If you could only afford one lens.....

So, I have a D200 in a Sea&Sea housing. I have one YS 90 strobe and sync cord already from my old point and shoot set-up. I can only afford one lens/port combination. (I also have a 24/85mm lens that I bought for surface use, but after a previous post and some research have decided not to mess with this lens underwater). It seems like the obvious lens choice is a 60mm with a standard flat port...

Any opinions?

Most of my shooting is in the Monterey/Carmel area, but I will spend two weeks in the Bahamas in June (and the 60mm might leave me frustrated there...).

You can get a feel for the things that I tend to shoot (e.g., sponges.... but some can be large!) by looking at some pics that I took with my old Olympus C4040:

Papua New Guinea - http://www.flickr.com/photos/sanichols/set...57594349232333/

California - http://www.flickr.com/photos/sanichols/set...57594349224811/

...What lens would allow me to continue to shoot things at this scale... ?

So, I have a D200 in a Sea&Sea housing. I have one YS 90 strobe and sync cord already from my old point and shoot set-up. I can only afford one lens/port combination. (I also have a 24/85mm lens that I bought for surface use, but after a previous post and some research have decided not to mess with this lens underwater). It seems like the obvious lens choice is a 60mm with a standard flat port...

 

Any opinions?

 

Most of my shooting is in the Monterey/Carmel area, but I will spend two weeks in the Bahamas in June (and the 60mm might leave me frustrated there...).

 

You can get a feel for the things that I tend to shoot (e.g., sponges.... but some can be large!) by looking at some pics that I took with my old Olympus C4040:

 

Papua New Guinea - http://www.flickr.com/photos/sanichols/set...57594349232333/

 

California - http://www.flickr.com/photos/sanichols/set...57594349224811/

...What lens would allow me to continue to shoot things at this scale... ?

Based on the photos in the links you posted, I would agree with your choice of the 60mm with the flat port. This is a fairly versatile and cost effective setup that will allow you to shoot small macro subjects (nudibranchs, anenomes) as well as fish portraits (angels, soldiers etc). You will also be able to get head shots of larger fish (reef sharks). You won't be able to make any wide angle images with this setup but given the choice of only one lens I like the 60mm. You can also add a teleconverter later on for smaller macro subjects.

When your budget allows you can add a wide angle lens, dome port and another strobe. In the short run the 60 with a flat port and one strobe is a great economical choice.

Happy shooting B)

It seems like the obvious lens choice is a 60mm with a standard flat port...

Yes.

But.....

What interests you? What images do you want to capture when diving in Monterey and the Bahamas? You could go with a 'tweener zoom, like the 17-55mm or crappy 18-70mm behind a dome port.

Also, you say you can only afford one lens/port combo, but this may not make total sense. The price of a flat port and 60mm macro lens is far different than a dome port and say a 17-55mm lens.

There's always beg/borrow/rent lens(es) and port(s) from friends/club members or shops (NCUPS.org, MPUP.org, Backscatter) for a few weeks.

(or buy the lens and rent the port)

Lenses to look at:

wide (in 8" dome) = Tokina 12-24, Tokina 10-17 fisheye, Nikon 12-24, Nikon 10.5

macro (flat port with possible extensions) = nikon 60mm micro, sigma? 90mm, nikon 105mm micro

See the long thread about the Tokina 10-17 fish eye.

I don;t have it so can recommended from my own experience but its seems like a good lens for wide range of images, from super wide (almost as true 180 angle view of fisheye) to closeups.

I would definitely second the 60 mm lens and FP. Best value for the money and perhaps the most useful.

Second I would say the 12-24. 17-55 is a good lens but it doesn't focus close enough for macro. For wide angle the 12-24 is better as you will not get macro with either.

Thanks for all of the feedback. I think I should go rent some of these ports/lenses and have a go for myself, although I am very tempted to just buy the 60mm because it seems to promise great photos on at least one or two finer scales. Does anyone have any close shots with the 17-55mm (i.e., at the 55mm end) that could give a feel for what the lens can do.

Actually, that would be a really cool/helpful section for this forum: links organized by camera+lens where photos could collect as examples of the possible. For example, a Nikon D100/D200 with 17-55mm lens thread. I know that many examples are scattered throughout the board, but this would organize it.

Thanks again!

Hello scott, sorry that I didn't get back to you on your other post yesterday (heavy night), but this post, and the links you supplied have answered several questions that I was going to ask about your underwater photography.

As you can see there is universal approval of the Nikon 60mm macro lens, and it does work best behind a flat port, but as you have noted it may be a little limited in the clearer, warmer waters of the Bahamas.

So here's a little something from left field. Sigma are making some interesting new lenses.

the 28mm 1.8

and the 24mm 1.8

http://www.sigmaphoto.com/lenses/lenses_all.asp

both have "close up" facilities to around 1/2 life size, but when used normally they will capture a lot more of the scene.

they are prime lenses, so you don't have to pay out more for a zoom gear.

there's a lot more versatility there because you never know what you're going to see underwater.

I think the accepted wisdom is "Any lens wider than 35mm needs to be behind a dome port." So both these lenses require you to rethink your port choice to one of the domes and an extention port.

I have posted a question to Alex Mustard, one of the Professional photographers at Wetpixel because he has used one of these lenses I'd like to know what he thinks of them.