Hi

Have Sony SR12 and Seatool housing which will take Inon 67mm wide lens, definetly need a wide angle but have a Q regarding the Inon UWL-100 + dome. If I fit this when zooming in will the image quality suffer as I think that somethines I will need to reduce the wide angle. Know I could remove the lens but not always practicle and would be a bit scared of dropping it. Also have a concern that it might be a bit heavy and make the camera tip forward all the time.

Hi KNS,

I have not tested the above rig but I am curious:
Does the Seatool Housing allow electronic white balance with the Sony SR12 ?

It Only allows WB shift, though I tend to do correction later, as have found that unless you are on a very stationary subject as soon as you move /pan the WB is out again, and I would forget to reset if It did allow. The SEATOOL is a compromise for me in that it is very small and light, only 1.5kg without camera. This is important for me these days with the weight allowance on flights getting less and less each year.

The control buttons are a little small but usable even with gloves, I also fitted an aditional handle as the right habd pistol grip on it’s own does not allow steday shots.

Overall I am impressed, purchased it from Taiwan and saved a fortune on the UK price.

Hi, I have been using Fisheye HC-3 , UWL-100 + dome for two years. There is no white balance control for this housing and so as for SR-12. And I think you better not to use any wide angle at all.The distortion is very obvious even with the doom when you zoom in halfway. This housing is only suitable for flat port, 5-10m with good ambient light, or macro with Fisheye LED video light. Yes, it is small and light, but any addition of wide angle with dome, with video light , you won’t enjoy diving because it is so negative underwater. Or, like me, DIY two big acrylic cylinder 4” x 6 “ to make the whole set up to float.
My conclusion, don’t invest any additional wide angle or video light. If you enjoy taking video underwater, buy another set of housing.
I am now using Aditech housing HC-9, with WP-80 wide angle, not expensive, really fast and accurate electronic white balance. Good full zoom performance with no distortion.
And Aditech housing float, can carry I Kg extra underwater. Too good for my two FAMI LED 200 video lighthead.
Now, I can enjoy taking video underwater so much.
Regarding the weight, hand carry the housing with you.

Hi

Bit confused by the negative thing , as I have dived with a positively bouyant camera before and I found it very anyoying and hard to control.

The weight thing is very imortant for me as we are only allowed 20kg for everything when flying.

Had a look at the Mangrove housing looks ok but still has a flat port so once again struggle to see the difference as at the end of the day they are both just boxes with flat glass at the front ?!

Must say the lack of monitor is a bit anoying, however you do get used to the the mirror,

You need to add extra weight to balancing out the positive buoyancy if you dive with the buoyancy housing only.A simple attachment of a weight outside the housing will do the job well. Some housing even provide a small room inside the housing to accommodate a pack of soft lead weight.
But if you dive with video light and batteries, you find positive buoyancy housing is a must to you. Big size is no problem underwater, buoyancy control of the whole set up is more vital to your whole dive.
Unlike Fisheye/Seatool housing,you can remove Aditech housing flat port on surface. If you want to use wide angle lens WP-80, you need to change it before you jump into water. But if you decide to use Aditech housing flat port, then you can change to Inon marco lens anytime underwater. The WP-80 can get very good close up and full zoom. I use this set up most of the time. For Pgymy Seahorse, then you need Flat port and Inon Macro.
Unlike UWL 100 + dome (2kg), the WP-80 well balance neutrally buoyancy underwater.
Don’t forget to use the “+” screen marker function of your camera, it helps you to locate the centre of your shot especially if you use the mirror. Otherwise , you find most of your shot shift sideway easily.
Or you can buy the external monitor from Fisheye which cost you half of the housing.
Good luck.

Thanks for your knowledge and help