James - beginner equip?

Great dialog on this forum! I am an experienced consumer level digicam user. I have ordered a CP 5000 and Ikelite housing but I am new to UW photography. What additional equipment do I need to get started?

Strobe?

Lenses?

Have you used the AA battery adaptor? Will it fit in the housing? If not, how long will the Nikon battery last? Should I purchase a 2nd?

Any info would be great. I am preparing for a Belize trip in June.

Strobes and arms for them are essential. Also a wide angle lens. The best would be the 19mm add on lens made by Nikon. It is a great lens and focuses very close. Did they tell you when you will get your housing?

Hi gang,

I just got home from my trip to the flowergardens. I have 2 256meg CF cards and 1 160meg card full of images...:-) All shot with the CP5000. I'll get them posted ASAP and let the results speak for themselves.

Also saw some Scalloped Hammerheads on my last dive at Stetson and got pix...:-)

I will jump in on this thread tomorrow morn. Too much gear to clean tonight...etc.

Cheers

James

I haven't actually ordered the housing yet. I was waiting to see how deep I would get. No pun intended.

I did speak to Ikelite last week and they said all of the backordered stock has shipped. Sounds like there are no delays in shipping now. I will let you know what they say when I order.

Still working on pix. I am trying to sort them so I only post only the best 20 pix from each dive site. Trying to avoid sensory overload...:-)

Hopefully will be up tonight.

Cheers

James

After reading other posts, these are the things I am planning to purchase. Where do you find these items?

Strobe - size / type?

Strobe Arm - different types / lengths?

Sync cord - different types?

WA Dome port - What is this?

19mm Nikon WA lense - need adaptor?

Sorry for such basic questions... Thanks!

Hi Krash,

Many of the questions you ask are not strictly limited to the Coolpix, they apply to ALL underwater digital photography. So, you might want to repost that question with a different subject besides my name... I'm sure that others have valuable input here besides myself. I'm pretty much a beginner too remember, when it comes to digital UW, we ALL are.

As such, I can tell you a little about my setup and where I bought it. Here is a picture of my housing setup:

I got both strobes on Ebay and the rest from Helix (www.helixcamera.com).

Read this link for more info on strobes:

http://www.wetpixel.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=219

What sync cord you use will depend on what strobe you buy and your taste. Nikon, Ikelite, and Sea and Sea all make them.

The wideangle dome port is something Ikelite is making to accomodate the EXCELLENT Nikon 19mm lens. To use this lens w/ the Coolpix5000, you will need the UR-E5 adapter ring made by Nikon. It is harder to find than the treasure of the sierra madre. The lens has over a 90 degree field of view btw, I can't wait to try it underwater!

Cheers

James

[Edited on 4-16-2002 by jamesw]

Thanks.

What about the AA adaptor and Nikon battery? Will 1 nikon battery get you through a 2 tank dive?

My dealer check with Ikelite for me and was told they wouldn't be shipping more housings until the end of the month.