Camera Rig Recommendations?

[CDubs13]

Hey All,

I've been diving for years with an old Olympus point and push in an underwater housing and after countless dives and numerous years, wear and tear has rendered that set up useless.

I am looking at getting a new rig (I am currently in the UK before heading back overseas for work). In an ideal world, I'm looking at getting something along the lines of a Nikon D850 (but I know that is one hell of an investment).

I was wondering if anyone would be able to give me some advice about a D850 set up (and suggested accessories etc), or provide recommendations for other preferred cameras/rigs.

Thank you!

 

[bvanant]

If you have Nikon lenses then I would go down the D500 route. A bit smaller and less $ than the D850. If you don't have any lenses then I would look at Sony as well and at the micro 4/3 stuff; small but really nice quality and lots of lenses to choose from.
Bill

 

[davehicks]

If you are just getting your feet wet with a DSLR system try to by a used rig fully equipped with housing, body, ports. A D500 or D810/D800 is a great place to start. You'll pay a LOT less than for a D850 (which I currently use) and get a system just as capable of taking great images. There is not much used D850 gear on the market yet. As you grow your ability and needs, you can upgrade later if you feel the urge.

 

[CDubs13]

Thanks for the input guys.
Having looked at the D500, that looks a lot more suited for my price range and skill level

 

[Chris Ross]

If you can physically look at the size of the equipment - dome ports for rectilinear scale with sensor size so full frame and something like a 16-35 demands a 230mm dome to get the best out of it - that dome is very big for travel. By the time you get your housing, ports, strobes etc it is a very large and heavy rig - if you are travelling to dive you need to think about how you will transport. You also need more strobe power as you generally need to stop down more for depth of field with full frame compared to smaller formats.

Full frame image quality comes from sensor area gathering more light The biggest step in quality from where you are now comes from the 7.5x increase in area from a 30mm2 1/(2/3)" compact sensor to a 225mm2 m43 sensor. An APS-C chip has 370 mm2 or 1.6x a m43. A full frame is 3.8x the area on a m43. As you get more pixels the returns in image quality reduce and you need bigger prints to see the difference. most of the time underwater you are shooting low ISO so the differences are harder to spot. The point of all this is that biggest most noticeable boost in image quality comes from switching from a compact sensor to micro43. Full frame is definitely better than m43 but at base ISO the differences are harder to spot unless you are pushing into shadows or printing large. The conclusion APS-C or m43 are the sweet spot for the average UW photographer.

I went to Micro43 even though I had lots of Canon gear - my basic premise was to look at it from a total system viewpoint, just because you own a certain camera system doesn't mean it's the best choice to take underwater. Look at what lenses are available and port options - how they pack, how much light you need how you will trigger your flashes (optical or sync cord) and how much each system will cost you. I've got an EM-1 MkII in Nauticam and the cost is pushing $9,000 AUD. Housing a Canon APS-C the same way was looking more like $12-13,000 AUD, for a similar wide angle lens in dome setup. The domes are smaller as are the lenses in m43 and price is surprisingly cheaper for very good quality Olympus glass and the smaller ports they need. Lighting would be 2x INON Z-330 in either case. The more lenses you add the greater the price gap grows.

 

[stuartv]

I just stepped up from an Olympus m43 rig myself. I had no prior investment in more serious gear (other than my NIkon N70 film camera and lenses that I still have around here somewhere).

I considered the D850, but went with the Sony a7rIV. To ME, all the signs point to mirrorless being the way of the future and Sony is currently the clear leader in mirrorless (and has recently surpassed Nikon in sales, to boot*).

For the OP, the options I would be considering are:

Sony a7r4 in a Nauticam housing.

Sony a7r3 in a Nauticam housing. Ideally, used, but at least get the camera itself used. Here, local to me, Ace Photo was just offering used a7r3s for <$2000. And, from them, they come with a 200 day warranty.

Sony a6400 in a SeaFrogs housing. The camera with kit lens is $998 and the housing starts at $327.

SeaFrogs Sea frogs A6xxx series SALTED LINE underwater housing

I have been using a Meikon (sells SeaFrogs) housing for my Olympus m43 camera for about 4 years now(?) and it has never leaked. The only issues I have had with it at all are when trying to use it at 135' (it's rated at 132), I found some of the buttons were being pushed by water pressure, so I couldn't really use the camera until I got shallower. And, two, the button for back button focus has gotten sticky. I.e. sometimes when I press it, it sticks in and I have to catch it with a fingertip and pull it out. Considering I have never done any maintenance on the housing at all, beyond rinsing it, I think it has been an amazing value.

For the full frame options, I specified Nauticam for the housing for one reason: If you ever want to step up to the best available option for shooting wide angle underwater, that is either the Nauticam WACP or WACP2 port. Those will only work with a Nauticam housing. I have chosen Nauticam for my new Sony for that reason. I'm not getting a WACP any time soon, but I want to have the option of using one in the future, if I decide to shell out the money, without having to buy a whole new housing.


* From Nikkei.com:

It has been 71 years since the first Nikon product name was launched in 1948. The camera business, synonymous with Nikon, is shaking. Sony is overtaken by Sony in the market share of digital camera sales, and is expected to fall into the red for the year ending March 31, 2020 (¥ 10 billion in the previous fiscal year). As the market for cameras continues to shrink, the company is looking for new growth measures, such as new entry into machine tools, while promoting structural reforms.

Making a big investment in camera gear right now, I would not invest in Nikon DSLR. I say that having just put my money where my mouth is last month. If I REALLY wanted Nikon, I would go with one of their mirrorless options and invest in the lenses that are native Z mount. Then bide my time waiting for their mirrorless bodies to catch up to Sony.... Or spend a LOT less money on an a6400 and SeaFrogs housing to tide me over until I was ready to make the big investment in full frame.

 

[Ministryofgiraffes]

Go z6/Z7 much lighter/smaller...

 

[JackConnick]

I think it depends what you want to shoot, where and what you want to do with the photos.

I'm a Nikon shooter and agree that the D500 is an excellent uw camera, overall it will be less expensive than a D850, and it probably is a better macro camera, focuses faster in low light and it more forgiving in wide angle situations. Lenses are smaller and less expensive.

The Sony a6600 looks to be a killer format as well, although lenses are more limited. We are seeing good results with the metabones adapters and Canon/Sigma lenses.

For any of these be sure to spend some money on a quality housing system from Nauticam or Sea & Sea, etc. You are buying into a system - so quality ports will go with you to the next housing. Reserve about $2K for strobes and lighting - it will make one of the biggest differences and can stay with you as well as you grow.

You might find this review that contrasts formats helpful:
Micro 4/3rds vs. APS-C & Full-frame Cameras: Mexican Shootout or Standoff?

D500 review:
Trip Report: Lembeh Low Down - Review of the Sea & Sea MDX-D500

D850 Review:
Nikon D850 & Nauticam NA-D850 Housing Review

Handbook:
https://www.opticaloceansales.com/files/choosing-cameras+housings.pdf

 

[stuartv]

I'm a Nikon shooter and agree that the D500 is an excellent uw camera, overall it will be less expensive than a D850, and it probably is a better macro camera, focuses faster in low light

Hey Jack, are you saying that the D500 focuses faster in low light than the D850 does? I'm surprised. But, I really know very little about Nikon DSLRs beyond the real basics. I thought the D850 was the best in every category, among Nikon cameras.

 

[Ministryofgiraffes]

If you plan on video, the Z7 is the only line capable of 4K RAW footage.