Ikelite — The Strobe and Housing Pioneer, Built in a Kitchen Oven

The story of Ikelite begins in 1962 with a flooded trunk full of dive lights. Ike Brigham, an avid Great Lakes diver who ran a furniture finishing shop in Indianapolis, was tired of bringing home gear that had flooded on weekend dives. So he built his own light — molding and hand-pouring the housing in a Westinghouse oven in the back of his shop. The light worked, word spread among other Midwest dive shops, and orders for "Ike's light" started coming in. The moniker "Ikelite" was born from that nickname, and the company has operated out of Indianapolis ever since.

What followed was decades of firsts that became industry standards. Ikelite introduced the first underwater dive light with a sealed-beam bulb, then moved into underwater strobes and camera housings as the company recognized photographers needed the same waterproofing expertise. Roughly a decade after launching automatic strobe exposure for film cameras (their TTL Sensor), Ikelite became the first manufacturer to offer true TTL (through-the-lens) communication between a digital camera and an underwater strobe — a genuinely difficult engineering problem that other manufacturers had not solved. Ikelite is credited with pioneering aiming lights, interchangeable strobe cords, removable battery packs, smart charging, wireless TTL slave sensors, and built-in video lights on strobes — features considered standard across the industry today, many of which Ikelite introduced first.

Ike passed away in 2006, and the company passed to his children: daughter Jean Rydberg, who became President and CEO at 25, and son John Brigham, who leads engineering. Ikelite remains headquartered in Indianapolis, still designing and manufacturing housings and strobes in-house, with a dealer network reaching more than 95 countries and a reputation for customer service that underwater photographers consistently single out — quick turnarounds on repairs, expert advice, and a level of support that's become part of the brand's identity as much as the engineering itself.

At DiveCatalog.com, we carry Ikelite camera housings, ports, strobe accessories, arms, and color correction filters as an authorized dealer.

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The Ikelite Product Range

Camera Housings

Ikelite has produced underwater housings for a remarkable range of cameras over the decades — from compact point-and-shoots to professional DSLR and mirrorless bodies. Housings are constructed from Lexan, a thick-walled, exceptionally robust polycarbonate, individually checked for fit and pressure-tested before sale. Many Ikelite housings include Ikelite's signature TTL circuitry, allowing properly equipped housings to communicate flash exposure data directly between the camera and an Ikelite DS-series strobe — the same true digital TTL technology Ikelite pioneered.

Ports — Dome and Flat

Lens ports determine how light reaches the camera sensor underwater. Dome ports correct the refraction that occurs through flat glass underwater, preserving a lens's true field of view — essential for wide-angle and fisheye lenses. Flat ports work well for macro and standard focal lengths where the refraction's slight magnifying effect is less consequential or even advantageous. Ikelite produces a wide range of dome and flat ports sized and threaded for specific lens and housing combinations, along with port extensions and zoom sleeves for specific lens models.

Strobe Arms and Trays

The Quick Grip II arm system uses Ikelite's 1.25" diameter ball joints — sized for maximum holding capability with larger strobes, including the DS-200 series. Properly configured arms position strobes for even lighting and backscatter control, a foundational part of any serious underwater photography rig.

TTL Converters and Strobe Accessories

TTL converters bridge a specific camera brand's flash protocol to Ikelite's strobe circuitry, enabling automatic flash exposure rather than manual strobe power adjustment for every shot. Ikelite's Nikon DSLR TTL conversion circuitry, in particular, has a long track record of reliability spanning over a decade of refinement.

Color Correction Filters

Water absorbs color with depth — red disappears first, then orange, leaving images dominated by blue and green. Ikelite's color correction filters (including the UR/Pro blue water filter) restore more natural color balance for ambient-light photography, while barrier (yellow) filters are used in fluorescence photography to block excitation wavelengths and pass only the fluorescent emission from the subject.

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What Made Ikelite's TTL Technology a Genuine Breakthrough

Before digital TTL, underwater strobe photographers shot manually — adjusting strobe power for every single shot based on subject distance and reflectivity. Film TTL was relatively straightforward to implement underwater, but digital cameras introduced a fundamentally different communication protocol that took roughly a decade longer to solve. Ikelite was the first manufacturer to crack true TTL communication between a digital camera and an underwater strobe, eliminating the guesswork of manual exposure and letting photographers react instantly as a subject and shot composition changed mid-dive — from a shy critter in a dark crevice to a passing shark in open water, without touching a single dial.

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Why Buy Ikelite from DiveCatalog.com?

• Authorized Ikelite dealer — genuine products, full manufacturer warranty
• Expert compatibility advice — our team can help confirm housing, port, and TTL converter compatibility for your specific camera
• Fast shipping — in-stock items ship within one business day
• Rewards program — earn points on every purchase

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Frequently Asked Questions — Ikelite

When was Ikelite founded?

Ikelite traces its origin to 1962, when founder Ike Brigham, frustrated by flooded dive lights, built his own using a Westinghouse oven in his Indianapolis furniture shop. Word spread among other Midwest divers and dive shops, and the company grew from there.

What is TTL and why does it matter underwater?

TTL (Through-The-Lens) flash metering lets the camera and strobe communicate automatically, calculating correct flash exposure for each shot rather than requiring manual strobe power adjustment. Ikelite was the first manufacturer to achieve true TTL communication between a digital camera and an underwater strobe — a significantly harder engineering problem than film TTL had been.

What is the difference between a dome port and a flat port?

A dome port corrects the refraction that occurs through flat glass underwater, restoring a lens's true field of view — essential for wide-angle and fisheye lenses where refraction would otherwise narrow the effective field of view. A flat port works well for macro and standard lenses, where refraction's slight magnifying effect is less of a concern.

Is Ikelite still based in Indianapolis?

Yes — Ikelite remains headquartered and manufactures from Indianapolis, the same city where the company began. It's led today by Jean Rydberg (President and CEO) and John Brigham (engineering), children of founder Ike Brigham.

How do I know if a housing or port is compatible with my camera?

Compatibility is specific to the exact camera model and, in many cases, the specific lens. Check the individual product listing carefully, or contact us with your camera and lens model and we can confirm compatibility before you order.

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Browse the full Ikelite collection above and reach out if you'd like help confirming compatibility for your specific camera and lens setup.