Underwater photography with Canon 300D/Ikelite #6870.1

I started photography as part of Graphic and Typographical Design courses on a university and an academy of arts. In 1996 I took up diving for a hobby, and combined this some years later with photography. Since then I have made over 200 dives with photographic equipment.

My current set consists of the Canon EOS 300D/Digital Rebel SLR and the Ikelite #6870.1 underwater housing, a 'starting point' for the professional photographer. This choice was based on the fact that Canon has always been my brand, and that Ikelite manufactures the best and most economical housing for the 300D. I extended the set with two Sea&Sea strobes, because of their warm color and simple operation.

The equipment

As stated, my camera is the EOS 300D/Digital Rebel, a 6.3 megapixel digital SLR. I use it with the Canon kit-lens, the EF-S 18-55mm and the Canon 60mm Macro lens.

The 300D is a pleasant and manageable camera, that also is easy to use. My workhorse is the kit-lens, and I use the 60mm lens only for better macro results.

The Ikelite underwater housing #6870.1 is a transparent polycarbonate housing and is waterproof to 60 meters. An extensive port system allows the photographer to use most macro, wide-angle and zoom lenses. I use the standard dome port for the kit-lens and optional macro port for the 60mm.

The housings seal is simple but very reliable: the o-ring is squeezed between the housing body and back panel. The transparency then permits you to verify correct position and sealing.

The double handles allow for quick attachment of strobes. The strobe connector and the built-in conversion circuitry make it possible to use TTL flash mode, but only in combination with Ikelite strobes.

I use the Sea&Sea YS-90 AUTO as my main strobe. It has an guide number of 22 meter (on land at ISO 100) and a coverage of 105°x95°. I am also using the Sea&Sea YS-25 AUTO as a secondary underwater strobe, guide number 15m. The YS-25 is nice and compact and has a coverage of 80°x90°.

Experiences under water

As for the 300D camera, I can say that I am fully satisfied. If I need to state a point of improvement, it has to be that the color brightness sometimes leaves to desire.

The complete set is quite heave on the surface, and walking with it for longer distances in full diving gear or jumping of a boat is not always easy. But the counter weights on the housing make that is has a neutral buoyancy under water, which makes it very manageable. The materials used and the thickness of the plastic also make that the housing can withstand quite a lot of force (I experienced that a drop on the ground from 1,5 meter did not have any any serious consequences).

Because the camera is fully visible in the housing, operating the buttons is apparent straight away. All functions of the camera can be controlled, with the exception of the self-release/repeat button. The shutter release lever is operated easily with the index finger, and the thumb can be used at the same time to control the AE and focus lock. The built-in enlarging viewfinder in the back panel provides great visibility for the composition and on the information in the camera's viewfinder.

As for the strobes, I currently am fully accustomed to my Sea&Sea models that I do not want to change them. Even though the YS-25 AUTO does drain its batteries fairly quickly: it will get only 130 flashes out of two 2300 mAh batteries, where the YS-90 will get approximately 350 out of four 2100mAh batteries. Another drawback of the Sea&Sea YS-25 AUTO is that its slave sensor is positioned a little deeper in its casing, making that it will sometimes not fire if it is aligned in parallel with the main strobe.

The Ikelite E-TTL support does not work in combination with the Sea&Sea YS-90. So I use manual control of the light level using the 12-step control on the strobe itself, combined with full manual control on the camera. This does of course require a fair amount of photographic knowledge and experience to get the right exposure.

Conclusion

The size and weight are inherent to a underwater digital SLR set. The benefits of full manual control in combination with the high quality component are however far more important to me. I do not want any other set.

Review by: Paco Busteros

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