rob_barker

It's quirky for sure, but the stellar image quality is worth putting up with a few frustrations for.

 

The high ISO performance is just astonishing.

 

I am also a great fan of the out of focus rendition of the 35/1.4 which rivals Leica glass for attractiveness, although it

glows in a slightly different way.

 

The focussing is no problem when you get used to it, and while it will never rival a Top end DSLR for speed, it's use of

contrast detection rather than phase means the focus is deadly accurate. With a lens this sharp and wide that's actually

very important.

 

Most importantly, it is a really fun camera to use, and the images have a lot more meaning and soul for me than my DSLR

shots. I love it.

<p>Get it to Mr Nikon ASAP!</p>

I'm back :-)

 

Is anyone venturing to the London dive show this weekend? Dr Alex Mustard, amongst others, is holding a digital

photography clinic.

Unfortunately a strobe is the only answer to preventing camera shake, given the small apertures necessary for macro work.

 

Rob

I was an uncompressed raw zealout until I got round to doing some testing. With a tripod mounted camera, 17-55 at 40mm and f5.6, mirror lock and cable release on a high-detail subject, I couldn't tell the difference at 100%. I now use compressed raw.

I'm with Nino. I replaced mine with a 17-55 and haven't looked back. It takes visibly punchier pictures and is sharper even at modes enlargements here. I'd rather have 1-2 stops faster than VR too.

Get both - they are wonderfully complementary. Regrettably, they are far from complimentary.

Actually, tilt and swing servos for the sensor could really be useful. You may be onto something!

Thanks Vandit - a useful review and some very nice photography.

Thinking about it some more, if you used a dome port you'd have to tilt that too...

First impressions are very favourable indeed. It's a solid and

beautifully finished housing. The castings are substantial and inspire

confidence.

 

The housing is noticably smaller than the DX-D70 and has no separate

tray - the handles fix to the side of the housing itself. The result

is a much more compact package which will be easier to travel with.

 

It has a leak sensor, unlike the DX-D70, and very solid and smooth

feeling buttons.

 

I shall get it wet over the next few days (once this ear infection

clears up - grrrrrr!) and post a fuller report - I'm going to do a

full review here and on my own website once I've returned from the Red

Sea in early June.

You can get two types of sync lead for the Sea and Sea strobe, the most common by far being the Nikonos 5 pin fitting as used by most SLR housings. The "male" connector is on the camera side, hence the sync lead will fit onto the pre-TTL Nikonos 3 socket.

I use Sea and Sea YS90 Autos - plenty of power settings for manual exposure cameras. You set the aperture on a rotating dial on the back and it quenches itself when it thinks it's flashed enough. A bit crude - and best for digital, where you just adjust the setting after reviewing the histogram, but you should get a feel for it after a few rolls. They come supplied with a distance/aperture table sticker too.

The other thing to bear in mind, if this is a commercial shoot, is the massive health and safety requirement for diving at work. You need to be an HSE qualified diver, you need a safety team backing you up, a project plan and to comply with a load of other rules and regulations.

Thinking about it, I don't think there is a 5D housing widely available yet - you'll probably have to rent a housed D70 outfit or something similar.

Excellent shot Bill - you can put a selection on photonet, or do your own site and point us at it. I'd certainly like to see more of your pictures!

Alan James Photography rents housings - www.marine-cameras.com

I've never tried the bag things but they don't strike me as an attractive option. Controls must be awkward to use and I can't believe they work to 3 atmospheres pressure!! They may be fine though, hopefully someone has used one and will contribute.

 

The Ikelite is the bargain basement of the housing world - not that there is anything wrong with them. I have heard of one flooding but I think that was operator error! They allow access to most camera controls underwater and are nicely balanced.

 

There are several more expensive housings available - from Sea and Sea, Aquatica and Subal to name but a few.

 

There may be some secondhand ones about at the moment as a lot of people are switching to the D200. (Myself included, but I already sold my D70 housing!)

 

Good luck with the search and happy diving!

It is rather predictable that here have been a few "make them start with black and white film and get them to develop and print there own, otherwise they won't understand photography properly" responses.

 

The fact is that noone will be buying any more of this kit - it's obsolete as far as teaching new up and coming photographers is concerned.

