State of the art Sept 2012

After several thousand underwater pictures I am wanting to upgrade to a full SLR. curent kit is a canon G-11 with Ikelight housing and strobe. My only issue with this setup is that I have mixed results with the focus point, I shoot everything on manual except focus and i am pissed when I have a great picture except point of focus is 1" behind the subject.

My Nikon D70s is old and tired and needs a body lift so not planing on taking it underwater. I want Nikon because well if you have to ask, drink more coolaid.

I do not have mega $$ but I do not want to buy a new camera to have it be outdated in 6 months.

finally a question:

What is the setup going to be in Sept, 2012. (so I can get great pictures of the end of the world). If I should wait till after the end of the world then what is the devil going to be selling?

I perfer Ikelite, but if it is not "the thing" then opinions are welcome.

Budget is about 2k but if that is not reasonable, ( may have to sell G-11 and kidney to get difference).

was thinking D-90 but is is old and maybe outdated now.

Help please.

The Nikon D7000 won't be outdated soon. It's already been out for over a year and is still the best DSLR for underwater photographers in its price range. You could get an Ikelite case to save some money but 2K is not a realistic budget for shooting a DSLR underwater. As far as I know Ikelite, and maybe Nimar, are the only housings under 2k for the Nikon d7000. I spent over 2k just for the body and the 105VR macro lens for the d7000.

I think the problem you are having with the focus point on your G11 may be due to shutter lag. With the D7000 you won't have the problem of locking focus on a subject, then losing focus because of movement during shutter lag. It will take some time getting used to looking through a viewfinder underwater, but IMO it is much better for composing and achieving accurate focus.

So if you are willing to make a BIG jump in price to house a DSLR, you will solve this problem, but be prepared to spend at least 4K on a very basic macro set up with your current strobe.

IMO there is a very big difference shooting a DSLR underwater over a compact, and I have tried shooting a compact since moving up to the d7000, and I simply don't have the patience anymore.

i was in your position not long ago. I went with a Nauticam housing for my existing D90. I still love the D90.
My employer bought a D7000 and I like it. great noise reduction at higher ISO's. Auto focus with video. But that is it. Macro shots are identical to D3x. With fisheye 10.5mm glass it seems to be the same.
Underwater we are limited to about 6 feet of workable images. No need for big sensors or big dollar equipment for most of us.
the D90 is going away and the D7000 is not too far off i would guess. You will always play catch up in this game. Buy what you can and learn what you can. If you go pro you can afford the good stuff. Unitl then, shoot for you and buy what is in the budget.
For me, I am buying a back up D90 as the housing will outlast the camera many times over. I am also the weak link in the equation. until I am outweighing my gear I will focus on budget.

Nikon D7000 vs D90

But I agree that the D90 is a great camera, it's just not a D7000. The only reason not to buy a D7000 instead of a d90 is if you already have a D90 and you don't care to upgrade..... But then again, you could save a lot of cash by getting a really good used system for the d90. Reef Photo has a used Nauticam D90 housing for 2K right now.

the D90 is going away and the D7000 is not too far off i would guess. ​

Click to expand...

Considering the D90 came out in 2008 this makes sense, but the D7000 will most likely have two more years before it sees a successor.

I will be selling a D90 body and Nauticam NA-D90 housing, if you can wait until the Nikon D400 (and corresponding housing from Nauticam) comes out...