Housing for Nikon D3200

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Echo
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Housing for Nikon D3200

Post by Echo »

I'm in the market for a housing so i can finally get my Nikon D3200 in the water. I'm having a hard time finding something that ISN'T Ikelite. I have an Ikelite housing for my current camera and the setting buttons are not glove friendly what-so-ever (or un-gloved for that matter). Are there better alternatives that I'm simply over looking? I know there's a bunch of camera techies here that could point me in the right direction.
-Erika
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Scubie Doo
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Re: Housing for Nikon D3200

Post by Scubie Doo »

I did a quick search and only found Ikelite. You may want to check with Jack Connick at Optical Ocean, he will know for sure if there are any other housings. If nauticam and/or aquatica make a housing it will be in the $3,000 range though.
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CaptnJack
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Re: Housing for Nikon D3200

Post by CaptnJack »

I found nothing but an Ikelite available for the previous generation D3100. Perhaps thinner gloves + suit heat to compensate might be more economical and functional?
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Echo
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Re: Housing for Nikon D3200

Post by Echo »

I was afraid ikelite was going to be my only option.
-Erika
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DecidedlyOdd
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Re: Housing for Nikon D3200

Post by DecidedlyOdd »

If the housing finders on Optical Ocean Sales' or similar sites doesn't turn up anything, a housing for the camera isn't available (unless it's an older model where you may be able to track down a used model). Manufacturers usually only produce housings for certain cameras that are popular or that work well underwater since it's a niche market with high upfront design costs. Ikelite produces housings by using a common platform, which lets them do it cheaper and support a wider variety of cameras, but at the cost of being bulkier and usually less ergonomic.



It's also important to keep in mind that the camera usually ends up being only a small fraction of the total cost of purchasing a system once you factor in the housing, ports, lenses, strobes, cords, arms, lights, etc. You may not necessarily save any money or get the best deal by using a camera you already own.
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Bric Martin
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Re: Housing for Nikon D3200

Post by Bric Martin »

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YellowEye
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Re: Housing for Nikon D3200

Post by YellowEye »

Hi Erika!

Nice camera! Good to hear you got the camera bug still!

Which settings buttons are you having problems with? Maybe we can help.

-Eric
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Echo
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Re: Housing for Nikon D3200

Post by Echo »

I fully planned on putting money down on a housing. I knew it wasn't going to be cheap. I need lighting as well, using my dive light is becoming exhausting. Again, I've looked into this too.
Yes, Eric, I still love taking photos, but the current, cheap camera is so inadequate and frustrating with it's lack of settings, that I end up taking it on dives but rarely use it anymore. I like the Ikelite for it's transparency, I can see if there's something wrong on the inside or if the o-ring isn't set properly. The buttons are just jammed so tightly together that even with gloves off, they're hard to use.
-Erika
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Re: Housing for Nikon D3200

Post by YellowEye »

I know a lot of people go back to wet gloves after a while, even non-photographers, as dry gloves are a bit of a hassle. And it isn't a huge deal in the summer.

Which settings do you think you need to frequently access? There may be a workaround. I don't fiddle that much with mine...

Button jamming could be a function of the camera layout, not the housing... a different housing may not help!
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Echo
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Re: Housing for Nikon D3200

Post by Echo »

Maybe I'm just special ed or something, but every time my camera goes on standby, all the settings reset, I have to take the flash off, and then throw it back into Macro, which are two different buttons. While I'm fiddling with those two, a lot of times I press other things unintentionally and the time it takes, usually allows the subject to slip away while i'm not paying attention.
-Erika
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YellowEye
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Re: Housing for Nikon D3200

Post by YellowEye »

You may be able to change the standby timeout.
Or figure out if you can persist settings.
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Echo
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Re: Housing for Nikon D3200

Post by Echo »

I wondered that too. It's so cheap that if the only changeable setting is the exposure, i doubt it would have something like a standby setting
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YellowEye
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Re: Housing for Nikon D3200

Post by YellowEye »

Lookup Nikon Hacker, there may be a hack to change it

Exposure can be changed easily by strobe adjustment or distance
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Echo
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Re: Housing for Nikon D3200

Post by Echo »

Oh no, this isn't for the Nikon, it's the current camera I'm using underwater. The Nikon hasn't seen water yet.
-Erika
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YellowEye
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Re: Housing for Nikon D3200

Post by YellowEye »

Oh, in that case probably the Nikon 3200 will have better button layout even on Ikelite!
You're welcome to see how my ike buttons feel with your dry gloves. Probably it will have similar layout to the 3200 would. Buttons on a housing are usually a function of the camera. The Nikon dslr's are usually similar. I never had a problem with it even with dry gloves.
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