I have a D800 with a Nikkor 14-24mm lens, Nikkor 60 Micro, Nikonos SB-105 Strobes and not sure what housing I want to go with. Aquatica? Subal? Sea & Sea? Hugyfot? Anyone hhave any thoughts?
D800 Housing - Which is the best?
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I went throught he process last month - D800 with the 14-24 and 105 macro. After much research, I narrowed it down to the Aquatica and Nauticam housings. After physically comparing the two, I went with the Nauticam. For the 14-24 I then got the 70 extension ring and Zen 9" optical glass dome. I couldn't be happier with my choice.
OP
Thanks, I appreciate the feedback. How difficult is it getting the camera into the Nauticam housing? I saw one report that the handles could be a little more sturdy on the Nauticam. Have you experienced that?
No problems at all. The camera drops in very easily, just requiting a slight tilt on the left side first. From my comparison, both the Aquatica and Nauticam are built like tanks, including the handles. I settled om the Nauticam primarily because of port selection, and general "feel".
Nauticam and Aquatica are both popular for good reason. Both have there strong points. As mentioned if possible getting your hands on them can be telling. Nauticam has locking ports and back, great engineering. Aquatica has excellent design and for cold water divers larger knobs for those wearing heavy gloves. Can't go wrong either way.
OP
One thing I have noticed about the Aquatica is that it looks like the camera may sit lower in the housing. I used to have a Nikon F3 in an Aquatica housing and found that because it accommodated the motor drive it was difficult to get close to the subject in tight place close-ups. Does the Aquatica have an advantage in this case?
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I have the Nauticam, but went that direction for my D800 because of my experience with my NEX-7. Overall, I couldn't be more pleased. I think the construction is superb especially when considering the layout of the buttons. To me, it was extremely intuitive and well designed.
Side by side Nauticam, Aquatica, Seacam, etc... are all within millimeters of each other. Given strobe placement, focus lights really no one housing is any more cumbersome than the other for shooting. IMHO people obsess about housings but at this level all are excellent, the controls are all roughly in the exact same spots, the good ones give you control over all the camera functions, and all are dependable. What really makes the difference is LIGHTING! I will take a less expensive housing paired with the best lighting over a super expensive housing with mediocre lighting any day.
bvanant
Contributor
It depends on what you mean by best and what your budget is. Seacam has arguably the best reputation and is probably the only housing that will let you have both zoom and focus gears simultaneously and they are wonderfully built but the Seacam guys are extraordinarily proud of them and price them that way. Nauticam/S&S/Aqutica/Hugyfot are (as MJH says) mostly perfectly comparable (except the Hugyfot is quite uniquely shaped). Given that you are in Canada I would think Aquatica would be your first choice since it will be simpler to get fixed/refurbished and I don't know the status of Hugy service there.
Bill
Bill
I've been shooting the Nauticam D800 now on a couple of trips and like it a lot. Very balanced, really light in the water. It works much better with the 9" Zen glass dome, than with the 8.5 acrylic dome, as it twists in your hands (like most any DSLR & plastic dome). I really like the lever to change the ISO. They have reduced the number of parts from the D7000 quite a bit and many have been beefed up in their design. Seems to shoot well vertically as well as horizontal - one of my tests.
The Aquatica does have a couple of advantages, particularly for those that shoot video. It has controls for both function buttons! You can program these to do many functions, but one very cool thing is to use them to do motorized aperture changes! The housing is very intelligently laid out and quite rugged, we like the finish on them and the large knobs and handles. Great cold water housing.
Seacam is an awesome platform, very simple, rugged and balanced. Easy to shoot verticals as well as horizontals. Great selection of ports and accessories like their pole cam remote system and one of the most powerful TTL strobes available. The issue is right now that the housings are backordered out a couple of months.
I have to say I'm in love with the Sigma 15mm FE on this body. Tack sharp and works nicely with the Kenko 1.4 TC to make it a 21mm. I tried shooting the Nikon 16-35 f/4-5.6 and found it was just too slow uw to catch focus consistently. I'm not recommending it at this point. Maybe in bright daylight, clear water - which we didn't have. My buddy had the same issue with the Nikon 17-35 f/2.8.
I did see last night that Tokina has a 16-28 f2.8, that has very good ratings, reasonably priced and focuses to .9 feet. Either that, or I'm really reconsidering a 35mm prime lens. May rent a couple of ideas for the next trip.
Jack
The Aquatica does have a couple of advantages, particularly for those that shoot video. It has controls for both function buttons! You can program these to do many functions, but one very cool thing is to use them to do motorized aperture changes! The housing is very intelligently laid out and quite rugged, we like the finish on them and the large knobs and handles. Great cold water housing.
Seacam is an awesome platform, very simple, rugged and balanced. Easy to shoot verticals as well as horizontals. Great selection of ports and accessories like their pole cam remote system and one of the most powerful TTL strobes available. The issue is right now that the housings are backordered out a couple of months.
I have to say I'm in love with the Sigma 15mm FE on this body. Tack sharp and works nicely with the Kenko 1.4 TC to make it a 21mm. I tried shooting the Nikon 16-35 f/4-5.6 and found it was just too slow uw to catch focus consistently. I'm not recommending it at this point. Maybe in bright daylight, clear water - which we didn't have. My buddy had the same issue with the Nikon 17-35 f/2.8.
I did see last night that Tokina has a 16-28 f2.8, that has very good ratings, reasonably priced and focuses to .9 feet. Either that, or I'm really reconsidering a 35mm prime lens. May rent a couple of ideas for the next trip.
Jack
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