New Product Tour // See What We've Been Working On in 2022! [VIDEO]

Ikelite President Jean Rydberg & Vice President John Brigham give a full rundown of the best new products to come out in Fall of 2022 plus a sneak peek behind the scenes at the Ikelite headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Size Matters: The Compact Housing for Canon EOS R10

This is your first opportunity to take the RF lenses underwater in a compact form housing. Situated next to the Canon R5, you can tell that the R10 housing is about half the size and weight of the full frame system.

Ikelite underwater housing for Canon EOS R10 next to the housing for the Canon EOS R5

There are so many good things to say about this camera. Canon’s intelligent autofocus engine is killer and so is the dynamic range. Nirupam from Underwater Photography Guide had it out in La Paz last week and the shots he came back with were just amazing.

Seasoned shooters tend to have their favorite camera manufacturers in terms of ergonomics. The truth is, some cameras have a more simple set of controls than others. The mechanics of a camera’s control layout will determine whether you need what we call direct-drive controls or a train of gearing and interwoven levers to make the most important controls accessible. The Canon R10 is the best example of this because it uses all direct drive controls. It makes the controls much more dependable in the field. It also translates so well to where we naturally put our hands when we use a housing.

We can’t over-emphasize the size of the system. The combination of the R10’s image quality and the compact size of the housing make it the only system we really want to shoot underwater right now.

Ikelite underwater housing for the Canon EOS R10 in La Paz copyright Nirupam Nigam Underwater Photography Guide

The Canon EOS R10 had no problem with light rays, low light environments, or fast moving subjects like this sea lion in La Paz. Copyright © 2022 Nirupam Nigam, Underwater Photography Guide

Canon EOS R10: The Complete Kit

Pre-orders for the R10 system started on November 1st. You can buy either the housing body or the complete package which includes housing, camera body, 18-45mm lens, dome port, and zoom gear. The complete package is only $2395 right now with Canon’s instant savings promotion that runs only through Cyber Monday.

We have a lot of great content about this system coming out soon so make sure you’re signed up for our Weekly News which is a Friday morning email with links to the latest photo advice, articles, videos, and product tutorials.

New Ikelite Ball socket arm system for underwater strobes

Ball Socket Arm System Updates

Our next big news is an update to the Ball Socket Arm system. We have brand new clamps coming out that reduce the weight. Every little bit counts when you’re packing for air travel.

We also did a full redesign of the wing nut for a more torque and a more comfortable grip. You’ll be able to purchase either a complete new clamp for use with older ball arms, or you can buy the wing nut by itself if you just want the improved grip without the weight savings.

Lighting the Way with DS230 Strobes

This year we have been shipping a ton of our new DS230 strobes and we want to thank everyone for making it even more popular than we anticipated.

This is the strobe I never knew I needed. - Ken Kiefer

Ikelite DS230 underwater strobe

Ken Kiefer reached out after he got his DS230 strobes and said “This is the strobe I never knew I needed...” Ken shoots so many fast action situations with animals like sharks and crocodiles. To shoot that kind of action you really need a strobe that can keep up. I think Ken said it best, “the visuals are not repeatable. If you miss them, they are permanently missed.”

We got an email from Fritz Liechti, who was just shooting the salmon run in Canada with a pair of the new strobes. He has been shooting our DS160-type strobes for years along with other manufacturers strobes. He told us that firing so fast opened a new window for him and he would have never got the shots he wanted without the new DS230s.

They are real monsters! Without them I would never gotten the pics I was looking for. Firing so fast opened a new window for me. Salmons are fighting and biting about the best places. But this goes so fast, you never will hit it. With the new strobes you get it in the box without problems. - Fritz Liechti

Salmon run in Canada with Ikelite DS230 underwater strobes copyright Fritz Liechti

The firing power and speed of the DS230s is critical to shots like this on Fritz Liechti captured of the salmon run in Canada. Copyright © 2022 Fritz Liechti

The combination of power and speed with the DS230 is phenomenal. We guarantee it’s like no strobe you have shot before. It’s 33% more powerful than the DS160, making it one of the most powerful strobes on the market, with a wider beam angle and 5000 degree Kelvin color temperature.

It also manages to be smaller than the DS160. We had to redesign our circuitry from the ground up to fit all this power and a round flashtube in such a small body. Everything from the circuitry to the battery pack is optimized for speed and dependable performance.

The DS230 retails at only $1295 in the US. We’re running about 4 weeks backordered on strobes going into November so if you want one for the holidays this year we strongly recommend getting your order in to your local dealer or through our website now.

John Brigham shows how to install an Ikelite strobe flash bulkhead on a Nauticam underwater housing

John walks you through how easy it is to install the reliable Ikelite flash bulkhead for manual or TTL strobe firing with a Nauticam underwater housing.

M14 and M16 Bulkhead Universal Compatibility

We have seen a lot of people upgrading their Nauticam housings with an Ikelite bulkhead and TTL Converter. We offer our bulkhead with either M14 or M16 threads for universal compatibility. Check out the video that we released earlier this year on how to install the bulkhead on your Nauticam housing.

New Product Launches on the Horizon

There have been a lot of new cameras announced recently and we’re on top of them. Currently we’re working on the Canon EOS R7 and R6 Mark II, Nikon Z30, the new Sony a7 R Mark V, and OM Systems OM-5. Make sure you're registered for our mailing list so you don't miss these product launches.

Stay Informed

The other new thing that we have coming out constantly is educational content. If you haven’t been tuning into our YouTube channel lately and don’t receive our Weekly News, you’re really missing out. We have over 430 articles on our website and we’re releasing new articles and videos every week.

Reach out to us by email via ikelite@ikelite.com with any questions or comments you have. Happy shooting!

Jean Rydberg, daughter of Ike Brigham, became President & CEO of Ikelite in 2006. Prior to that, she wisely pursued a degree in Astronomy & Astrophysics to prepare herself for the challenges of running a technology-driven manufacturing business with global distribution. Jean fully embraces the need to travel outside of her hometown of Indianapolis to experience good diving. She believes that any camera is capable of amazing results in the right hands, and anyone can become a great photographer given the right advice. When she's not working she's spending time with her husband, cats, and two daughters (though not necessarily in that order).

John Brigham is the Vice President & head of product development at Ikelite. He was born with a flair for design and an entrepreneurial spirit as son of Ikelite founder Ike Brigham. He worked his way up in the business and is a natural fit in the R&D side of things. John dives the equipment as much as possible to test product and put himself in the "fins" of the user. You may also find him on the other end of an email or phone call when you reach out for product advice and support. When he's not underwater he's flying drones, setting off rockets, training his German Shepherd "T2", and spending time with his family.