Fantasea Canon G7XII Housing Review

The Fantasea FG7X II housing offers impressive ergonomics and functionality at a great price, creating the best housing value for your Canon G7 X II compact camera.

The Canon G7 X II is one of our favorite compacts for underwater photo and video, boasting a 1-inch 20.1 megapixel CMOS sensor, fast DIGIC 7 processing, a large LCD touchscreen, full HD video recording at 60fps and more. If you haven't yet, be sure to read our Canon G7 X Mk II camera review for all the details.

The Fantasa FG7X II housing was designed for style, durability, full camera control and ease of use. It's also a scaleable housing; great to take as a compact snorkeling setup or maxed out with various strobes and video lights. The controls are clearly labeled, the double o-ring adds security and the 200ft (60m) depth rating combine to make it a great all around housing.

I used the housing on several dives in both the Channel Islands and in the Lembeh Strait, shooting the photos you see in this review.

Purchase the Fantasea FG7X II Underwater Housing

Incredible Fantasea G7X II Camera / Housing Bundle Deal

Fantasea FG7X II Specifications

• Full access to camera controls
• Clearly labeled buttons
• Shock resistant
• Double o-ring
• Moisture detection and alarm
• 67mm port ring
• Depth rated to 60 meters / 200 feet
• Dimensions: 16 x 11 x 12.5 cm (6.3 x 4.33 x 4.92 inches)
• Weight: 725g
• Includes hand strap and port cover

 An ornate ghost pipefish poses for a portrait with the Fantasea G7XII housing in the Lembeh Strait, Indonesia. ISO 125, f/8, 1/200. Shot with a single SeaLife Sea Dragon flash. Photo: Brent Durand

Fantasea FG7X II Overview and Controls

The FG7X II is another solid housing from Fantasea. It feels solid in your hands and is easy to hold with ergonomic finger and thumb grips. The top of the housing has a built-in cold shoe mount for accessories like a focus light or GoPro.

The housing accommodates several lighting setups. You can use the G7 X Mk II built-in flash with a Fantasea diffuser, or pop the diffuser off and insert the fiber optic cable holder, which accommodates two fiber optic cables. The housing port has 67mm threads, allowing you to screw in wet diopters for macro shooting or a wide-angle wet lens for the big animals.

All of the controls are clearly labeled, so the camera is easy to operate even if you're not familiar with the control layout. The buttons also have very wide plastic tops, which make them easier to push than small diameter plastic or metal buttons. The larger surface area also makes the buttons easier to press when wearing thick gloves.

Aperture and shutter speed are controlled via a clever rotating knob on the housing back and a standard knob on the front left of the port. Both of these can be spun with a bare thumb when using the housing with a tray and handles, but may require forefinger and thumb grip if using gloves or handholding the housing. The left port knob requires use of your left hand, but that should be on the housing anyway and is not a big deal.

Inside the Housing

The Fantsea FG7X II features two o-rings, which offers double the protection of a single o-ring (duh!). This added security is comforting when hopping in the water. The camera is held solidly in place by the rear LCD cushion, which is mounted on springs to ensure a snug fit to the camera. Removing the camera is pretty standard when compared with other compact housings. The camera needs some pull to remove, but there's enough finger space to get a grip without needing to flip the housing upside down or tape a pull tab to the camera.

The moisture alarm is flat against the bottom of the housing so that it will go off as soon as water gets to the bottom. ...Hopefully we never hear that sound!

The Fantasea FG7X II Underwater

The housing is fun to use underwater. It's a positively buoyant system, so you'll want to have it on a landyard or set up with arms, clamps and strobes/lights to make it slightly negative.

In my dives there were no issues with skipping buttons, dials spinning without contacting the dials, or any other misalignments. The flash pop up button was a savior a few times (I admit, I didn't always fire a test shot in the camera room!).

Operation of the camera controls was easy, both for adjusting camera settings and also for reviewing images, zooming in and toggling between screens.

Different wet lenses and diopters may vignette different amounts (they all vary with different compact housings), so be sure to speak with the Bluewater Photo team about your existing wet lenses or before buying new ones.

Fantasea FG7X II Housing Accessories

The following are just a few of the many accessories available to help you get the most from your Canon G7 X Mk II and Fantasea housing. Be sure to contact the experts at Bluewater Photo if you're interested in learning more.

Bluewater +7 Macro Wet Lens

Fantasea Bigeye M67 Wide-Angle Lens

Fantasea Radiant 1600 Video Light

Sea&Sea YS-03 Flex Arm Strobe Package

Fantasea Nano Double Ray Set

Fantasea FG7X II Underwater Photos

Purchase the Fantasea FG7X II Underwater Housing