Sea & Sea MDX-U housings now available in the UK
The veteran Japanese manufacturer Sea & Sea is best known in the UK for their excellent and surprisingly affordable underwater strobes. The Tokyo-based company has also always made housings for various camera systems. For at least 10 years, however, Sea & Sea housings have not been properly available in the UK. Because there was no importer, if you wanted one, you would have had to get it straight from Japan.
Now the Sea & Sea housings are making a comeback in the UK with their latest MDX-U series, which are now supported (and imported) by Deepshots. These fully Japanese-made aluminium housings include many of the same high-end features found on Chinese brands like Nauticam and Marelux, but at a significantly lower price point. Below is a brief rundown on the features of these great-looking housings.
MDX-U stands for Universal
One of the main features of the latest MDX-U series housings is their compatibility with multiple camera models. The idea is that you can upgrade the housing to work with a newer/future camera body by replacing only a minimal number of internal components. For example, an MDX-Z7II U housing for the Nikon Z7 MKII camera can be adapted to work with a Nikon Z5 MK II by replacing a small number of parts. Especially beneficial this is with the housings for the Sony A series. The MDX-U housing for most current Sony A-series cameras is essentially the same main case body with a slightly different replaceable acrylic back panel or, in some cases, just internal controls.
Sea & Sea Flash triggers
The new MDX-U series housings ship from the factory with an optical flash trigger installed. There are two options. If shooting with the Sea & Sea YS series of strobes, an advanced optical YS TTL converter is a great choice, as it enables TTL auto mode with the latest Sea & Sea strobes via a fibre-optic cable. The TTL converter can also be used in manual mode with most other strobes, or if you want to use your Sea & Sea strobes in non-TTL mode. The latest Sea & Sea optical YS converters are easy to use and run with two triple-A batteries. Pressing the dedicated housing button switches the mode from TTL to manual.
A simpler, somewhat cheaper, fully manual flash trigger is also available. This will work with all strobes that have an optical connection and are in manual mode.
Other important features
All Sea & Sea MDX-U housings ship with a vacuum seal check system and a moisture alarm installed. A simple hand pump is also provided. These aluminium housings are depth rated to 100m. Just note that not all Sea & Sea dome ports can be taken this deep. The MDX port system offers flat and dome ports for the most commonly used Nikon and Sony lenses, with some Sigma options thrown in to the mix. Sea & Sea doesn't generally offer follow focus options for wide-angle lenses, so serious filmmakers might have to look elsewhere. MDX port system offers dome ports in both acrylic and optical glass.
Value of money
Now here is when things get interesting. Sea & Sea MDX-U housings are significantly cheaper than market leaders like Nauticam and Subal. For example. Sea & Sea MDX-A7RV U housing for Sony A7R MKV costs £2590.00 with manual flash trigger and £2650.00 with the YS-TTL trigger (as of June 2026). This price also includes the pre-installed vacuum leak check system with valve and pump. In comparison, the Nauticam NA-A7RV housing costs £3685.00 without any extras. Add the vacuum leak check and manual flash trigger, and you are looking to cough up £4119.00. That is 1500 quid difference.
Where's the catch then? What will people miss if getting Sea & Sea MDX instead of Nauticam? It is true that Nauticam supports a wider range of lenses through its port system, especially at the professional end of the movie-making market. Follow focus and large-diameter cable bulkheads for monitors, etc., are also not available for Sea & Sea cases (for now). But unless you are a serious professional movie maker, these features won't be missed much.
Sea & Sea housings are also slightly larger and heavier than Nauticam due to their universal design. For example, the MDX-A7RV weighs 300g more than the Nauticam equivalent model.
But if you are mostly doing stills and don't mind the kit being a bit heavier, it's hard to beat the value of the Sea & Sea MDX-U series housings.
See Sea & Sea MDX-U housing for sale HERE