TimG

Hi Naef! Great to have you with us. A warm welcome to Waterpixels. We hope you enjoy the forum. Best wishes

The size of the focus point isn’t something I’ve ever thought about. I’ve been through lots of Nikon DSLR iterations - D100, 200, 300, 800 and 500 - and have always found the focus point to be small enough to sit on the subject’s eye. Is this Too Big FP an issue more widely?

Sounds a cracking trip!

Hey lidas Welcome to Waterpixels. Great to have you with us. We hope you really enjoy the forum.

Hi jjmochi I’m a long, long term LR user and could offer a couple of thoughts: As Chris suggests, I do wonder if Adobe just reckon data storage is cheap - just get more. That said, Apple data storage ain’t cheap. (I can hear @makar0n chuckling). So when I switched from a Mac with 3TB to a new machine, I didn’t want to pay the huge increase in bigger SSD costs. I now run the LR prog on my MacStudio but all the image files (approx 56,000 pretty much all RAW files plus TIFFs and Panos totalling about 1.8TB) are on an external 4TB SSD. I’ve experimented with the program on and off the Studio but found this current combination works best. The only issue I find is that if you do a full search of the images, it can take a little time till all the actual images are visible as you scroll through the search results. I only keep 3-4 iterations of the LR backup - which is held on a different external drive. These go back maybe 3 months which, to me, is plenty. However large your collection, I’d suggest keeping everything in just one catalog unless you can make a very clear divide between very different elements of work. But even then, I’d hesitate. Being able to search the catalog globally seems to me one of the great features of LR. As Chris comments, tracking down exactly what data is where can be a little tricky with LR. But I’ve found using the combination above has kept me out of despair.

I don’t disagree with Alex at all - I wouldn’t dare. But my point is that greater DOF is easier to achieve with smaller sensors. The artistic use of apertures is always a given.

That's helpful, Susanne. I'm a very keen macro shooter. For me DX/APS-C format has worked best and I switched back from FF to APS-C from a Nikon D800 to D500. Better depth of field for macro and, importantly I found, much easier to house wide-angle and get away from huge domes with the travel issues involved. But I don't shoot video. For shooting stills, I'm not convinced by the need for FF underwater - although I use FF all the time topside. The guys make good points about HOW you intend to use the images. I sell a lot but print very little. It'd be good if you are clear on that. Of course video doesn't involve much printing! One point I would make, I found a 45-degree finder indispensable for macro. It allows you to get lower, on the bottom if necessary, but still be able to see the viewfinder clearly. Definitely worthwhile. And then if you are serious about macro, get a snoot and strobes that work well with a snoot, ie the focussing light is in the middle of the strobe with a circular flash tube. I use the Retra Pro Max and Retra LSD and have found this a terrific macro combination. It's my macro workhorse. Retra also has macro reducing rings which I find really useful. Here are a couple of examples:

….. and you get more depth of field in macro photography with a non-FF format. Wide-angle lenses generally provide sharper edges too with non-FF.

Near unlimited budget, Susanne. I’m sure folks can suggest from $1000 to $100,000……. to an extent depends how serious you are on video. A very rough ballpark would be helpful.

I was talking to someone recently who had gone through the move to the Z8 from a high end Nikon DSLR. (Can’t remember which now) but he didn’t see a significant difference. Very interested to hear John’s take.

I hope you choose ones that have been washed well…… 🤣

Great to have with us, Sabrina. A warm welcome!

Hey John, without hijacking this thread, I’d be very interested to know how you’re getting on with this. I've used a trusty D500 since 2017 and other than being able to see immediate playback in the viewfinder, I’m not sure of the advantages of the Z8 and can see some disadvantages. It’d be an interesting thread to start if you were so inclined?

Great to have you with us, Samir. A warm welcome to Waterpixels.

Pedro, have you tried asking Aquatica?

Epoxy?

Could the hunting problem just be the camera’s inability to cope with the turbidity and lack of contrast? Have you tried a focussing light to help? Perhaps with a red filter to avoid scaring your subjects?

If it's of any help, I've been using the UWT board for about 8 years and have found it excellent. Batteries (2x CR 2032) last easily through a 2-week dive trip and probably way beyond that. I've switched from Inons to Retras and still use the same board. The UWT has been reliable and (touch wood) problem free. If in the likely event that you do run into problems, Mr UWT, Pavel, is a member on Waterpixels and is very helpful. I've never used the TRT but, again, Mr TRT is a Waterpixeler and very helpful.

Hey Alex Great to have you with us. A warm welcome to Waterpixels. Lots of advice to be had here for sure. Ask away!

Ahhhh, what the admins wouldn’t do for a Retra……

Why not? What have you got to lose? As you say, could be a win-win for you and a buyer. AND Oskar will be happy too. Can life get any better?

So sell them through the Classifieds, Hugues, and order new ones. You know you want to…. 😱

Sorry, Gary. I didn’t know about the fixed port. Tricky. Yeah, it has to be a wet lens then.

If I read this right, Gary, you want to be able to stand further back from your subject? So getting the same distance from your subject as oyu did with the 105mm If that's the case, you could perhaps add a 1.4 or 2.0 teleconverter (TC)? this would increase the magnification of your 18-45mm lens by either 1.4x or 2x. You'd lose a bit of sharpness but arguably not that much and a slight loss of light. You could increase the ISO a little to compensate or use a slightly slower shutter speed or open the aperture. So there are options. You'd also need an extension ring to house the width of the TC - 20mm for, say, the Kenko 1.4 TC which is popular underwater. Generally a diopter allows closer focussing rather than necessarily magnfication

Thanks Oskar Can you just confirm the fit details for the bumpers and the neoprene jackets? Are they the same size as for the Pro Max 1?