D70s U/W housing?


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sgfriend

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Dec 20, 2005
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Hi, currently I am using coolpix 7900 with the U/W housing for my diving trip. I bought D70s last week. Should I buy U/W for it? Nikon or other brand? Expensive to start with a DSLR for underwater photography? ;p
 

Yes it is!!!!!!!!

You will need to also consider things like Arms and Strobes which will cost more thatn an arm and a leg...

Ports are gonna kill as well.

the cheapest and value for money brand will be ikelite

regards
 

Yes, it costs a bomb to bring a DSLR underwater...

I bought a 300D with the intention of going diving with it, but after looking at the costs, I'm using it for land photog instead.

Just a rough gauge from what I 'researched' online for my 300D:

1. Ikelite housing: $2200 (special offer!)
2. Ikelite strobe: $1100 (special offer!)
3. Synch-cord: $150
4. trays + arm(s): a couple hundred?
6. ports: starts from $200

not to mention macro lens ($600)...

my girlfriend got an epileptic fit when i showed her the estimated costs. haha good luck, mate!
((=
 

:bigeyes: I guess I will stick to my coolpix 7900. :bsmilie:
 

antacid said:
Yes, it costs a bomb to bring a DSLR underwater...

I bought a 300D with the intention of going diving with it, but after looking at the costs, I'm using it for land photog instead.

Just a rough gauge from what I 'researched' online for my 300D:

1. Ikelite housing: $2200 (special offer!)
2. Ikelite strobe: $1100 (special offer!)
3. Synch-cord: $150
4. trays + arm(s): a couple hundred?
6. ports: starts from $200

not to mention macro lens ($600)...

my girlfriend got an epileptic fit when i showed her the estimated costs. haha good luck, mate!
((=

On the note of Arms and Trays, A good set for Wide Angle and Macro would cost something 500 plus 600, depending on brand of course.

then again when you have one strobe, you'll want 2. :)

Regards
 

alternatively, u can look for 2nd hand d70 housing n ports....
 

waisj said:
then again when you have one strobe, you'll want 2. :)

and when u hv 2, u want another for backup and seriously thinking of how to use all 3 at the same time!

affordability aside, if u dive like once a month, then the per usuage cost justify housing the D70s. Tell yor gf she doesn;t expect you to go into a fit when she wants u to get the LV handbag or dinner at Les Amies....ditto for teh housing

Eric
 

Tell your gf that when you get married and your 1st child is on the way, you will sell your housing & all your dive gear so that you can be a devoted father [hmm...sounds familiar]
 

sgfriend said:
Hi, currently I am using coolpix 7900 with the U/W housing for my diving trip. I bought D70s last week. Should I buy U/W for it? Nikon or other brand? Expensive to start with a DSLR for underwater photography? ;p

Just a guide...at least need to prepare 3.5K for a complete setup
 

kthan said:
and when u hv 2, u want another for backup and seriously thinking of how to use all 3 at the same time!

affordability aside, if u dive like once a month, then the per usuage cost justify housing the D70s. Tell yor gf she doesn;t expect you to go into a fit when she wants u to get the LV handbag or dinner at Les Amies....ditto for teh housing

Eric

Actually u need 2 DSLRs setup...one for macro and the other for wide...plus maybe a nikonos V will be good when the current is super stronge and housed-system is not suitable..So in total..at least 5 strobes...

One pro guy in this forum has this setup .....but since he got no GF....nobody will complain lah...

OT...abit...something about handbag...why girl likes to buy so many handbags huh :think:......maybe should give the same reasons back to them when they ask why u buy so many strobes...different color strobe for different housing mah...hahaha:bsmilie:...
 

wow, 3 cameras and 5 strobes? Does he get a BC and fins for them as well? Think i'll just sink straight to the bottom.:bsmilie: maybe when i'm that rich, i'll mount my cameras on a DPV, with 4x20w HID lamps. something like a u/w 4WD safari. haha

something to clarify: does this mean you can't use zoom lenses when diving, hence the need for 2 setups? i remember reading about zoom gears. not sure how they work though.

handbags? to suit the mood/occassion/shoes/accessories/blouse/skirt (source: girlfriend). looks like we'll need a different housing to match our wetsuits/rashguard/mask/fins/BC too..:think:
 

Zoom lenses can be used, but requires a special port with extra knobs and internal gears. I've used a 24-105 zoom lens in a housing before - I had no gears etc, so it was "fixed" focal length.

Prime lenses are generally better then zoom lenses in terms of image quality etc. So most underwater "pros" prefer prime lenses.

SLR has several advantages over the compact cameras - ability to macro to life size while maintaining edge to edge sharpness and speend of image capture (to catch that illusive fish) being 2 of them.

What has stopped me from buying a housing for my D70 is the fact that digital technology changes so fast. With change in model of camera, comes the change in external accessories. When camera companies come to their senses (right after hell freezes over twice), I guess we will see cameras that allow users to just upgrade the chip for that megapixel makeover.

Cheers, Jeff
 

cat64fish said:
What has stopped me from buying a housing for my D70 is the fact that digital technology changes so fast. With change in model of camera, comes the change in external accessories. When camera companies come to their senses (right after hell freezes over twice), I guess we will see cameras that allow users to just upgrade the chip for that megapixel makeover.

Cheers, Jeff

well, i guess it really depends on whether you're in the megapixel race. i'm perfectly fine with my 300d (or 350d!) since the computer screen is limited at 2mp anyway. and that's where majority of the photos are viewed. even then, a 5mp camera is good enough for prints up to 8R i think.

dont think i'll need a 10mp camera in the near future...:sweatsm:
 

True, true ... but I was comparing digital cameras to my film camera, so I guess its like comparing apples and oranges ... hehe.

Jeff
 

Usually, what lens do they carry with the DSLR when doing underwater photography? :)
 

Not those all in one lens with macro? How to decide which lens to use during each dive? :dunno:
 

sgfriend said:
Not those all in one lens with macro? How to decide which lens to use during each dive? :dunno:


You'll normally plan your dives. As in Macro or WA work:)
 

sgfriend said:
Not those all in one lens with macro? How to decide which lens to use during each dive? :dunno:
I am not much of a techie, but there are reasons why you do not use a all-in-1 lens:

1. Prime lenses typically produce sharper images.
2. Abberations are less likely to be a problem with prime lenses.
3. Specialised lenses, like the macro lenses (or micro lenses, as Nikon calls them), have the ability to get to at least 1:2 life size - that means that if your object is 1cm, it will measure 0.5cm on your image. Life-size (1:1) is the norma these days. Zoom lenses macro function is on 1:4 at most (I think).
4. Of less importance is the f-stop range between prime and zoom lenses - typically for the macro lenses it is 2 or 2.8 to 22 or 32.

And as someone mentioned earlier, you have to plan your dives and dive your plan - if you bring macro, then that is what you shoot :). This may not be as limiting as it sounds, because it teaches you to find out more about the dive site you are going to, and also focuses your mind on the creatures you want to look for.

Hope this helps.
 

If to pick one macro and one WA, a 60mm macro and 15mm FE will pretty much serves 80% of all u/w shots. Easier on the pocket too.

With money to burn, the 2 lens would be 60mm and 12-24mm. 10.5 would be great, but not so useful on land.
 

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