Sosua, Dom Rep May 05

This was my second trip with the camera, still have a way to go to get the quality of shots that some are getting with the D70 but they are getting better.

http://www.the-deep-blue.co.uk

these are probably the best keepers.

all of these were taken with the Sigma 18-50 f2.8 with a +4. the shop couldn't tell me what dive we were doing and what was the best lens until i got there in the morning which was really helpful, so i had to go for the wide zoom.

the lens doesn't have the reach of the kit lens but works way better in the lower light and Sigma would have a sure winner if it was 18-70 like the kit lens.

not too sure if anyone else has had the same problem, but a couple of time i managed (?) to knock the lever and turn off auto focus on the ikelite housing, and didn't realise and lost quite a few shots.

Hi Francis,
you have some very nice shots there. I really like the colours you could get.

The only think I would say is that if you could have managed to get closer to the subject those pictures would have been even better.

Thank you for sharing.

Azotomix:

Hi Francis,
you have some very nice shots there. I really like the colours you could get.

The only think I would say is that if you could have managed to get closer to the subject those pictures would have been even better.

Thank you for sharing.

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the fish were pretty skittish, and i only had the 18-50mm on and i couldn't get that close.

but has they are reasonably good quality and large file size i can crop and still have a decent quality picture.

I am not familiar with the sigma but personally I think the 18-70mm is in a no man's land as far as underwater photography is concerned. I have one and never bother to get the correct zoom gear/extension ring for it. 18mm end is not really wide enough and I think your wreckshot would really be very nice with 12-24mm or 10.5mm.
70mm is ok but the lens does not focus very close, needing to use a diopter which kinds of ruin it a bit, especially at the wide angle end. I think it is ok for a fish portrait, as long as the fish is between 6-18 inches but not good enough for real macro work.
I would think the Nikon 17-55mm would actually be better. It is a much nicer lens and focus much closer. Unfortunately it is also significantly more expensive.
I really like your second shot, the fish ?under the boat or some wooden thing? Very nice shadow.

you have some great detail in you pics! My favorite is the first one in the 2nd row. That is a local kind of Nudi, right? we don't have them here

justleesa:

you have some great detail in you pics! My favorite is the first one in the 2nd row. That is a local kind of Nudi, right? we don't have them here

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considering it is a wide angle lens the close up the of flamingo tongue is quite good.

i had my 105mm macro lens with me but not knowing where i was diving until i got to the shop and them not knowing if it was wide angle or macro i was on to a looser from the start.

far east is much better for organising the dives and letting you know what type of photography to expect so you can choose your lenses.

Yeah, not all dive operators are knowledgable about photograpphy but most should be able to tell you if typical or the high light critters are 1 inch, 1 foot or several meters long
or mostly reef scene, wreck etc.