Z8 wide angle advice sort

[Mark H]

Hi All

As some will have read, I had a housing failure that killed my beloved D500 set up. As a result of good insurance I had money to burn and bought myself a Z8. I'm choosing to go with Nauticam this time as Sea&Sea don't have a housing at the moment (and the housing that failed on me was Sea&Sea). I've used Sea&Sea since 2007 but I know nothing of Nauticam and almost as little about Nikon Z full frame cameras.

I'm sorted on macro (that is easy - f mount 60mm and z mount 105mm).

What I can't work out is wide angle. There isn't anything that replaces my favorite Tokina fisheye and that won't auto focus on the Z8 (nor is it FF). I have a F mount 14-24 f2.8 that I use above water, and a Nikon 8-15mm which is also f mount. Both are very heavy lenses. I'm guessing that these would give me close to what I had and would need the 230mm glass dome (though there are lots and lots of dome options and I'm hedging at glass but as to size 180mm, 230mm and 250mm, I'm thinking the 180mm is too small and the 250mm is too heavy!)? I could buy the Z mount 24-50mm and put it behind a WWL-1B, WWL-C, WACP-1, WACP-1B, WACP-C but not the FCP-1 as I don't have the money nor want the weight of that. On cost the WACP-2 is also way too expensive and heavy. I will be taking this diving all around the world as well as the UK and weight is a major problem, isn't it?

 

Hoping for some advice before contacting vendors as I prefer to vaguely have an idea before being guided down an expensive route. I know good shops don't really do that but it makes me feel a bit better 😆.

 

I hope someone has already trod this path and can shed some light on the optimum route.
Cheers

Mark

[Dave_Hicks]

Get the WWL-C and 24-50z setup. Excellent and very versatile. You may also want the 8-15mm behind a dome. I use it with the Zen 180mm with a 20mm extension. Not sure what else you could need beyond that.

 

I also have a Kraken krl09 wet-wide lens for the 60mm on a flip, nice for some situations where you want true macro with a wide option. 

 

I designed a 3d printed zoom gear for the 24-50z. I am happy to send you one for shipping cost, and save you a couple hundred. DM me if interested.

[TimG]

Nauticam recommended the WWL-C and 24-50 kit lens for me to use with a Z6iii. I have no experience of the combination and my natural inclination was to go with the Nikkor 8-15. 

[Dave_Hicks]

29 minutes ago, TimG said:

Nauticam recommended the WWL-C and 24-50 kit lens for me to use with a Z6iii. I have no experience of the combination and my natural inclination was to go with the Nikkor 8-15. 

The WWL-C is far more versatile providing 130deg wide angle and near macro zoomed to 50mm. The quality is excellent and no different from the WACP. It is a wet lens, but I've not found bubbles to be an issue. It's easy to clear it if that is a concern. This is my go-to setup most of the time. 

 

I don't think it replaces a Fisheye, and I still have the 8-15mm. However, I only use that in very specific scenarios where an ultra-wide fields of view is beneficial.

 

Here are two shots from the same dive with the 24-50 & WWL-C at 24mm & 50mm.

 

 

 

Edited 1 hour ago by Dave_Hicks