Moving from the Nikonos to DSLR

[SeaLevelScuba]

Hey folks, This year I am planning on moving from the Nikonos V to the DSLR world. I have been eyeballing the Nikon D200 & D300 quite a bit. My question to the folks that are actually using a DSLR is what lenses are you using. With my Nikonos I have all the lenses in which I use mostly the 28 & 15 depending on what I'm doing for the dive. I see several lenses with a range on them which on the face of it seems fine, except, how well to those lenses perform in the underwater environment. Any advice you may give would be appreciated, as I am planning to start the transition once I am certain of the camera body.

Schott

 

[Warren_L]

One of the big differences (with respect to lens selection) in this transition is going to the cropped sensor, which means you're going to get a smaller angle of view with comparable focal lengths. However, the good news is that you have some good choices for going wide. With the D200/D300 being a 1.5x crop, you probably want something that can go as wide as about 10-12mm. The Nikon 10.5mm fisheye is a popular lens, but you also can choose from the Tokina 10-17mm zoom (which is a popular choice), the Nikon or Tokina 12-24mm (both make this lens and are similar in size), as well as sigma 10-20mm (I think this is the one, though I'm not familiar with the sigma offerings).

The other important part is that you have a proper port setup for the lens you choose. It's not necessarily as simple as picking a dome port that it will fit in, but making sure the port is centered properly (optically) so that you minimize softness in the corners. As well, you may need to use diopters to allow for proper focusing.

 

[mjh]

My current line-up includes:

Tokina 10-17mm, love this lens basically replaced my 10.5 and 12-24mm
Nikon 10.5mm, not much use since picking up the Tokina
Nikon 17-55mm, my don't know what I'll see lens
Nikon 60mm, just about the best Macro lens out there
Nikon 105mm VR, great macro lens for shy creatures or adding diopters to for super macro

Nikon 17-200mm, my dry land all around lens
Nikon 200-400mm, if you do a lot of nature or sport photography worth the money
Nikon 70-200mm, don't own it but many consider this a must have lens for dry land use

 

[fisheyeview]

Both the D200 & the D300 are great cameras. I am shooting the D200.

For underwater my current line-up includes:

Tokina 10-17mm. I love this lens, and shoot it all the time
Nikon 60mm,
Nikon 105mm VR. This is a great lens, but it does require a lot of light to focus. I use a focus light when I shoot this lens.
I also add a wet diopter for really small critters.

I recently tried the Sigma 14mm lens. I really liked the optics.

 

[danclem]

Hi Schott:

Looks like the pro's have responded, so here are some thoughts from the amateur side of the house. I am currently using a D70s, Subal housing, Ikelite 127 strobes.

Camera, after looking at the D200 and D300, I am going to upgrade to the 300. It has outstanding reviews, and apparently the battery life is substantially better. Wetpixl is another site you may want to check out.

For underwater lenses, I love the Tokina 10-17, use the Nikon 60 most frequently underwater, and have a Nikon 12-24. As noted above, a wet diopter is unbelievable for full frame shots of inch long critters.

I am in the Seattle area, but have found Reef Photo in Fort Lauderdale to be really helpful, especially with ports, gears, cables, etc. Since you are in Florida you may want to check them out.

You might also want to look at increasing charge levels on your credit cards!

Have Fun,

Dan

 

[louisianadiver]

Schott: If you're thinking about a Nikon body, I'd definitely go with the D300. Much better highlight capture (you can actually get sunballs without the ugly cyan ring). If your budget is more in the D200 range, consider getting a used D80. It's a smaller, lighter camera, and it's actually more handy in a housing because the mode switch is a single knob rather than having to hold a button and turning a ring. My 2 cents'. -Clay

 

[parabolic]

With a Nikon DSLR this will handle your underwater needs forever (all Nikon lenses):
105mm
60mm
12-24mm
10.5mm

++Ken++