beginner bob

Hey guys

I bought a nikonos V last week off of ebay.. great timing for this post to come up!

the camera hasn't been serviced since 1994, i'm guessing i should take it to a nikon dealer before i dive with it?

How does underwater photography differ from land photography? is there a necessity to buy a speedlight if I want to take pictures at depths greater than 10 metres? what is the difference?

I heard something about the nikonos IV being not as good as the nikonos V. any opinions?

cheers!

Jalal

this forum is great! better than those canon punks on the other side of the board .

Congratulations, diver371! You are well on your way to buying lots of expensive camera gear.

I have my Nikonos bodies and lenses serviced "kind of annually", which is to say, about every 18 months. The official recomendation is every year. Occasionally it's annually for me, it just depends on my distraction level.

They'll service the "fixed o-rings", which are the ones inside the camera controls. These will take a "set" eventually and deform, which can lead to a flood. You are responsible for the ones on the back door, sync socket and lens-to-body seal.

If your body was last serviced in 1994, I woudn't get it anywhere near the water until serviced. A good shop will replace all the fixed o-rings and gaskets, check the meter, shutter and sync, replace the user o-rings, pressure test the camera, and give you some grease. Good shops are well used to getting cameras shipped to them.

I have had great luck with Subaquatic Camera Repair in Monterey, CA. They are very, very nice, reasonabally priced, excellent service, and quick. Southern Nikonos has a great reputation, too.

The Nikonos IV is the stepchild that should not have been born. The shutter is automatic (period); if you have the experience to shoot manual, well, there's no way to set the shutter speed outside of 1/60th. The viewfinder is deviod of information except for a couple of cryptic over/under exposed LEDs. And, worst of all, the back door has a gasket, not an o-ring. This gasket and door design is well-known for it's floods, many in the rinse tank.

The Nikonos V has both auto and true manual, TTL flash metering, and a well-designed door.

Glad you made the right choice!

All the best, James

I'll second James on this. The Nikonos should be serviced every year. If the camera hasn't been serviced since 1994 then it definitely needs it! I use Underwater PhotoTech in the US and they are great. www.uwphoto.com Considering your location, you may want to send it to the UK for servicing. Ocean Optics in London can probably service the Nikonos.