dhaas

I'm looking for a debate on sharpness, etc. of the long heralded Tokina 10-17mm APS-C Fisheye lens. I and my fired realize there's other choices for Nikon FX mirrorless bodies. My friend is shooting a Nikon Z6 and simply wants to know it it would work with his Nikon FTZ adapter. He has access to a Tokina 10-17mm APS-C lens for a project. He currently uses a FTZ adapter on various FX Nikkor lenses with zero problems. His Nikon Z6 can change to DX so he just wonders if the Tokina 10-17mm Fisheye lens autofocuses and aperture can be adjusted via the camera. Hopefully any Nikon mirrorless shooters here might know :) Any insights appreciated! David Haas

Being a long time Canon APS-C shooter (before using only a 1" sensor compact G7X II the last 9 years) I'll add another option for wide angle shooting. The very capable and underrated Canon RF-S 10-18mm lens isn't fast but focuses astoundingly well! Being an RF-S lens and a rectilinear versus the long legacy Tokina 10-17mm it is a worthy option. Ikelite posted a recent video and article where a capable shooter put the Canon RF-S 10-18mm and Tokina 10-17mm Fisheye through the paces side by side. https://www.ikelite.com/blogs/reviews/wide-angle-showdown-canon-rf-s-10-18mm-vs-tokina-10-17mm-underwater I actually just pulled the trigger on my own Christmas present, a Canon R50 and 18-45mm RF-S "kit" lens from Canon Refurbished (same 1 year warranty as a "new" one.) I'll test it with my buddy's Canon RF-S 10-18mm in a pool then likely buy one for my own wide angle shooting. Being more a wide angle / medium fish shooter these days means no need for a dedicated macro lens for me. It also keeps me to one dome port making travel easier. Since you have a Marelux housing for your Canon R7 already I'd investigate fixed DRY wide angle lens and dome. The WWL-B / WWL-C or whatever combination can work very well also but will have some curvature. My friend Phil Rudin and I had a long discussion a few months back on dry lens / dome choices versus Nauticam sharp wet lenses. There's advantages to zooming a fairly low cost kit lens (Canon, Sony or Nikon, etc.) in your housing with a full focus WET lens. But there's also a movement I think (Phil can chime in) to fixed lens in a dome of various sizes like the popular Laowa 10mm Rectilinear lens which is an incredible value too. I occasionally go back 20 years on my computer(s) and am happy with many wide angle pictures I made with fixed Canon and sigma 15mm lenses, Tokina 10-17mm Fisheye (I never owed a Full Fram dSLR) plus rectilinear Canon 10-22mm or Canon 10-18mm EF-S lenses. I even shot 90% with a smaller 6" Ikelite dome port (!!!!) In summary I'd advise you check out the low cost Canon RF-S 10-18mm lens as a wide angle shooting option 🙂 David Haas Here's another friend's Nauticam NA-R50 for the Canon R50. It is a fixed port housing and a he bought a WWL-B lens I played with last summer. Quite capable even with my silly small strobe mounted in the cold shoe and I'm not sure which housing I may go with yet for my own Canon R50 as the only other choice is a Seafrogs housing. But my other Canon R50 friend has used his on 3 trips so far and it's kept his Canon R50 high and dry PLUS has interchangeable dome and flat ports available.

I'd like to know aspect ratio with the lens mounted as Davide asked. I set my Osmo 5 currently for WIDE as I don't care for fisheye curvature. My DJI Osmo Action 5 PRO will see some pool testing before my next trip. My understanding of the Inon UWL-03 lens is it sharpens the corners while widening the view, correct? I also assume I'd need whatever adapter clamps on or around the DJI clear housing. I'll use the housing while diving or snorkeling with the Osmo 5 all the time. I'm not going to chance just the camera even though it's rated to 65' depth. Thanks in advance! David Haas

Gary, Long time back in the "F" (FILM" days! LOL..... As to the Canon R50 look for a post I believe I shared dialing in one of my travel guest's Nauticam R50 rig he bought. It is very compact and usable !!!! Yes, one control dial to adjust shutter speed or aperture but the Canon R50 APS-C camera is 24MP and has incredible AF, a burst mode not even found on more expensive APS-C models and great 4K video full sensor. It's light and compact for travel too. While as posted I use a 1" sensor compact the Canon R50 interchangeable lens, Nauticam wet lens add ons is a big jump in my book and should be looked at. Add smaller strobes for Manual or TTL and you'd likely find a significant size and cost savings while still getting great pics. David Haas

