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Canon EOS 1ds Under water housing

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Onne,

You do know that flooding is a fact of life with underwater photography, don't you?

http://www.richard-seaman.com/Me/Photography/Underwater/index.html

The 1Ds is a pretty expensive camera to lose if the housing floods, so you need to make a very conscious decision that you're going to take that risk. If it does flood, then fixing the camera usually means stripping out all the electronics include the sensor and replacing them, which for most cameras costs about the same amount as a new camera. The 1Ds is also a very bulky camera, which means that a 1Ds housing would be very, very bulky. Since the 1Ds doesn't have an external built-in flash there are also issues with how you would trigger the underwater strobe. Ikelite and some of the other main housing manufacturers mostly use remotely triggered slave strobes, but with the 1Ds you'd have to have a physical connection from the camera to the strobe.

If you can get a housing, then I'm sure you'd get great underwater photos with the 1Ds. I own a 1Ds, and a D60 and I bought a G2 specifically for underwater work, because it's compact and reasonably high-resolution. You might also consider buying a back-up camera like a 10D, and using that underwater; if it floods you've lost $US1500 instead of $US8000. I have the G2 in an Ikelite housing.

Richard.
onne van der wal said:
--
Onne van der Wal

Are there any U/W housings out there for the EOS 1 Ds yet?
Click to expand...
 
onne van der wal said:
--
Onne van der Wal

Are there any U/W housings out there for the EOS 1 Ds yet?
Click to expand...
Yes, there is. Seacam is just releasing one. They are very expensive, but of the highest quality. Here is the link:

http://www.stephenfrink.com/seacam/prices/

I plan on getting one for my trip to Truk and Palau in September. Won't return to US until October 5, but after that I can give you a report if you can wait that long.

Based on my past experience with Ikelite housings, I would say don't do it. The Seacam is a major investment, but they do work very well.

Hope this helps.

Randy
 
Ramilappalainen,

I was insured, and of course that's a possible solution to this problem, but you might find an insurer reluctant to pay out, especially if it happens more than once! My current policy pays out even if it's my fault, but I suspect they wouldn't be too happy if this happens.

Richard.
ramilappalainen said:
Have you ever thought to get a good incurance for your equipment? :)
Richard Seaman said:
Onne,

You do know that flooding is a fact of life with underwater
photography, don't you?

http://www.richard-seaman.com/Me/Photography/Underwater/index.html

The 1Ds is a pretty expensive camera to lose if the housing floods,
so you need to make a very conscious decision that you're going to
take that risk.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
http://www.aquatech.com.au is in the progress of finishing their watersports housing for the 1ds. not a dive housing but a waterlevel and just below the surface housing. a lot lighter than a dive housing, made out of tough plastic. the best selling surf photography housing.

cheers paul
 
What if, you careless or flaw rubber ring or defect underwater house.

You know how much $$$$ to replace 1Ds. Maybe, Insurance will refuse to pay you to replace 1Ds

Most Insurance agents will not pay for Sky Diver (if fail to release parachute)

17 years ago, you know how much cost for Space Shuttle that they had awful BOOOOOM at sky because of bad O-Ring (cause cold weather???) 7 people lost their life. That's awful
 
Everyone knows that if you drop your camera in the ocean it might get wet--housing or not--and everyone knows that if your camera gets wet it might not work anymore. What is the point of trying to convince someone not to take underwater photos? You might get killed walkin yo doggy, but you don't stay inside because of it.
dr_nikon said:
What if, you careless or flaw rubber ring or defect underwater house.
You know how much $$$$ to replace 1Ds. Maybe, Insurance will refuse
to pay you to replace 1Ds

Most Insurance agents will not pay for Sky Diver (if fail to
release parachute)

17 years ago, you know how much cost for Space Shuttle that they
had awful BOOOOOM at sky because of bad O-Ring (cause cold
weather???) 7 people lost their life. That's awful
Click to expand...
 
what dont you like about ike housings ?

let me know
Randolph McMillan said:
onne van der wal said:
--
Onne van der Wal

Are there any U/W housings out there for the EOS 1 Ds yet?
Click to expand...
Yes, there is. Seacam is just releasing one. They are very
expensive, but of the highest quality. Here is the link:

http://www.stephenfrink.com/seacam/prices/

I plan on getting one for my trip to Truk and Palau in September.
Won't return to US until October 5, but after that I can give you a
report if you can wait that long.

