Underwater Camera Housing

[Twilight]

Hi all,

I recently got back into my scuba diving and want to use my older Canon Powershot SX110IS underwater for some decent shots (I'd be too nervous to use my SLR, let alone the cost of those housings...).

Research has told me that Ikelite used to make an underwater housing for the SX110IS, but as that model of camera has been superseded, the housing has been discontinued as well.

I've looked around on eBay and the like and can't find one, so I thought I might ask here to see if anyone has or knows someone who has an Ikelite housing for the Powershot SX110IS?

The Ikelite link I found is: http://www.ikelite.com/web_two/can_sx110.html

The Ikelite model number is 6148.11.

It's a long shot, I know, but this seems like a good place to start.

Thanks in advance if anyone can help!

[cicopo]

Ikelite housings are much more expensive than Canon housings but for a very good reason (generally) which is the linking of the external strobe to the camera's TTL system. Do you intend to buy a strobe? If not you might want to consider finding a package deal with both a camera & housing & shop for something that shoots in RAW. The G series are very popular & I see several for sale on different Buy & Sell forums each year & use a G9 myself but with external strobes which fire at only 1 power setting & are not linked back to the camera. If you do intend to buy a strobe do your homework on what people are using & why. Good places to do that are in the photography sections of wetpixel.com & scubaboard.com. Both also have buy & sell sections.

[cicopo]

Unless you intend to spend the money for a good strobe shop for a Canon housing (with or without camera) & then find a used camera for it. Optionally Sea & Sea make some decent P & S cameras but stay away from the cheaper ones. I dive with a lot of people using P & S cameras who get excellent results for the money spent. Things to look for in a camera are that it have a WIDE short end and if possible can do macro without changing settings. My S1 IS did that but my G9 needs to be reset to focus within 3 feet & then switched back to regular for things more than an arms length away. Also if it can't shoot RAW you should at least be able to set a custom white balance. Being able to get the heavy blue tint out of the photos (not always the best look) is so easy in post when working with RAW. Some photos need that tint but most look better without it although I've got a few that look a bit odd because they have fish or turtles that look posed vs swimming thanks to the clarity. 

[cicopo]

Something else to consider is that if you haven't been diving in a while underwater photography is very dependant on buoyanch control. You need to master that before taking a camera & strobe down.

[Twilight]

Hi Cicopo,

Thanks very much for the replies.

I hadn't been able to find a price on the Ikelite housing I wanted (all sites just marked it as 'Discontinued') so I wasn't sure what I would be able to pick it up for now.

The original intent was to find a way of making use of a camera I have replaced with an SLR to avoid piling up cameras; though it is sounding like a new camera/housing package may be the more economical way forward. It wasn't my intent to get a strobe just now, as this was simply a venture into the field. I'd prefer to get a better rig before I start investing in strobes and such, if I ever do.

At least I'm fortunate in that I always had good bouyancy control. My most recent dive a week ago found me far too heavy on the weight belt, but still able to control my bouyancy well enough (even though I chewed through a bit more than I would have otherwise).

If anyone else with an Ikelite housing for the Powershot SX110IS, I'd be interested to hear a price; but in the meantime I'll move on to looking at packages as Cicopo suggests.

Thanks again 🙂