How to make $1 million in u/w photography

[marpacifica]

As the owner of a dive shop told me on a recent dive trip: "Start with $2 million...."

Well, at least from my very limited experience in u/w photography, that guy seems right. I've just been paid some chump change (not even remotely close to $1 million) for my first real photo assignment http://www.mcedit.com/search/?mode=article&url=/archive/Wingspan/2004/January/ETA.html ,
but no sooner has it hit my bank account and I'm already devising ways to spend it on more camera equipment.

I fear that I will turn into that scary person in the neighborhood who collects hundreds of cats, but my obsession will be underwater photo gear. Perhaps in a few years you will read about the untimely demise of a diver (me) who suffocated under a large pile of photo gear after a devastating earthquake in Micronesia, but in order to get that far I need to get started on fueling my camera obsession. That is where my fellow Scubaboarders can help. Please help me on my way by offering suggestions on my proposed camera equipment setup. If you'd rather not contribute to my untimely demise, please tell me of where I can get professional help, say Camera Gear Anonymous or similar group.

I considered getting the Oly 5050, but after an editor complained that my Oly 4000 just didn't give enough resolution for a two page photo spread, I have decided on (gulp) taking the plunge into digital SLRs.

I've searched the threads, read tons of info on other sites, but I still feel like I'm missing some important pieces.

Here's my planned setup:

Camera: Fuji S2 Pro
Strobes: Dual Sea & Sea YS-90DX strobes (I already have these, and can't afford new ones)
Tray/Arms: Ultralight Control Systems (already have arms, but no tray)
Lenses: 105 Nikon (or Nikkor?? any difference?) for Macro
Some sort of wide angle, to be determined
Housing: Sea & Sea or Aquatica
Lens ports: corresponding S&S or Aquatica ports for the above lenses

I think I need two TTL cords to attach to the housing. I know that S&S and Aquatica come standard with one TTL mount with a second as an option. Aquatica, however, says that its TTL mount is designed for a Nikonos strobe. Does anyone know if Nikonos strobes are the only ones usable on the Aquatica housing? Can I use my YS-90DXs on either of the housings, or even on an Ikelite housing?????

Which wide angle lens should I get?

Thanks for reading through this lengthy post and offering suggestions.

 

[Mverick]

Nice camera.

But are you SURE it would cover a 2 page spread? It's 6.17 megapixel. Oly 50xx are 5.1 megapixel.

Canon EOS 1Ds 11 megapixel

Kodak DSC Pro 14n 14 megapixel

they have a 22 Megapixel Sinar back for Medium formats

But I don't know if the 6 Megapixel would fill a 2 page shot.

 

[TedJ]

WOW,
This is a platefull to digest and I'm only competent to comment on a few pieces so here goes!

I considered getting the Oly 5050, but after an editor complained that my Oly 4000 just didn't give enough resolution for a two page photo spread, I have decided on (gulp) taking the plunge into digital SLRs.

That certainly is a big jump!

Camera: Fuji S2 Pro

Excellent camera based on the Nikon N80, which I happen to own and enjoy very much. You will be very pleased with either this or the Nikon D100, IMHO. I would pick the S2 as well.

Strobes: Dual Sea & Sea YS-90DX strobes (I already have these, and can't afford new ones)

This may be problemmatic as you note below.

Tray/Arms: Ultralight Control Systems (already have arms, but no tray)

Obviously, stay with the same system since you have much of it already.

Lenses: 105 Nikon (or Nikkor?? any difference?) for Macro
Some sort of wide angle, to be determined

Nikkor is the name Nikon uses for its lenses. I have owned the MicroNikkor 105 lens for 15 years and it is one of the best lenses I have ever owned. It's called the MicroNikkor because when Nikon wanted to trademark the name they couldn't get "Macro". WRT wide angle lenses with the housings you are considering, I'm not the one to comment.

Housing: Sea & Sea or Aquatica

Everything I've read would lead me towards the Aquatica, particularly since Sea & Sea has abandoned its distribution network in the US.

Lens ports: corresponding S&S or Aquatica ports for the above lenses

Clearly.

I think I need two TTL cords to attach to the housing. I know that S&S and Aquatica come standard with one TTL mount with a second as an option. Aquatica, however, says that its TTL mount is designed for a Nikonos strobe. Does anyone know if Nikonos strobes are the only ones usable on the Aquatica housing? Can I use my YS-90DXs on either of the housings, or even on an Ikelite housing?????

I have always understood, as you say, that the Aquatica TTL is designed for Nikonos strobes. I would suggest calling Aquatica, however, to really confirm this as so much is changing so fast these days. The same is true for the Ikelite housing. I would give them a call.

Which wide angle lens should I get?

I have read of a number of folks using the Nikon 12-24 f4 WAL.
I'm envious, but not quite rich enough yet.
TedJ

 

[Scubatooth]

Nice camera.

