Subal
Type: Housing manufacturer Founded: 1954/1977 (Austria) Key products: Machined aluminum underwater housings
Overview
Subal traces its origins to 1954, when Arnold Stepanek — inspired by Hans Hass — built his first underwater housing at age 16 (in 1952). The SUBAL brand was formally created in 1977. They claim to be the oldest existing housing manufacturer, with continuous production since 1954.
Subal is known for extremely high-quality machined aluminum housings, producing systems for Nikon, Canon, and other camera bodies. During the early digital era covered by Wetpixel, Subal housings for the Canon 10D, Nikon D2X, and subsequent DSLRs were popular among serious underwater photographers.
Product timeline
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1952: Arnold Stepanek builds first housing (age 16)
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1954: Continuous production begins
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1977: SUBAL brand formally created
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2002: D10 housing for Nikon D100; CP5 housing for Nikon Coolpix 5000; distributed in the US by [1] ([2])
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2003: FS2 housing for Fuji S2 Pro; D60 housing; SN80-D strobecase; Canon 10D and Canon 1Ds housings ([3])
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2004: ND70 housing for Nikon D70; Canon 1D/1Ds housing; D2X prototype shown at DEMA 2004 ([4], [5])
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2004: GS viewfinder introduced (shared design with Sealux GD viewfinder) ([6])
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2004-11: Founded by Arnold Stepanek (1952) noted at Antibes Festival 2004 ([7])
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2005-01: D20 housing for Canon 20D; distributed by [8] (UK) and Marine Camera Distributors (US) ([9])
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2005-03: ND2 housing for Nikon D2X reviewed; CD1D housing for Canon 1Ds Mk II announced ([10], [11])
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2005: D2X hotshoe issue reported by users ([12])
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2006-04: Stephen Frink publishes open letter on Wetpixel calling for industry-wide connector standardization beyond the Nikonos 5-pin. Subtronic S6 proposed as alternative. (forum community)
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2006-09: Canon 5D conversion kit for Subal C10 (10D housing) — Subal’s modular upgrade approach. ([13])
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2007-07: Announced support for Canon EOS 1D Mark III alongside Nexus and Seacam. ([14])
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2008: ND30 housing for Nikon D300 reviewed; Alex Mustard uses Subal D2X for 67,000+ shots without spare body. ([15]) (forum community)
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2008: ND700 housing for Nikon D700 field reviewed. ([16])
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2011-02: First financial reorganization. Subal faces liquidity problems; new management installed; production continues including ND7000 housing and new finder system. ([17])
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2011: ND7000 housing for Nikon D7000 previewed and reviewed. ([18])
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2013: ND4 housing for Nikon D4 reviewed. ([19])
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2013-12: ND7100 housing for Nikon D7100 field reviewed. ([20])
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2014-05: Housing for Olympus OM-D E-M1 announced. ([21])
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2014-08: ND4S Angler housing released — specialized “angler” design. ([22])
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2014-12: GH4 housing announced — Subal enters Panasonic Micro Four Thirds market. ([24])
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2014-12: Housing for Nikon D750 released. ([25])
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2015-03: Housing for Sony a7 announced — Subal enters mirrorless market. ([26])
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2016-01: Housing for Nikon D5 announced. ([27])
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2016-09: Housing for Canon 5D Mark IV ships. ([28])
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2016-09: Housing for Blackmagic 4K Cinema Camera announced. ([29])
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2016-12: Housing for OM-D E-M1 Mark II announced. ([30])
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2017-01: Housing for GoPro HERO 5 announced. ([31])
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2017-03: Navy housing line announced — new product tier. ([32])
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2017-10: ND850 housing for Nikon D850 announced. ([33])
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2017-12-05: Subal GmbH enters insolvency proceedings (Austrian company registration FN359300h). Filed with KSV1870 creditors’ association. ([34])
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2018-01: Owner Harald Karl clarifies that Subal is using Austrian restructuring law to close the Steyr production facility. Manufacturing had already moved to Belgrade, Serbia. Servicing/repairs continue at Steyr; new showroom planned for Vienna. All pre-orders and repairs honored. ([35])
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2018-02: ND850LE limited edition housing (30 units) in yellow celebrates Nikon’s centenary. €3,990 ex VAT. ([36])
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2021-07: Housing for Nikon D6 announced — demonstrates continued production post-restructuring. ([37])
Community perspective
Subal housings were widely regarded as the gold standard for build quality alongside Seacam. The company’s financial troubles — a 2011 reorganization followed by the 2017 insolvency filing — marked defining moments for the high-end housing market.
