Aquatica, the only established manufacturer of aluminum DSLR housings in North America, have announced the release of the A70D housing for the Canon 70D.

The A70D housing has been carefully designed and manufactured with the finest and latest technological innovations. With over 30 years of experience, once again Aquatica’s deep engineering mastery has yielded a finely crafted underwater housing.

The housing is priced competitively at a price point of USD $2,699.00 and will be available January 2014.

About the Canon 70D

The Canon 70D comes along with a 20.2 MP APS-C sensor and offers lots of innovation  in the field of autofocus with their Dual Pixel CMOS technology allowing delivery of smooth and precise autofocus in full HD mode that were thought to be impossible until now.  The camera comes with fast acquisition in the LIVE VIEW mode brushing off the most challenging of situations easily. This new Auto Focus technology paired with the 19 points AF system enables the camera to shoot up to 7 frames at full resolution with tack sharps results.  Furthermore, the wide range of ISO setting from 100-12,800 (H: 25,600) and Canon famous dynamic range lets the photographer take advantage of the light, no matter how dim it is.

The AF system is highly customizable allowing you to adapt to your subject. The viewfinder of the camera has 98% coverage of the image, another desirable trait for the underwater photographer. Besides excellent still images, the Canon 70D also lets you shoot full HD movie with a 1920 x 1080p resolution and to push the creative boundary even further, frame rates can be adjusted to 30, 25 & 24fps in HD and in the 720p mode up to 50 and 60fps.

About the Aquatica A70D housing

Ergonomic comfort does matter and Aquatica has, yet again, lifted the bar higher in this sense with the release of their A70D housing.  Their innovative design team has conceived a precise, under your fingertips, housing that does away with confusing and cluttered controls. The controls of the Aquatica A70D are spaciously located for easy access, even with the thickest of cold water gloves and its vital functions have been extended to “hands on the grip” positions allowing optimization of underwater buoyancy.

Aquatica’s new pressure ‘‘check’’ circuitry

Aquatica has developed a new atmospheric pressure sensitive circuitry that will allow the user to confirm water tight integrity before the dive. This new system will give the user additional peace of mind, knowing their expensive camera equipment will stay dry.

How it works

Once your camera is installed, simply push the start actuating button (integrated on the circuit board). The LED light will turn green for two seconds, this will confirm actuation. Once a solid vacuum is achieved, the LED will blink green again for two seconds. During the dive the LED will flash green every few seconds, indicating system integrity. If the vacuum starts to decrease, the LED will start to flash orange, and if water is detected, the audible alarm will go off and the LED will also flash red.

The advanced Aquatica circuit has a temperature compensation included, so any change in ambient temperature or changes in the internal temperature will not cause an incorrect reading.

The onboard start actuating button is for the vacuum only; your alarm is always on.

The results

This new Aquatica vacuum/alarm system is the most thought-out on the market today.

– Easy user installation

– Intelligent use of LED technology

– Can easily be adapted to any system on the market

– The underwater photographer can now be assured with a single look, that their housing has water tight integrity before, during and    after the dive.

More about the housing’s unique features

The Aquatica A70D housing shell is built of the finest material available; crafted to military specification and meant to last a lifetime. It wraps around the Canon 70D like a glove and the access to the Quick Command knob has been totally redesigned from previous housings and is now positioned at a nice comfortable angle, right next to the main command knob, and just waiting for your creative input.  The AF-ON /* (star) lever is fitted with a rotating collar, allowing access to function without the need for obstructive levers sticking out the housing.  All while retaining its ease and simplicity of operation, the all important ISO function button is now activated with a thumb activated lever, again positioned so it does not overwhelm the already busy right hand side of the housing.

The Aquatica A70D also takes full advantage of the Canon 70D high level of video performance. The access to the video feature of the camera has been optimized on the housing allowing a smooth underwater adventure.

The housing features quick and easy camera insertion and water proof integrity with a reliable time-proven closure system equipped with safety locks. A Reliable port lock mechanism also safely locks in the port to the housing. The comfortable housing grips are a sturdy platform for mounting the largest strobe and lighting without flexing or when requiring additional support.

Viewing is done with a state of the art Galileo view finder. Aquatica introduced its Aqua View series of finder a few years ago, and has built a solid reputation for crystal clear and precision viewing. The Aqua View 180^o finder is a streamlined design that is compact and non obstructive to the rear camera LCD window, the dioptric adjustment is internal, thus eliminating both unnecessary external bulk and the risk of being thrown out of adjustment unintentionally. The Aqua View 45^o finder offers one of, if not the most, compact profile of any 45 degree finders – it easily rotates left or right allowing vertical shooting.

These finders provide the utmost accuracy, brightness and best viewing comfort that you can experience underwater.  No special tools are required to mount these accessories to the housing allowing new users to mount one safely and in very little time.

Understandably, the ports system of any housing system is the key to optical performance. The Aquatica system is composed of four hemispherical dome ports, the 4” mini dome, the 6” dome, the 8” dome and the 9.25” Megadome. Three flat ports are available and nine ports extensions ring ensure that you can take full advantage from one of the largest range of supported lens for underwater photography.

About the strobe connectivity

The Aquatica A70D and it other siblings have the largest selection of strobe connections.  The optical fiber connections provided are compatible with standard off-the-shelf cord and do not require proprietary adapters or specially made cords.  The unique strobe connectors system, designed by Aquatica, allows for modifying, adapting, replacing or alternating connectors simply in a matter of minutes without requiring any special tools. This design is made for easy field maintenance and is a result of a long history of working with professionals in remote locations and paying attention to their needs. Aside from addressing all existing optical strobe requirements, the A70D can also be equipped with classic Nikonos type connectors or with Ikelite original bulkhead connections.

Extra access bulkhead on the housing provide space for accessories such as our own Aquatica Remote Trigger grip and Amphibico (or other brands of) video monitor.

For more information on the A70D and other Aquatica products visit www.aquatica.ca