which port part.2

[niaewn]

same as jamie (at the other thread), I have difficulties to choose of which dome that I have to use :06:

I want to buy sea and sea DX D50,and I need info for wich dome I have to buy

My lens its nikkor AF 18-35 ED, as a new comer for SLR camera, I’m not see any knob at the housing for rotate my zoom ring (lens 18-35). my question is if there’s no knob at the housing, the dome must have the knob, and sea and sea NX compact dome port series don’t have the knob, but the other sea and sea NX custom flat port have a knob, but I’m worried there’s a vignet if I choose this type.

so I need help , if anyone knows which port that i have to choose.

thank you,
Nia

 

[ssra30]

The zoom gear should be on the housing. Usually it is the knob on the left of the housing (looking from the rear of the housing). It is usually labeled zoom/focus dial although on D70 housing, I never used that dial for any focusing function.
The knob on the flat port is usually for focus gear if you plan to do manual focus.
As far as domeport goes, depending on what you want to do. Compact domeport is excellent for the 10.5mm fisheye lens but I was never satisfied with it when using it with 12-24mm. I tried various diopters with it and the result was never all that great. The 12-24mm would be better wiht the big Fisheye Domeport, I think. Not sure about the 18-35mm though.

 

[donnyb]

Nia:
First make sure that Sea & Sea makes a zoom ring for that lens. This ring will slide over the lens and fit snugly around the grip area where you would change the zoom lens length. the outer edge of the ring will have a toothed edge like a gear, which will mesh with the small gear located inside the housing. You control the zoom by turning the knob on the outside of the housing, which turns the gears on the inside. Its the big one near your left hand. If there is no zoom ring available for the lens, you will need to purchase a lens that Sea & Sea DOES make a ring for. Depending on how wide the lens is, and how much money you have, you can start to decide which port is best for you.

To check for vignetting: You should take your camera and what ever lenses you intend to use into a store and, using the mounting plate, install each lens/camera combo into the housing with each port you want to check attached. you can leave the back of the housing off. Disable auto focus, and manually set the lens focus to the closest it will go, and the aperture at f22. Set the zoom as wide as it will go. Point the entire setup into a bright area, like the blue sky and take a picture. Review the image on the screen or on a computer and look for clipped or dark corners (vignetting). If you see this, do not buy that port, try another.

 

[niaewn]

thank you for the advice..

I found that B&H sell ring for nikkor 18-35mm , but i just found also that my nikkor 18-35 actually have to be devide by 1.5 since i use DSLR camera now (D50), means if I want take a wide photo ,I have to consider to buy another wide lens,( I still think about wich one)

maybe somebody can advice which lens that i have to buy, my considerations its budget
I read at the internet tokina 12-24 its the best option (besides nikkor 12-24)

any one already used this lens?

 

[ssra30]

Tokina 12-24mm is pretty good but from what I heard, is not quite as good as the Nikkor but it definitely has better value for the money. Sigma 12-24mm is also pretty good but also quite a bit bigger. I am not sure if Sea and Sea supports it though. There used to be a chart on Sea and Sea site that list all the lenses that they support and they don't support all that many third party lenses from what I recall. For some reasons, I can't find that chart now on Sea and Sea site, just a list of available ports. 18-35mm will give you equavalent of 27mm at wide end which is not very much. For true wide angle lens, you can use either Nikkor 12-24mm or 10.5mm fisheye. The other popular option is the Sigma 15mm fisheye which is a very good starting wide angle lens and is relatively more affordable than 12-24mm and easier to start of with than the 10.5mm. However I have to say that my current favourite wide angle lens is the 10.5mm.
18-35mm is actually quite good for big fish portrait such as shark (1-2m size, not whaleshark) but not quite wide enough for reefscene or bigger fish such as manta ray.

 

[JamieS]

As we talk about wide angle lenses, I saw the Sigma 10-20mm. Any one ever used this one U/W? It may not be worth even trying as it is about the same pric as the Tokina 12-24mm which every one seems to like. The Sea and Sea chart only lists one non-Nikkor zoom lens it supports though. lens/port/gear chart I am guesing that there are some non Nikon brand lenses have the same dimensions so they may be used with the same gears. But, I would research that further before buying the lenses.

Jamie.

ps I think I have decided to go with the less expensive, compact dome port. (I'm not a pro, and it will do fine for my applications.