Which Ports??

[JamieS]

Hello all,

I just bought a D-50. Next month, I'll be picking up the Sea & Sea housing for it. I am moving on from a Housed Nikon 8008, so I have plenty of lenses already. But my big question is which ports to get for the lenses I have. For Macro, I'll be using both the 60 and the 105. Sea& Sea offers the Custom macro port and the standard macro port. The only difference I can find is that the custom port allows me to switch between auto and manual focus underwater. (I only use auto focus now) Anything else that makes it worth the extra $200 or so?

For Wide angle, I am currently using a 24 mm I need to get something wider for the digital, thinking about the 16mm fisheye or maybe the Sigma 14mm flat. But again, which port. I will be traveling with this, so the compact Dome port looks better to me. (smaller and $150 less) What makes the Fisheye Dome port that much better. Any wide lens I get should have no problem focusing on the virtual image of the smaller port, so, why would I want the bigger one? Its bigger (harder to pack) and more expensive.

Any comments are greatly appreciated.

While I'm at it, Does anyone use a softside/backpack/carry-on bag for their housed system strobes etc. With all the new luggage regulations (50 lbs per bag), I need to scale back my camera bag weight. The big Pelican case just weighs way too much for the airplane.

Thanks,

Jamie.

 

[RonFrank]

Hi Jamie, my comments on the ports are based on second hand information, and mostly on Ikelite users responses, so if others speak up and say I'm full of it... well I may be!

The larger 8" port is likely needed for ultrawide lenses like the 10.5mm Nikon. For lenses like the 12-24mm the 6" port works, however some say that they get a bit of edge softness at the wider settings. The 8" dome reportedly makes over/under shots a bit less of an issue as you have more to work with.

BTW, I'd highly recommend a 12-24mm as a very good general lens for digital. Tokina makes the one I own, and the build quality and image qualilty seems to be every bit as good as the almost 2X more expensive Nikon.

To Carryon STUFF I use a LowePro Nature Trekker AW backpack. It is JUST able to be carried on (in fact it may just exceed carryon limits, but I can always get it through the cutout. LowePro now makes a rolling pack that I'd strongly consider (was not out when I got my Lowepro). You can see it HERE

They make a few different rolling packs, so check them all out, but I'd get the biggest one you can without exceeding size limits. I'm rather positive I could get a housing and flash in my Nature trekker, but as I don't own a DSLR housing YET, I'm not 100% sure. However I'm betting that the housing, and flash are going to basically eat up most of the room that one would normally want for lenses.

Like most good bags these day, the Lowpro has removable dividers, so you can basically put anything in the pack that does not exceed the size of the entire area of the pack.

I've used a LOT of bags over the years, and Lowepro makes some of the best (they are about all I use now), so I can highly recommend them to be durable, rugged, full featured, and the stow away AW covers do work even if the bag can take a good amount of weather without using them.

 

[Cacia]

as usual, post filled with valuable information. I just print all your posts for reference Ron. I will be writing "Ron Frank's Guide to Diving Lifestyle and Photography". I have been coveting those Lowepro backpacks for my camera sherpa. He would look real good with one. He says Combat Camera uses a similiar style one. yes, I like the looks of that...how much is the roller baby, the site doesn't say...any idea? Does Adorama carry them?

I will have to check out Tokina lenses! That 12-24 mm was expensive.

 

[RonFrank]

as usual, post filled with valuable information. I just print all your posts for reference Ron. I will be writing "Ron Frank's Guide to Diving Lifestyle and Photography". I have been coveting those Lowepro backpacks for my camera sherpa. He would look real good with one. He says Combat Camera uses a similiar style one. yes, I like the looks of that...how much is the roller baby, the site doesn't say...any idea? Does Adorama carry them?

I will have to check out Tokina lenses! That 12-24 mm was expensive.

Hey Catherine,

I generally like Nikons, and own many, but I do also have a couple off brand lenses like the Tokina 12-24mm, and I did a lot of research on the two lenses side by side. I could not really see any difference in quality. Also the 12-24mm is not Nikon's best build, so that said the Tokina is comparable. Non brands don't however standup to the quality of the 80-200mm f2.8 or 70-200mmf2.8 VR for example IMO.

LowePro makes some nice stuff.

