Amateur review of the Aqua View, StiX arms and 10-17mm Tokina

Just spent a week in Australia playing with some new toys, one courtesy of Peter Mooney and Scubapix. All items have been reviewed pretty extensively so here are my two bits.

Aqua View

Takes a little getting used to, bashed my mask a few times but it is worth it. The full frame view is fantastic. No more cutting off fins and really helps filling the frame with the subject. Installation is easy. It is heavy I was already negatively buoyant it this does not help. One minor issue is if you move the focus point around the slight tint can make it hard to see in low light situations.

StiX Floatation Arms

Stopped in to visit Peter at Scubapix and walked out with a pair of 6" (?) StiX floatation arms. My camera has always been fairly negative. With the flatport and the new Aqua View it does become a bit of a load. The arms had 3 of the larger float each. With the 8" dome, 10-17mm lens, the Aqua View and the StiX arms it is just a little negative. Without the Aqua View it probably would be neutral. Tried the 17-55, flatport and Aqua View set-up. With the arms still fairly negative. Would definitely need four 6" arms with float to get anywhere near neutral. The ball ends work well w/TLC and Ultralight arms and IMHO will probably hold up to quite a bit of abuse. Took them to +100fsw a couple of times and they seem to keep their shape and the float material looks like it will hold up over time.

10-17 Tokina

I really, really like this lens. Now it was used in mainly good viz +60ft and fairly bright conditions. The lens was quick to focus and the flexibility of the zoom made sure it was heavily used during the whole trip. As I review most shots taken behind the Aquatica 8" inch dome they look pretty sharp. At 10mm you do really need to make sure your strobes are behind the dome plate or you get a little flare.

Thanks for the review. That glassfish/school photo is amazing!

James

Hey, thanks for that review. I am going to be trying out most of those components myself, so it was quite nice to read your comments above.

My Stiix arms are here, but arrived too late for me to try them out in my backyard. So they're going to get a spin later this month in Layang Layang & Sipadan. Will post my experience here later. I reckon getting the 20D+100/2.8+Z240s neutral is going to be a struggle, but even if I can reduce the negative buoyancy by a pound or more, I should be in good shape.

I am relieved to know that the arms are strong enough to support the housing - they look a bit weak and dont really inspire confidence, do they?

I agree with you about the Tokina 10-17. That is a great lens for underwater use, and I've hardly taken my Sigma 10-20 in the water since getting this.

The Aquaview will have to wait a little bit longer, however. I'll send my housing back for refitting after my trip is over.

Cheers,

Vandit

I recently had the chance to break in my new Tokina 10-17. These were taken with a Canon RebelXT in an Ikelite housing behind the 8" dome port. Quite nice when your subject is rather large and rather close ;-)

I have my doubts about the overall sharpness when compared to the Nikon 10.5 fish-eye (I have both) but you wouldn't notice the difference at 72dpi (monitor) so there is no point me posting comparisons.

John,.

That's where 100% crops come in handy.

Cheers

James