D80 vs D90

[Nocturne2]

Hi
I've currently got a D80 that I'm thinking of getting a housing for.

I was just shooting with a borrowed D90 tonight and was pretty impressed with the bigger screen, the ability to see the camera settings very easy on the big screen, and also the ability to do the live preview on the screen. Better high iso seems nice for other non-diving applications as well.

Question, for those of you who have D90's... do you use the LCD for preview rather than viewfinder when shooting underwater? or does it just slow things down and drain the battery? is the video mode usable while diving? Should i just go for the d90?

Thanks!
-Eric

 

[Viz'art]

The Live View feature really affects the autofocus, rendering it to a unusable level, that is IMO the quirk of this Live View generation (I use a D300s which is pretty much the same imaging guts), The high ISO performance can be really helpful when using color correction filter in available light in situation such as wrecks and for shooting sharks where you will need sufficient shutter speed to stop the tail from being blurry, I shoot with a Magic Filter on occasion and that filter really suck up the light, it made my life miserable with the D200 and I am in heaven with the D300s (which is pretty much the same level of performance as the D90), so I would say, yeah ISO performance can be useful underwater.

I would consider the upcoming D90 replacement, the Nikon D3100, it has AF in live view/video, even better High ISO performance and a bunch of improvement over the D90/D300 generation.

 

[PatW]

I the D90 and the D300 & D300s have pretty similar levels of performance. The D300 series has metal bodies and better autofocus and better handling of highlights.

I know of people who shoot with the D90 underwater and they like the performance very much. The D90 is about 1/2 the price of the D300/D300s and underwater there is always the chance of flooding.

The D90 is being replaced with a new camera the D3100 and/or the D7000. The D3100 is $700 and the D7000 is $1200. The D7000 has a metal body. It also has improvements in autofocus over the D90. I have not seen anything definitive on high iso performance but I get the impression that the high iso is improved as well. The D3100 has 14 mp and the D7000 16 mp.

The D7000 will be available for purchase at the end of October. But that means the housing manufacturers will take some time to cobble together a housing for it. One would think that their clock would start ticking once they get a copy of the camera. I got my information at Digital Camera Review.

Still, the D90 should be available used and refurbished for some time.

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

I sure don't see the D3100 as a D90 replacement.
I do see the D7000 as a D90 replacement.

 

[Nocturne2]

Thanks for the info!

Is the live view useful on any u/w camera? I'm worried that the viewfinder would be cumbersome to use under water.

I'm not sure I need low ISO. I mostly plan on shooting with strobes, mostly macro, in the PNW.

Thanks!
-Eric

 

[Viz'art]

I sure don't see the D3100 as a D90 replacement.
I do see the D7000 as a D90 replacement.

Your right Chuck, I meant the D7000, we are working on both design at the same time and I got my number crossed , mind you the D3100 housing/camera kit will be a knock out also

I am sure that, as with all of us, you will find it much better looking through a "normal" viewfinder than looking at a LCD, mind you, in some down to the ground level macro situation, the LCD does come in handy.

 

[AussieByron]

Hi
I've currently got a D80 that I'm thinking of getting a housing for.

I was just shooting with a borrowed D90 tonight and was pretty impressed with the bigger screen, the ability to see the camera settings very easy on the big screen, and also the ability to do the live preview on the screen. Better high iso seems nice for other non-diving applications as well.

Question, for those of you who have D90's... do you use the LCD for preview rather than viewfinder when shooting underwater? or does it just slow things down and drain the battery? is the video mode usable while diving? Should i just go for the d90?

Thanks!
-Eric

Hi Eric,

I just sold off my D80, currently shooting a D90 in a Aquatica setup and just pre-ordered the Aquatica in the D7000.

Your correct that the Liveview does slow everything down and drain the battery and the liveview has no place in shooting stills.

The video is very usable underwater. WB adjustment and video lights help alot. There are sometimes were your in a situation that only video can give it justice. This is a major reason why I ordered the Nikon D7000 with the better HD video in the camera.

Here are a couple of links to my raw video clips (unedited) to give you an idea of the potential of the video from the D90.

20100308 258 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

20090307 292 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

I am expecting big things regarding the video mode from the D7000. Up until now the Canon HD video has been awesome.

I strongly recommend that you put your money on the new release Nikon D7000. I sold my D80 for a decent price and even my mate sold his D70 a couple of months ago on ebay and recieved much more than he expected.

Regards Mark

 

[Rainer]

What video lights are people planning to use with the D7000? How will you mount them? In addition to or in lieu of strobes?

 

[AussieByron]

What video lights are people planning to use with the D7000? How will you mount them? In addition to or in lieu of strobes?

At this point Rainer I have two Ikelite DS161 strobes with built in 500 lumen LED lights. I will use these as backlighting and have them out wide.
I also have a Light & Motion Sola600 which I have mounted on the ball mount directly above the housing and will use this as my main light. It has something like 680 lumens and 3 power settings as well as red LED mode.

Best thing about this setup is that its so easy to change from stills to video. Best of both worlds.

Regards Mark

 

[Rainer]

Thanks, Mark. Do you think that's enough light? My 21W HID puts out about that much light (1500 lumens; which I use when shooting scooter videos with a reflector). It certainly doesn't strike me as all that much. I know a number of guys locally using dual 50W HIDs for their dedicated video rigs. That's 10,000 lumens. I'd be interested in shooting locally in our darker (green) waters.