Purchased a Used Canon 700D, help me finish the build please

[Sloeber]

Hi all,

I'm new to the DSLR cameras, so I would appreciate some help on completing my setup. I recently purchased a used Canon 700D and associated Ikelite housing. It came with a dome port (not 100% of exact size, need to ask seller), and a few arms, but most importantly no lenses and no lights. So... I'd love your advice on this.

My main goal is macro photography with the camera. I already own a Sony video camera which gets me decent wide angle and normal videos, which I can take decent still images out of. and I do envision myself taking both cameras with me for most dives. For my Canon still images, I want to focus on the small stuff, but have some flexibility to it, if possible. Meaning I not only want to take a high-quality close-up image of a small shrimp living on the anemone, but also one of the anemone itself and maybe a little of the surrounding reef area. No need for wide angle photography, but if I can snap a photo of a diver or two and not just their eyeball, it's probably a good thing.

I'm also hearing macro photos should use a flat port, while other photos use a dome port. Maybe you can suggest the best port to use for your lens recommendation?

So.. what lenses should I consider?

Finally, is a pair of Ikelite DS51 strobes an ideal setup on this? Seeing as I will not be doing wide angle I'm hopeful I don't need to splurge on the DS151 models.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Chris Ross]

Here is the port chart with the ports recommended for the various lenses:

http://www.bluewaterphotostore.com/images/articles/Ikelite/port-chart-fl-system.pdf

basically you've got either the60 or the 100mm macro lens, you pick which one based on your subjects, the 100mm for smaller stuff , the 60mm can also double for slightly larger subjects as you'll have less water between you and the subject.

you could also reverse lookup your dome here to see what it might be suited for.

The Ds-51 is sync cable only and not so bright. You could also add a fiber optic attachment and use Inon or S&S strobes via fibre optics. Concern with sync cables is its another thing to service and possible source of floods. The Inon and S&S strobes run on AA batteries (NiMH enelopps) as does the DS-51, other ikelite strobes use proprietary Li-ion packs.

 

[PatW]

It sounds like my old Nikon D7000 which also has a crop sensor.

I liked using a 60 mm macro lens with this camera. It gave a very fast focus. It was good with medium sized fish to close ups. It was not good for true macro. True macro means that the image on your sensor is life size. For a 60 mm macro, the lens needs to be something like an inch away which is not practical. Using a subsea wet diopter with this lens works really well. With the diopter, you can stand off and get a good image. It is pretty versatile that way.

If you use a 105 macro, you can get true macro images but on a cropped sensor, they would have to be really small critters. A 12 mm creature would take up much of the field of view. I find with the longer lens that the focus is much slower than the 60. This lens is good for photos of small fish that will not let you get really close like damsels, jawfish and others like that. If you use the wet diopter, you can get into ultra macro shots.

If your dome allows it, you might think of getting the Sigma 17-70 macro lens. No it is not a true macro lens but it will let you take decent closeups at the 70 end and photos of large subjects like divers and turtles at the wide end.

You should get at least one strobe. You can take good macro shots with one strobe. Two strobes are better for even illumination without dramatic shadows.

On top of the, you should get a focus light. Many small critters lurk in dark places and you need a light to focus with.

 

[Sloeber]

Here is the port chart with the ports recommended for the various lenses:

http://www.bluewaterphotostore.com/images/articles/Ikelite/port-chart-fl-system.pdf

basically you've got either the60 or the 100mm macro lens, you pick which one based on your subjects, the 100mm for smaller stuff , the 60mm can also double for slightly larger subjects as you'll have less water between you and the subject.

you could also reverse lookup your dome here to see what it might be suited for.

The Ds-51 is sync cable only and not so bright. You could also add a fiber optic attachment and use Inon or S&S strobes via fibre optics. Concern with sync cables is its another thing to service and possible source of floods. The Inon and S&S strobes run on AA batteries (NiMH enelopps) as does the DS-51, other ikelite strobes use proprietary Li-ion packs.

