Complete Nikon DSLR setup from scratch

[chem]

Hi there!

My wife and I love photography top-side and since our new found love of diving, we've been looking into UW photography. We've been diving since sept. last year, and feel confident that by now our buoyancy and other skills are enough to start UW photography.

We've been using a Nikon D50 for nearly 3 years, and are quite happy with it. We've also purchased a 18-200 VR and a 50 1.8, along with the plastic-fantastic kit lens and a hardly used 70-300.

We've heard many stories about leaking housings, and besides the financial disaster that may bring, it also means no more top-side pictures for the remainder of the holiday. Therefore, we're looking into buying an extra Nikon setup for UW. Then again, our D50 is much older and cheaper to replace then a new dslr that we feel it might be wiser to purchase a D50 UW housing and a separate new Nikon for top-side. That D50 housing may very well be cheaper as it's not so new.

What we'd like to know, is... what do we need to purchase? I've come to the following list so far:

• An UW housing for the D50 (US$867 from fantasea, $1400 from Ikelite)
• A new lens, I've seen the 60 Nikor being recommended, along with some other makes and models, around US$700. We have no particular wish yet regarding wide angle/macro/whatever.
• 2 strobes/flashes - I have no idea regarding price/make/model about this
• Something to hold all of this together?

Did I miss anything? Would it be wise to purchase extra O-rings in advance so I can replace these during the holiday?

Any advise here would be great.

 

[mjh]

A lot of threads on this if you search. In the end it boils down to budget, buy the best you can afford. Being in Europe you do have access to equipment like Subtronic strobes, Seacam housings and other products that we don't see as much of in the US but are of excellent quality.

1. Housing
2. Ports, you typically need a flat port for Macro work and a Dome Port for WA.
3. Possible extension rings depending on lenses. Check with your housing mfg.
4. Strobes, there are many options. Not familiar with the D50 so I don't know if you can shoot TTL (Automatic, where camera talks to strobes to set strobe power). But Inon, Sea&Sea and Ikelite are popular. Go to Underwater Strobe Comparison Guide - Digital Diver Network for some info, but some is a little dated. Buy the most powerful strobes you can afford and if you shoot a lot of macro something that recycles quickly.
5. Sync Cords, connect camera to strobes so they will fire. Check with Strobe mfg.
6. Strobe arms. There are several options, TLC, Ultralight, Stix, etc... all about the same, but some have arms that will help make your camera neutral underwater.
7. Clamps, these link the strobe arms together, I like Ultralight or Seacam clamps.
8. Lenses for Nikon: the most popular include the 60mm, 105mm for macro. The Sigma 17-70mm for all around, the Tokina 10-17mm for WA, the Nikon 10.5mm for WA, and the Nikon 17-55mm for all around. But there are many choices and opinions.
9. Focus light. Objects need light on them for your autofocus to work. So you attach a light to your housing for this, often called a focus light. Many options but you want something small, and that casts and even soft light. You do not want a "hotspot".
10. Rechargeable batteries for everything.
11. Carrying case for above. Many go with a Pelican case for checking bags, I carry my on in a camera backpack. Heavy but I know my stuff will make it.
12. Lots of misc cleaning and maintenance items.

Our website has a list of some of our stuff with pics. http://www.aquabluedreams.com/staticpages/pid/16

I am sure others will have additions.

 

[Eskasi]

sync cords and TTL converters can cost a lot of money. Take a look at housings like the new Sea & Sea MDX range or Nexus housings. They allow the use of the on-board flash to fire the strobes via optical cables (about $15 each vs sync cords at $75 a cable depending on brand).

TTL will make you life a lot simpler for macro (with the 60mm that you plan to get) but isn't entirely necessary of course.

Not sure about D50 housings....but the new MDX range from Sea & Sea will take the D40s and 60s I believe.

I completely agree with everything else mjh said.

 

[AussieByron]

Honestly as a you will be spending alot of money on underwater DSLR setup. Housings, strobe/s, arms, ports, sync cords, focusing lights, etc etc.

All up it will come into a few thousand dollars worth of gear.

If your going to invest say $5000 into a underwater setup (without camera) your better off buying a new release camera than put in something which has been discontinued. Keep the D50 as your topside camera.

You are also going to have to invest more on lenses as you need a nice macro lens like the 60mm or 105mm (I recommend the 60mm first, then the 105mm later) and a nice wide angle lens. I prefer the Tokina 10-17mm. So there is more money to spend.

Regards Mark

 

[chem]

Thanks for all the info so far - it has given me a much more complete picture of what is required.