Based on my past experience with Ikelite housings, I would say
don't do it. The Seacam is a major investment, but they do work
very well.

Hope this helps.

Randy
Click to expand...
 
Dan White said:
what dont you like about ike housings ?
Click to expand...
I have been involved in UW photography since 1979. I have taken classes from Jim Church, Cathy Church, and David Doubilet. I have had Nikonos 4s and 5s, a housed Canon A1, a housed Nikon F3,a housed Nikon N90, and still have both a housed Nikon F4 and a Nikonos RS system. I have had Ikelite, Aquatica, and one other brand of housings that I can't remember any more. Of all of these systems, I haved liked the Ikelite the least. Actually I hated the Ikelite system. I have not had an Ikelite housing for a number of years, so it is possible that things may have changed. To a large extent you get what you pay for in UW camera housings. My experience was that the levers and gears used on the lenses were extremely difficult to use to get precise control over the setting of the cameras. Many times while underwater I simply could not get the mechanisms to work well enough that I could get the setting I wanted. Ikelite tries to uses as many compenents in common as possible in their housings. I know this keeps the cost down, but if you can't get control over the focus, shutter speed, and aperature of your camera, then getting a good photo is difficult. The price doesn't matter at that point. If you keep the housing for a number of years, the cost of the system is not that great compared to the cost of traveling to places like Fiji, Chuuk, Palau, Thailand, Indonesia and the Carribean. It becomes very discouraging to spend the money to travel to these palces for the purpose of UW photography and then be foiled by your equipment. Admittedly, with auto focus having become standard since my last Ikelite housing, the number of gear rings has been cut down. But since getting rid of my Ikelite housing and going to a different system, my photos have greatly improved over all, the number of keepers has increased, and I spend much, much, much less time getting the camera ready to take into the water. This has also been the expeience of most of the people I know in the UW photography community. Many at one time started out with an Ikelite housing, but not one of them uses an Ikelite system today. All have gone to a manufacturer who uses a much higher level of customization in configuring the housing for a specific camera. None of these, in my opinion, are as good as the RS system, but unfortunately there is not a digital RS for those of us who now want to shoot digital.

The appealing thing to me about the 1Ds is the full frame sensor. By in large UW photography is a practice in extremes. Mostly extremely wide angle lenses and extremely close-up (Marco) lenses are used. Of course there are a few exceptions to this, but in general it is true. By the time I pay the price for a 14, 15, or 16 mm wide angle, I want to get the full benefit of it. I don't want a 1.3 to 1.5 factor reducing the viewing angle which has also been reduced by taking the camera underwater.

I do not work for a competitor of Ikelite nor do I have any axe to grind with them. I do own some Iklelite products, especially their UW light with battery mounted on the scuba thank, that I like very much. They also have pretty good customer response. I am just giving you my $.02 worth based on my experience since you asked for it.

Hope this is some how useful to you.