But are you SURE it would cover a 2 page spread? It's 6.17 megapixel. Oly 50xx are 5.1 megapixel.

Canon EOS 1Ds 11 megapixel

Kodak DSC Pro 14n 14 megapixel

they have a 22 Megapixel Sinar back for Medium formats

But I don't know if the 6 Megapixel would fill a 2 page shot.

Mav

6 mp is more then enough because several well know magazines have been doing it with canon 1D for almost 2 years, Time, Life and sports illistrated to name a few, but mind you this isnt consumer gear its pro level equipment. with a few programs you can take a image off a 4 mp sensor which native and do a 8x6 (depending on configuration) and easily take it up to 40x30(which is only a doubling of 2.5(meaning doubling of resoultion 2.5 times, normally stated 5x) with no loss in detail (yes it does require alot of post processing but it is do able), but this is depending on that the orginal image was spot on exposure and had no deficets to begin.


marpacifica

having pro equipment doesnt make you a pro, a pro is a person who can get the shot 99% of the time, and were the ameuter might get it on luck. and knows his equipment inside and out to get that image right, and has spent years or a lifetime to master his craft for the world to see.

A good example is one day ansel adams grandson was setting up his camera near the edge of the rim of the grand canyon to take a photo of the area in the same way his grandfather had 2 generations before him, when two old ladies drove up popped the sun roof off and raised a disposable camera and pop the shutter and said "i got it". when he heard this adams grandson (i cant remember his name) just started to laugh, when asked by another tourist, his responce was" my grand father photographed this same scence for most of his life and only got 1 photo that devolped and printed(which was done by hand and done over and over, dodging and burning the print) the way adams saw it in his life and mind, and then these ladies think with that camera they captured the beauty of the moment, are sorely misplaced in there impression of photography.

personally my favorite line about photography is "photography is not a art or action, but a expression/vision of ones mind, through the extension of a lens, exposed on film, and printed on paper to express ones emotion for all the world to see" pretty powerfulm eh?

if you havent already take a couple of classes on photography and practice till you can guess within about .5 - 1.0 stops of what your meter is reading then you know your getting good. its when you know what your meter is reading without looking at it is when your in the groove. also if you want go talk to a professional in your area and ask it you might accompany him to a studio or location shoot, and maybe assist. this will give you a feel for the business, and while assisting devolp your skills even more, and build contacts for work and then try from there to become a pro. one thing that helps in all stages of photography is to have a portfolio of images, and not small ones either, min 8x10, because 4x6 or 5x7 are considered proofs and nothing more. This is how it has been done for years pros to be learning from the current batch, yes there have been ones who did it on there own but those are very rare

personally i would love to have a Canon 1Ds with Sea&Sea housing with all of the options, but i know that my skills arent even close to be using that type of equipment or to a level were i could use all of its features(i mean it took me about 15 months to know the in/outs of my fuji 602 on land to its full advantage and i still learn things on what it can do everytime i use it, and i have only started with the c5050, maybe in 2 years or so for the 1Ds o what ever its equivilant is then to even think about it,but not now. I may know allot about photography and have presented here but i can tell you i have a whole lot more to learn about photography.

if i get good enough to be a pro so be it but right now im enjoying my photography, but also im devolping my other skills (tho be photo related-- electronuc prepress/graphics through webdesign and devolpement) i will have something to fall back on if being pro photog isnt in the cards.

Also i know that being a pro photog in the scuba industry is a real slim shot, but if you devolp a porfolio that has killer images you might just get a shot to work in the industry but the chance is slim.

FWIW

Tooth

sorry if it sounds like rambling its been a long day for me at school and today is only the first day of the semester.

 

[Scubatooth]

marpacifica

please tell me you didnt give those people the copyright to that image, and also if you dont mind telling me what they paid you. Also how big is this site (monthy viewage totals,visitors, etc)

tooth.

 

[marpacifica]

marpacifica

please tell me you didnt give those people the copyright to that image, and also if you dont mind telling me what they paid you. Also how big is this site (monthy viewage totals,visitors, etc)

tooth.

Tooth,

No, fortunately I didn't give them the copyright to the image, just one-time use for the mag issue and the website. My copyright watermark appears on the six images that appear on the website. I'm not sure what the coverage of the website is, but it's not the photos on there that I got paid for. The assignment was for the lead story for the January 2004 inflight magazine (Wingspan) for All Nippon Airways (Star Alliance member), which pays a private publishing firm to publish the magazine and post the articles on-line. I'm not sure what the physical circulation is, but they are the 2nd biggest carrier in Japan and have probably have several hundred planes (with a few hundred seats each, one mag per seatback), and fly to most major Euro/N.American destinations and domestically, so I think a lot of passengers leaf through the magazine. I got paid 300,000 yen (with current slide of dollar, about $2700 actually showed up in bank a/c). The publisher used 27 of my photos in the magazine, but the pay was based on their established rate for all photos for the lead article, not on a per photo basis. I understand that they're on the high end of the pay scale for both stories and photos.

