Housing set-up:Aquatica 5D MKII Housing
8inch dome
port with no shade,

 Extension
part number 18453, with this extension ring the lens protrudes ~2-3mm above the
inner flat face of the port.
 Extension
part number 18463, with this extension ring the lens protrudes about the same
as the Canon 15mm does with just the 8inch port on the housing.         
Zoom gear
part number (z) 18708, this is the same is what is used for the EF 16-35mm MKII
lens. 


Putting lens on was a bit of a pain, so
what I did was I removed the lens removal button lever (within the housing) and
I could then insert the camera with the lens (with lens cap on just
in case) from the rear.


 The fitment of the 18708 zoom gear on the EF16-35mm MKII is
definitely more snug than on the EF8-15mm. On the EF16-35mm the zoom will just
work without using the grub screw to firmly fix it place where as on the
EF8-15mm the clearance between the gear and the zoom ring is greater and you do
have tighten grub screws to get the zoom gear to work. In looking at the Focus
gear for the EF15mm fisheye the clearance on this combination of gear and lens
would be about the same as the clearance with the 18708 gear on the EF8-15mm.

Examining the 18708 gear
and the EF8-15mm within the housing that the leading edge of the gear (as far
as the gear can be put forward on the lens from the camera body) is about ~4mm
back from the leading edge of the housing gear (ie the housing gear is mounted
further forward: away from the camera body). This means that the zoom gear will
always engage the housing gear even with the gear made thinner to allow for the
lens release lever fitment. As mentioned previously the distance from the rear
edge of the zoom gear on the EF8-15mm to the lens release button is
approximately 11mm and the same distance on the EF16-35mm is ~18mm. So the new
gear for the EF8-15mm would have nominally the same bore as the 18708 but would
be nominally 6mm thinner to give a similar clearance for the zoom release
lever. Refer to the following photos for Lens and zoom gear fitment and clearances.
Canon Ef 8-15mm with 18708 Zoom Gear.Canon EF16-35mm with 18708 Zoom Gear.
Trial Photographs taken at Julian Rocks Byron Bay, Australia.
Canon EF8-15mm with 18463 Extension and 8" port.Canon EF8-15mm with 18463 Extension and 8" port.Canon EF8-15mm with 18463 Extension and 8" port.Canon EF8-15mm with 18453 Extension and 8" port.Canon EF8-15mm with 18453 Extension and 8" port.Canon EF8-15mm with 18453 Extension and 8" port.
It seemed to me that the shorter 18463 port extension with 8inch dome worked better with the same blue chroma effect right on then edge frame where as the longer 18453 port extension this was only evident on one side and it seemed to catch a slight reflection on the right hand side where the dome port interfactes with the port backing plate. More testing is in order as this was just a quick real world shooting test with one dive per port extension.

 
I first started diving back in January 2000 with my open
water course in Cairns, North Queensland, Australia.  Since this time I
have progressed with an advanced diving course a Nitrox course and I am
currently lining up to complete an "Advanced Nitrox" course and "Decompression
Procedures". Since my first dive in 2000 I have dived in Bikini Atoll,
Chuuk Lagoon, East Timor, Indonesia, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New
Guinea, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vanuatu and of
course Australia.  I have done over 500 dives and will be doing more
as time allows.

I started taking under water photographs in June 2003 when I
purchased a Sony P10 with the matching Sony housing MPK-PHA, from this basic
set-up I added a couple of accessories, Sea & Sea LX-25 Video Light, Sea
& Sea lens adaptor, Sea & Sea 16mm wide angle lens, Sea & Sea
T2 macro lens and an Inon D180 Strobe. All of these item where mounted on
Fish-eye tray and arms and a modified Sea & Sea lens caddy. 


This was then upgraded as my P10 decided to die on me. 
So as of December 2005, I  used a Canon 20D in an Ikelite housing
using a Canon 10-22mm Wide Angle Zoom with a 6" dome port and a Canon
100mm Macro using a flat port combined with dual Ikelite DS125
Substrobes.  A part from a couple of pool dives and a quick shake
down dive of Stradbroke Island my first real test for the new
set-up was a trip to Palau and Chuuk Lagoon in January 2006. So 
my photographs from January 2006 through to September 2009 were with this
particular set-up. 

I have purchased a set of Magic Filters for ambient
light photography, I have not had a chance to try the filters out as yet but it
is something that I will be trying in particular clear days and shallow water.
I will post updates of my trials with the filters as opportunity allows.

I had bought a Canon 40D for my trip to South Africa (20D was used as well
in it was used within the housing for the Sardine Run Photographs). Happy about
the improvements over the 20D except for one major thing (in my opinion) you
cannot get third party flash unit to fire on 2nd curtain sync, this is reserved
only for the latest Canon flash units (this is also the case with the 5D MKII).


I have since sold my 20D camera and both of the Ikelite Housings that I
did have (20D and 40D). I briefly housed the 40D in an Ikelite Housing and from
the1st September 2009 through to end of November 2009 underwater photographs
were with this set-up. I also added to my arsenal a Canon 5D MKII with a
16-35mm F2.8 MKII and a 15mm fish-eye. I have housed the 5D MKII in
an Aquatica housing which arrived just in time for my dive trip on the SS
Yongala, so now all the underwater photographs (December 2009) will be with the
5DMKII and above water a mix of the 40D and the 5D MKII. The ports I have got
for the Aquatica are as follows; 4" Mini Dome Port (for the fisheye),
8" Dome Port and the Macro Flat Port and various port extensions to suit
the different lens-port configurations.

I have purchased 2 more underwater strobes (Ikelite DS161 along
with my existing DS125's which will be the slave strobes) and also some
slave triggers so that I can set-up strobes remotely from the camera for more
creative lighting effects in particular when dealing with caves or wrecks. I am
also looking into options for using snoots as well, I think that I will see
about making up some of the so called fibre-snoots for more selective and
creative lighting. I also have a few Sola lights (by Light and Motion). I have the Sola 600
Photo (combined white and red light) with a maximum output of 600 Lumens
and two off Sola 1200 with 1200 lumens each, these lights provide me with video
lighting for when I want to such some footage in lieu of stills.


For land photography I using the following equipment:
Body-Canon 5DMKII and 40D (replacing the 20D),Lenses: EF 15mm F2.8 Fisheye,EF
16-35 F2.8L MKII, EF 24-70mm F/2.8L, EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro, EF 70-200mm
f/2.8L, EF 2x -II Extender, Kenko 1.4x Teleconverter, 580EX Flash,
Manfrotto Monopod, Manfrotto Tripod 055-PROB with RC322 Ball Head, Camera bag:
Lowepro Dryzone 200, Filters, Hoya Circular Polariser, Hoya UV Filters and some
Conkin Neutral Graduated Filters.

Underwater Configuration.

Myself, waiting between dives.