Procured from parts found all over, I finally completed my first professional housing set up. I’d like to send out thanks to Wowie Wong, Jan Acosta and Jovic Santos for giving really good buying advice (and in Wowie and Jovic’s case … parts!).
This is a professional set up for a Canon 350D. It is a well-preserved second hand setup with a brand new Sea & Sea YS-110 alpha strobe. The lens port I am using houses a 60mm macro lens from Henry’s. As I don’t plan to upgrade to a dual strobe setup soon, I’m using a single sync cable (see the cord) that connects the flash to the camera body hot shoe inside.
It takes 30 minutes to an hour to prepare something like this and I wanted to familiarize my self with how everything goes together before taking it on an actual trip to the ocean. Inside the port I placed a couple of Leak Insure packets as a secondary precaution for accidental leaks. The housing for the body comes with a leak detector that blinks when wet. I wish it had an auditory warning, but that’s as good as this one gets. No worries.
Below, you can see the final single arm set up, ready to shoot macro life underwater. For some reason I can’t tighten the strobe on the arm so it droops down. I guess I need to read the manual. Hehe.
P.S. The photo of the clown fish in the background was taken using this exact same configuration but with a 100mm lens I borrowed.
Imagine lugging around this thing underwater. On land, it’s already very heavy. Underwater I need to deduct 2 lbs of weights to keep me neutrally buoyant. I’m excited. I’m going to keep it like this for a while and practice shooting small objects with the strain of the housing on me. I guess that’s the best way to get used to it!
24 replies on “Finally, it’s complete: Sea & Sea DSLR housing with single YS-110 strobe”
I can’t imagine how hard it would be for me to use that… it looks huge! :))
Let’s dive then bring that then I’ll go all “ooooh what does this button doooo??” then go on a pressing spree. LOL
Bad-assss!!
Naiinggit ako sa mga divers dahil nakikita nila ang kagandahan ng ating sea/ocean floors. Marunong akong mag-swimming pero hindi puwedeng sumisid ng malalim kasi may diperensiya isang tenga ko. Sayang!
have you tried seeing a doctor about it? there are plenty divers with ear problems but still get to dive. it could be just learning how to equalize? you should try it out. intro dive is around php 2,500 lang ata or less.
P2,500? San yan Jayvee? Kinda interested… But can you dive without knowing how to swim? :/ Kinda traumatized with drowning to the point it inhibits my learning, but I want to challenge myself sometimes.
@camille thats the average price of what you call an “introduction dive” where the instructor will take you down to about 20ft of water. the best place is in anilao, batangas. the course is made for people who have never tried scuba but want to, so it is perfect for people with inhibitions but are still really curious to try.
as for not knowing how to swim, it’s ok. the goal is to sink kasi. people think that scuba = swimming when it isn’t. once you wear fins and your BCD jacket, it’s really easy to navigate.
if you have a group of friends who want to try i can recommend you to dive masters para ma-try nyo. =) it will make for a good weekend vacation.
Natatakot kasi ako dun sa prospect na I wear the fins that I don’t know how to use, sabay baka magpanic sa baba at makasira ng mga kung anu-ano sa ilalim. LOL It sounds irrational, but not knowing a thing about diving made me think na since I don’t know how to handle myself underwater then I might not navigate properly and end up destroying corals and whatnot. LOL.
Sometime siguro, I want to try. I can’t try it alone (baka lalo akong magpanic haha) eh wala akong mga maihahatak. :/
EENT doctor na mismo nagbawal sa akin na mag-swimming. Kaya lang nga makulit ako kasi I really enjoy swimming pag may pagkakataon. Lumaki kasi ako sa medyo tabing-dagat sa Ilocos eh. Nakakainggit talagang mag-diving! Mahilig ako sa nature, yon bang magagandang tanawin lalo na siguro don sa ilalim ng dagat.
@Vicente: Bakit, anong condition ba? Kasi if all else fails merong mga nagpapaopera fore reconstructions and repairs eh. 🙂
@Camille: GO TRY! I had mine in October and now I’m two dives away from certification! 🙂 I can swim, but I’m scared of fish. Hahaha Well, I used to. But I loved my intro dive experience, plus my dive instructor was galing (and fun!) so I learned quickly. Don’t worry about going out of control. The dive instructor will be holding on to you the entire time. Btw, mine charges waaay less than PHP2,500 😉
@Magel san yung sayo? Hahaha mahirap maging poor na nagaasam ng mga bagay bagay :/ How do certifications go?
^ You need a certain number of hours of lecture, then pool session, then check-out dives (4), then you need to pass a written exam 😉
My dive instructor charges PHP 1,800 only. He’ll lend you all his gear pa. 🙂
^ 1,800? Any other additional charges, and saan ito, Batangas din? 🙂
Yeah, 1,800 then resort fee na 1350 (comes with buffet lunch that’s super good, and use of their air tanks). The reef at the resort is nice kasi kahit mababaw you’ll see a lot na 🙂
o game =) let’s go. dude finish your certification na so you can get your license and join us. basta kami we’re off 28-29. si wowie is coming 30th pa ata.
did you go to kirby’s rock?
@vicente may i suggest trying the intro dive? as for your EENT, pag diver din ang doctor he will advise you to still go but to be careful lang. anyway sa intro dive they wont take you down deep.
@camille really suggest you try the intro dive. o see, mas mura sa instructor ni magel. ako naman i didnt do intro dive anymore. went straight to lessons na. i think nowadays it is PHP15,000 for open water certification? tama ba magel? check this site — http://www.padi.com
James’ wife is giving birth. He’s restricted me to the shore until we can go again in Jan. LOL Wowie’s diving alone?
@magel no i think he’s going with ilyong. go na!!!
@Jayvee/Camille: Mine’s still cheaper! (My gosh, James is so cheap. HAHAHAHAH!) But maybe because we’re friends with a friend of his? I think his regular rate is 13,500. But he’s negotiable naman yata (cheap nga eh. LOL).
o see everything is cheaper with magel pala! just dont borrow her wetsuit. she peed on it na =)
It kept me nice in warm 40ft underwater. Heehee =)
*and (tanga)
Waaa I need money for that. :/ But I waaaaaaant to try. 3,200-ish ano? *sniff*
Jayveeeee I haaaate youuuuu (joking, of course). You got me interested in a very expensive hobby! Hahaha!
it’s worth a try. philippines kasi has the best coral reefs =)
I will, someday!! 🙂 Thanks for the advice! I can’t wait!