Thinking about a Nikon D800...

[reo]

Its not about the hardware, its your software that counts!

These photos were not tweaked with software. I just exported them to JPEG so I could upload them.

Ron

---------- Post added July 23rd, 2013 at 12:12 PM ----------

Nice Pics, Reo! You know if I had started with a mirrorless like that (with no or minimal delay) I might never have looked toward the DSLR's. I like my compact for the convenience but missing so many shots due to the slow autofocus really bugged me on the last couple of trips.

I took a big plunge during the week and went ahead and ordered the D800 and a housing. I will have a lot of fun with it on land and can always sell the housing if I really hate it. But I think I'm going to love it ... it sounds like no one has been disappointed and feeling like they are lugging a concrete block around all the time! I have promised myself to leave the camera on-board for a few dives if it ever feels like work because its all in the name of fun for me.

Thanks for all the feedback everyone, I'll be sure and post some thoughts after I use it in the Turks & Caicos. Lot's to learn suddenly... but I like that!

Thanks Twilight!

I'm looking forward to seeing some of your photos here.

Ron

 

[PatW]

I have been shooting a Nikon D7000 with a Nauticam housing and Ikelite strobes. The size difference with the D800 is not significant.

The system increases my drag. It requires 2 hands most of the time so you need good buoyancy skills to handle it. As far as size, the biggest problem is lugging the gear through the airport.

The Nauticam housing is superb. It has tremendous control and ergonomics. The Ike strobes are heavy, large with great battery packs.

The DSLR offers fast and accurate focus that cannot be achieved without an optical focus. Using live view, I could focus on the general subject with a display lag. With a DSLR, I can focus on the part of the subject I want to emphasize.

You can get very nice and often excellent results with advanced point and shoots and mirror less systems. A DSLR is not for everyone especially under water. But if you want the advanced performance and control and are willing to take the downsides; expense, weight and complexity, nothing else will match it.

 

[Nwcid]

I am still a fairly new diver with about a hundred dives. I have an older Nikon D70 set up, got it for a great price. While it is large I love the pics I can get with it. It is totally worth it for me to take it on dives for the shots I get.

When I am diving and actually getting to use the camera I do not find it "being in the way" at all. The only time it is "in the way" is when I take it on a dive and then don't use it at all for whatever reason. Then I am feeling like I am dragging stuff around that I don't need.

Some day I plan on buying a nice new set up but the price tag is a killer especially when we have other scuba goals (boat, rebreathers) that also cost a lot.

 

[JackConnick]

I've shot several Nikons in a variety of housings and now shoot the D800 in a Nauticam housing.

After a fairly heavy D300s housing, the D800 is very light and easy to handle in the water. With an acylic dome, I found it almost too light, I prefer the balance a large glass dome gives it. I think I would rethink the Ike strobes, although they are very good, and now with LithIon batteries they are neutral in the water. But they are bulky and haevy to transport. I really like the Sea & Sea YS-D1 strobes, find they are just as powerful and much lighter to pack.

The controls, speed, dynamic range and detail of the D800 has are un-surpassed. The amount of lenses that you can use with it are also extremely large, both above and below water, as older film lenses work well. Shoot wide angle with it is amazing with the Sigma 15FE and the 105VR is awesome on it as well.

Jack

 

[bvanant]

These photos were not tweaked with software. I just exported them to JPEG so I could upload them.

I think he actually meant the software between your ears.
Bill

 

[reo]

These photos were not tweaked with software. I just exported them to JPEG so I could upload them.

I think he actually meant the software between your ears.
Bill

That's a new one for me. I'd never heard of the brain, thought process, or creative process referred to as software.

Thanks.

Ron

 

[PatW]

I've shot several Nikons in a variety of housings and now shoot the D800 in a Nauticam housing.

After a fairly heavy D300s housing, the D800 is very light and easy to handle in the water. With an acylic dome, I found it almost too light, I prefer the balance a large glass dome gives it. I think I would rethink the Ike strobes, although they are very good, and now with LithIon batteries they are neutral in the water. But they are bulky and haevy to transport. I really like the Sea & Sea YS-D1 strobes, find they are just as powerful and much lighter to pack.

The controls, speed, dynamic range and detail of the D800 has are un-surpassed. The amount of lenses that you can use with it are also extremely large, both above and below water, as older film lenses work well. Shoot wide angle with it is amazing with the Sigma 15FE and the 105VR is awesome on it as well.

Jack

View attachment 160995 View attachment 160996

The main limitation on lenses is that relatively few have the necessary ports or domes. The very good Nikon 60 and 105 macros are supported as is the Sigma 15 mm fisheye. So one is golden at wide angle and macro. The selection of full frame zoom lenses that are supported is pretty sparse.

 

[JackConnick]

The main limitation on lenses is that relatively few have the necessary ports or domes. The very good Nikon 60 and 105 macros are supported as is the Sigma 15 mm fisheye. So one is golden at wide angle and macro. The selection of full frame zoom lenses that are supported is pretty sparse.

16-35, 17-35, 12-24. Primes also fit.

Jack

 

[TwilightZone]

So I've got my D800 now and it is just waiting to get in the water! I've made some decent top-side photos already. I will be testing the housing in the pool at the dive shop tomorrow and will be diving in a rock quarry this weekend, when I'll have the camera inside it. The weekend after will be my trip to the Turks and Caicos. I hear current is almost non-existant out there so it will be a good intro week to the new rig. I went with the Nikon 16-35mm lens and do hope to get that Sigma15 fisheye eventually, just to add some variety. (Going with the Nikon lens added the expense of focus gear and the port extension but I really like some of the sample pics I've seen online.)

Everyone's input has been very helpful here. I'll be posting some of my best shots soon. Maybe I'll get a dramatic shot in the quarry the weekend... if hardware, software (both kinds in my case!!) and water conditions are all good.

 

[aquaticman]

I dive with the D800. And, I dive an NEX-7. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Is it cumbersome? I'm not a huge person, so any camera with strobes is a something to be cautious with. I've had it in some pretty rough conditions and yeah, there were moments it felt like a sail. And then there were the moments I didn't even notice I had it.

But I do love it. When coupled with a VR105mm, it's just about everything I could ask for in a macro camera.

You need to ask yourself what you're truly wanting in a camera, IMO. All around, the NEX-7 mirrorless with an 18-55mm lens, is a pretty nice all around camera. You can get the wide-angle, and when you plop on a wet diopter, now you're shooting macro. When you're using the D800, if you decide to shoot macro, you're not going to have much luck catching some amazing wide angle shot.

I still strongly believe in using the Nikonos III which was the best Nikonos made. Coupled with the U/W Nikkor 15mm lens and you have the best wide angle system available. Corner to corner sharpness and incredible colour resolution are standard with that lens. The downsides are the 36 exposures and finding processing. Use your D800 system and clip a Nikonos III to your BCD. I have used an Aquatica and an F3 like that for years and worked out a system that allows me to carry up to 3 Nikonos III cameras and the housing. Shoot macro with the housing and wide angle with the Nikonos on any single dive. Also, I have kevlar line that I use with marine clips to hang cameras from the boat when it's not too rough. The line is set at 15 feet so that I can do my last decompression stop or a safety stop. This enables ease of lowering the cameras in the water or at the end of the dive just clip them on and pull the line up. No broken backs or complaining Divemasters. I have systems that are completely compatible underwater to swap out the strobes with each camera too. So, don't give up on the Nikonos while you use the digital system.