JohnD

I'm waiting for later this year when the Pro Max III come out.

"unlimited Budget?" Easy...... I would hire someone a lot better than I am to dive with me, And also pay their expenses. Have them agree the images/videos and copyright are mine. We swim around and I point to what I want photographed/filmed and then claim the image/video later. Problem solved. 😉

I never had any complaints about the D500 focusing. I have not noticed any significant difference so far. The Z8 may be faster, but I am not sure of that yet. I am still learning the finer points of the various modes on the D500 beyond 3D tracking. I pretty much always use AFC, so cannot really compare AFS focusing speed between the two. I tried the animal setting for eye tracking and that did not seem to be useful compared to simple 3d tracking. Next week I will be exclusively using the WWL-C and will experiment with some of the many focus options. I bought a Nauticam housing. I have used their housings for years with good results and have acquired numerous ports, extension rings and accessories so it is easy to stay with them for me.

Done

At the suggestion of TimG, I thought I would share this. Many, many years ago I got into photography and for a while, was a photographer for a major newspaper chain, doing mostly sports photography. Later I pursued other career options and recreational activities and did little photography. Eventually, I began taking pictures on beach vacations with my wife and kids and while snorkeling, using a compact camera in a cheap waterproof housing with no external flash or auxiliary lenses. I was not impressed with the results and when I later learned to scuba dive I went down the rabbit hole of dive photography, moving from compact to M43, to DX formats and now full frame. My very recent change has been to a Nikon Z8. That change was not prompted by format size...I find APS-C just fine for my purposes. But my vision has changed and underwater find it hard to use the back LCD screen as well as before. I have only taken one dive trip with the Z8, so am still learning the camera and adjusting a couple of lens changes that go along with that. Here is what I have found so far: The electronic viewfinder is great. Bright and contrasty and highly adjustable. The ability to use just the viewfinder when I want to has been great and has allowed me to make adjustments and reshoot a subject more quickly and efficiently than with the DSLR. For Caribbean diving, I have been enjoying the fairly compact WWL-C. On a given dive I may shoot blennies, jawfish and nudibranchs and then a loggerhead turtle or shark or reef scene and the flexibility is nice and the optic pretty compact. My general belief is that it is better to have one type of photography in mind on a given dive, but I seem to end up on a lot of smallish dive boats where I don't know what dive site I am going to until I am on the boat that morning, and often can't really plan on being able to change lenses and ports on the boat and will need to keep up with the guide and group in the water, and not spend 10 minutes minutes getting a shot or looking for a specific subject. On other dive trips or when I am shore diving, I will take the 105 or the 60 macro lens or the 8-15, FTZ and a 140 dome and the WWL-C will likely stay home. I believe I can alos use the 60 and 8-15 in DX mode if I want, giving some additional flexibility and permitting me to use a kenko 1.4. Not sure if that will be worthwhile, but I like experimenting. Overall, I think I am enjoying the Z8 a little more than the D500, and the size and weight difference is minor. Of course, great photos can be taken with much smaller cameras and simpler setups. It is the person not the equipment that matters, but I am something of the photo equivalent of a motorhead (lenshead?) and can get carried away with the toys pretty easily. I may have more insights after my trip next week.

I think corner sharpness importance depends entirely on the photo. Where the corners or edges are blue water or sand or dark, etc., it is often unimportant, but sometimes, softness of the corners can detract from the image. For me, I just like to know what to expect at different apertures so I can make informed choices. But I agree we can become obsessed with the issue. Compromises must be made sometimes, and I am not one to magnify an image to examine the corners or edges. Some of my questions are related to the fact that I just moved from my trusty D500 DX camera to the Z8, so am still in the honeymoon period and getting familiar with the differences.

Thanks Chip, I appreciate the info. Kind of what I expected from prior WWL use but that was on M43. From my limited experience with this version so far, f11-13 seems about right and I will try some shots at f8 when i get to dive it again in a week. I might try it more open, but doubt I will be happy with DOF and edges.

