! After a short test i found the new joystick perfect! I had the feeling i was using the cameras joystick. I also tried it with thick drygloves and had a good feeling too. Thanks 10bar!!

You will notice in all the 3 photos that i made the shutter/Zoom button a little larger, it works good now.
Sorry for my english
regards





 
Can you post a picture showing the inside of the new back cover as well?

I am also interested seeing pictures from inside the housing (how the other end of the knobs interact with the camera).

Is it possible to use fiber optic cable (to strobe) with this housing?. On the front side there seems to be two 'windows' around the lens, is one for the camera focus lamp and the other for flash/fiber optic cable use?

It would be great if you could post your experiences with the housing after your dive trip as well.

Thanks.
 
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Hi,

Yes, as you see on the first photo, you can also connect an optical cord to the housing. The window on the other side is made for the camera focus light.



You will notice on the second photo that i stuck an adhesive tape, to prevent some sharp in the housing from damaging
the cameras painting.



 
Thanks for posting up the images of the housing. It looks like you used the tire from a kid's toy to enlarge the shutter knob - I hope you did not take it from some poor little kid who now has a three tire toy truck ;-).

Please keep us posted on your results.
 
Chaker,

Do you have a picture of how the strobe connects with a fiber optic sync cord?

tdc
 
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Hi, do you have the new improved housing? It connects diffrently then the original one!!
 
I'm looking at the newer housings. I'm not sure if the strobe connection is an improvement -- the o-ring mount looked clean, direct and secure. New window with the dual lock velcro doesn't look as reliable. Someone on wetpixel showed me the new kit.

I assume you can't put the camera in with the flash up -- if not, how did you use the inon clear film to go with your 2000 strobe?

tdc
 
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