susan,

first of all: you will be amazed of the autofocus. i was so happy, when i switched from my oympus compact.

the 60mm and the 100mm canon are both very good lenses.but foget about the 17-55, the kitlens is not so good. save that money.

if you use the 60 with a macromate you have to go very close and it is not so usefull. you can use the combi for nudibranches, there it is ok.

i use the 60mm alone and the 100mm with a inon-diopter (like the macromate). another good combi with the 100mm is a teleconverter for great supermacro.

autofokus is very good on these lenses. but if you want manual focus and want so save the focus-gear, you can programm the autofocus on the * button. then you prefocus with the * button and move the camera in and out for manual. works very good.

for real manual focus consider the INON MRS ports, i use them. you can manualy focus with a magnetic ring straight on the lens. it is a very nice solution. i think you can get these inon ports with adapters for seatool housings.

hope that helps,
serge

Serge,
It helps very much.  I really liked many of the features and the glass on my Oly.  I wouldn’t switch at all except for all of the worn down buttons.  Although, there is considerable shutter delay, it can be compensated for.  I have used wet mounts before, so I may try some combination on the new rig.  I especially liked your manual focus suggestions and will probably give both a try. I agree the 17-55 kit lens does not appeal to me, but it comes with the camera and I don’t think I can ditch it to get a price break. I will definitely consider the INON MRS ports. I have some concerns about the view finder and my own visibility..

Thanks,

susan

Serge Abourjeily - 03 June 2008 10:59 PM

but foget about the 17-55, the kitlens is not so good.

Did you really mean 17-55? Because the kit lens is 18-55 and about 10 times cheaper

I was planning to use my 17-55 on 40D underwater on my next holiday - has anybody tried to use it?

hello,
i’m from belgium, and at the moment a resident @ mauritius. I’ve always used the sea and sea 8000g with the ys27 strobe.
I’m planning on getting the ikelite housing for my 450d… I have until now no experience with dslr underwater, so i would like few bit of advice if possible.
i think the best flash will be a new one from ikelite witl ttl on board for the best results? If so, wich one do you recommend? Maybe use my ys27 if needed for a second flash as slave?
I have the canon 17-85 is, 28-135 is, and the kitlenses 18-55 and 70-200. At the moment a new lens like 15 fisheye or 60 macro is a bit too much for my budget (if someone has an interesting deal for me, just mail ), so i think to start the 17-85 will do?

tx