Nikonos V questions..How do I use this thing

[Dmdusn]

I've got my dad's Nikonos V set up and am going to take it diving tomorrow. Just looking for a couple of pointers so I don't waste the whole roll of film underwater. I have 200 iso film and the SB105 strobe. Couldn't find anything lower than 200. Are there any settings that will get me decent photographs for right now while I learn how to use it? Or should I just start taking photos and bracketing? I understand dividing the GN by the distance to figure out what fstop I should be at. But, the SB105 says gn74 on land. What is the Gn for iso 200. The graph on the side of the sb105 is a little confusing. Thanks.

 

[drydiver]

I've got my dad's Nikonos V set up and am going to take it diving tomorrow. Just looking for a couple of pointers so I don't waste the whole roll of film underwater. I have 200 iso film and the SB105 strobe. Couldn't find anything lower than 200. Are there any settings that will get me decent photographs for right now while I learn how to use it? Or should I just start taking photos and bracketing? I understand dividing the GN by the distance to figure out what fstop I should be at. But, the SB105 says gn74 on land. What is the Gn for iso 200. The graph on the side of the sb105 is a little confusing. Thanks.

This was my first underwater camera and I loved it, although it took some practice with all the manual settings, including the focus. I found a great link to the manual. Have you had it serviced recently? I highly recommend this shop, they serviced my camera prior to purchase (had actual receipt) and were very helpful with my questions after purchase. Heard great things about them from other Nikonos owners also. At a minimum, I would recommend checking/replacing the O rings yourself prior to the first dive.

I apologize, it has been a while since I used it, upgraded to a digital a couple years ago, so I don't recall the answer to your specific question but thought you would find the other info helpful.

 

[Dmdusn]

Thanks for the reply. The camera was recently serviced. I don't recall who my dad sent it to, but I think there are only two shops who work with them. Guess I'll just take it out and shoot some photos and see how they turn out.

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

Find a copy of Jim and and Cathy Church's book on the Nikonos. Learn to use TTL. And get someone to show you how to service the O-rings.


Chuck

 

[Thalassamania]

For a surface guide number of 74 I'd start with a GN of 25 in average water, really clear I might up it as high as 35. Bracket to figure it out for the future, keep good notes.

 

[Dmdusn]

For a surface guide number of 74 I'd start with a GN of 25 in average water, really clear I might up it as high as 35. Bracket to figure it out for the future, keep good notes.

Should I set the strobe on TTL? So, say I start with a GN of 25. Going off of the table in Jim Church's guide(found on Google books), something up close would have a high fstop? And the greater distance from the camera would be a lower fstop?
Example: Eel is about one foot away. Fstop to f22 or so, and dial in the distance, and I "should" have a picture. Am I way off base here. Forgive me, I've never shot a manual camera before on land or in the water. Google books cut me off right when Jim was going to start talking about TTL. Thanks for the replies guys.

 

[ozziworld]

What lenses do you have to work with? Macro with the Nikonos system of extension tubes and framers were relatively easier to figure out than the wide angle. The Nikonos required you to assess the shooting distance so that YOU can dial in the correct focus distance and do the math to work out the correct GN/ f-stop. Typically, modern cameras "try" to do all of the above in a fraction of a second when you do the "half-press".

This is a great way to learn what modern cameras do in TTL, autofocus, auto ISO etc. When you have mastered the above, you will know and appreciate what the new auto features do and don't do for you.

Having said that. I find many advanced photographers end up going manual to get more "control" over the image capture.

Digital and automation makes it so much more convenient and easy to achieve satisfactory results. Be patient, take good notes and learn from them. Film was never about instant gratification.

 

[Dmdusn]

What lenses do you have to work with? Macro with the Nikonos system of extension tubes and framers were relatively easier to figure out than the wide angle. The Nikonos required you to assess the shooting distance so that YOU can dial in the correct focus distance and do the math to work out the correct GN/ f-stop. Typically, modern cameras "try" to do all of the above in a fraction of a second when you do the "half-press".

This is a great way to learn what modern cameras do in TTL, autofocus, auto ISO etc. When you have mastered the above, you will know and appreciate what the new auto features do and don't do for you.

Having said that. I find many advanced photographers end up going manual to get more "control" over the image capture.

Digital and automation makes it so much more convenient and easy to achieve satisfactory results. Be patient, take good notes and learn from them. Film was never about instant gratification.

I just have the standard 35mm lens. I'm going to just try some different settings tomorrow and see if anything works. Should I leave the setting knob on "A", or should I dial it to something else?

 

[ozziworld]

"A" will get you decent exposure without a strobe. Actually in TTL with a strobe it works pretty well with macro. The Nikonos really shines when used properly in "manual" though.

Try it on "A" first and see how that goes. That leaves you with having to assess focus distance manually.

 

[Dmdusn]

"A" will get you decent exposure without a strobe. Actually in TTL with a strobe it works pretty well with macro. The Nikonos really shines when used properly in "manual" though.

Try it on "A" first and see how that goes. That leaves you with having to assess focus distance manually.

I'm going to use the sb105. I'll set it on TTL and set the cam on "A". So, when I'm down there, the GN for the strobe is 74. So, rough GN is 37 for UW? Now, I see something that is 3 feet away, and want to take a pic, 37/3=12. So an fstop of 12 right(not sure what fstops are on the cam, it's downstairs)? Set fstop to 12, then dial in distance to 3 feet? Am I even ballpark here?