Ok - as promised, I'll finally get to a quick (probably not so much if history is any indication) discussion of the Ikelite equipment I recently purchases so that I can take my 7D diving with me.

In simple terms, the equipment includes a housing, a couple lens ports, a strobe and arm kits, and a waterproof hard-case to carry it all.

Ikelite systems are clear acrylic housings that combine with modular lens ports that are able to be swapped out based on what lens you are planning on using for the dive. The nice feature that Ikelite provides is that full access is given to (almost) every button, switch, knob... In my case, the only buttons not accessible are a 'joystick' style selector button whose functionality can be produced with other buttons, and the pop-up flash button which is not available (nor would it be useful). Looking at the unit, it is rather impressive to see how they managed to maintain some of the button access, and since the housing is clear, you are able to see how the knobs and buttons actually work. (I really love that logo too!)

First off, I'll apologize because some of those photos are less than stellar - I was just firing them off quickly, and kind of ignored some details.

Anyway, you can see by the above shots the housing with the handle tray and my wide angle lens port attached, the housing with no ports attached, the back of the housing (showing a lot of the buttons), the strobe unit (without the flexible arm), and the 100mm macro lens and lens port.

Between the two ports I purchased, I am able to use my new Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM in a flat port that is specifically designed for that lens. The port has a large knob on it which is used for manual focusing, and since the lens has full-time-manual focusing the knob is nice to have. Additionally, I've found that it also fits my Tokina AT-X M35 Pro DX AF 35mm f/2.8 Macro lens with my 2x tele-converter installed. The wide angle dome port fits a number of lenses including that same Tokina 35mm Macro, my Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II, Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II, and maybe some others, but those are the ones I'll be taking with me on the trip.

The strobe is both a flash and a movie light, so I will be able to (and definitely plan to) use it to make a video or two during a night dive. The flexible arm (which you can sort of see in the shot below) allows me to position the light right where I need it. It also comes with a diffuser to allow me to spread the light a little wider for wide angle shots, or soften light for the macro work.

And here is another shot of the mound of stuff on top of the Pelican case. I think I have almost everything packed into the case except for a couple items I'll have to carry separately or in my checked-luggage.

Here's hoping the new equipment really does help me to bring back better images, but you'll have to wait a few more weeks to find out if that is true or not.

- Bill