Thanks
Randy
 
then whos housing do you prefer? because in the future i will be looking for one for a 10d or 1d for still and then another for a gl2
Randolph McMillan said:
Dan White said:
what dont you like about ike housings ?
Click to expand...
I have been involved in UW photography since 1979. I have taken
classes from Jim Church, Cathy Church, and David Doubilet. I have
had Nikonos 4s and 5s, a housed Canon A1, a housed Nikon F3,a
housed Nikon N90, and still have both a housed Nikon F4 and a
Nikonos RS system. I have had Ikelite, Aquatica, and one other
brand of housings that I can't remember any more. Of all of these
systems, I haved liked the Ikelite the least. Actually I hated
the Ikelite system. I have not had an Ikelite housing for a number
of years, so it is possible that things may have changed. To a
large extent you get what you pay for in UW camera housings. My
experience was that the levers and gears used on the lenses were
extremely difficult to use to get precise control over the setting
of the cameras. Many times while underwater I simply could not get
the mechanisms to work well enough that I could get the setting I
wanted. Ikelite tries to uses as many compenents in common as
possible in their housings. I know this keeps the cost down, but
if you can't get control over the focus, shutter speed, and
aperature of your camera, then getting a good photo is difficult.
The price doesn't matter at that point. If you keep the housing for
a number of years, the cost of the system is not that great
compared to the cost of traveling to places like Fiji, Chuuk,
Palau, Thailand, Indonesia and the Carribean. It becomes very
discouraging to spend the money to travel to these palces for the
purpose of UW photography and then be foiled by your equipment.
Admittedly, with auto focus having become standard since my last
Ikelite housing, the number of gear rings has been cut down. But
since getting rid of my Ikelite housing and going to a different
system, my photos have greatly improved over all, the number of
keepers has increased, and I spend much, much, much less time
getting the camera ready to take into the water. This has also been
the expeience of most of the people I know in the UW photography
community. Many at one time started out with an Ikelite housing,
but not one of them uses an Ikelite system today. All have gone
to a manufacturer who uses a much higher level of customization in
configuring the housing for a specific camera. None of these, in
my opinion, are as good as the RS system, but unfortunately there
is not a digital RS for those of us who now want to shoot digital.

The appealing thing to me about the 1Ds is the full frame sensor.
By in large UW photography is a practice in extremes. Mostly
extremely wide angle lenses and extremely close-up (Marco) lenses
are used. Of course there are a few exceptions to this, but in
general it is true. By the time I pay the price for a 14, 15, or
16 mm wide angle, I want to get the full benefit of it. I don't
want a 1.3 to 1.5 factor reducing the viewing angle which has also
been reduced by taking the camera underwater.

I do not work for a competitor of Ikelite nor do I have any axe to
grind with them. I do own some Iklelite products, especially their
UW light with battery mounted on the scuba thank, that I like very
much. They also have pretty good customer response. I am just
giving you my $.02 worth based on my experience since you asked for
it.

Hope this is some how useful to you.

Thanks
Randy
Click to expand...
 
dr_nikon said:
What if, you careless or flaw rubber ring or defect underwater house.
You know how much $$$$ to replace 1Ds. Maybe, Insurance will refuse
to pay you to replace 1Ds
Click to expand...
I have been taking UW photos since 1979 and have never had a camera flood except once. That turned out to be a manufacturer's defect and was replaced by the manufacturer. You can be careful and learn the proper way to prepare your camera before taking it under water. There are also ways to test to see if the camera or housing is leaking before you take it under.

If you are not a professional and schedule your equipment on your home owner's policy, it will be covered. I did this and asked specifically that the insurance company issue me a letter saying thay would cover a flooding while the camera was under water. They did issue the letter. But as I said, I have never had to test them because I have learned the proper way way to prepare the camera and I test it before taking it under so I have not had a flood. (Knock on wood). Also, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER rush while preparing the camera to go underwater.

I have no reservations about taking a 1Ds under water in a well made housing.

Randy
 
Dan White said:
then whos housing do you prefer? because in the future i will be
looking for one for a 10d or 1d for still and then another for a gl2
Click to expand...
In the past I have preferred
Aquatica, http://www.bhphotovideo.com/
now I prefer
Seacam http://www.stephenfrink.com/seacam/

For video you might also want to check out
Gates http://www.gateshousings.com
Light in Motion http://www.uwimaging.com/
Amphibico http://www.amphibico.com/
I have experience with all of the above and they are good.
also look at http://www.underwatervideohousings.com/
These people have a big selection too http://www.backscatter.com/
as well as Helix Photo in Chicago http://www.helixphoto.com/

Let me know if I can help in any other way.

Randy
 
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