Ewa-Marine U-B Underwater Housing

Comments about Ewa-Marine U-B Underwater Housing:

Over the past 2yrs, I have owned the Ewa Marine U-B and the equivalent model with a tripod mount. I've used my Canon 40D with the Tamron 17-50mm as well as the Tokina 11-16.

Pros:
- The pictures came out great

- It's a relatively inexpensive option if you consider that it's a fraction of the price of most professional housings.

- Fairly easy to use if you pre-set your camera settings before sticking it in the housing

Cons:
- Both my Ewa Marine housings leaked within 1yr of use. The polyurethane material that is used becomes hard in the cold and makes operation of your camera very difficult (6 degrees Celsius and under). The seams become brittle in the cold and blow wide open after short use (On the Ewa Marine U-B, it developed a 1/2 inch leak in the seam below the pocket for your finger...With the Ewa Marine U-B TR, there's a 3.5 inch hole on the right side seam of the housing. If you plan to use this product in colder air & water temps, this housing is definitely not for you. My Canon 40D survived both leaks and I was able to get both lenses cleaned.

- It's fairly expensive to ship to and from Germany when you need to get it repaired through warranty.

- Changing camera settings is difficult.

I will be going with a different housing from now on for my underwater photography.

Comments about Ewa-Marine U-B Underwater Housing:

Used with a Canon 40D and Tamron 17-50 ƒ2.8 (mostly set at 24mm). I recommend you practice with it (like the manual suggest) to ensure you are comfortable handling the set up as well as ensuring you have the best fit with your kit. Other than testing it was water tight, I did not and the first real use was out on a snorkel trip so it took me a while to get the hang of it, but I am very satisfied with the results. The other reviewer suggested it was difficult to look through the view finder and that is true, but if you practice before you get in the water to get a feel for point & shoot and get a big memory card, just lean on the shutter and let it rip. Now that I have one trip under my belt, I will probably get the extra weight designed for it (it was a little difficult to stay under more than 5-8 feet. All said, it was well worth the money spent. Should be 4.5 stars, as the manual needs to be just a little better.

Comments about Ewa-Marine U-B Underwater Housing:

I used this product over 10 times during my 14 day trip to the Bahamas while snorkeling, and had no problems with any leaks.

I found it rather hard at times to press the shutter release button on my Nikon D200 through the bag.

I also found it impossible to look directly through the camera's view finder while trying to take a photo as my snorkel in my mouth did not allow me to press the bag up next to my mask. I had to hold the bag a couple of inches away in order to see through the camera's viewfinder. Not to hard to do if the water current you are snorkeling in is rather calm, but near impossible to do if it is not.

I also highly recommend that you clean the bag after every use. I cleaned mine with baby shampoo and water. It work well in removing the salt from the bag's exterior.