Nikonos V questions

[kidspot]

A friend of mine recently blessed me with his old photo rig (he is not going to dive any longer) And while I'm not a big fan of film cameras any longer (as my neighbors daughter put it "I have to wait a week till I can see the pictures?") This is a nice setup and I'd like to put it to use. It included the 20mm, 28mm & 35mm, macro kit plus 2 SB105 strobes (which I can use with my Canon SD630 P&S ... though it looks kinda funny)

Couple questions:

1) I read that the posted ranges on the lenses are based upon percieved underwater ranges... is this true and if so how do I adjust for known distances (subtract 25% from known ranges?)

2) Any idea how negative a rig like this is in the water? Any ways to make it closer to neutral? I'm thinking about attaching some pool noodle material to the strobe arms.

Hopefully I'll be getting it wet this afternoon and use the 20mm lens for some shots of the St. Anthony wreck off Maui. Should be interesting learning to scooter with this monster of a rig.

Aloha, Tim

 

[oly5050user]

A friend of mine recently blessed me with his old photo rig (he is not going to dive any longer) And while I'm not a big fan of film cameras any longer (as my neighbors daughter put it "I have to wait a week till I can see the pictures?") This is a nice setup and I'd like to put it to use. It included the 20mm, 28mm & 35mm, macro kit plus 2 SB105 strobes (which I can use with my Canon SD630 P&S ... though it looks kinda funny)

Couple questions:

1) I read that the posted ranges on the lenses are based upon percieved underwater ranges... is this true and if so how do I adjust for known distances (subtract 25% from known ranges?)

2) Any idea how negative a rig like this is in the water? Any ways to make it closer to neutral? I'm thinking about attaching some pool noodle material to the strobe arms.

Hopefully I'll be getting it wet this afternoon and use the 20mm lens for some shots of the St. Anthony wreck off Maui. Should be interesting learning to scooter with this monster of a rig.

Aloha, Tim

Tim ; you will most likely never use the 28mmm being you have a 20mm lens.Do not worry about the focal distance too much,as you can see on the lens your depth of field is indicated on the lens for the f stop you may be using.It is a fairly good depth of field on the 20mm.lens..The 35mm lens, will be used with macro,unless it is a macro set up for the 28mm. lens..
As to how negative it is you may prefer it to be a bit negative so if you have to lay it down on the bottom it is not going anywhere.
I use nik 5 w/15 mm lens,with ike 150 strobe,on land the strobe alone is like 8 lbs.. When I am using that setup I use 2lbs less on my belt than when I use my digital kit.

 

[Gilldiver]

The major weight for that rig will be from the strobes, The camera, tray, and arms will be about 2# neg. The bigest factor is water drag, not weight. Haulling around a 2 strobe rig is always a hassel.

For most non-macro photos you will be using the 20mm and when set to infinity your focus range is something like 8 or 12" out to infinity. For any wide angle shots, just put it on infinity.

Get a copy of Jim Church's Nikonos V photo book and you will have all that you need, but for basic wide angle in the warm clear water put it at F8 or a bit less, strobes on full, camera set to A or Automatic and go for it (put it on A and flaili away as Jim Chuch used to say).

Get used to brackting or shooting one shot at F8, one 1 or 1/2 stop less and one at 1 or 1/2 higher.

Last the Nike V likes to stay about 160 as bellow that the back can bend in some and pinch the film roll at about 26 frames so you waste 10 frames or so. For deep work the Nike III is the submarine to take.

What will you learn from the Nike V - composition, lighting, use of F-stops and a lot else that the digital world no longer does all that much as they just fix it on on Photoshop.

Last, for wide angle bellow 60 to 90 feet, try some black and white film, especialy for wreck images. The infinate shades of grey of B&W film will bring out details that digital and color film can not. You can also learn to play with light and shadow for some real dramatic effects.

 

[oly5050user]

T
For most non-macro photos you will be using the 20mm and when set to infinity your focus range is something like 8 or 12" out to infinity. For any wide angle shots, just put it on infinity.

Get a copy of Jim Church's Nikonos V photo book and you will have all that you need, but for basic wide angle in the warm clear water put it at F8 or a bit less, strobes on full, camera set to A or Automatic and go for it (put it on A and flaili away as Jim Chuch used to say).
.

Gilldiver has it said correct..as to using f 8 ,depends on how much ligh in water,what iso film speed you are using(I am guessing that gill uses iso 200, I use iso 100 and usually need a f 5.6 in carib waters 60' depth or more.shallower water may dictate using a smaller aperature(f8 or f11),use light meter in camera and match f stop to shutter speed of 1/60th .) This way you balance out the available light and ttl on strobe does the rest.
Placing camera on A when strobe is attached and on locks the shutter speed at 1/60 sec.and enables ttl feature.If you wish to shoot manual set shutter on 1/90 and decrease/increase power or change distance on strobe for correct exposure using the guide supplied with strobes or use guide number of strobe and distance calculations.Best to use ttll features,more successful frames that way.

 

[OceanObsessed]

I still shoot with a strobeless Nikonos V sometimes when freediving. It is much easier to carry than my big digital system when freediving .