Diving with a Nikonos underwater film camera in 2022

[Submerged_Stories]

@Green Frog / Froggie, thanks for weighing in!

Depending on what kind of photography / video you want to do you might consider a GoPro. In my opinion they are the modern version of the DC-3 (would that be a 737, am I doing this analogy right?!). Reliable, cheap, and compact. But I'm sure you could get many other opinions no the best entry level digital UW camera.

For this video I was able to very simply mount an old GoPro Hero 3 onto the cold shoe mount of the Nik V with a cheap adapter from Amazon. So I had the GoPro sitting on top of the Nikonos and that's how I was able to get digital video which overlaid with a similar POV to the camera. The two cameras together are still a smaller setup than many underwater housings today!

The Nik II has a similar mount so it might be an option for you if you want to bring both film and digital. A GoPro will never be as good for image quality as a proper photo setup and doesn't do well with close ups either. So it all depends what you want to invest in but just giving my two cents about a quick and cheap way to do both at once.

 

[hilljo88]

Kind of like using an IBM Selctric typewriter: fun trip down memory lane, but PITA for those of us who spent hours in the darkroom hoping for one good exposure.

 

[Bigbella]

Kind of like using an IBM Selctric typewriter: fun trip down memory lane, but PITA for those of us who spent hours in the darkroom hoping for one good exposure.

I understand that feeling.

Back in the mid-1980s, I knew a guy who worked for a photo processing place (which still exists, though is now primarily digital) who bulk-loaded Fujichrome slide film for me; so I always managed to get a few decent exposures on those "fatties" -- typically far more so, if I had been using the 15 mm lens, in clearer water . . .

 

[Green Frog]

“Back in the day” I carried a Nik V and a Nik II with a case of accessories on each dive trip. I planned on a 36 exposure roll of film for each dive and I occasionally carried both cameras down on a single dive. My goal was to get a few “usable” picture out of each roll and one or two really great ones. Back then we regarded the film as the cheapest part of any dive. My, how things have changed! I told the guy at the dive shop I feel like Rip Van Winkle.
Froggie