I've been looking into ikelite as they offer both housings and strobes and all that; do I understand correctly that one needs the EV Controller to use the strobes with their housings?

Oh, and afaik just about any nikon does ttl nowadays.

 

[Eskasi]

Nikon does TTL of course....but it does not translate into uw use in strobes. You either need a TTL controller or need to mirror the TTL from the camera via fiber optic cables. The process of getting your strobes to fire with TTL accuracy involves your camera talking to the strobes..... this means a TTL controller or fiber optic connections (which are cheaper)

Ikelite has TTL controllers built into their housings which will ONLY work with IKELITE made strobes. They are big and costly (as are the cables).

Sea & Sea housings require the purchase of an expensive TTL controller for TTL via sync cord to the strobes (Inon or Sea & Sea strobes). This is of course unless you are using their new RDX range of polycarbonate housings which have fiber optic sockets. At this point, the RDX range is only for D40 and 60 range of cameras.

Inon and Sea& Sea strobes are the only ones I know of that can do TTL via fibre optic cable too.....however, that means you MUST have a housing that can allow your flash to pop up and also a socket to plug the fiber optic cable into. So far, your options as I understand are Sea & Sea (RDX range), Nexus and also some Seatool housings. This will depend on camera model and current availability (some are in development).

Ikelite offers no optical connection possibilities. You WILL have TTL IF you buy their brand of strobes.

I really hate that as I don't like to be tethered to one brand especially because I have to invest also in the same brand of ports, gears, etc. Nexus offers the most flexibility with the possibility of port adaptors (for other brand ports), and also fiber optic connections.

I hope this made sense.

 

[Eskasi]

Honestly, I would look into getting a Canon G10 housed with a single strobe if I were in your situation.

For starters, as you are new and don't yet have the lenses for UW use, this would be a much better option in terms of photo resolution and value for money. By the time you decide to move seriously into DSLR use UW, the housed G10 would be worth more than your housed d50! The G10 will do both video and still well and offer still at much greater resolution. All the manual controls are there and you are not tethered to either wide angle or macro during the dive. If you are unsure of the kind of photos the G10 can shoot, look here;

EdvinEng.com - Underwater Photography

Ed is a regular here and takes photos that would put us DSLR users to shame with his single strobe and G9/10. People tend to forget the limitations (and max possibilities) of their gear underwater. I find that many do not make the most out of their gear and try to buy the latest camera or DSLR to or camera to make up for it. One look at Ed's G9 (or IXUS!) photos and you will realize how far you can take a point and shoot. I shudder to think what Ed could do with a D300!

If you decide to move on later, you can still keep the strobes and arms. IMHO, its the next logical step for you. Its far less costly and will hold its value while you ponder an upgrade and practice UW photography....

 

[danclem]

Hi Chem:

Since you are in Europe, you might want to check out Subal housings (Österreich). They are fantastic, and the ergonomics are great.

Also, the cheapest protection against flooding (and theft) is to have insurance. I am not certain how property insurance works in the Netherlands, but in the US the best way is to schedule it on your homeowners' insurance policy. Considerably less expensive than the various dive insurance policies.

Good luck!

Dan

 

[tridacna]

Ed is a regular here and takes photos that would put us DSLR users to shame with his single strobe and G9/10.

As a diehard S80 fan, I recall that Ed uses an S80 and G9. I stand corrected but I don't think that he has sprung for the G10 yet. I also think that his work is the best out there!

I'm begrudgingly taking my D300 under the water next week in Roatan. I'm gonna miss that S80.

 

[chem]

Honestly, I would look into getting a Canon G10 housed with a single strobe if I were in your situation.
[...]

Well, yes; I do agree that a camera itself doesn't create perfect pictures. However I've seen many underwater pictures of lousy quality - and not just composition but grainy and low-saturated pictures as well, mainly due to the fact that they shoot jpeg at high iso.

I do like Ed's pictures; they do not seem to suffer from the problems mentioned before.

Hi Chem:

Since you are in Europe, you might want to check out Subal housings (ŽÖsterreich). They are fantastic, and the ergonomics are great.

Also, the cheapest protection against flooding (and theft) is to have insurance. I am not certain how property insurance works in the Netherlands, but in the US the best way is to schedule it on your homeowners' insurance policy. Considerably less expensive than the various dive insurance policies.

Good luck!

Dan

Getting your money back at home doesn't bring you any new pictures - that's why I'd like a seperate UW camera; but getting it insured in the first place is indeed a good idea.

How easy is it to re-use components (probably mainly the strobe) from such a compact-camera setup to a dslr setup? Is it mainly a matter of (new) cables and arms?