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Why Buy An Ewa-Marine Housing?There are many reasons to select an Ewa-Marine enclosure for your treasured digital, slr, and video cameras. Let's start with the first and most obvious reason - PRICE. Let's look at a popular camera like the Canon 1D or 1DS Mark II. Now you can purchase a hard case from Seacam for about $6000 + which affords all of the bells and whistles, matches your camera's onboard controls perfectly, weighs about 7 lbs. and doesn't come with a front port. Just add $2100 for a Super Dome Port or the macro port for a mere $385. Now this model will have you reaching into your wallet for as high $6400 to $8100 depending on your selection. Let's look at another hard housing for this camera like the AquaTech, a middle of the road housing which weighs in at over 3.5 lbs and starts at about $1620 without the front port which is a necessity but listed as an accessory at between $335 - $395. With this underwater housing, we'll be coming in at about $2000 total, and it's depth rating is 33' - identical to a small compact Ewa housing. The Ewa-Marine underwater camera housing for this Canon camera model is called the U-BXP (for use with lenses up to a 72mm filter thread) and the U-BXP100 which allows for use of lenses with a 77mm or 82mm filter thread size. Both versions of this housing are depth rated to 155' not 33' such as the AquaTech offering. They come in prices of $389 for the U-BXP and $435 for the U-BXP100. Now that's quite a savings if you care to do some comparison shopping. These housings are for serious use due to portability and picture quality. Hundreds have traveled with Elite Special Forces units of the Armed Forces to the Middle East during the Liberation of Kuwait and the latest conflicts. No complaints either! Ewa housings are performers if used in the right hands - check out our customer gallery for a good look at some un-retouched shots sent in from customers. Both of the enclosures - the Seacam and the AquaTech are both super housings and will get you great shots. The Ewa-Marine housing will get you great shots as well, but there are differences. The housings mentioned above are solid enclosures but the Ewa-Marine housing is constructed from clear, dual ply PVC. The gauge is fairly hefty, similar to a rain coat, and they have a bit of a rubbery feel quite unlike the Ziploc bag that critics so fondly like to call them. I'm sure they have great gear but like to needle an economical housing as being a piece of junk. There's always those types in any pursuit that requires expensive equipment, who love to overlook the virtues of any product less expensive or "cool" than what they're using. This being an observation of an ex-skeet shooter - who watched the guys ogle the latest, most expensive or more desirable skeet guns in the rack while discussing every detail of the proud owner's gun. I found that using a Remington, a Citori, or a Purdey breaks no more clay birds than the shooter's ability allows. Back on topic...Ewa-Marine invented the waterproof underwater housing in 1970 and have by far the most experience and expertise in the manufacturing of flexible housings. The housings are also portable and extremely light to pack and travel with. The more expensive hard cases are great for deep diving and so are Ewa-Marine housings - some having a depth ratings of over 150' for larger camera cases. Another advantage is that these housings will be light, at no more than 1 1/12 pounds for a large housing and less than 1/4 pound for the smallest digital housings. This gives you the freedom you need to easily slip your camera into an enclosure if the family decides to do almost anything above water as well, like protecting your camera from oil and sand at the beach, maybe take a canoe trip or even spending the day hiking in the foothills of Alaska. You'll need something to protect your camcorders and cameras. Many choose a fully submersible housing for this purpose and for tripod videography, many choose one of our rain capes or hurricane hoods which allow splash protection but Velcro, zip or snap at the bottom so that you can use your hands directly on the controls from underneath or space for mounting your gear on a tripod. All Ewa-Marine housings have one great feature that all of the newcomers and cheaper flexible housings don't have - neutral, hardened, optical grade glass in the lens port. I have personally carried other flexible underwater housings and although they weren't the poorest examples to be found, they did share a couple of commonalities. One being the use of a PVC lens port or area and the second being that they were very generic. Let's just say three offerings for a camera, like a small for compacts, a medium for slightly in between sizes, and a large for the big digital slr cameras. Ewa-Marine offers a customer fit for cameras produced by most manufacturers and covering most models. You can be assured that the camera listed in the fitting guides was actually inserted, submerged underwater and used in the housing that is recommended for it. Forget measuring tapes and pulling the housing back and over your camera as you try to frame a shot. Ewa-Marine underwater housings are fitted for your camera, all you have to do is read the directions carefully and with a little patience you'll be getting great shots. Sea water is very corrosive and it's recommended that the housing should be rinsed thoroughly in clear water and allowed to dry in the sunlight. It's also wise, if possible, to allow the air to circulate inside the housing so that no moisture is trapped inside and allows condensation to occur in the housing if re-used soon. A small piece of foam will keep the opening of the housing open and allow for a thorough drying out. Then simply fold and pack it loosely in it's carrying case until you're ready to use it for your next dive. If you're storing it for an extended period of time, you may want to put a drop of household oil on your fingertips and lightly rub some on the closure rail bolts before storage. Your Ewa housing will last as long as you want if cared for properly, there are loads of real vintage Ewa-Marine products still used today. I see them on auction sites regularly, with many having date stamps from the early 70's and still ready to go .... you do the math. It's all in how you care for your housing. I like my hobby items to look like new and many are that way - new - but 25 to 30 years old! All I do is keep them cleaned and stored properly, there's no secrets. If you care for your Ewa-Marine housing carefully you'll get years of enjoyment and 1000's of photos before you buy another one for your latest camera! |
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