New dSLR kit recommendation

[Searcaigh]

And also get a good pair of strobes and some good lens?

Any suggestions on the camera or housing?

Several cans of worms here.

I've been using Nikon for UW photography since I started with a Nikonos II (which I still have) and Nikonos Vs (that I sold when I moved to SLRs)

The good thing about Nikon (and Canon I believe) is that the lenses I have are all compatible with all my cameras since the day I bought them (F3, F801, D100, D70, D300, D300s and D7100).

Nikon's new Z series mirrorless uses a different mount but you can use a convertor for the F series lenses.

It's very rare that I shoot in clear water, so I manual focus everything except when I shoot wide angle.

Strobes, plenty on the market. I have a few and some, mainly Sea & Sea.

Don't go looking for stuff with a small budget, UW photography opens a black hole in your finances, be prepared to sell your firstborn.

 

[webrix]

Thank you all guys for the tips!

What do you think about the Canon 80D with either Sea&Sea or Nauticam housing? Which strobes to go with?

 

[Chris Ross]

I'd suggest before you decide on a direction you go have a look at the physical size of the housings, DSLR housings are really quite big as are the dome ports that go along with them. The size of the port you need for best optical quality is proportional to sensor size. You can use a 180mm dome port with a 14mm equivalent wide angle lens on micro43, you are looking at 230mm dome for the same angle of coverage on a full frame camera.

I notice you are based in Switzerland, which means you will want to fly with your kit a dive site most likely. You can fit a m43 outfit into a carryon backpack or standard roll aboard, but the added size of a DSLR means you are likely to need to check your gear in a Pelican case or similar. Then there is the price. If you are looking at Nauticam you can buy the m43 housing and camera for the price of the housing alone for a DSLR. The m43 lenses are also much more reasonably priced.

I would suggest before taking on any suggestions here, go and physically handle the housings at a store. to see and feel the size differences. Also have a look at this thread here: packing and transporting my rig - Page 6 - Photography Gear and Technique . You can see my kit packed on page 6, have a look at the other solutions to see what you are up against when transporting the rig, compared to a compact setup transport to remote overseas dive sites is not a trivial matter.