Looking for experienced opinions

[Diver Dennis]

I use Canon Thal but I'm sure there are lots of folks here, like Wolverine who has a D200 and I was diving with last weekend, that could give you some help. Warren, do you use Nikon?

 

[Thalassamania]

If you have older nikon lenses, the mount will be the same but they may not necessarily be fully compatible with the new digital bodies like the D200. But if they work enough, I don't see why you couldn't use them. You may have to rely entirely on manual focus, though. As for the 18-200, or any lens for that matter, you can use it in a housing as long as you can find a proper port for it, which really can be the difficult part. Other than macro, I cannot imagine what you would use the long end of that 18-200 for.

I like using my 85mm/f1.8 for fish portraits, the longer range of the lens might be fun there. Can I get a housing with zoom controls? Can I get a flat port that will handle the lens? I’d guess a dome and diaopters is kind of out of the question.

 

[Warren_L]

Yah, I have a Nikon D200 in an Aquatica housing. It's been a fun setup to use I have to say.

 

[Diver Dennis]

I've seen some of your shots and it works extremely well...

 

[frankc420]

Not trying to hijack the OP's thread, but rather than opening another one, since I'm in the same boat, I'd like to ask a question.

I've found someone selling a Oly SP-350 for $160, and I've found the Oly housing for $180. And I've found a 2GB Type H xD card for $55. Would I be stupid to pass this up? I could care less about taking topside photos, I just want this as an UW rig. I'm going to Key Largo at the end of May and want something w/o using a strobe that I can take photos with...

The above setup shipped etc would be about $420.

 

[J.R.]

I use a Nikon L3 (5 megpixel - ya' can get em' at Wally-World for about $100...) and a FantaSea housing ($200). No lights as of yet... but working on it.

The Nikon L2 (6 megpixel - Wally-World $140 or so) also will work in the case.

I can access all the controls of the camera except the power switch... just make sure new batteries are in for each dive and the 'auto off' is set to 30 minutes and life is fine.

View gallery for examples of pics.

I don't use filters on it... instead I use photoshop to color correct and tweak lighting. Filters would probably be a good thing... need to look into that.

It's a low(er) cost route than trying to rig up my D70.

 

[Warren_L]

I like using my 85mm/f1.8 for fish portraits, the longer range of the lens might be fun there. Can I get a housing with zoom controls? Can I get a flat port that will handle the lens? I’d guess a dome and diaopters is kind of out of the question.

On SLR or full frame dSLR that would be similar in viewing angle to a 60mm on a cropped sensor, which is one of my faves for fish portraits (plus it can do 1:1 macro as well). The key really lies in how to get a proper port for the lens. If you check out the various housing manufacturers like Ikelite and Aquatica (which I know for sure) they have port charts which show you the supported lenses. Aquatica supports the 70-180mm f/4.5-5.6 Micro with full focus and zoom support, but if you have a lens that is not listed, you'd have to contact them directly to see if they have a solution that will work. But be careful, though, after reading about SeaYoda's trials and tribulations on this very issue, I would double check with the manufacturer.

 

[Warren_L]

I've seen some of your shots and it works extremely well...

Thanks! I could say the exact same about yours too.

 

[Warren_L]

Not trying to hijack the OP's thread, but rather than opening another one, since I'm in the same boat, I'd like to ask a question.

I've found someone selling a Oly SP-350 for $160, and I've found the Oly housing for $180. And I've found a 2GB Type H xD card for $55. Would I be stupid to pass this up? I could care less about taking topside photos, I just want this as an UW rig. I'm going to Key Largo at the end of May and want something w/o using a strobe that I can take photos with...

The above setup shipped etc would be about $420.

I'm not to up to date on p&s pricing, but that sounds like a pretty decent deal to me.

 

[TCDiver1]

Not trying to hijack the OP's thread, but rather than opening another one, since I'm in the same boat, I'd like to ask a question.

No problem, ask away, the more the merrier IMO.

I'm an old 35mm SLR guy also. I made an uniformed mistake on my digital video unit and don't want to repeat on this one. Thx for all the input folks and keep it coming.