Nikon D40 Housing vs. Sea&Sea Dx860G

[DiveBZ]

Ok, as always, I am in search of the best way to blow my hard earned money.

I would really like to start doing some UW Photography, and I have run into a dilemma. I know the instinctual answer, but I have a few points of contention that may sway the final decision.

I currently own a Nikon D40, and all SCUBA aside, I LOVE the camera. It has been amazing. The light weight and amazing kit lens (for the price) has resulted in several superb prints and if given the chance again, I would buy this camera with no hesitation.

Back to the discussion at hand.

I am trying to decide whether or not it's worth the money to invest in a housing for the D40, or just buy a complete UW setup like the D60G. The LDS here has a complete 860G setup, including arm, strobe, camera, housing, cables, etc, for somewhere around 1,000$.

I'm assuming that to buy a good housing and an acceptable strobe for the Nikon, I will be somewhere in the neighborhood of 1000$.

Here are the pro's and con's as I can see them, hopefully someone here can chime in with some experience either way.

Pro's for Nikon

Better picture quality, and far more options for creating successful images.

Better camera in terms of options/functionality

I'm already familiar with the camera, and have enough know-how with cameras to make the manual functions of the Nikon do what I want to compose good shots.

Inter-changeable lenses

Most professional housings I've seen have much greater depth ratings than the Sea&Sea.

Pro's for Sea&Sea

Size (!!!)

Weight

Complete setup in one box

Made for UW use/Housing is not aftermarket parts

Cons for Nikon

Size/Weight

Aftermarket Housing

Complicated housing due to all the buttons

Price tag of Strobe/Housing/Accessories

Cons for Sea&Sea

Picture Quality compared to D40

Upgradeability

Limited depth

Any advice would be great, thanks guys!

 

[mike_s]

did you include a domeport for what lens you will use and the dome for that lens and the housing in the cost?

 

[DiveBZ]

I guess not?

I assumed the standard housing accepted the standard kit lens.

Do you know of a good D40 housing? The ones I've found look shoddy.

 

[hammerhead man]

Hmmm, $1000 for a strobe and housing?????? I don't think so. You need to check the prices out for DSLR housing and strobes. My daughter bought an Ikelite housing and a DS-125 strobe with the arm for her Cannon Rebel XTi and it was well over $2000. Then you need to talk about dome ports, wide-angle lenses, close-up lenses, etc, etc. I have the Sea&Sea DX-1G and would recommend it. It costs more than the 860 but is a better camera. Another Sea&Sea camera that I have gotten good results from is the DX-8000G. Although Sea&Sea doesn't sell them anymore you can find them on ebay for a great price. If you click on my "view gallery" you can see some of the pics that I have taken with both the DX-1G and the 8000G. The Galapagos pics were with the DX-1G and the Fiji pics were taken with the 8000G.

Regards,

Bill

 

[BlueFrog]

Its my guess that the $1,000 would be just for the housing body with no ports, stobes or other necessary items and even then seems really low. I have used several Nikons for underwater photography and each of the housings (Sea and Sea, Subal) cost over $2,000 and then I had to buy strobes, ports and accessories. For a specific example, the new Nikon D300 housing by Sea and Sea is $2500+ for just the housing body.

Underwater photography is not a cheap hobby and you'll have to decide what you can afford. If you decide this is what you want to do with your life, the Nikon in a housing will have more flexibility for years to come. By changing ports and lenses you can dive that one camera in all situations. Its possible to outgrow the Sea and Sea you have selected so I would advise looking at the DX-1G if you want a point and shoot style camera. As far as housings, Ikelite makes a solid housing that is usually less expensive but good quality.

 

[hammerhead man]

When BlueFrog says that UW phtography is not a cheap hobby he is absolutely correct. UW photography is like a black hole in space that sucks everything around it. Sigh, I have spent more than I want to think about over the years I've been involved in UW photography and just when you think you've got the prefect setup, you flood your housing or strobe or worse you lose the rig overboard. Then the cycle starts all over only this time you want a better camera and better housing and better strobe, etc, etc. I think I need to seek therapy for this habit I've
developed . Run DiveBZ, run before the addiction to UW photo grips you and sends you into poverty .

 

[JackConnick]

The Fantasea FD40 Housing (also fits D40x, D60) is a great value priced housing that comes complete with a standard port, adjustable handles, metal controls and more. Includes a one year warranty and one year flood insurance on the body. I've sold quite a few of them at $1049 and everyone seems happy with it. Yes you will need a strobe and so forth, and complete accessories are available.

It will shoot rings around the Sea & Sea that's for sure.

Jack

 

[DiveBZ]

Well, here is the next question. Being a relateively new diver, should I be attempting to keep the profile of my camera as small as possible so as to distract me the least from other task loading?

I'll admit that I'm not a perfect diver, thats no problem, but I will also admit that the temptation to take the camera to bring back what I'm seeing is easily going to take shape before I completely master buoyancy and such (if it can ever truly be mastered, I doubt it)

I guess all things being equal, since I do not aim to make UW Photography my living (I'm a cop, can't afford it, for SURE) the Sea&Sea may be a better value since I get everything that I need.

Thank you all for the input, at least I can go forward now with information backing my final decision.

I was looking to spend 1000$ total, not really 1000$ for one piece of the kit, it appears my math was rather off.

In general, is the Sea&Sea crap or just not as good as the D40? I can deal with not as good, maybe not with total crap.

 

[alcina]

Pro's for Nikon

Better picture quality, and far more options for creating successful images.

I guess I'm a simple girl at heart, I wouldn't have to go any further than this one.

I'm always amazed at how many of us (myself included with the stupid Oly 720SW I keep dragging around with me) are willing to sacrifice image quality, focus ability and other factors that really are essential to the whole endeavour.

If you've got the cash, go for it as you already know and love your camera.

I would, however, seriously consider other alternatives, too - the Canon A series, an older Oly 5050 if you can find one, the Fuji 810 or 900 (I don't like these but lots of ppl do). They'll give you huge bang for buck.

 

[hammerhead man]

I have found that buoyancy is a key to taking pictures underwater so I would definitely feel comfortable with my diving skills and then take on UW photo. I have said in other posts that the quality of the pictures you take is greatly dependent on the person taking the pictures. All the cameras mentioned in this post are capable of taking great pictures (including the Sea&Sea cameras, check out the pictures taken by Eskasi using the DX-1G on this thread http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/un...sea-dx-1g-sipadan-mabul-kapalai-malaysia.html). I don't think you will go wrong with any of the cameras that are mentioned in this thread.

Regards,

Bill