Thanks for the link. I stumble don that about the same time you linked it. Still sorting through it, but I'm glad I was on the right page. At first looking at it I wasn't sure if it was helpful for me or not. Now... it seems like the bible regarding lenses and ports.

I had a DS-51 maybe some 15-18 years ago. Or maybe it was a DS-50 or something. Anyway, I'm familiar with it small amount of light in the past. I was hopeful that had changed over the past decade plus. I had not considered switching to fiber-optics. Didn't realize it was possible. If you know if a helpful link in that regard, I'd appreciate it, as that is something I will now have to investigate.

 

[Sloeber]

It sounds like my old Nikon D7000 which also has a crop sensor.

I liked using a 60 mm macro lens with this camera. It gave a very fast focus. It was good with medium sized fish to close ups. It was not good for true macro. True macro means that the image on your sensor is life size. For a 60 mm macro, the lens needs to be something like an inch away which is not practical. Using a subsea wet diopter with this lens works really well. With the diopter, you can stand off and get a good image. It is pretty versatile that way.

If you use a 105 macro, you can get true macro images but on a cropped sensor, they would have to be really small critters. A 12 mm creature would take up much of the field of view. I find with the longer lens that the focus is much slower than the 60. This lens is good for photos of small fish that will not let you get really close like damsels, jawfish and others like that. If you use the wet diopter, you can get into ultra macro shots.

If your dome allows it, you might think of getting the Sigma 17-70 macro lens. No it is not a true macro lens but it will let you take decent closeups at the 70 end and photos of large subjects like divers and turtles at the wide end.

You should get at least one strobe. You can take good macro shots with one strobe. Two strobes are better for even illumination without dramatic shadows.

On top of the, you should get a focus light. Many small critters lurk in dark places and you need a light to focus with.

That is some good info, but it gives me many questions, sorry!

You've touched on a topic I was curious about. I had an old Nikon5700 that allowed me to get really close to the subject, like 1" or so, and take great macro photos. But it also gave me flexibility to not have to be so close. There are obviously things like say jawfish or pike blennies where I want a really close-up photo, but the fish won't let me get close. Am I better off with a zoom lenses than a macro? If I find that 1/2" nudibranch, can a zoom lens let me back off the subject but fill the frame with the tiny subject?

Is there a database of similar images but different lenses so one can see the results and differences?

 

[Sloeber]

This is the port it came with. The hood is broken off but otherwise it id water tight and no scratches.

FL 6 inch Dome for Lenses Up To 4 Inches

 

[Chris Ross]

You can use this to add a fibre optic connection: Universal Fiber Optic Mount Kit

you would need to add some baffling to prevent the flash getting into the port from inside the housing. You can also use a sync cord to connect to an Inon or S&S strobe and use it in manual.

on the subject of lens selection, welcome to the joys of UW photography, you need to be quite close but the 100mm macro could be too much lens for fish as you'll end up with too much water between you and the subject. If you are not doing really small stuff you may be better served by the 60mm macro.

 

[bvanant]

For the Canon 60 macro lens the minimum focus distance is 8 inches (from the sensor), the lens is 3 inches long, the 100 has a minimum focus distance of 11 inches but the lens is 5 inches long so the difference from the port is only 1 inch. I certainly shot macro with the 60 and even more fun to shoot the 60 with a 1.4 teleconverter. Also, I am not sure of what a definition of macro is vs. super macro. In any case, both the 60 and the 100 shoot 1:1 i.e. they can fill the frame with a 36 mm size beastie. In general zoom lenses (i.e. telephoto zooms) are quite useless unless you are in perfectly clear water, shooting a pike blenny from 15 inches away will not get you very good photos. Forget the dome, get the right flat port for the lens and go have fun. For strobes on the IKE housing sync cords are by far the easiest solution, but make sure you have spares.
Bill