Nikon Coolpix P5100

[HMan]

Hi Jack and all,
We will be releasing a very nice macro lens with 46mm thread to mount on the Fantasea Line housings lens port as well as Olympus and any other housing with a lens port thread of 46mm.
This macro lens and our wide angle lens will be coated as is the Inon ones. We are also working on a new line of 67mm threaded lenses as well.
Keep your eye on our website for more product releases or visit our booth at DEMA #2837. Or contact Jack at his website.

Howard
Fantasea Line

 

[Kevster]

I would also buy a Fantasea housing(maybe 2!) for this new Nikon but only if it was compatible with the Inon UWL AD wet lens.
Would pass if it was not compatable. That was the reason I did not buy a P5100. I bought a 3 year old S80 instead that probably cost twice as much as the new P5100.

I think it would be a great move to ensure compatibility with Inon 28AD lens.

There are many things I like about the Fantasea housing;price, depth rating, small,insurance… but IMHO it is really let down by the lack of Inon attachment. Most P&S users I have seen using wet lens have all been Inon.

Heres hoping for a winning combination later this year.

I would have thought Fantasea would sell more housings than lens so I would imagine it would make good business sense to build a housing that would be suitable for common lens attachments.??

(I should add that i already have the Inon UWL+Dome)

 

[Eskasi]

Kevster! How are you mate? How was your dive drip? Can't wait to see the photos! Any interest in joining me in Phuket and Sipadan in October?

*edit* sorry to go off topic!

 

[JackConnick]

Nemrod;

The coatings and quality are equal to the Inon. I have a friend who uses his constantly now about a year in very harsh conditions. Indeed he took his FP5000 to 218 feet and was able to take one shot, then back up to 180 where it continued. He uses the WAL-01 lens all the time and we've experienced no degradation of the lens. The lens has been upgraded to the WAL-02 now as well.

Another SB'r (Chuck M from Houston) took these shots with the lens (and gave me permission to use on my site he was so happy), I don't see any more distortion than the Inon 105, which actually has quite a bit.

I would agree that the Inon dome lens is awesome and it should be for the cost. But Fantasea has to look at the majority of it's users when making these decisions.

I've used both lenses, (I was an Inon Artist of the Month btw) and believe me the Ike adapter leaves lots to be desired, it rotates and there is also vignetting.

I will definately carry the Fantasea macro lens as soon as it's released.

Jack

 

[Nemrod]

I would also buy a Fantasea housing(maybe 2!) for this new Nikon but only if it was compatible with the Inon UWL AD wet lens.
Would pass if it was not compatable. That was the reason I did not buy a P5100. I bought a 3 year old S80 instead that probably cost twice as much as the new P5100.

I think it would be a great move to ensure compatibility with Inon 28AD lens.

There are many things I like about the Fantasea housing;price, depth rating, small,insurance… but IMHO it is really let down by the lack of Inon attachment. Most P&S users I have seen using wet lens have all been Inon.

Heres hoping for a winning combination later this year.

I would have thought Fantasea would sell more housings than lens so I would imagine it would make good business sense to build a housing that would be suitable for common lens attachments.??

(I should add that i already have the Inon UWL+Dome)

Same here, I will buy if it will accept either Inon AD or 28AD lenses. If it will not or uses thread on then I probably will not bother to upgrade. Thread on is better than nothing but a poor substitute for engineering.

BTW the Ikelite short port for the G9 housing does not use an andapter, it is thread on 67 MM so I would expect an Ike housing for the P6000 to also use a thread on type, no adapter, the adapters are used on their small ports, 47 MM I think they are. Yeah, I have actually studied up on all this stuff .


Excellent pic of the whale to it's owner, very nice shot, amazing, thank you.

N

 

[Paul Garces]

Hi, I'm new to the forum, actually just joined right now to comment here on the Nikon Coolpix P5000, P5100 and the new P6000. I own the first two. Well, I bought my wife the P5000 and once I saw and played with it I just had to get one for myself, by then the P5100 had come out. I love both and since I had started diving I decided to get the Fantasea housing. My desicion on it over the Ikelite was taken on 100% because of pricing and nothing else. And since I only wanted to test underwater photography I didn't really wanted to spend much money. On the other hand I'm an amateur photographer who shoots only RAW with a Nikon D300 and soon to get the new D700. I had read a lot about underwater photography so my pictures were quite good since day one. I only bought the housing, no strobes or wide angle lens. The Fantasea housing is good, but never liked the sensibility the shutter release gave me or other controls which I had to push hard on compared to say the Olympus or Sony housings my other dive buddies had. For that reason I opted to buy the Ikelite. I bought the whole set up including the wide angle, dual tray and strobe. Unfortunately Peru doesn't have much diving and haven't had the chance to try this new set up apart from a pool. Hopefully this coming 24th I will be able to try it and can let you all know.

Below in a link on a web page I am subscribe to which is very good. Nikon annouced the release of the new Coolpix P6000 which should be out in the market by September.

Digital Camera Reviews and News: Digital Photography Review: Forums, Glossary, FAQ

I hope this may help some on deciding what to get if not to late yet and hope I didn't bored too many with my small introduction of myself to you.

Paul

 

[ReefHugger]

I've been using the P5100/fantasea with a Sea and Sea YS110 strobe. Suggest that you see my post 'P5100/Fantasea Impressions' - last reply Dec 21st'07. I think this is an excellent starter unit and is very capable. I would also suggest that photoshop (with Camera Raw) is a required part of any uw photography system.

The main difference between the Ikelite system and the Fantasea (besides big $$$$), is the ability of the Ike to shoot TTL. IMO, shooting in manual mode (eg YS110), is where you learn photography. Further, manual mode is where you can get special lighting effects.

As to the P6000, I personally would not wait (you might now get deals on the P5100). The ability to shoot RAW is not a major consideration for me, as Camera Raw (and Lightroom) handles my JPEG's just fine (having said this, the 28mm sounds absolutely enticing). And finally, if you get hooked on uw photography, this is merely going to be your first system - its the nature of the beast.

Good Luck!

 

[randini]

Sorry to bump up such an old thread, but I just stumbled across somthing & thought others might be interested.

It looks like 10Bar responded to those looking for an AD mount on the Fantasea housings:

10Bar Adaptor Ring for 46mm Thread to INON AD Mount

The only place I've seen it is Divervision (LINKAGE). At the time of this post it's listed at $35.

 

[Nemrod]

That adapter would probably work for the macro end but I seriously doubt it will work with the wide angle and fisheye lenses. Those lenses MUST be as close to the prime lens as possible and sticking an adapter between them will not help matters. I am pretty sure just from my experiments that would result in severe vignetting.

N