G9 Camera with Ikelite housing and Z-240 Inon strobe

What equipment to buy for taking crispy and nice underwater pictures without investing an excessive amount of money for a DSLR (reflex) camera with expensive housing and strobes ? I'm quite demanding in terms of camera performance; ...I ended up buying a G9 camera with the Ikelite housing and one Inon strobe.

The G9 is the high end compact camera from Canon, the main advantage of the camera is that it takes RAW's pictures. The Inon strobe offers lots of power in a small volume. The Inon strobe is triggered by an optical fiber that propagates the camera flash light to the strobe photosensor. There's a good explanation here. The ikelite housing is very robust. The total cost of my setup is 2600 USD.

I recommend this equipment if you are looking for a photography solution that is less expensive than a SLR but still takes good pictures. Unless you have the money to buy a nice DSLR like a Canon 5D Mark II with housing and two strobes, this solution is a good trade-off. If you have spare money, buy 2 strobes instead of 1.

Since I'm swiss, I bought the items from Switzerland: the G9 from www.toppreise.ch ; the Ikelite housing from www.bhphotovideo.com , and the Inon strobe from Yuzo in Japan www.uwdigitalcamera.com . I spent in total 2685CHF (including shipping).

Here is the detailed equipment:

1xIkelite IK6420 W-20 Underwater Wide Angle Conversion Lens *** USD 299.5 = CHF 329.74
1xIkelite IK9305.92 Flat Port for Ikelite Housing 6147 for Canon G7 *** USD 94.95 = CHF 104.54
1xIkelite IK6147.09 6147.09 TTL Underwater Housing *** USD 569.95 = CHF 627.50
2xIkelite IK5020 Silicone Lubricant Tube *** USD 3.9 = CHF 4.29
3xIkelite IK0110 0110 O-Ring for Digital Housing *** USD 20.85 = CHF 22.96
1xPowerShot G9, 12.1 Megapixel, 4000x3000 *** CHF 529.85
1xINON Z-240 type3 *** JPY58800= CHF 617.92
1xINON optical cable kit for OLYMPUS, Housing model:PT-020/027 ***JPY8480= CHF 89.11
1xULCS ball Base for Ikelite Q-grip *** JPY3400 = CHF 35.73
2xULCS DB-arm 5inch *** JPY11700 = CHF 122.95
3xULCS AC-CSF clamp *** JPY12150 = CHF 127.68
1xINON Z ball arm adapter *** JPY 2880 = CHF 30.27
1xShipping *** JPY 4600 = CHF 48.34

USD rate 1.10097
JPY rate 0.0105088

Here is the picture of the complete setup:

Hi,

Thanks for this usefull topic. I have just bought the G10 and would be really thanksful if you could give me a little feedback on this setup and if you have some samples would be great.

Thanks
Daniel

Daniel,

I just came back from diving holydays. I'll post few pictures samples soon :-)

Here are few samples from Maldives shot with the setup above: CLICK HERE

I am interested in the white flash blocker on the front of the housing, is this something that you have made yourself or purchased.
Blair

The white flash blocker is sold together with the ikelite housing.

Same setup with one additional strobe:

Hi there folks,

Anybody using an Inon Z240 with a Canon 40D in an Ikelite housing? I am having real trouble getting the strobe to fire on full power, as the housing has too many smarts so no TTL is available....and manual doesn't seem to be working.

I would be really grateful for any suggestions/tips/help!!!

Thanks
Jenny in Perth, Oz