Dave_Hicks

You see a dog bone, I am seeing something a little different! 🙄

The WWL-C is actually great, but would not work well for salmon as you are never deep enough to flood and remove all the bubbles from the wet mate optics. And 8-15mm in the 140mm dome is my choice for snorkeling or shallow work. I've been shooting it with a TC recently and it is very good.

Here is a video of one of the GPO's on this trip that was grooming and cleaning its suckers. It's pretty crazy! Nikon Z8 w/8-15mm Fisheye lens + 1.4TC, f8@1/30s iso800, Pair of Retra Maxi strobes with 4500k filters in 6000 lumen video mode

I will work on that, including the extension ring.

I have the Kenko 1.4x Teleplus DG Pro 300. Bought it in 2011 originally to use with the Tokina 11-17fe.

This one is a bit spookier: Kraken and Ghost DiverNikon Z8 w/8-15mm Fisheye lens + 1.4TC, f9@1/25s iso500, Pair of Retra Maxi strobes with 4500k filters

This Giant Pacific Octopus (Enteroctopus dolpheini) was one of about five GPO's we saw out in the open during four days of diving in Barkley Sound with Rendezvous Dive Adventures. Conditions were perfect deep on the reef, and our group found many GPO's hunting and resting on the rocky topology of Barkley Sound. A Giant Pacific Octopus (Enteroctopus dolpheini) strikes a pose on a colorful part of the reef surrounded by Giant Plumose Anemones (Metridium farcimen). Nikon Z8 w/8-15mm Fisheye lens + 1.4TC, f9@1/20s iso320, Pair of Retra Maxi strobes with 4500k filters

Very slick! About those original knobs. I shared with Retra the feedback about salt constantly forming around the knobs even after an overnight soak. That hollow cavity and tight fitting to the base means they just can't be rinsed out. I designed the replacement knobs to eliminate the cavity and provide a slightly bigger gap at the bottom to allow for drainage. The mode switch gets a different shape to make it easy to distinguish with gloves on.

I have a much more basic carry handle setup that has served me well. Paracord, mini bolt-snap, little D-ring, 1/2 inch tubing. About $10. Attached to the top of the ULCS arm. Zip tied a big oring at the bottom of the arm to stow it while diving.

That's a great set! Thanks for sharing.

After a current-heavy trip to Galapagos about a dozen years ago I came home with super floppy arms. I had cranked them down hard so many times in the current the o-rings were shot. Fresh o-rings made a word of difference. Then I ended up selling all of my ULCS clamps and bought all new ones for good measure. The old ones were still in good shape, but I cleaned them up and sold them for about half the cost of new ones. They were well over 10 years old. Sometimes it's just good to start fresh.

Huh? Which 8-15 is sharper than the other 8-15? With the Nauticam 140mm dome setup, 10mm is too far back already. The vignette is at 11 or lower. I was thinking about modifying the zoom ring to disallow it from going back any further than where it clips. It should just take some specific alignment to make it work.

Conclusion: To my eye the quality off all of these images is quite good. Even at fairly low shutter speed of 1/20th second an mid-range apertures of f9 the images are quite sharp and the corners look acceptable. The 8-15 + 1.4 outperforms the WWL-C setup in the corners by a small margin. I don't see any significant negatives to adding the 1.4tc to the 8-15. However, on occasion you will likely miss-zoom at the 11-12mm range and slightly clip the frame. A minor crop will take care of this.

There have been a number of posts recently discussing the merits of an 8-15mm lens with a teleconverter. The 8-15mm fisheye lenses are great performers, but can feel limiting because they are either 8mm (circular) or 15mm (wide fisheye). If you are dealing with CFWA or a Wide subject just a bit out of reach like Sharks, then a bit more reach might be welcome. A 1.4x Teleconverter delivers just that sort of solution. With the 1.4tc the 8-15 fills the frame without clipping right between 11 and 12mm. This opens up a useful range from 11-15mm or the magnified equivalent of 16 - 21mm. I just completed a trip to the Pacific side of Vancouver Island in an area called Barkley Sound. There is a quaint dive lodge out there called Rendevzous Dive Adventures that runs a very nice operation. I mostly shot the Nikon 8-15mm AF-S lens with 1.4tc (kenko) under a Nauticam 140mm dome. I used my 3d printed 40mm port extension that continues to perform perfectly after about total 25 dives. I did a couple of dives with the WWL-C / 25-50mm combo and tried to take some comparison shots. Below are two similar images taken with both combos. The photos are uncropped and very lightly edited. Nikon 8-15mm with 1.4TC, @12mm, f10@1/25s iso400, Pair of Retra Maxi strobes with 4500k filters WWL-C with z24-50mm, @24mm, f14@1/50s iso400, Pair of Retra Maxi strobes with 4500k filters And a comparison image of the 8-15mm + 1.4tc @ 15mm. Nikon 8-15mm with 1.4TC, @15mm, f8@1/30s iso500, Pair of Retra Maxi strobes with 4500k filters This image needed a BSXT pass as there was a lot of fuzz stirred up by multiple divers nearby.

New product promotional image for the TPU Dome Port Covers: Turns out that the Giant Pacific Octopus is a fan of these too! A GPO climbed on my camera and tried to steal my dome cover. Sneaky little sucker almost tore it off and made a quick getaway! It also managed to turn the zoom knob and made the lens (Nikon 8-15 w/1.4tc) vignette a bit. :)

The truth is that 3d fabrication is iterative. Even with perfect measurements you get things too tight, too loose, half a millimeter out of alignment, etc. Different materials will expand or contact so even if you get the right dimension and you have to adjust it anyway. I have made zoom gears from measurements a few times. Once i got it right the first time, another required three or four iterations to get the right fit. So it's not worth the headache.

I wonder if a phone based 3d scanner could make a good enough model of a port to make a "blank" to design the float around...

Redesign. The contours of every port are different, location of screw holes, etc. However the Cad model of these floats is very simple. 95% of the work was figuring out how to get a strong watertight print that won't leak or implode. I've done that work and shared it out. I can easily make more, but need hands on with the port to measure, do a draft print or two to check fit, then a final print.

EVF 100% of the time. It is a huge win of the mirrorless designs. At least on Nikon, the EVF has two modes Enhanced view - basically night vision that boosts the exposure of what you SEE (default) Effect of Settings - WYSIWYG for cameras. Shows the effect of shutter and ISO on ambient lights. Amazing for wide angle natural light and exposing for the background water. After taking a shot the Preview is in the EVF, not the screen. Shoot Review You don't need to move your head, rig, or disturb the subject or environment to look at the screen These two things alone make the Mirrorless upgrade worth the cost. Add a 45deg viewfinder and it's perfection.

Replace the orings on your arms so they don't flop around. Put the carry lanyard at the top of the first arm segments so you can carry it all without anything flopping over.

Super spiff! You need to bedazzle those rings! Glad to hear they worked well for you on your trip. 😀

What lens is that used for?

BTW - The port float rings were designed to accommodate the Nauticam dual flip adapter and have sufficient clearance. It is pretty much the main reason I made these.

I will get some n100 designs created before long. So many Sony Shooters around these parts. 😀

Sure, lets meet for a dive and I can borrow some parts afterwards. You'll get in a dive and should have that itch scratched for a few days at least! Any time, I am free most of the week.