I've generally found the best prices on Ebay via a couple big dealers in Canada of all places! Look

HERE

B&H sells that same bag for $260, so yes, it's worth taking a look on ebay.

Actually looking at the specs on the Ike housing, this bag may not bee deep enough.... The pro roller is also a great bag, but not a backpack. I'm betting I could get a housing in the nature trekker as it's interior is 6" deep but something 6.5" deep is likely going to fit as it's a soft bag, and has some give.

 

[Cacia]

I don't mind sending the housing in the pelican dropped in a duffle. It would be nice if JB could carry my camera and lenses on the plane though. Wow, that bag is pricey. I need some money...where can I find that?

I do love that bag interior. That 8" port is a real joy to cart around too I hear.

 

[donnyb]

"my big question is which ports to get for the lenses I have. For Macro, I'll be using both the 60 and the 105. Sea& Sea offers the Custom macro port and the standard macro port. The only difference I can find is that the custom port allows me to switch between auto and manual focus underwater.
-Jamie."

Aloha Jamie:
You say you are switching from a housed 8008, so did you already shoot macro? If so, what port did you use before? In answer to your question, the custom macro port allows you to turn on & off autofocus AND use manual focus (if you have the correct 2 focus rings (with gears) for the lens inside). One turns on & off the AF and the other is turned by the big knob on the side to change your manual focus. Using manual focus with macro is often a lot easier than AF, sometimes the camera tends to "hunt" in AF, zooming back & forth trying to lock onto the object.

Now you can kinda cheat using the standard port to do a similar thing: by using AF to get yourself close to the focus/ magnification you want, and then either use the AF lock option on the shutter, or turning off the AF by flipping the AF setting located on the camera body to "manual" which will essentially lock the focus until you flip it back to on. It will take some practice to do this without moving your eye away from the eyepiece. Once you have done that you move your body & the housing back & forth as needed to get the focus sharp.

I find I use the manual focus knob on the custom flat port in the way I just described above. I crank the focus knob while looking thru the finder till I get the magnification I want, then move my body till the image is sharp where I want it, then press the shutter.

The super wide dome port from Sea & Sea is designed to give optimal clarity at the outer edges of the image. If youre a pro, it matters. Another design feature is the large diameter provides a larger dispersal area of the waterline for over/under shots. But, I will admit its a pain to keep it protected and clean. The port is suseptible to bumps & scrapes. Since it costs a LOT of money I would definitely demo it & compare the resulting images to the smaller port.

Lastly I would not recommend you carry on your strobes. You will get searched every time you go thru airport security, especially with rechargeable nicads in the strobes. If you don't travel that often it might not bother you but you will be screened.

 

[_Bella_]

as usual, post filled with valuable information. I just print all your posts for reference Ron. I will be writing "Ron Frank's Guide to Diving Lifestyle and Photography". I have been coveting those Lowepro backpacks for my camera sherpa. He would look real good with one. He says Combat Camera uses a similiar style one. yes, I like the looks of that...how much is the roller baby, the site doesn't say...any idea? Does Adorama carry them?

I will have to check out Tokina lenses! That 12-24 mm was expensive.

RE: bags....if you're not set on a backpack style, I use a roller only that is a rebranded Lowepro Pro Roller 1. It has slightly larger dimensions than the one Ron uses.


http://www.lowepro.com/Products/Rolling_Cases/classic/Pro_Roller_1.aspx

http://www.calumetphoto.com/item/LP0300/ESP.html

And the one I use:

http://www.calumetphoto.com/item/RM2200/ESP.html

I've fit 3 SLR bodies, 7 lenses, teleconverters, external land strobe, filter pack, cards, card reader, and some other stuff. It'll also fit two housings if you have a sherpa to carry another one Don't forget to tip the sherpa

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I use a Lowepro trekker with my Nikon D50 and I got a chance last week to look at the roller version. It is only slightly larger (a couple inches deeper to accommodate the roller handle, etc.) but is substantially heavier. So if you plan on having to ever carry it places where the rollers won't roll, stay with the regular version.

 

[JamieS]

Thanks for the opinions and advise. This should help me make my decisions.

 

[spstar]

Hey I just got the 12-24 and really like the lens I am only getting the small dome from ike for now. The lens peforms great on land and at my level of expertise its 5 star its a gem it is also my first off brand lens for my nikon.