 

If you extend the argument further, why not insist they use 5x4 field cameras or start out by coating glass plates with home made emulsion? All forcing students to use outdated technology is likely to achieve is turning them off photography.

 

Digital SLRs are fantastic tools for teaching photography because of the instant feedback. Composition and lighting can be taught every bit as well as with film kit.

 

The other advantage of teaching digital workflow from the start is you get more time to teach students the new skills of photography that the "make them use film" brigade often struggle with: Highlight handling, white balance, post-processing, colour space, image manipulation and website building to name but a few. These are today's equivalent of darkroom and mounting skills.

 

For my money, Nikon D50, Sigma 30mm f1.4, a Mac G400 and Photoshop.

Blimey - this is esoteric stuff!

 

I'm sure you're well aware you won't get any extra depth of field by using lens movements (less in fact) but the concept of placing the plane of sharp focus along a horizantal-ish axis is very exciting.

 

You will need to be well above or well below your subject (i.e get a reasonable "J" in Merklinger's terms), unless you use a ridiculous tilt angle which would limit your depth of field. The concept of a reef scene sharp from near vision to infinity in a horizantal plane, with sharpness fading toward the top and bottom of the frame, is quite enticing. You could potentially get some really innovative stuff.

 

Of course, writing about this is much easier than doing it - we look forward to the results! ;-)

You've touched on a really interesting area here that has got me thinking.

 

The short answer is that uprating and push-processing black and white neg film does increase contrast and this can produce stunning wreck shots.

 

"Counteracting the loss of contrast" is a more interesting concept, as water absorbs different wavelengths of light at different rates. There is probably some interesting work to be done with filters. A quick play about with some colour shots in LAB mode in photoshop, varying the red, blue and green contributions to a monochrome image confirms this. Worth exploring I'd say!

You're only talking about an angle of view that would be seen by a 22mm- ish 35mm equivalent lens, so not that wide by underwater standards. A domeport designed for a 15mm lens on a 35mm system should easily enable the lens to focus.

 

The problem is likely to be in finding a port physically wide enough to fit a mf lens, assuming you're contemplating a homemeade housing - you will, most likely, need to get a dedicated MF housing system and they cost big bucks.

 

There are several very good reasons why MF is hardly used underwater and this is one of them! The limited number of exposures per dive is also a disadvantage.

 

There is also no real quality argument, for underwater work at any rate, for using MF when the latest 10MP plus DSLRs can be easily housed and offer so much in terms of capacity, quality and feedback.

I'm no expert but I think you'll need a strobe that will take a fibre optic sync cord - something like the YS15 auto.

 

The new compact digitals are certainly capable of amazing results considering how much cheaper they are than housed SLRs.

Thanks for the kind words Shane.

 

I enjoyed your work - you clearly have a good grasp of working underwater; exposures are particularly good. It would be well worth you making an investment in a housing for the D70 - I'm sure you'll find it as much of a revelation as I did.

 

The easiest lens to start with is a 60mm micro-nikkor, although you look like you enjoy wideangle work, in which case the 10.5 or 12-24 Nikkors are awesome.

 

My most used lens is probably the 60mm, although whenever I think I'll have the subject matter I fit the 12-24 or the 10.5 fisheye. The 12-24 is a delight to use underwater - it's flexible and gives great images - the eagle ray shot on my homepage for example.

 

The 10.5 is capable of ultimately better quality but it is extreme and difficult to use - you have to get VERY close to your subject and perspective control takes a while to get on top of. I only fit it on special occasions now - it excels at reefscapes but the coral has to be pristine!

 

I think for a photographer of your ability I'd stick my neck out and say go for a 12-24. If the Nikkor price makes you smart a bit, I've read that the Tokina is very good, but check it will fit (widthwise) into the port you will be using. Go for the Nikkor if you can though.

 

I use Sea and Sea YS90 Auto strobes. The Auto version is vital as it gives lots of different power settings. The forthcoming YS-110 strobe will do iTTL but you have to use a really clumsy looking module - and in my experience, TTL underwater never worked that well anyway - I've got used to setting exposure manually. I haven't tried the opposition but Subtronic look very cool - just make sure you can get the relevant arm to connect whatever housing you get to whatever strobe you get!

 

All the best with it and be sure to show us the results!

I've put some of my work on a personal website:

 

www.underwater-photography.org

 

All comments (well, most anyway!) welcome.