Glad to hear Tim is more discerning as to shots per dive! I do still wonder how many serious hobbyists cull their treasure trove of images after a trip (????????) The numbers are likely staggering and we all delude ourselves; "I'll go back and try and see what I can do to that photo". One old article of a conversation with a National Geographic photographer was how many shots they'd shoot to have an editor select the final 5-6-13 or so shots that would illustrate an article. I think it was Joel Sartore who's work I love! His Photo Ark Photo project documenting the last of certain species (too many left in a zoo )draw you in to the essence of all manner of creatures of our planet. I know some criticize his approach but I think the images are stunning..... His conversation with an editor he asked if she thought he shot "fat". Meaning over and over and over of a subject trying to get that one "perfect" shot (whatever that is.) She told him no, you're in the same vein of 6,000 - 10,000 frames PER TRIP. Nat Geo would many times allow a photographer to go back to whatever destination / assignment if they felt he / she didn't "get it". That could result in a doubling of frames clicked and this was in the FILM days.......I'd hate to think about the numbers today....Granted, most (almost all?) aren't shooting for National Geographic or other publication. I hope my previous posts aren't taken as a "burn the house down" for change. That was not my intent. My intent is to get people to THINK about what they'll do with their pictures, how realistic it is then weigh it against $$$$, time and hassles of travel as the OP asked. Then make a best decision for YOU........ Keep shooting and diving! David Haas

I want add a few more thoughts relating to gear and mainly photography in general...... I read this article a few years ago: http://www.peterjonlindberg.com/#/new-page-1/ Here's another thought provoking one: https://petapixel.com/2016/04/18/favor-p-program-mode-photography/ While we pride ourselves risking life and limb venturing underwater to photograph (and video) things most won't see I believe digital has created a monster we've all embraced. The monster is VOLUME........ Early memory cards were expensive and slow processing. Today we shoot THOUSANDS of photos on a trip (hundreds to over a thousand per DIVE) then gleefully load them on our editing device of choice. MAYBE some have the discipline to scroll through and pick stellar choices to edit to their chosen vision. I say MAYBE because almost all photographers I know save EVERYTHING. I too was wowed by not having the limit of 36 frames as digital came on the scene and grew by leaps and bounds. Storage has become cheap and fast (almost unlimited) even if shooting large megapixel RAW files many camera's produce. My point as in the first article is WHY we do this is never questioned. We do it because now technology allows us to! On a couple of my recent hosted trips (Raja Ampat Nov. 2023, Maldives Feb. 2024 and Bali May 2024) I challenged guests using dSLRs to compacts to iPhone users. I suggested they make an album of 10 pictures at trip's end they'd consider printing and hanging on a wall. Maybe expand to 20 but that's it! No one thought it was crazy and all embraced the idea! It was more a competition with yourself as the only participant. It got some folks to really think how many missed focus / framing / exposure or totally almost nice photos they keep. Plus where and when will they even share those photos! "Hit the delete key more!" I proclaimed LOL...... I share these thoughts not to crush anyone's dream, aspirations, gear ownership or whatever. One category of shooters who likely do this already are CONTEST participants. Why? Because they HAVE TO to enter :) These are just observations I regularly see "out in the field" that might make subsea photography more enjoyable. I call it "LESS is MORE" for lack of a better term. Just more "old guy thoughts" !!!