 

[marpacifica]

TedJ, thanks for the many helpful comments.

WOW,
This is a platefull to digest and I'm only competent to comment on a few pieces so here goes!

That certainly is a big jump!

Yes, it is a big jump. I've dealt with film SLRs for over twenty years and consumer end digitals for several years, so I thought it was time to jump. The fact that an editor told me that my Oly 4000 wasn't cutting it for a two page spread and if I had any slide film to submit instead, gave me a little push to make the jump.

Excellent camera based on the Nikon N80, which I happen to own and enjoy very much. You will be very pleased with either this or the Nikon D100, IMHO. I would pick the S2 as well.

Yeah, the Nikon D100 was 1st on my list, until I read a post from caymaniac that my current strobes probably wouldn't work with it. Yuzo's website recommends the YS-90DX as one of the strobes that are compatible with the Sea & Sea/S2, so my current strobe setup is driving my choices. I just can't afford new strobes at this point.

Nikkor is the name Nikon uses for its lenses. I have owned the MicroNikkor 105 lens for 15 years and it is one of the best lenses I have ever owned. It's called the MicroNikkor because when Nikon wanted to trademark the name they couldn't get "Macro". WRT wide angle lenses with the housings you are considering, I'm not the one to comment.

Thanks for the specifics. I knew from reading other posts that I wanted to get the 105, but didn't know which "brand".

Everything I've read would lead me towards the Aquatica, particularly since Sea & Sea has abandoned its distribution network in the US.
I have always understood, as you say, that the Aquatica TTL is designed for Nikonos strobes. I would suggest calling Aquatica, however, to really confirm this as so much is changing so fast these days. The same is true for the Ikelite housing. I would give them a call.

If it turns out that I can't use my YS-90s on the Aquatica or Ikelite S2 housings, then I'm stuck with the Sea & Sea for now.

I have read of a number of folks using the Nikon 12-24 f4 WAL.
I'm envious, but not quite rich enough yet.
TedJ

Will put this one on my list!

 

[TedJ]

marpacifica,
Check out chippy, he's got most of what you want based on his signature.
TEdJ

 

[nwdiver2]

For your Sea & Sea strobes you will need the cords that goes to nikonos bulkhead fitting. You only have to switch cords.

The Aquatica is the better of the housings and the S2 it one of the obnly cameras that will shoot true TTL.

 

[chippy]

Ok i'll add my 5 pence worth, albeit I can't go into too much detail on how well it works, as it hasn't got wet yet, but here's the thought process I went through - all based on the FS2 (remembering that I also do alot of topside photography too so I had to take that into account with some of the lens choices):

1) Camera - I looked at the Nikon D100 first, but I have dual DS125's and the FS2 in an Ike housing, with a dual sync cord, offers me TTL capability without fussing about with controllers, although I still retain that option to use the manual EV units on dives where i have all the time in the world. The FS2 also produces interpolated 12 megapix images, which look great with the octagonal CCD sensors in the chip.

2) Tray / Arms - I've already got 4 x 8" arms and 6 clamps. Most housings that I've seen seem to have there own tray anyway. For the ike tray I simply bought two extended handle mounts that slip into the QR handles and also double up as EV controller mounts, should I decide to use them. I believe Ike also do a sync cord from their housing to nikonos fitment strobes, so there's one option for you.

3) Lenses - Nikkor and Nikon - both the same, haven't the faintest clue why they use two names!! But here's what I plummed for:-

12-24mm F4G DX - great multipurpose wide angle which covers me for UW & topside. You'll probably also need a diopter too depending on the dome port. As it's a zoom, i'm happy to trade off some of the quality (versus a fixed focal length) for versatility. You might have a problem getting one though - they're as rare as rocking horse poo. If you go for it then PM me - I got a good deal plus they had them in stock as at yesterday - i'll tell you where.

24-85mm F3.5-4.0G DX - Great little lens, probably won't use this UW though, as Ike needs me to send them the lens so that they can make a custom zoom gear. As I'm on the other side of the world from the U.S. postage there and back doesn't seem feasible at the moment.

60mm F2.8D - Works great, very sharp albeit that the non AF-S focussing motor is really noisy - far noisier than the C5050 zoom! I chose the 60mm over the 105mm because here in the uk the closer to the subject you can get the better - i.e Crap viz. Otherwise I'd have gone for the 105mm.

70-200mm F2.8G DX VR AF-S - a stonking lens and it's MASSIVE. No hope of getting this baby in a port whatsoever so strictly topside use only. It's nice and fast, great optics, and virtually no quality loss when used with a 1.4 converter.

Hope that helps.

Well done on selling the pics BTW. I just GAVE all my good ones to my LDS for them to use - for FREE!! :shakehead