Dome Port Advice - 4, 6, or 8? Help!

Entacmaea · Mar 10, 2013

Hey everyone, so I've done a good bit of research so far on dome ports for my Tokina 10-17 on a Nauticam housing (Canon T4i). There was a great video by Alex Mustard "Domes without the Drone" that gave good background, but I'm still torn. I am leaning toward getting a 6" dome, but my fear is that it will compromise too much on both sides. The thought of close focus wide angle and wide angle macro is alluring with a 4" dome, but clarity and better split shots with a larger 8" dome is also attractive.

This is why I'm leaning toward a mid-range 6" dome- to try to get the best of both worlds, as well as being easier to travel with. I really only can afford to buy one dome port. I think I am likely a little more interested in shooting WA subjects and close focus work than wide angle reef scapes, but I'm so new to UW photography, who knows what I will really gravitate toward.

Any help? I've read a lot of posts, but still would love some sage advice on what dome you'd get if you could only get one.

Thanks for the advice!

Best, Peter

Diver Dave1 · Mar 10, 2013

Ah, the stress of decisions. I have a similar setup and use a glass small dome. I love it. Easy to travel with and pack, easy to use. I own an 8" dome and have never used it. All my underwater work involves a plane flight. I can carry my setup in a backpack. That said, I may take the 8" dome to Grand Cayman to try an over/under with stingrays.

You watched Alex M. You know the limitations of each. You can only afford one dome port.... for now! This setup will not be the last purchase you make. 5 yrs from now, you may be in a position to buy another dome. At that time, which will you wish you had purchased now? Will you wish you had a 4" dome already and buy a larger one then? Will you wish you had bought an 8 or 9" dome and buy a mini then? If you have an 6" dome then, will you be stuck since you may not afford two domes then?

In the end, you have the best guess as to what you will need. You asked for sage advice. For me, I would buy the mini for now and if I find I am dreaming of shots I cannot make work then I will save over time and buy the larger dome.

You can see what I have shot with a mini dome at shiningseastudio's Photos. All dome shots with a mini. All Cozumel shots with a 10-17 plus 1.4x, mini with an extension. Hawaii Manta's, Isla Mujeres sailfish, Mexican Cenotes all with the mini and 10-17.

Good luck with your stress and decision making.

bvanant · Mar 10, 2013

Given the crop sensor and the 10-17, I think you have to decide on how much over/under stuff you want to do. For most reefscapes and such the 6 inch dome will be fine and the corners will be relatively sharp. If you do want to do a lot of over under work though then get an 8 inch dome they will be much easier (that is a relative term of course). Over under with the 100 mm dome is nearly undoable (at least for me, Todd Winner shoots with the 100 and can shoot them but most folks will struggle). O/U shots with the 6 inch dome are easier but still painful, while with a 200 mm dome the optical bit will be simpler. Travel with a big dome is a PITA but a good tupperware cake holder will do the trick. Compared to all the other stuff you take on a trip (we are leaving for a month in Indonesia and have 187 lbs of stuff) the dome is the least of your worries.

To recap, if O/U are your thing or you think they might be get the big dome. There is no performance hit on that dome for doing other kinds of work (except CFWA) but the 6 might leave you not being able to excel at either end of the spectrum.

my 200 rupiah
Bill

decidedlyodd · Mar 11, 2013

I was facing a similar decision a while back when adding wide angle to my setup (T2i in Nauticam housing). What made me choose the small dome was seeing both a 100mm (about 4 inch) and a 200mm (about 8 inch) dome in person at Optical Ocean Sales. Pictures online do not do justice to the actual size difference. The 200mm dome was MASSIVE. The weight difference between these two (both glass) was also significant: 12oz/350g vs 3.9lbs/1.8kg. First, I just couldn't see myself traveling with the larger one. Second, even with most of my diving being local, it just looked more unwieldy than I wanted to deal with underwater. All of those things you read about how the different sized domes are better suited to different kinds of photos are true, but I find plenty to shoot with the smaller, cheaper dome.

Entacmaea · Mar 11, 2013

Thanks for the responses and advice. So, while I have seen some really cool split shots, initially I will probably be more interested in WA etc. in places where traveling with a small dome might be better. I also think that with all the diving I will be doing in Monterey, California (near my home, so probably diving there twice a month)- the small dome for close focus work will get much more use in the limited visibility- where basically it's not possible to shoot huge "reef scape" shots with only 10 foot vis : ) So I'm leaning toward the 100mm Zen or 4.33" Nauticam domes, both made specifically for the Tokina 10-17 I think. The Zen is $270 more, so is the glass Zen worth it over the acrylic Nauticam dome?

ozziworld · Mar 16, 2013

I just bought the Nauticam 4.33 inch dome for my Nauticam 7D and must say it handles a lot better in water as well. I also have the 8 inch dome which in water tends to twist dome up which is annoying. I do most of my diving local so the big dome was not that big a hassle.

I chose the acrylic of the (nauticam) versus the glass (zen) because it is simply so easy to bump into something and scratch the dome. It has not happened yet to either of my domes but I like the idea that I can (possibly) remove a scratch if not too deep. Or just buy another one.

With so many variables (visibility, distance etc. ) affecting sharpness and clarity in underwater photography, I somehow also felt the optical advantages of the glass dome may be diluted by the other factors.

I must add that I had the 8 inch dome and never really got around to doing over/under shots. I do believe I will probably take it with me on big trips in case that over/under opportunity presents itself.

Here are some shots taken a two weeks ago with the 4.33 inch dome, tokina 10-17 and Canon 7D