I wanted to upgrade to a Nikon D300 system but not necessarily stay with my current manufacturer but the issue was being able to utilise the investment I had previously made in port and lighting systems.
I decided to buy a Nauticam housing having seen the outstanding quality of the finish and precision of the engineering - it was most impressive along with the competitive pricing versus the competition I know that I have made the right decision.
The fact that I could use my existing Sea & Sea ports by simply removing the existing locating plates and replaced by a Nauticam bayonet ring was the deciding feature. The fitting of the ports through the unique lever/locking feature on the front of the housing – open lever, push in port – close lever - easy! Existing Zoom Gears – no problem – a well engineered adapter allows all existing Zoom Lens Gears to be used
Once underwater the system was very simple to operate and had much easier access to the operating features than my previous housing. Additional levers replaced some of the traditional push in rods making regular operations much easier and accessable.
I am now able to connect my Inon strobes via optical cables that means that I can discard electrical sync cords which are a potential point of weakness although the housing is able to use electrical snyc cord should I have a change of mind plus I was now able to use TTL without the need to but an expensive converter. The housing even has a lever to disconnect the strobes without turning them off which I found usefull on wide angle work.
A couple of other features that I was impressed with was the carry handle that makes transportation of the housing at your location easier and the passing of the housing in and out of the water to the boat crews makes life much simpler and safer. And for those photographers that want to experiment by using additional strobes there is a facility to add up to 2 more slave strobes on the housing using your usual arm system.
Finally I decided to have the Enhanced Optical 180º Viewfinder as an optional extra and now it would be difficult to return to a standard eyepiece- but then I don't have to! - it's fantastic.