As I've posted before I switched in 2016 from a housed APS-C camera (Canon) and dual strobes already shrunk down to Ikelite DS51 units for wide angle and macro. My choice of a 1" sensor fast 24-100mm f1.8-2.8 lens Canon G7X II I still use today. As Chip states you have to know limitations of any camera or lens and play to those strengths. I have and made huge prints from those files. Packing and traveling became easier even with a pair of small Inon S2000 strobes. Still needed batteries, arms (I preferred light FLex arms and trays but that's me), cords, etc. Recently I sold all my strobes (Inon S220 and I liked them a lot) and used just a 1000 lumen flashlight or shot all ambient light on Cozumel for a week. I shared those photos in a previous post and were happy with them. I've shot all the macro pics I need since 2001 when I got my first Nikon D100, then Canon Digital Rebel, then progression of dSLR cameras. I also shot my iPhones underwater for the past 4+ years but recently reverted to just my little 1" sensor compact. I do use my iPhone for practically all surface shooting of family or whatever. There's no camera easier to share your view of the world as easy as a smartphone ! AI and other editing for up-rezzing files is where I think all imaging will continue to progress and likely rapidly ! From my Canon G7X II I can pop the SD card into a simple SD card reader in my iPhone for a quick edit using SnapSeed or the color App SeaReal. I currently have an iPhone 13 PRO Max but soon maybe a 16 PRO / PRO Max. On shooting a compact underwater I "discovered" technical details of a 1" sensor camera at 24mm and other focal lengths. One phenomenon is smartphone small sensors have practically unlimited depth of field at wide open. Similarly I can shoot my Canon G7X II camera at 24mm / f1.8 allowing more light to reach the sensor. This keeps the ISO low (125 is lowest on my camera) and the photos look sharper edge to edge than stopping down! When I shot with strobes my "magic settings" were ISO 125, f.5.6 (equal to about f11 on a full frame sensor) which didn't impart much DIFFRACTION small apertures introduce on any lens. I'd vary shutter speed for background brightness and water color. Being a small mirrorless camera the Canon G7X II synchs at ANY shifter speed if shooting with flash up to 1/2000 !!! Just another fact I found when pondering moving to a smaller rig 8 years back..... Limitations: A small camera means small battery but my housing can be opened and swap a camera battery in 45 seconds once I'm ready with a dried housing, hands, hair, etc. I've done it hundreds of times........My Fantasea housing has DUAL o-rings (greased rear door one, plus flat White GoPro style gasket and later models have a vacuum system. I also have a "new to me" Nauticam Canon G7X Ii housing with the vacuum in it I'll play with or possibly sell. My migration to shooting no flash I can get 200 - 300 shots per dive depending how much I screw around with menu changes, etc. Another advantage when I did shoot with flash is a camera's internal flash is compacts generally don't have a hot shoe. So flash firing will depth your battery faster. I routinely got 150 shots per small battery but I always shot S-TTL too...... I accepted the limitation as a benefit because I took a limitation of no flash trigger out of the camera to external flash chain......No mystery flash trigger / hot shoe / whatever brand camera flash protocol. I have seen many high end system users travel 1/2 across the planet and can't get their camera's flash set to fire 😞 I've been reluctant to share any of these details as Waterpixels.net like the previous Wetpixel is the realm of high end large systems almost 99% and that's fine. Those choices are incredible image making machines but add $$$$, weight and size, etc. Most here won't likely change and it took me a while to convince myself change was worth the conversion without giving up the fun of creating photos on land or underwater. I doubt my opinion will sway many as posts and ideas dismissing compacts from "not serious cameras" and unfortunately from people who never really used one for any length of time. It's similar to folks giving up using a viewfinder and framing with the LCD. One close friend who's a great photographer above and below has been using his Nikon Z6 and Z8 for wide angle shooting underwater with the LCD exclusively. Granted his high end cameras have great LCDs and he still uses the eyepiece for macro with a 45 degree viewfinder. Like many he simply can't change after decades of shooting and that's OK ! After over 40+ years shooting film to digital SLR to compacts and iPhones I still find the activity fun and engaging but I would encourage folks to explore options......... Just one old guy's opinion turning 71 last Monday but still "in the game" 🙂 David Haas

A few more from the past few days. Our dive day 6 got scrubbed due to port closure with wind and waves / currents. No worries, had a good time and didn't even use my flashlight the last two days working white balance in camera (a Canon G7X II feature with FISH Icon) plus shooting more wide open f-stops 🙂 David Haas

Hola' amigos! Spending a week on Cozumel and working on shooting with no strobes. Day 1 I did shoot a few photos with the little diffuser on my Canon G7X II Fantasea housing but today shot 90% with no strobe. I used a flashlight on our wreck dive (only 1000 lumen one with semi-narrow beam) and it was great fun 🙂 Stay tuned for more details and pics as I pare my set up down to almost nada' (Nothing :) David Haas

