Selling my personal Aquatica housing setup, complete with Nikon D800E body, strobes, ports, AquaView Viewfinder, and tons of accessories. It’s in great condition, and it’s just undergone an overhaul and test. Some of the accessories may not be all that useful to you, but I haven’t factored them into the price, so just consider them a bonus, and maybe you’ll find something to do with them down the line. No one has ever used it other than me – I’m the 1st and only owner. Wild guess, 400 or so dives on it.
Read below and/or check out the link to my website where I’ve included more pictures and another breakdown of the parts included. Now I’m going to try to answer many of the common questions:
The D800E is a killer system for underwater – for those not familiar, the “E” designation means Nikon has omitted the anti-alias filter from this model, making for slightly sharper images on the appropriate subject matter – and everything underwater is the appropriate subject matter.
The camera body has lived practically its entire life inside the housing – the safest place for a camera, and the reason the camera is in such excellent condition. I’ve never flooded the housing, and it’s just undergone an overhaul, cleaning, and test.
Housing has never been flooded, and has just undergone an overhaul, cleaning, and test.
The 9.25” glass Megadome by Aquatica is spectacular – simply the best optics for medium and wide-angle shooting. I tend to shoot the Sigma 15mm fisheye and Nikon 14-24mm behind it (lenses not included). However, it does have a scratch on it, but it has never shown up in my photos, and hasn’t bothered me. I’ve included a close-up picture of the scratch on my website. The flat port is in great condition, and I tend to shoot the Nikon 105 VR II, and the 60mm (lenses not included). This is the MF port, and the MF gears are included, giving you the option of shooting in MF or AF, or with the AF-ON button on the back, but I like MF personally.
The AquaView viewfinder is AMAZING. It’s an expensive option, but you’ll wonder how you ever shot without it, and pity anyone shooting through a regular viewfinder.
I’ve chosen the Ikelite DS-161 strobes (and the DS-125 before that) for my work ever since they came on the market. They are the best – hands-down. Fastest recycle, awesome power, awesome color and spread, and ultra-reliable and nearly impossible to flood. These are the LI-Ion version, which, as of a few months ago, are not available anymore – but not because of a quality issue – its simply because Ikelite can’t source the Li-Ion parts properly for a while. But the Li-Ion’s are slightly faster, slightly lighter, and have a smaller/lighter charger, and charge faster than the NiMH versions. Shame Ikelite can’t source the Li-Ion parts for now. They’ll probably be back soon. Serial #’s and manufacture dates shown in a photo.
Almost every original box and instruction manual is included. Some parts even have warranty cards that were never filled in, so you can submit for warranties.
You’ll notice there are several accessories included that you might not have planned – I’ve been accumulating parts for years, and am planning on just giving them to you at no charge. Some are brand new, still in bag, and some are quite well worn. Some are specifically for this housing, and some are more universal, or can be modified to fit. So suffice to say, things like the extra two neoprene covers for the flat port, and a few zoom gears that I don’t know which lens they fit, are not factored in to the price – they’re just bonuses that I’m throwing in at no charge.
Also please note, as a completely separate ad, I also have for sale another AquaView Viewfinder by itself. And an Aquatica complete Wave Video system with an HD Sony DSC 520 and an Ikelite PRO2800 LED light system. Call for details.
TERMS OF SALE:
I’d love to have you personally inspect everything at my Fort Lauderdale galleries – set up an appointment and I’ll make sure I’m personally working that day to run you through everything. For further questions, its 1000x easier to call than it is to email. The price is firm – no need to negotiate – I’ve already priced this at its best price from the start, so please don’t do it. If you can’t make it in person, we can also do a FaceTime call so you can see it over the phone. If you need it shipped in the continental USA, I’ll ship it insured FedEx ground for no charge. If outside the continental USA, I’ll get you a shipping quote using your postal code. Cash/check preferred, but in the case of a check, it will need to clear before shipping it or you taking it in person. I can also accept a credit card, but we’ll add credit card transactional fees of 2.75% for USA cards, and 3.4% for international cards. Please note that due to the high rate of fraud in international transactions, there will need to be additional security verification that may take additional time. Call my cell at 813-368-1826 or my gallery number at 954-579-8096.
PARTS BREAKDOWN:
| D800E body | ($1700 used) | 3000 | 1 |
| Housing w/Ike Bulkhead & AquaView | 20070-KT-VF | 4790 | 1 |
| 9.25″ port | 18407 | 1760 | 0 |
| Flat port w/MF | 18426 | 507 | 1 |
| Ext ring | 18458 | 300 | 1 |
| Ext ring | 18453 | 233 | 1 |
| Ext ring | ? | 200 | 2 |
| Zoom Gear for Nikon 14-24 f2.8 | 47822 | 104 | 1 |
| MF Gear for Nikon AF-S 105mm f2.8G ED-IF VR | 18712.1 | 117 | 1 |
| MF Gear for Nikon 60mm f2.8 or 85mm f3.5G | 18728 | 104 | 1 |
| Zoom gear for tokina 10-17??? | 100 | 1 | |
| Zoom gear for Nikon 18-70 ???? | 100 | 1 | |
| 11″ double-ball arm set with 3 clamps | 77512 | 189 | 2 |
| 1″ ball to plate | 77553 | 18 | 2 |
| 1″ ball to plate (NEW) | 17553 | 18 | 1 |
| 6″ double-ball arms (5 or 6″???) | 77667 | 35 | 2 |
| Ball head adaptor for Ikelite strobes | 77692 | 25 | 2 |
| +5/+10 Complete Close-up diopter kit | 19350 | 566 | 1 |
| Lens Holder (extra – don’t know why) | 19351 | 178 | 1 |
| Lens Caddy (NEW) | 19354 | 69 | 1 |
| Protective Body Cap | 18789 | 67 | 2 |
| Protective Port Cap | 18790 | 67 | 2 |
| 4 point mounting base ???? (NEW) | 77554 | 58 | 1 |
| O-Ring Rebuild Kit ???? (NEW) | 18841??? | 25 | 1 |
| Locking Collar for locking ext to port (NEW) | 18469 | 100 | 1 |
| 1″ ball to stud (NEW) | 17651 | 1 | |
| Neoprene cover for Flat Port with MF | 18505 | 32 | 2 |
| Canon 5D MKII main body oring | 18829 | 1 | |
| Port o-rings | 2 |
How I came to the price:
New value of all these parts is about $14,000.
Excellent condition used D800E cameras currently go for about $1700
So I took $1700 for the camera, and ½ MSRP on everything else, bringing me to $6897.50. So lets do the whole package for $6500 firm. What a deal!