That looks vaguely familiar. I have this memory of using the WWL-1 around f11 on M43 and that is the aperture where I started with the WWL-C that I am using with the Nikon. If I can, I will try some test shots at wider apertures, but sometimes on dive trips conditions aren't right to make any meaningful comparisons. I am sort of guessing I could go to f8 before things get too soft, but don't know.

Thank you, guys. I think I will just plan on using a single Retra so I don't have to pack more stuff.

After looking at the options, I chose to insure my dive camera stuff under a personal items policy through the same company that does my automobile and homeowner's insurance. The rates are relatively reasonable and it covers pretty much any loss, from a flooded housing to the camera falling off the boat or loss or theft in transit, such as by the airline. How much difficulty I would face in pursuing a claim and what they ultimately would pay is anyone's guess. Insurance companies don't make money by paying out generously on policies. I have added and removed gear from the list pretty easily, so there is that.

I was recently able to get my Z8 in the water for the first time and enjoyed using it, and enjoyed using the WWL-C with the 24-50. I shot it in the f11 - f13 range and did not get much opportunity to experiment with any wider apertures and effects on image detail, softness, etc. I recall from the "old" days a discussion of the "best" aperture range when using the water-contact lenses, but was wondering if anyone has done any recent testing with the WWL-1 and WWL-C or has any experience/opinions on best aperture range with these lenses? Especially if used with a Nikkor Z... I thought i should ask before I go and try to reinvent the wheel?

I purchased my Promax strobes long before the tariff thing was even discussed. Retra ships to USA via DHL. DHL notified me the strobes were in USA but in a customs hold and I owed something like a 17% duty (supposedly based on the old, item-specific-rules) rules. I sent documentation to DHL that camera flash units were not subject to duty charges and that I had never had any import duties imposed on strobes before ( I have purchased a lot of strobes over the years from overseas sellers). Their response was only that I had something like 7 days to pay the ransom or they would be sent back. As Tim has said, who knows what would happen now. That is not Retra's fault, but the combination of how DHL conducts business in the USA and the tariff-of-the-week stuff would be worrisome. Although I have several dive lights that require lithium batteries and would not reject a strobe based on it using lithiums, I have a preference for the AA batteries. Lithiums are under scrutiny by airlines and airline regulatory agencies and by some liveaboard operators and others. They are subject to guidelines and limitations on how, when and where they may be charged on some boats and may face future travel limitations. With Retra superchargesrs I can pretty easily make it through 3-4 dives. or more. Based on a prior thread, for the first time last week I traveled with 8 batteries packed in each strobe and only had to pack another 16 on their own. There are benefits and downsides to both battery types.

Good point! I had not considered that as an option (he says while slapping himself on the side of the head). I will look at in water weight differences, but that would save $ and packing space.

For years I have used DSLR and now a large Nikon mirrorless camera and will be continuing to do so, but over the next year I have some trips coming up that will involve diving from small RIBs, some shore dives with moderate hikes in gear, some high current dives where carrying the full rig would be difficult. I am seriously thinking of taking with me a TG7 for some of these dives and probably only use one compact strobe. Thinking of either the MF-2 from Backscatter or an Inon S-220. Looking for input. The reason for the TG7 is that I had a TG6 and still have the underwater case and some other bits, I may want to use TTL in some situations, although I normally use strobes in manual mode. I used Inons for years and now Retras, but this setup is intended to be small and light and mostly macro, some reef scenes, but very little real wide angle Thanks

I have obtained a Kenko TELEPLUS PRO 300 DG AF (not the "d" model, and it works fine...AF and aperture display.

I did see. I am not sure if the "d" version makes a difference vs just the "AF" version. They are both 8 pin I believe. I would like to be able to use my 8-15 on the z 8 so I guess will track down one of the AF-d to use.

It seems some people are having success with the Kenko DG model on the Z8. Not sure if it is the DG "AF" or "AFd" models though.

