What would you get for a $6000 budget?

Giles - that's an old Film N80 classified.

But nice of you to point out though.

My eyes play tricks !

The US$ exchange rate was a bit lower than I expected, so it's more like 8500 than 6000

So I have more or less decided on going for a D200 in a hugyfot with 2xInon strobes. This is all readily available here in Sweden, and seemes like a nice, nimble setup with a lot of potential.

thank's everyone for responding

For any Nikon body I would recomend the following. Considering your budget I would consider Ikelite the only contender for a housing. Anything else and you will definately be over-budget.

 

1300 Ikelite Housing

600 Nikon 10.5 fisheye

500 Tonkina 12-24

1600 2x DS-125 with arms and sync cord

500 8" dome port for 10.5 and 12-24

Or go with a 10.5FE and either the Sigma 15 or a (used) Nikon 16 FE, and you can get great results with the compact port, saving space and money. The 15/16 FE's are very nice lenses on the 1.5 cropped Nikons, and are sharper, more compact, faster, and cheaper than any 12-24 (or 10-20) zoom out there.

The US$ exchange rate was a bit lower than I expected, so it's more like 8500 than 6000

So I have more or less decided on going for a D200 in a hugyfot with 2xInon strobes. This is all readily available here in Sweden, and seemes like a nice, nimble setup with a lot of potential.

 

thank's everyone for responding

God bless America

Looks like a good decide, just check that you have good service for what ever you choose, preferred local service.

I think you can get a D-200 in an Ikelite housing and 8" dome with a single DS-125 within your budget. Call Ryan at ReefPhoto or Ken at California Digital Diving. I would NOT settle for anything less.

D200 $1700

Ike Housing $1500

Ike Dome $500

12/24 lens $900

Ds-125 w/cord $800

4Gig CF $200

UG to Photoshop CS2 $200

ULCS flotation arms $200

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$6000

I'm in a sorta similar situation, except I already have a Sea&Sea YS-90DX strobe, arms, tray and fiber optic cable from a previous rig.

I'm debating the D80 vs D200, and I don't mind waiting a few months for the housings to be available. I'm choosing more for topside use than UW, but want a choice that works well for both.

I like some of the D200 features, particularly the easily-accessible top buttons for ISO, Qual, and WB. Also, I believe many such settings are visible in the D200 viewfinder, but not so in the D80's viewfinder.

I'm not keen on the extra weight of the D200 for travel, but the more rugged body and better dust and moisture seals in the body are attractive.

But about those dedicated ISO & WB & quality buttons on the D200... wouldn't those also pay a benefit when using in a housing?

Any pros & cons on the D80 vs D200, whether for UW or other use GREATLY appreciated!