A notable community discovery: Alex Mustard, Julian Jolly (Sealux), and others independently concluded that the Subal GS and Sealux GD viewfinder magnifiers came from the same OEM manufacturer, with prices differing (~$500 Sealux vs ~$1000 Subal). (forum community)
References
- Subal Technique
- [38] — editorial
- [39] — editorial
- [40] — editorial
- [41] — editorial
- [42] — editorial
- [43] — editorial
- [44] — editorial
Sources
- Marine Camera Distributors (article) ↩
- Wetpixel article, Sep 30, 2002: Subal D100 Housing ↩
- Wetpixel article, Oct 7, 2003: Dema 2003 Show Coverage1 ↩
- Wetpixel article, Aug 20, 2004: Subal Subal D70 ↩
- Wetpixel article, Oct 15, 2004: Dema Show 2004 Report ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jul 22, 2004: Subals New Gs Viewfinder ↩
- Wetpixel article, Nov 1, 2004: Antibes Festival 2004 Report1 ↩
- Ocean Optics (article) ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jan 19, 2005: Subal D20 Photos ↩
- Wetpixel article, Mar 15, 2005: Nikon D2x And Subal Nd2 Review ↩
- Wetpixel article, Mar 19, 2005: Subal Cd1d Housing For Canon 1d 1ds Mk Ii ↩
- Wetpixel article, Dec 19, 2005: Modifying The Hotshoe For The Subal D2x ↩
- Wetpixel article, Sep 20, 2006: Canon 5d Conversion Kit For Subal C10 10d ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jul 24, 2007: Nexus Seacam And Subal To Support Canon Eos 1d Mark Iii ↩
- Wetpixel article, Apr 11, 2008: Subal Nd30 Underwater Housing For Nikon D300 Dslr Review ↩
- Wetpixel article, Nov 17, 2008: Review Nikon D700 In Subal Nd700 ↩
- Wetpixel article, Feb 3, 2011: Subal Announces Reorganization ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jun 16, 2011: Preview Subal Nd7000 Housing ↩
- Wetpixel article, Feb 11, 2013: Review And Field Notes Subal Nd4 ↩
- Wetpixel article, Dec 18, 2013: Field Review Nikon D7100 And Subal Nd7100 ↩
- Wetpixel article, May 23, 2014: Subal Announces Housing For Olympus O Md E M1 ↩
- Wetpixel article, Aug 19, 2014: Subal Release The Nd4s Angler Housing ↩
- Wetpixel article, Sep 15, 2014: Subal And Seacam Announce D810 Housings ↩
- Wetpixel article, Dec 1, 2014: Subal Announces Gh4 Housing ↩
- Wetpixel article, Dec 30, 2014: Subal Releases Housing For D750 ↩
- Wetpixel article, Mar 30, 2015: Subal Announces Using For Sony A7 ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jan 20, 2016: Subal Announces Housing For Nikon D5 ↩
- Wetpixel article, Sep 1, 2016: Subal Ships Housing For Canon 5d Mark Iv ↩
- Wetpixel article, Sep 11, 2016: Subal Announces Housing For Blackmagic 4k Cinema Camera ↩
- Wetpixel article, Dec 26, 2016: Subal Announces Housing For Om D E M1 Mark Ii ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jan 24, 2017: Subal Announces Housing For Gopro Hero 5 ↩
- Wetpixel article, Mar 25, 2017: Subal Announces Navy Housing Line ↩
- Wetpixel article, Oct 25, 2017: Subal Announces Housing For Nikon D850 ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jan 3, 2018: Subal Experiences Financial Issues ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jan 3, 2018: Subal Experiences Financial Issues ↩
- Wetpixel article, Feb 22, 2018: Subal Announces Special Edition Of Nd850 Housing ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jul 2, 2021: Subal Announces Housing For Nikon D6 ↩
- Subal D100 housing (article) ↩
- Subal GS viewfinder (article) ↩
- Nikon D2X and Subal ND2 review (article) ↩
- Subal reorganization (2011) (article) ↩
- Subal restructures/insolvency (2018) (article) ↩
- ND850LE limited edition (article) ↩
- Nikon D6 housing (article) ↩