When I used to travel to Cozumel, one of the recurring hassles was that they would prohibit/seize Alkaline and NiMH batteries as well as lithium. Never had the problem elsewhere. For those of us in or traveling through the USA we need to be mindful that TSA regs usually defer to the whim of a local inspecting agent. My adult son just had a 7" digital caliper taken by TSA because it was a "tool" over the maximum permitted length, despite having traveled with it at least a dozen times prior for work. I suppose that could happen with NiMH batteries, too.

I just tried the DGX (that works fine on my D500) on my Z8 with 8-15 Nikkor. No autofocus and I forgot to check aperture. Everything is put away and I have an appointment, so will check later.

Good to know. I will not do this with the Retra. Previously I have always traveled with them without batteries. I will look at the SOS mode as you suggested earlier.

I often travel with batteries in some flashlights and other devices. I use expired DAN cards that I cut into discs the size of the device opening / battery diameter, and place those between the positive end of the battery and the device contact. There is no possibility of powering the device or draining the battery. The little plastic discs are thin enough not to interfere in reassembly of the flashlight and I will often not fully tighten the flashlight head just to be extra sure there is no undo pressure on the device contact.. This is basically the same as manufacturers placing those little plastic tabs on installed batteries on products you buy.

I leave batteries in INONs almost all the time and I have had zero issues, diving 3-4 times per month over nearly 10 years. Springs also tend to fatigue from repetitive flexing flexing once and keeping it that way is less likely to cause an issue. With INONs at any rate you can replace the spring clips or work on them as they are a separate piece. I agree. I suspect Inon was being overly cautious, but I tend to follow Mfr warnings and advice. Having batteries in boxes allows to put them in jacket pockets. 32 AA in 4 boxes give a total of more than 1,2kg. Combining with other heavy items in jacket (macro lenses, ..), you can stay at a reasonable bag weight (even if above, but not too much). You cannot do it with batteries remaining in strobes. You are right. It depends on destination for me. Sometimes the airlines care about weight of carry-on bags, other times only size matters, and sometimes it is both. My practice varies accordingly. I am interested to hear what Oskar might say. From his earlier post, I am pretty sure Retra has no issue with transporting batteries installed (although I would be sure strobes cannot be powered up).

I believe the warning also pertained to leaving batteries in the strobes for long periods because of the risk of bending or flattening the terminals and causing poor connections. The battery terminals in the Inons were sort of like 'wings" and the force of batteries could bend the wings, especially with heavier batteries like eneloops. This is from memory and i could be mistaken. I never had a problem but I tend to follow instructions.

This is interesting. Inon recommends, or at least used to recommend, that batteries not be left in strobes during travel to avoid risk of damage to the terminals in the strobe. Does Retra not have this concern? Packing would be marginally easier of I could put 4 or 8 batteries in each strobe during travel.

I have been diving in Mexico (primarily Cozumel) for about 18 years and have traveled to Mexico fo holidays for years before that, and have a relative living in Mexico. There have always been "issues" traveling there, including phony traffic stops (you can pay your ticket right here or go to the police station with me and it might take hours) and gas station scams, etc., etc. But these have traditionally been minor scams costing relatively little and largely local in nature. Organized, government sponsored or at least tolerated scams costing hundreds of dollars are another thing. When this "customs" thing started in Cabo, I knew it would spread. it is just too good a scheme not to. Coupled with the diminishing quality of diving in Cozumel, I have simply abandoned Cozumel as a dive destination for the foreseeable future. Sure, you can buy a carnet, or hide your gear in nondescript luggage, etc., and Cozumel is pretty convenient for me to get to, but it just isn't worth it to me. There are other islands where divers and photographers are not (or at least less) viewed as prey. If people stop going, the ripoff might eventually stop, but until then we are just feeding the wildlife while simultaneously hoping it will stop coming to us for food. But I do wish you luck if you are going there. Try not to look like a sheep, and the wolves might not notice you.