I'm glad these discussions are at least happening. Everything davide and bghazzal are observing is happening in real time these days and whether or not it replaces high end large systems remains to be seen. I've probably used a smartphone underwater more than many (most?) here. I started with my iPhone Xr then iPhone 13 PRO Max in DiveVolk housings plus use my iPhone all the time above water. When I pick up any camera I immediately have to "think more" whether it' exposure or whatever.....Computational capability built into any smartphone makes this process seem like the dark ages of imaging 😞 I still own a 1" sensor 20 MP Canon G7X II compact camera. Will take it to Cozumel next week ( thank goodness after the hurricane) and won't be using my iPhone underwater for the foreseeable future. I've probably posted the opposite here but for now it's the direction I'm going...... Another thought is despite taking the occasional video clip (my Canon G7X II has really good 1080P) I'm more a stills shooter. If video was my main interest I'd keep using my iPhone or the new DJI 5 (which I actually have a set up in a shopping cart as we speak.) Simpler, smaller, etc. Another diver in our small group is bringing his 24MP APS-C Canon R50, the same camera I posted photos shot in the beautiful Nauticam NA-50 housing with a WWL-B. It's great but he has a SeaFrogs housing with flat port for the Canon RF-S 18-45mm kit lens plus small dome port for the Canon RF-S 10-18mm rectilinear lens. We will be shooting all these set ups so stay tuned 🙂 David Haas Howard Hall with a Gates 6K (or ????) set up a few years back 🙂

Any M chip (M2, 3 and 4) MacBook including MacBook AIR models would be good if considering a laptop versus an iPad. Wife travels with an iPad but not doing any editing, barely emailing etc. I prefer a computer and my M2 MacBook AIR 13.6" bought as a refurb runs plenty fast no matter what I'm doing. Either choice as Chip says a M chip Apple product could be the ticket 🙂 David Haas

NO LONGER AVAILABLE...........

No lanyard except in situations too deep to go retrieve it 🙂 Isla Guadalupe, 200' deep below cage windows is one. Drop it and no one's going to go get it for you on a bounce dive...LOL...... Snorkeling or deep water where you drop it it's gone, yeah maybe..... Never used one even with large SLR set ups and dual Ikelite DS160 strobes. Always just got in the way for me.....When asked I'd reply: "My camera is either on the boat or in my hands.If need be to help my dive buddy (spouse) it's much less valuable! " Those coiled lanyards with plastic ends I've seen crushed, break and let go, etc. I give them away to small point and shoot housing users. I do like adding the bungie cord through the coils though..... Just one old guy's opinion! David Haas

If anyone is interested in only the Nauticam FlexiTray II with dual handles, ball mounts and trigger assembly message me directly. Happy to entertain offers. [email protected] USA Eastern time zone: 330-329-5981 talk / text / leave message

Virtually unused Nauticam G7XMKII housing for compact Canon G7X II. Includes vacuum system (I put in new battery and all works as shown) and has Flat N50 port with 67mm threads usable with Nauticam's 67mm adapter or bayonet adapter for WWL / CMC lenses. Also includes Nauticam's DRY dome port that maximizes the Canon G7X II camera's native 24mm widest focal length. Complete Nauticam Flexitray II with Handle Support plates, 1" ball mounts and pistol trigger assembly, spare o-rings and manual. Prefer US based sale only. This package was over $2,500.00 and for a compact shooter would provide bulletproof capability in a small package. $1300.00 plus actual shipping (approximately $35.00 USD with insurance via USPS Priority.) Payment via Zelle or PayPal Friends and Family gets shipping in 2 business days and sometimes next day 🙂 Email direct or call / text. I'm EST (Eastern Standard Time Zone) in the US. David Haas Stow OH 44224 330-329-5981 EST call / text [email protected]

Mark H, After many trips to Philippines 2010 - 2019 I had a few opportunities to do Mandarinfish dives. Most were over rubble areas after dark or dusk when the little lovers became more active. The smaller males flit in and out pursuing the females until one relents and they rise into the water column releasing eggs and sperm. I ended up with a few shots and have seen others where a very lucky photographer even captured the eggs and sperm and fish (!!!!!!) Here's one of my captures. I never owned a full frame SLR as my budget was always APS-C size 🙂 Photographed with a Canon T4i and 60mm APS-C macro lens. Over the years using several Canon APS-C dSLR cameras the SERVO focussing mode tracked pretty well once locked on . This is of course if the subject stays somewhere in the frame! I had better success with the dive guide using a low power light "pointing" to where a pair was likely to pop out of the rubble. Good luck and you'll find plenty of great photo ops in the Philippines! David Haas

