Fiji macro, Please advice

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hezishohat

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Hi

Next week I will be in Fiji
Today, I got my new housing for the Nikon D500 with dome port only, so I will use the Tokina 10-17 fisheye
but the port for the Nikon 105 macro not arrived.

So I ask for your advice if I should take also my old system (Olympus E-M1 with 60mm macro)
or the Tokina is enough for Fiji.

Thanks, Hezi
 
Here is my advice, but ultimately you will have to make your own decision.

Option 1: Take your Nikon set-up with both the 10-17mm and the 105mm. The 10-17mm will focus very closely, so while not a true macro, it will tend to give great results for "Close Focus Wide Angle" (CFWA) images. This in itself presents another compromise. CFWA is great for static object such as Christmas Tree Worms, but is less ideal for small skittish critters like clown fish.

Option 2: Have you tried to see if your 105mm Macro will physically fit into the dome port for the Fisheye? If it does, that gives you the option of shooting the macro lens inside the dome port. The limitations with this are that you might get some weird distortions that you will have to fix in post production after the fact. (You might also want to put some black tape over the lettering on the end of the lens so that you don't get reflections of it on the inside of the dome port showing up in your images.

Option 3: Take both camera set-ups and use the best one for the given dive. This will likely give you the best results, and it will give you redundancy, but will increase the bulk and weight of your luggage.

If you can do Option 3 without increasing the luggage that you will need or incurring any unreasonable additional costs, then that is likely your best Option. It is, however, for those very reasons, the first one I would eliminate.

If it were me, and if the 105mm lens fits inside the dome port, I would take my Nikon set-up and do a combination of Options 1 and 2. You know that the dome port will work well with the 10-17mm lens, so that doesn't even factor into it. As a worst case scenario, you will be able to shoot some CFWA images. Take the macro with the dome port on a dive and see if you get acceptable results. Do not expect them to be as good as if you had the correct port for the macro, but they may be acceptable, and you can always fix the distortion in Photoshop when you get home.

Good luck with whatever you choose. (Maybe the macro port might just get delivered before you leave and everything will go as you planned.) Have a great trip.
 
There is quite a bit of macro in Fiji but it depends on where you are staying etc. Are you on a liveaboard or staying at a resort? I think the thing that kept me from going wide was usually the viz. Not sure what airline you are using, but when we went to Fiji they weighed all of our luggage including the carry-ons so be prepared if you decide to take both systems. You will love the D500!
 
Take them both. Lots of macro in Fiji and you may want the smaller housing on higher current dives.
 
@hezishohat
Just curious ...
How was the trip to Fiji?
Which setup did you ultimately take and/or dive with?
How did your pics turn out?
 
it was awesome
we went to weidroka resort. the team is amazing. really!!!

The visibility was pretty bad. the water was white
the reef is very rich but because the bad visibility it was not easy to take pictures
the one this that was amazing was the sharks dive
Dozens of bull sharks next to us, one big tiger shark that came too close (could kiss her)
lemon, nurse and more
and more then 10 silver tips that came all the way to our neck (from behind)
like a dream

I took both housing
used the 10-17 most of the time but the macro was on the boat for any case

Thanks for your advise



@hezishohat
Just curious ...
How was the trip to Fiji?
Which setup did you ultimately take and/or dive with?
How did your pics turn out?
 
it was awesome
we went to weidroka resort. the team is amazing. really!!!

The visibility was pretty bad. the water was white
the reef is very rich but because the bad visibility it was not easy to take pictures
the one this that was amazing was the sharks dive
Dozens of bull sharks next to us, one big tiger shark that came too close (could kiss her)
lemon, nurse and more
and more then 10 silver tips that came all the way to our neck (from behind)
like a dream

I took both housing
used the 10-17 most of the time but the macro was on the boat for any case

Thanks for your advise
Glad to hear that you had a great time.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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