D70 lens arsenal for Kona, Hawaii

Hi all, at the end of July I'll be going to Kona for 10 days. I'll be bringing my D70 in an Ike iTTL-ized housing, dual DS-125 strobes, and 10.5mm, 60mm and 105mm (non-VR) lenses, along with 18-200mm for topside. (I also have an 18-70mm kit lens that I don't use much.) I imagine I'll be doing general diving with the obligatory night manta dive, plus shooting my son snorkeling.

I'm thinking about adding one more lens to bridge the gap between the 10.5mm and 60mm -- something I might take underwater when it isn't clearly either a wide-angle or macro situation, as sort of an all-purpose lens. Some of the ones I'm thinking about are Nikkor or Tokina 12-24mm, or Nikkor 18-55mm. If you were in my shoes, what would you go with? Is it worth splurging on an Ike 8-inch dome? Thanks for any opinions.

You might consider using the Sigma 17-70 macro zoom. Do a search for several forum discussions. I've used it in a Nexus housing for a D70 on a trip to Papua New Guinea and got pics of a 15' whale shark and small anthias on the same dive. I used the Nexus 170mm dome and 40mm extension; not sue what the appropriate Ike set-up would be. I believe the new Ike done is used with extension rings of varying lengths so there is probably a combination that would work.

Having done the Kona manta dive I can only rave about it. It was the best single dive I have done as far as single dives go. The biggest mantas we saw were about 14 to 15 feet across. I was shooting with a Nikonos V and 15 mm lens then - which worked out fine. I think your 10.5 will work fine but a Tokina 10 - 17 would be perfect for manta photos as they are moving about - sometimes 2 - 4 at a time - doing their ballet. Good luck. Enjoy.

Andy

Thanks for the comments. Arcatus, I did a search and found some discussions of the Sigma 17-70, but I didn't run across the one piece of information I'd find most useful -- how does it compare to Nikon's 18-70? As noted, I have the latter as a kit lens that came with my D70, and although it indeed has a wide range I haven't been wowed by any of my pictures, so I haven't used it in a long time. Can a lens as economical as that Sigma be that much better?

I did notice while perusing threads that Alex Mustard wrote an article for the current issue of UWP magazine on mid-range zooms. Sounds like an interesting read -- I'm just waiting for UWP to send me a validation email to let me download the issue.

Andy, thanks for the word on the Tokina 10-17. It sounds promising, though I was thinking of more range at the longer-focal-length end. Like you, I came to digital from a Nik V for which I had a well-loved 15mm ...

Having done the Kona manta dive I can only rave about it. It was the best single dive I have done as far as single dives go. The biggest mantas we saw were about 14 to 15 feet across. I was shooting with a Nikonos V and 15 mm lens then - which worked out fine. I think your 10.5 will work fine but a Tokina 10 - 17 would be perfect for manta photos as they are moving about - sometimes 2 - 4 at a time - doing their ballet. Good luck. Enjoy.

Andy

My other comment is that when I did the dive I dove with Kona Honu Divers and they were a great operation. The owner is Glenn Anderson (glenn@konahonudivers.com). Worth diving with.

When making your lens choices consider that the mantas usually will get within a couple of feet from you as you are holding your flashlight up directly overhead to attract the plankton that they feed on.

As another note it is even worth getting a small cheap housed point and shoot just to take some video clips as they circle.

Andy

Sorry - but I forgot to address Arcatus's comment about the possibility of shooting small things on the manta dive and making a lens choice based on versatility. Possible but typically the Kona manta dives are done at night - multiple boats about an area near the airport - everybody goes out pretty much together and positions themselves in the sand - maybe at 40' - 50' - holds their lights up and waits for the ballet to start. You may see some other stuff but the manta dives are pretty much single purpose single subject dives.

Andy

Thanks, Andy, I see your point. While I'm definitely going to do the manta dive and get as much out of it as I can, overall I don't think I'd portray that as necessarily the focus of the trip for me -- I've seen many friends' pictures and video of Kona mantas, and there are a lot of things to deal with such as backscatter, the presence of all the other divers, etc. So, much of the thought process I'm currently involved in has to do with being prepared for a wide range of marine life outside of that particular dive.

About the P&S idea for cheap-and-cheerful video, I do have a Fuji F810 that could serve that purpose, but I dunno ... it's tough enough with the airline weight limits as it is, and I've always found the dual-strobe D70 to be as much camera as I want to worry about on any given dive ...

Hi-

I would use your 18-70 you already own.... We have many pictures taken with this lens on our website..they are listed as 18-70...I think you will be suprised by the quality u/w. Check our Cozumel pictures...

Sigma 15mm is great lens and you may find it useful for the Mantas where you may not have much time to zoom, compose and shoot.

If you want to splurge the 17-55 is really nice and could replace the 18-70 and 15mm.

The 60mm will be useful for macro and fish portraits...Not sure about the 10.5.. I did not use much on our trip to Kona.

M.

When you go looking, make sure the lens will fit in an Ikelite port, I DESPERATELY wanted the Nikon 17-55 2.8 for a UW zoom(all I shoot underwater anymore is 10.5 and 60mm). Glad I looked before I leaped, it doesn't fit in an ikelite port (according to ikelite)

You're right, Joel -- Ikelite says the 17-55's diameter is too large to operate in the port system. The 18-55, on the other hand, will work with either the 8- or a 6-inch dome.

Strangely, I sent my request to UWP Mag this morning so I could download the current issue to see Alex's article, and no response back yet from them. I guess this isn't an automated thing but rather something requiring a manual button-push?

I have been using a Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II which I bought very cheaply a few months ago and I have been pleased with the performance. It can focus closer than the 18-70mm and so is good for some macro work.

It means that on the same dive I can take shots like this:

as well as shots like this:

I'm using a +5 close-up lens on the front instead of the recommended +4 which gets me in a little closer, but doesn't seem to affect distant shots (and how distant can you really get?)

We have dove Kona 2x once land, once with Aggressor. I think of Kona as a more medium to large destination. For the manta dive you may want a good focus light mounted out on your strobe arm or just shoot animals lit by everyone elses lights, go wide angle lens. To bad the 17-55 won't fit that would be my lens of choice for Kona. But there is some decent macro. We have a gallery and trip report at the website, they are a little dated.

Sigma 15mm is great lens and you may find it useful for the Mantas where you may not have much time to zoom, compose and shoot.

I agree with the FE recommendation. (The Nikon 16mm is comparable). These lenses are especially well-suited for fast action in poor illumination because they are fast (f2.8) and small, so even though they aren't AF-S they often focus faster than f3.5+ lenses that have more element movement when focusing, like the 18-70 and 18-55 (which are AF-S). The FE's are also sharp sharp sharp, and you could use the same port for the Sigma 15 or Nikon 16 as for the Nikon 10.5. I have the Nikon 16 (bought used) and love it.

All the best,

Chris