A friend and good photographer uses his Nikon Z6 in his Ikelite housing and installed that manual fiber optic port. Easy to switch out and he says he gets long life from the pair of 2032 batteries. He uses Ikelite DS160 strobes with the optical cord "receivers" plugged in each DS160 strobe. He has used a manually set AOI Q1 strobe plus an Inon S2000 unit successfully. Perhaps order the manual optical cord bulkhead as an add on keeping the hot shoe / Ikelite's corded bulkhead if you ever sell the housing in the future. The fiber optic hot shoe is just a trigger and ground pins and works with other brand strobes but you'd need to set manual flash output. DH PS - I'm not sure if Ikelite is working on a TTL optical bulkhead like they developed for Canon. If so it will likely work with Ikelite strobes in TTL only as the Canon version does.

Mike (Saudio), Welcome from a fellow 70-ish diver :) Check out my post trying my buddy's Nauticam NA-50 rig using the small but powerful Canon R50 in the Equipment and Techniques forum. I might lighten your travel / packing load but still produce fabulous pics plus 4K video! David Haas

Chip, Good thoughts and here's my take....... Some months back our Cleveland, Ohio 100+ year old downtown camera business Dodd Camera had a huge event with all manufacturers showing their latest models. The Canon R series were all there and I handled each. Not being in the FF budget group I looked at the R7, R10, R50 and even tiny but powerful R100. Each has advantages as you say but I think it depends how much you'll use the body out of the water. The Canon R7 at a higher price has some things folks want. It's a great birding camera and for other advanced shooting scenarios. I don't believe "weather sealing" will keep even a seriously splashed much less flooded camera from becoming a doorstop. Electronics are not salt water friendly 😞 IBIS while touted for most Canon shooters is a non-issue as 90%+ of Canon lenses have IS (Image Stabilization.) The guy people "loves or loves to hate"; Ken Rockwell coins it perfectly and I like his opinion on many photo topics and gear. He says something like: "Going to stand outside in pouring rain and shoot pictures? Get an umbrella......Going to wade near the shore for crashing wave shots? Cover the camera body with one of those tent like coverings available for any size camera like you see at sport events." For me a 1/3 or less $$$ camera body with DPAF, all the latest DigicX processor speed and enough MP to make almost any size print is fine. I could easily buy 2 or more bodies being light and small and have $$$ left over for a nice trip to go make photos! The lenses is where I tell folks to spend $$$$. For the Nauticam NA-R50 system it's a WWL-B or WWL-C. I think they would satisfy any shooter..... Could I house the even cheaper, less featured Canon R100 (it's a little rocket) and save more money ????? For sure......The camera and 18-45mm kit lens is like $320.00 USD at Canon's refurbished store ! The R100 has the same 24MP, almost same number of AF points but lacks a touch swivel screen, dedicated ISO button and a couple other things which are things I like on the R50. Ikelite makes a small DLM sized housing for the R100 but skipped the R50 and I think they made a good choice. Put a decent compact dome on the housing and use good UW lenses from the kit 18-45mm to a Tokina 10-17mm with EF-RF lens adapter and an extension. Or give up some edge corner sharpness and buy the super tiny RF-S 10-18mm IS STM lens. It's a great land lens on any RF-S body. Would it equal an R50 and WWL-B? Maybe not 100% but I'd bet pretty close for many folks. It's all still ISO choice, shutter speed and f-stop, strobe power and getting CLOSE to "get the water out" 🙂 Trying my buddy's Nauticam NA-R50 in the water was great. I have to say the Nauticam controls were incredible........Smooth, fast and right at my fingertips. I know for sure I wouldn't get the same overall experience with the Canon R100 in the Ikelite housing. But I'll bet I could make some darn good pictures with it too 🙂 So there you have it, my take! David Haas Here's my wife with a Humphead Napoleon Wrasse years ago in the Coral Sea above the SS Yongala wreck. Shot with a lowly Canon Digital Rebel (6.3MP) in an old Ikelite 4 port lock clear housing, likely a 15mm Sigma lens and one single Ikelite DS125 on TTL.

