Dave_Hicks

They can use a nikon 8-15mm FE with their Z6 and a small dome. It is not as cheap however.

No, it won't work. Not supported by FTZ as it's an old "screw lens".

This is one of the super-powers of the Mirrorless cameras. You take a shot, and it appears in the eyepiece. No need to move at all, lose your subject, recompose, etc. This is super useful for macro and super macro shots. Combine it with a 45deg viewfinder and you can't beat it. I never use the LCD screen back at all. As a result, the Z8 battery life is amazing. Four dives and 1000 images are no problem.

Lightroom mask creation is a breeze now with AI assisted masking tools. Very powerful and much faster than it used to be.

It depends on the strobe. I never used diffusers at all on my Inon 330 or Ikelite 161 strobes and set AutoWB. Any adjustments to color temp could be made with WB in post. With the HF-1 strobes I am using the 4500k diffusers despite the drop in power. They are colder than the Inons and I like to look with AutoWB using 4500k. These strobes are extremely powerful, so I don't worry about loss of light. I rarely use more at 1/4 or 1/2 in my local green cold-water locations anyway. I have not used them in tropical waters yet, and I will experiment more when I get the chance later this year.

You are very welcome to use a Nikon FF camera in DX mode. I do this all the time when taking bird photos with a long lens. I have occasionally used DX underwater on the D850/Z8 cameras with a wide angle zoom like the 8-15 or 15mm FE. I even add the DX/FX switch button to the i-Menu to make this a quick and easy toggle.

Soldering iron. I have fixed a few broken strobe triggers for fellow divers in the last couple of years.

Welcome to WaterPixels!

#1 ASA #2 PETG Both are UV, heat, and water resistant. ABS is not geat with UV, but you can coat or paint it.

Wow, I really diverge from this definition. Shadows, light, and their balance are what I look for. They create texture, depth, and dimensionality. A flat softbox look is rarely what I aim for in underwater wildlife photography.

I am good on gear for a while longer. I'm fully booked for 2025, but looking for a couple more trips in 2026.

Both WWL/WACP and Fisheye have their place. If I am looking to do extremely wide and complex scenes with bright detail edge to edge then a FE is the way to go. But for the sort of cold-water wide angle that I often do, the WWL with a zoom is much more useful most of the time. If I've got great visibility, sun, and interesting subjects I'll use the FE.

It's a good idea to soak the housing and handles with all screws removed (don't forget the ball mounts) as the sockets can get pretty encrusted with salt.

Now that port you could eat off of! (But please clean it again afterwards) 😃

I would not remove the handles too frequently, but it is worth cleaning them every year or so. (About 150 dives a year for me) Soak all parts in a 50% vinegar bath or use an ultrasonic. I have not seen the handles strip but i have seen the ball mounting plate on top of the handles strip as they take a lot of torque. Fortunately this is a $20 replacement part.