Shooting sharks in Tahiit: What Lens?

D100 in a Nexus housing (now lusting after the D200 - already saving for it)

We are leaving for Manihi at the end of Dec. for a week of diving in the Tuamotus. We already know that there will be some large schools of fish and a number of sharks (white tip, black tip, grey reefies, and the occasional Lemon). It's the sharks I'd really like to get some shots of...

So the question is: what's the right lens for shooting these sharks? Also, any advice on the right port?

Up until now I've been shooting mostly macro with my digital rig and taking my older film rig (N90 & 20mm in an Aquatica housing) for w/a stuff. Did this in the Maldives last summer, but now my wife is saying 2 adults, 2 (young) kids - I don't get to take to full camera set ups on vacation...

All advice appreciated...

What lenses do you have at your disposal?

The 60mm is a great lens for solo sharks. Also, i think your 20mm (30 on dig) is a good one too. People tend to want the largest WA possible when thinking of shooting sharks but that is not always the best. Greys (the ones you will see most of) are not big sharks and don't come too close unless you are feeding. (i do believe they feed in Manihi but not sure)

Also, i am not sure what the school of greys is like there. There are a couple of islands with really big schools but i think Manihi is a little more spread out.

You can use a super wide lens like a 12-24 or 15mm if there is feeding, other than that i would stick to something less wide for sharks. Personally i prefer a nice zoom in the Tuamotu as there is such a variety of different critters. If you have something like a 12-24 or an 18-35 or 17-35 then i think these would be your best bets.

I am not sure what ports are available with NExus. Perhaps best to look at their website for port/lens combinations

In the last live-aboard we done in the Maldives, at the first days I dove with the 18-70 lens (the widest I have for now) in order to shoot big creatures.

But since the sharks where quit far I used most of the time the long side of the lens but I missed a lot in the macro side, so at the 2 last days when we weren’t supposed to see mantas or whale sharks I used the 60 mm and got much better results with the grey sharks and also had some really nice macros.

but now my wife is saying 2 adults, 2 (young) kids - I don't get to take to full camera set ups on vacation...

Sorry, Can't see the indecision here, wife & kids Vs your beloved camera and stuff, the priorities are clear

As you can see from this week's "Pic of the Week" that I took in Moorea the 18-70 seemed to work pretty well for zooming in during the shark feedings. It gives you enough versatility for most of the sharks you will see in that part of the world - I saw mostly lemons around 8' - 11' and black and grey tip reef sharks that were in the 4' to 7' range. The one thing I did find was having to correct out a lot of blue / cyan in my shots - even with twin DS 125's and a Nikon D70 in an Aquatica housing - and as "critidoc" pointed out in his comment (but he was just jealous since he was diving with me and my picture was published and his wasn't - nah nah nah na - seriously he did get a lot of good shots too).

Good luck - you will enjoy your trip I am sure.

Andy

DrFiscus

Ia orana !

Shooting sharks in French Polynesia is an unforgettable experience , I m sure you'll enjoy it !

Take a look at my web site, sharks pictures were all done there with the 12/24 nikon but i'll try the 18/70 there in march , many pictures with the 12/24 were in my opinion too wide .

Bon voyage

Hi!

I was in Moorea in June and found the Nikkor 12-24 best and then the 18-70. The sharks (greys and blacktips) circled us continuously during the dives but always keeping a pretty discrete distance.

Viz was good at over 75' - and the water was bright and well-light especially in the morning. It tended to cloud up a bit soon after lunchtime. I got some good pics below the sharks shooting upwards against the light - sorry I'm not at home and can't post any.

I'm not sure about Tahiti, but certainly the topography underwater in Moorea was not that interesting: gently shelving reefs with extensive coral growth but very low in height. But lots of life - and certainly lots of sharks. Many of the smaller fish - snappers especially - seemed to follow along during the whole course of the dive. You could look back and there would be a whole gang following along just behind your shoulder: very cool.

I'm sure you will have a great time. Check out the black pearls. I figured every pearl I bought for my wife was an extra lens that I could think about investing in Or a D200

Baitballs etc. aside, sharks can be difficult to approach close enough for the 12-24 mm (or wider lenses) in most situations, and so prefer the 17-35 mm. Shooting film (full-frame), you might even want a little more at the longer end.

Frogfish

Second that. Last time I was shooting sharks (black tips / Moorea) I’ve used a 12-24mm zoom (1.6 crop camera). 90% of the time the lens was set somewhere between 20mm and 24mm. Shots would be more crisp if you get so close you could shoot them with somewhat 100°. But that’s hard to achieve. Next time I would even take the 18-50 2.8 instead. Wide enough and good for head portraits too.

24mm (x1.6):

22mm (x1.6):

Julian

I had the 10.5, 12-24 and 17-35 and mainly used the 17-35. The "close up" shot shark was right at the cage. The profile shot the shark was 9-11 out from cage.

Hmmm, I am planning my lens for Galapagos next year and initially I was planning on using mostly 12-24mm but that might not be ideal from what I gather. Any opinion on 17-55mm DX vs 17-35mm or any other lens?