Featuring Logan Wood
Ikelite Video Producer Logan Wood shows you how to set up the Nikon NIKKOR Z 24-50mm f/4-6.3 Lens in your Ikelite 200DL Underwater Housing for Nikon mirrorless cameras. This procedure is the same for any Nikon mirrorless models in a 200DL model housing including (but not limited to) the Nikon Z6, Z6 II, Z6 III, Z7, Z7 II, Z8, Z50, Z50 II.
Follow along with Logan in the video as he shows you how to assemble this Zoom Gear, or scroll down to read the video transcript.
Anti-Reflection Ring
To start you'll notice that there is some gray lettering on the front of this lens. Lettering on the front of lenses tends to reflect off light inside the dome and produce some unwanted reflections. To reduce those reflections, we'll add the Anti-Reflection Ring # 0923.36. To do so is very simple. Just peel it off of the backing and bend it backwards in half. Then very gently apply it evenly around the outer diameter of the lens, covering the lettering.
Diopter
Next, we're going to add a +4 diopter to the front of this lens so that it's able to focus properly behind a dome. This lens has a 52mm filter thread and these diopters are fairly inexpensive to pick up and they just simply screw onto the front of the lens.
The zoom gear for this lens comes with a zoom clamp and foam pads. You'll use the thinner of the two pads and apply them to the inside diameter of the clamp as pictured.
Installing the Zoom Ring on the Lens
Next we're going to put the zoom ring together. When you open the bag you’ll find two sets of foam pads. For this lens we're going to use the thinner of the two. So you can just put the other pads in the bag and put that aside.
The installation is very simple. Just peel the sticker off the back of the foam pad. Bend it back and then on the zoom ring apply the sticker to the inside diameter right in the middle. Make sure the pad covers the entire side of the ring. Do the same thing for the other pad.
Next, we're going to take our lens and click it out of the compact form and zoom it to 24mm in order for you to shoot with it when it's attached to the camera. Once we've done that, we're going to remove the back cap and grab our zoom ring.
Now you want these tabs that are on the zoom ring to be facing the camera body. So we're just going to slide it on, and line the tabs up with the white dots. Just line that up and scoot it all the way up onto the zoom ring and make sure that it's even all the way around.
Installing the Zoom Gear in the Housing
Alright now we're going to draw our attention back to the housing and use our Ikelite zoom gear tool to remove the zoom gear retainer, and then the dust cap. Put those off to the side and remove the body cap from the camera.
Now we're going to grab the Zoom Gear # 5509.28 and just drop it down into the housing and then grab our zoom gear retainer and retainer tool and secure the retainer back on the way we took it off. This does not need to be super tight, just snug so that it doesn't go anywhere.
Align the tabs on the zoom gear with the white indexing dot on the lens, then bayonet the lens onto the camera body as you normally would.
Attaching the Lens to the Camera
From there you'll notice that there are two tabs on the zoom gear itself. Those will line up with the tabs that are on the zoom ring on the lens. So we're going to line those tabs up with the white dot on the camera and then grab our lens, find the white dot, again line it up with the white dot that's on the camera. Insert the lens, you’ll feel it fall into place and then turn counterclockwise to bayonet it onto the camera.
From here we can test zoom functionality by turning the knob on the side of the housing.
Dome Port
This lens calls for the Compact 8" Dome Port # 75344 which makes it super compact in the water with no extensions.
So the first thing we're going to do is flip over the dome port and back out all of the thumb screws from the inside diameter of the dome port. I'm just going to run my finger across that inside diameter making sure that those thumb screws aren't poking out and there isn't any hair or debris there.
Next I'm going to apply a thin coating of the Ikelite lube to the o-ring on the port mount of the housing. This will allow the dome port to slide onto the housing a little bit easier but also gives you an opportunity to feel for any hair or debris or scratches that are on the o-ring, because you'll often feel them before you see them. Then I'll take a little bit of the remainder of that lube that's on my finger and just run it through the inside diameter of the dome port.
Now you’ll notice that one of the thumb screws corresponds with a shade, that will be aligned at the top of our housing. These thumb screws also correspond to three pockets that are on the housing port mount. So we're going to line up the top of the shade with the top of the housing and the thumb screws with the pockets.
Push down lightly and make sure that it's even all the way around and just tighten down the thumb screws. If you feel any resistance while tightening these down, simply back them out and realign.
In this image you can see that the shade and thumb screw that correspond with each other are aligned properly at the top of the housing.
Putting the Housing Under a Vacuum
From here you have a fully waterproof system with the Nikon 24-50mm lens, but there is one more step that I like to take before diving and that is putting the housing under a vacuum using the vacuum pump. It's really easy to do.
On the side of your housing you'll see a vacuum valve. Just press that button to release the cap, insert the barb at the end of the hose on the vacuum pump into the valve and start pumping your housing.
I’ve pumped my housing up to 10mmHg but the number that you pick isn't as important as making sure that the needle is not dropping. So once I’ve pumped up my housing I'll remove the barb from the valve and recap it.
I’ll typically do this the night before a dive and leave it under a vacuum all night and then in the morning I'll take the cap off, put the barb back in and make sure that my needle has not dropped. Then take the barb back out, recap the vacuum valve and go diving!
If you don’t have all night, 10-20 minutes before the dive is fine but again I like to do it the night before so I have as much time to find any potential leaks.
One thing to note, once you have the housing under a vacuum you won't be able to take off the back or the ports because everything is sucked together. So to release the vacuum, just take the cap out, put the barb back in and there is a small button on the bottom of the vacuum pump that will release the vacuum.
If you're on a boat or somewhere where you don't have access to the vacuum pump a pencil or a small object pressed inside the valve will release the vacuum.
In addition to detecting potential leaks, the vacuum pump also helps reinforce all the closing mechanisms on your housing. That means when you're ready to disassemble your housing you'll need to release the vacuum using the small button located under the hand pump portion of your vacuum pump.
That is how to install your Nikon 24-50mm F/4-F/6.3 inside an Ikelite 200DL housing. If you have any questions you can email us at ikelite@ikelite.com.
Featured Products
- Compact 8" Dome Port # 75344
- Zoom Gear # 5509.28
- Anti-Reflection Ring # 0923.36
Additional Viewing
Why Your Lens May Need a +4 Diopter Underwater
Nikon Custom Settings for Underwater Photography // Ikelite 200DL Housing [VIDEO]
When to Use a Compact 8" Dome Port Underwater
Nikon Z8 and Ikelite 200DL Underwater Housing [VIDEO]
Nikon Z6 III Underwater Review & Results
Major UPGRADE // A Comparative Review of the Nikon D850 vs Z8 for Underwater Shooters
Nikon Z7 and 8-15mm Fisheye Underwater Photos with Compact 8 inch Dome
Nikon Custom White Balance for Underwater Photos and Video [VIDEO]
Logan Wood is a published photographer, cinematographer, and Producer at Ikelite. Stemming from a great appreciation for the outdoors and living an active lifestyle, his work focuses on capturing and sharing the natural world through the latest technologies. When not in the studio, Logan can be found cruising on his bike, going to concerts, and researching where to go next. You can see more of his work at loganwood.net and on Instagram @jlowood
