Nikon Z line up

[njdiverjoe]

Just wanted to chime in as not a lot of people it seems are shooting with the Z series underwater. I've been using a Z6II this season and am extremely happy with it!

Below image is taken off New Jersey in 230 fsw.

 

[k954triniz]

how can i see more of your footage, hows the video quality ( thats what i want to do more of) what lights case and general rig setup if you don"t mine telling your secrets.

 

[njdiverjoe]

how can i see more of your footage, hows the video quality ( thats what i want to do more of) what lights case and general rig setup if you don"t mine telling your secrets.

No secrets -- just get lucky with amazing water clarity

Video quality is pretty good (definitely way better than my old Sony A-series) but I haven't really done much of that underwater or above water -- other projects have pushed aside video. I have actually have the prores raw upgrade and an Atomos Ninja for topside that I'm going to start playing with this week.

Setup is:
Nauticam housing
Nikon 8-15mm Fisheye lens
Nauticam 8.5" Acrylic dome
Sola 12K Pro lights, I think I have them set to about 5K lumens in this shot
Then some float arms to make the rig just slightly negative

I had the camera and lights already and Backscatter set me up with everything else. Initially I really wanted to get a much smaller glass dome but I'm so glad I listened and got the bigger dome. There isn't a native Z-mount fisheye so I was a little worried about using the F-mount lens and adapter behind a dome -- in practice it performs super well!

I've got a couple recent galleries online I'll send you a DM with links to.

 

[jmark18]

What exposure settings are you using. I was using a D7000 for years and have switched to a Z series. I am confused about focus settings as there are so many options now. Exposure will come with time as I shoot all manual.

 

[kelemvor]

I've also been considering a move from d7100 to z. Watching with interest.

Tow yard holds no responsibility are missing items, what a system we have in America

I had a similar situation where a auto shop (Toyota of Clearwater) stole the stereo and speakers out of my car while they had it overnight. Cops told me the "not responsible for items left in car" absolved them of responsibility. I later found out I could have sued and would probably have easily won, just as you would if you're mad enough to take it to court. Well I say "you would" but I'm not a lawyer and didn't actually do it. I've been told that those statements are just an attempt to get out of lawsuits before they are filed.

 

[njdiverjoe]

What exposure settings are you using. I was using a D7000 for years and have switched to a Z series. I am confused about focus settings as there are so many options now. Exposure will come with time as I shoot all manual.

Exposure settings lately I've mostly been shooting from ISO 3200 - 10000, I'll start at ISO 6400 and adjust as needed. aperture I start at f/8 ish, I've opened up to f/4.5 or so but the images do get a bit soft for my liking, then shutter I try to keep around 1/40. The focus settings can be a little bit confusing, there is a great chart somewhere(in the manual I think) that shows which situations to use which focus modes, I have focus mode select mapped to one of the customizable buttons on front. For focus UW though I've just been using the single focus mode, I'll point the camera to what I want to focus on, let it focus, then reframe and shoot. With the great DOF from the fisheye I'm finding this works really well. I guess with anything it takes practice and experimenting with what works, I'm still learning and experimenting trying different things.

 

[BoltSnap]

Nikon 8-15mm Fisheye lens

Just this lens no other (rectilinear, macro)?

I've got a couple recent galleries online I'll send you a DM with links to.

Please send me the links too, I promise I won't break anything

Your picture is awesome considering the environment you are diving. I dove in NY/NJ for over 20 years and I know how bad it gets and how infrequently great the vis. is there


Do you do still photo only or do you do video also (underwater)?

I am waiting to see what new cameras Nikon will bring out in 21/22 to decide but the z7ii is looking very good. I do still photo almost exclusively but would like to get into video.

 

[njdiverjoe]

Just this lens no other (rectilinear, macro)?


Please send me the links too, I promise I won't break anything

Your picture is awesome considering the environment you are diving. I dove in NY/NJ for over 20 years and I know how bad it gets and how infrequently great the vis. is there


Do you do still photo only or do you do video also (underwater)?

I am waiting to see what new cameras Nikon will bring out in 21/22 to decide but the z7ii is looking very good. I do still photo almost exclusively but would like to get into video.

Sure -- will send you links to a few galleries as well. Right now I'm trying push on the photography front -- I've shot a few small video clips but really haven't jumped into that much yet. In the future I'd like to do more with video but I'm already too busy as it is.

 

[BoltSnap]

Sure -- will send you links to a few galleries as well. Right now I'm trying push on the photography front -- I've shot a few small video clips but really haven't jumped into that much yet. In the future I'd like to do more with video but I'm already too busy as it is.

Thank you.

I too want to jump into video but it seems to be far more "complex" on the post-processing side than Photo. Photo is complex at the front side, taking pictures, and not so complicated on the "post" side. Video appears to me to be more work in editing, choosing music, color correction, using software etc. than on the taking the footage. My friends who do video spend lots more time editing and doing their post-processing work than on taking video itself it seems.

 

[BoltSnap]

Sola 12K Pro lights, I think I have them set to about 5K lumens in this shot

Are you saying that you are using video lights to take still photos instead of using strobes?