Ikelite G11 User Manual

Digital Housing

i n s t r u c t i o n m a n u a l

6146.12 for Canon Powershot G11, G12

Lens
Port

Thank you for your purchase of Ikelite equipment. Please read this
instruction manual completely before attempting to operate or dive
with this product. Please refer to the back page of this manual to
register your Ikelite product.

Table of Contents

Specifications ..............................................................P. 4

Package Contents ........................................................P. 4

Preparation ..................................................................P. 4

Initial Camera Setup ........................................................P. 5

Attach External Tray and Handle to Housing ..................P. 6

Housing Controls - Front View ........................................P. 7

Housing Controls - Back View ........................................P. 8

Opening the Housing ......................................................P. 9

Installing the Camera ......................................................P. 9

Attach Hotshoe to Camera ..............................................P. 9, 10

Attach Camera to Mounting Tray ....................................P. 9, 10

Using the Camera’s Built-in Flash ..................................P. 11

Closing the Housing ........................................................P. 11

Usage ............................................................................P. 12

Final Check ....................................................................P. 12

Zoom Control ..................................................................P. 12

Diffuser and Deflector Installation and Use ....................P. 13

Conversion Circuitry ........................................................P. 14

Attaching an Ikelite Strobe Arm to the Housing Handle ..P. 14

Attaching a Sync Cord to the Housing ............................P. 15

Turn Camera On..............................................................P. 15

Entering the Water ..........................................................P. 16

Maintenance ................................................................P. 16

Lens Port ........................................................................P. 16

2

Table of Contents

Lubricant..........................................................................P. 16

Housing Maintenance......................................................P. 17

Control Maintenance ......................................................P. 18

Photo Tips ..................................................................P. 20

Troubleshooting ........................................................P. 20

Spare Parts ..................................................................P. 24

Recommended Accessories ....................................P. 24

EV Manual Controller Use ............................................P. 26

Technical Support ....................................................P. 26

Limited Warranty ........................................................P. 26

Returning Products for Service ................................P. 27

Product Registration ..................................................Back Cover

- continued

3

Specifications

Width ......................7in. (180mm) including controls

Height ....................5 in. (130mm) including controls

Depth ......................5.4 in. (140mm) including controls and lens port

Weight ....................2.8 lb (1300g) above water

Buoyancy ................Slightly negative in saltwater for stability

Package Contents

- Ikelite Digital Housing

- Silicone Lubricant

- Vinyl Port Cover

- Diffuser

- Deflector

- Extra Control Tips

Preparation

This product has been water pressure tested at the factory and is depth
rated to 200 ft. (60m). Thoroughly inspect and immerse the empty
housing completely in water before installing a camera. If any fogging
occurs or droplets of water enter the housing, do not install a camera.
Clean the housing main o-ring and retest to make sure that it is
watertight. Refer to the Troubleshooting section, page 21.

Please read your Canon camera manual thoroughly to have a full
understanding of each camera function.

If you are new to underwater photography, be sure to read the Photo
Tips section.

4

Initial Camera Setup (before placing camera in housing)

- Insert a fully charged battery. Due to the power required to operate the

camera and LCD screen, start each dive with a fully charged camera

battery.

- Insert and format a memory card.

- Set camera date and time.

- Set ISO to “80.”

- Set camera mode dial to “Av” Aperture priority. In Aperture Priority mode

"Av" the shutter speed should automatically go to 1/60 second.

- Set Flash to “On” (lightning bolt in LCD).

- For General photography, set aperture to f3.5.

- For Macro photography, set aperture to f8.0.

- Set White Balance (AWB) to “Auto.”

- Set Image Size to “L” and compression to “S” Superfine.

- Set Metering to “Center-Weighted Average.”

- In the camera menu set the “ND” Filter to “Cancel.”

NOTES:

TTL Flash is NOT available when camera is in “M” Manual mode. There
is no TTL flash even with Canon's own flash in the camera "M" mode.
Manual power settings can be selected with the multi-control button on
the back of the camera. The strobe should still be left in TTL to take
advantage of this feature.

Leave the housing hotshoe disconnected when using an EV Manual
Controller. If using an EV controller in “M” Manual mode, set the EV
controller to “non-Pre-flash.” Please read page 26 for additional
information when using an EV Manual Controller.

When multiple exposure (continuous shooting) mode is used, the
external flash will not fire. This is normal and also happens with Canon
external speedlights.

5

Attach External Tray and Handle to Housing

Using a 9/16” open end or socket wrench, tighten the External Tray to the
Housing Base using the two 3/8-16 Nuts supplied in the accessory package;
tighten Nuts firmly.

Lens
Port

3/8-16 Nuts

External Tray & Handle

6

Housing Controls - Front View

Lens
Port

Shutter
Release

Lid Snap

Front
Dial

Zoom
Dial

Mode Dial

External Tray Mounts

Exposure Compensation Dial

Lens Port

Housing Front Dial Control

The Housing Front Dial Control rotates the G12 front dial. This control is
NOT applicable to a G11 camera and will sit idle.

Shortcut Control Caution

Turn control downward and inward before closing housing, otherwise,
control can be accidentally wedged between the top of housing and
electronics box resulting in interference with the housing seal.

Shortcut

7

Housing Controls - Back View

Power Button

1

Housing Controls

1. External Strobe Connector & Cap

2. ISO Dial

3. Playback Button

4. AE/FE Lock Button

5. Single Erase Button

6. Metering Light

7. Control Dial

8

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

14

13

8. Manual Focus

9. Macro / Left Button

10. FUNC./SET Button

11. Flash / Right Button

12. Self-Timer / Down Button

13. Display Button

14. Menu Button

Opening the Housing

Lid Snaps have a Lock.
To open housing, push Lid Snap
Lock forward and lift as shown.
Keep pressure on the Lid Snap so it
does not fly open quickly.

Some Lid Snaps have a lot of
spring tension once they go over
center, so keep a firm grip on the Lid Snap.
Lid Snaps may be opened one at a time.

Push Forward

Lid Snap Lock

Lift

Installing the Camera

1. Pull out on each housing control until it stops. This will get the controls
out of the way for installation of the camera.

2. Remove the back from the housing.

3. Remove camera lanyard from camera if attached.

4. The mounting tray for the camera is secured to the housing back.
Position the camera on the tray.

5. Slide the housing Hotshoe Connector into the Camera Hotshoe Mount

- page 10, diagram A.
should be done before the camera is secured with the mounting bolt

- page 10, diagram B.

Note: If you are using an EV Controller or slave strobe and NOT hardwiring

your strobes directly to the housing, leave the housing hotshoe
disconnected from the camera. You will also need to install the Flash
Deflector (supplied) into the external port groove to block and deflect the
camera flash to the EV controller - page 13.

6. Using a coin or screwdriver (preferred), secure the camera with the Tray
Mounting Bolt which threads into the camera’s tripod socket - page 10,
diagram B.

Slide the connector forward until it stops. This

9