After shooting APS-C dSLRs for years and currently a 1" sensor camera I did always long for just a bit more sensor. So the Canon R series is a worthy upgrade while not breaking the bank or physical size too much. While I haven't tried it the Nauticam WWL-C lens is also usable on this set up. Gives a bit less focal coverage from the WWL-B range of 130-60mm to 116m - 52mm. Still darn impressive in front of a low cost Canon R50 18-45mm "kit" lens. My friend who owns this set up actually immediately bought a 2nd Canon R50 spare as it was sooooo cheap LOL..... Just a thought! DH

A friend purchased the almost compact sized Nauticam NA-R50D housing and WWL-B lens recently. He loaned it to me for some quick tests in our local quarry...... The fixed port housing requires you use a Nauticam wet lens and the WWL-B provides an astounding 130 - 60 degree coverage. It allows full zoom and will focus on the glass dome! The Canon R50 kit lens's 18-45mm focal length on the camera's 24MP APS-C sensor paired with the WWL-B blew me away as I'm a compact system shooter. Additionally we barely had 8' / 2.5M of hazy crappy visibility but being able to get close and frame my dive buddy made the visibility appear better than it really was.. Back in the film days many Japanese underwater photographers would opt for a less expensive body and spend $$$$ on lenses. I did the same into dSLRs using a lower priced body but decent lenses especially once the Tokina 10-17mm, Sigma 15mm, etc. came along. I think this set up for those wanting something simple with a DPAF focussing APS-C 24 MP camera might want to take a look! Just one old guy's opinion as usual 🙂 David Haas

Don't know if this is still the case but a friend a few year's back took out his GoPro o-ring to "clean it" (it's really a flat compression silicone gasket.) When he installed it back in he didn't pay attention to one detail and flooded his housing (!!!!!!) He was then told by another GoPro housing user the flat gasket has one side with a very thin almost imperceptible line running down the middle. Evidently this "racing stripe" should be facing OUT towards where the door flattens the gasket. Again, I'm not sure as I'm not a GoPro housing owner / user. Just thought I'd share that anecdote....... D

I had cataract surgery and the "full monty" 3 distance Alcon AcrySof Vivity IOL lenses implanted about 2 years ago. Since then no RX mask needed. My close up reading and medium distance is great. Can dive and read gauges no problem. Farthest lens correction due to astigmatism OK enough I COULD pass driving test without corrective glasses. But I've always wanted super far crispness so have a super mild RX pair pf glasses I really only need for driving. Went with Transition lenses too so non need for separate sun glasses. That part soured me a bit on getting a "full monty" correction, PLUS, it wasn't cheap. In the US my Medicare covered cataract replacement except for co-pay of $375.00 per eye. The cataract part was fabulous as my left eye was getting dimmer quite a bit. Everything else is elective surgery for not small $$$$. Other than cost I've counseled others in my age group considering IOL when getting cataract surgery to maybe only due one corrective lens. With astigmatism like I have maybe get all distance or all close up. Then either contacts or glasses for the other range. To be honest I likely could have bought a lot of RX masks for my remaining days diving plus wearing nice trendy progressive bi-focals for a lot less $$$$. Especially since I'd been wearing glasses since age 11 or so :( Heavy sigh....... Just one old guy's opinion! David Haas

More thoughts........ Last night I re-watched the 19 year old movie Into the Blue. Paul Walker is no longer with us and back then actors including Scott Chan and Jessica Alba were all very good accomplished free divers. I think it was reported Caan, Walker and Alba could easily free dive to 100' / 33 meters. What I always loved about the movie was the incredible cinematography done by industry veteran Pete Zuccarini. A master of the craft a lot was shot of course in shallow bright water and it's stunning. I share this to somewhat promote shallow diving as another consideration for creating stunning images. It's easier to explore using ambient light with or without flash added. You can spend more time nd also incur less deco or no-decompression obligation. I realize many diving deeper wrecks, caves, etc. make for dramatic photos too and if that's your thing go for it! At my age I pretty much dive a max 33M / 100' and mostly shallower than 70'. There's plenty to see in the shallows and being closer to the surface I leave behind a lot of gear making diving simpler for me. I still feel I can capture interesting photos and enjoy myself! Just some more musings 🙂 David Haas