What else?

[tmpx]

Looking into buying a package for wide angle and macro photography.

Nikon D300
Nikon Spare battery
Nikon 105 mm
Nikon 60 mm
Nikon 10.5 mm
Nikon 12 -24 mm
Ikelite Housing
Ikelite 105 mm flat port
Ikelite 60 mm flat port
Ikelite 12 - 24 mm dome port
Ikelite 10.5 mm
Ikelite DS-160 Digital Package w/ TTL Sync Cord & Deluxe Ball-Joint Strobe Arm x 2
Ikelite Spare Battery
Ikelite Y Sync cable

Any aditional recomendations, anything that I am missing?

Any preference for shops?

Regards,

B.

 

[mjh]

I shoot a Nikon D200, started with a D100. If I was starting fresh today your list looks pretty good BUT....

I would drop the 12-24mm and the 10.5mm and get the Tokina 10-17mm. I love wide angle and once I had this lens I sold my 12-24mm and now considering selling my 10.5mm as I have not used it in months.

Due to the excellent reviews on the Sigma 17-70mm I picked this up but yet to get it underwater. A good "don't know what you will see" lens.

For dry-land the 18-200mm is a good all around lens. You can see our list of junk at our website.

FYI, I am an Aquatica guy.

 

[H2O Photo Pros]

My suggestion would be:

Change out the 10.5 for a Tokina 10-17. That lens will do everything you need, and you really have no need for the 12-24 as well. Also, as opposed to going with the Ikelite ball joint arms, I would highly suggest going with the Ultralight Control Systems arms.

if you are traveling abroad, I would suggest an extra set of batteries, not just one. Remember, the strobes do not come with chargers, so you need to purchase those as well.

Lastly, if the bank account allows, I do highly suggest taking a look at aluminum housing offerings. They are a more compact and more robust.Sea & sea, Aquatica and Seatool have very nice, reasonably priced housings. Used housings can be found and are a great option as well. We have a used Sea & Sea D300 with less than 30 dives on it for a great price.

Let me know if I can be of any assistance

 

[alcina]

Very nice list indeed.

I would say the guys above are correct about only needing the Tokina 10-17 for your underwater endeavours, BUT you will want something like the 12-24 for land use. The Tokina 10-17 just doesn't cut it on land as it's fisheye properties need to be used sparingly on land, imho

I have the Tokina 10-17 but use my Canon 10-22 on land all the time. Don't even take the Tokina when I won't be shooting underwater usually. I've also got the Tokina 11-16 2.8 and this might be a great choice for you for your UWA land stuff ... it does not handle flare as well as the Canon 10-22 but it still an awesome lens. Depends how wide you want for land ... the 12-24 is a solid lens with a very nice range.

 

[Eskasi]

What everyone said.... 10-17 for UW use (and fancy topside shots) instead of the 12-24 .... 11-16 Tokina is MUCH sharper than the 12-24 for topside use. Some have used it UW as well...you will need a diopter and extension ring if you want to do that.

You have forgotten zoom gears (for the 10 -17 Tokina or 12-24 Nikon) and manual focus gear for the 105....the 60 works quite well on AF. 105 can be tricky with cropped sensor cameras.

I would also get a woody's diopter to use with the macro lens for those times you want to fill the frame a little more. With my Sea & Sea housing, I house my 105 with a Athena port that allows for a Inon wet diopter in front......for my 60, I use a Nexus L size woody's in front of the standard NX port.

If you are going to do a lot of macro, you are going to find that you will want a good focus light too. There are many options out there. Just find a way to attach it to your arm or housing.

Spare Orings

A Cooler bag large enough to hold the whole housing and strobes...I use one to take my rig on a boat. Padded cooler bags work well as protection and as a makeshift dunk/soak tank.

Get a blower or an attachment blower that you can connect to the LP inflater hose of your BC. They are cheap at 14$ or so and help dry your rig super fast (thus preventing salt build up in the buttons). You can get those online at Scuba.com. I also carry a rubber camera bulb-blower too.

Cover for your dome port and flat port....why take the chance getting it scratched? Most port manufacturers will not include this in the port purchase. THEY SHOULD!!

If this is your first DSLR....you will need a camera bag, perhaps a tripod for low light shots, remote cable release, Flash (SB-800 or 900), etc etc etc...

There is no end to the list.....how about you just hand me the credit card?

 

[H2O Photo Pros]

hahahaha, i like the last line!! Zoom gears are important, however when you order the port body with am Ike housing, it will come with it.

Spares, Spares, and more Spares. All the money we spend on gear and travel, the little extra for O-rings, tools and lube is well worth it. Whats $100 with all the money we are already spending, right?? hahaha

 

[Eskasi]

hahahaha, i like the last line!! Zoom gears are important, however when you order the port body with am Ike housing, it will come with it.

Spares, Spares, and more Spares. All the money we spend on gear and travel, the little extra for O-rings, tools and lube is well worth it. Whats $100 with all the money we are already spending, right?? hahaha

Yeah....my spares box with all the bits, pcs and tools is probably a good 4 kilos or so...that's 4 kilos of excess baggage I have to pay each time I fly cause I am always over the limit (unless I am on my preferred carrier which I have the max class status and miles). SO, that means I have to buy my tool/spares box a seat on the flight each time!

Go figure.... welcome to a really expensive hobby! THe costs may be high but the rewards are truly satisfying...

 

[H2O Photo Pros]

Hahaha aint that the truth. I tell myself that everyday...after all, I got into this to support my addictions! We will see, Im traveling to Tahiti Thursday with an EX1 system, a D300 system, and a 1200-HD system...Ill let you know how the overage fees go!

 

[Eskasi]

Hahaha aint that the truth. I tell myself that everyday...after all, I got into this to support my addictions! We will see, Im traveling to Tahiti Thursday with an EX1 system, a D300 system, and a 1200-HD system...Ill let you know how the overage fees go!

Oh man....ouch. Bring a kilo of spare $100 bills to pay for the excess....

I would love to hear your reviews on the new systems. Eager to see what the manufacturers have been up to. The only real piece of kit I REALLY want now though is Inon's new Fisheye Macro lens... so new, it has not been released yet for sale...

 

[tmpx]

Hi all,

Thank you for your help, I really appreciate it.
In response to your advice and suggestions I will drop the Nikon 10.5 and 12 -24 mm lenses and go for the tokina lenses instead.

Tokina 10 - 17 Fisheye
Ikelite zoom gear
Ikelite port ?

Tokina 11 - 16
Ikelite zoom gear
+4 Diopter (Recomended by Ikelite)
Ikelite port ?​

Additional I will add

Battery charger
Ikelite Spare Battery x 2
Ikelite Y Sync cable x 2

Separate focus light​

and I got the memory, external hard drive and transport system covered.

Unchanged

Nikon D300
Nikon Spare battery
Nikon 105 mm
Nikon 60 mm

Ikelite Housing
Ikelite 105 mm ? port
Ikelite 60 mm ? port

Ikelite DS-160 Digital Package w/ TTL Sync Cord & Deluxe Ball-Joint Strobe Arm x 2​

I would appreciate any input on the modular port system, I'm not sure what get for this lens combination.

Regards,

Bob

(On his way to go rob a bank somewhere)