Begginner advice with a Nikonos V

Hey, my name is Tyler. I'm 19 years old and have been involved with photography most of my life. I'm currently a photojournalism student at the University of Nebraska Lincoln. Every year my family and I (and usually a friend) go down the key largo and stay with some friends and go out on the ocean. We go down there to lobster, and since its so shallow we always snorkel instead of scuba dive. Last year I bought a Nikonos V setup with the 35 3.5 lens and the SB105. I wanted to try and take some underwater photos since i've enjoyed the underwater for so long, and even with my 75 gallon saltwater reef tank i can't get enough of the ocean back here with me.

I was wondering if you guys have any specific advice for me as I will be snorkeling instead of diving again this year? I didn't get any images that I was happy with last year, and I would really like something that I could be proud of and make a print of. I shot about 5 or 6 rolls of velvia 100 over the course of a week or two.

Also, any advice on little quirks the camera has, or the flash would be good. Any general tips as well. The lighting seemed tricky for me to get perfect. Thanks, there's a lot of talent on this website. Underwater photography was quite challenging for me last year. Here are a couple of photos that i took (again, not at all happy with them):

I was wondering if you guys have any specific advice for me as I will be snorkeling instead of diving again this year? I didn't get any images that I was happy with last year, and I would really like something that I could be proud of and make a print of. I shot about 5 or 6 rolls of velvia 100 over the course of a week or two.

Also, any advice on little quirks the camera has, or the flash would be good. Any general tips as well. The lighting seemed tricky for me to get perfect. Thanks, there's a lot of talent on this website. Underwater photography was quite challenging for me last year. Here are a couple of photos that i took (again, not at all happy with them):

With your Nik V + 35mm, + snorkelling, you're in for a challenge. It would be helpful to know what sort of pictures you want. The 35mm is a fine lens, but it's primarily for larger portrait stuff (turtles, larger fish, etc.) - it's not really wide enough for reefscapes, and not close-focus enough for close-up or macro. If you're looking for wide angle, I'd recommend the Nik 20mm, and get close. If you're looking for close-up, there's a Nikonos close-up kit that attaches to your 35mm lens - essentially a wet diopter + framer (though I always found it to be more trouble than it was worth).

Also, the general rule underwater is to shoot up at your subject, putting blue water behind it - meter the blue water, use flash to fill in the foreground. That's tough when snorkelling, unless you're an accomplished freediver. Not impossible; just need to pick your spots - maybe the top of the reef; if I remember Key Largo, it can be pretty shallow.

As far as the camera, Jim Church wrote a really good reference on the Nik V, appropriately named "Jim Church's Essential Guide to Nikonos Systems." The one quirk I'll mention is the SB-105 - has a tendency to not work if the battery cap is screwed down too tight; check it before you hop in.

Good luck, hope you get some good shots.

I would recommend getting an "extension tube" for your Nikonos - perhaps the 1:2 or 1:1 tube. This will let you swim down and esentially "snap" a macro photo w/o having to focus, or set anything on the camera or flash.

Put the camera at f22, focus at middle (if I recall), flash in TTL, and camera at 1/60th.

Cheers

James

thanks for the remarks. In all honesty, i'm not a bad freediver at all. We've been going down there all my life so i have no problem spending half a minute under or more if i have a weight belt on.

I was planning on getting one of the closeup kits before I went down. Now I might buy another lens too, if I get the money in time (we leave first week of august). Will I be fine with only 1 flash? Is there a huge difference between the nikon close up kid and the helix ones (or other ofbrand ones, for that matter)?

Woohoo! Freedive photography, now your talking!!! Cant wait to see your pics once your back.

thanks for the remarks. In all honesty, i'm not a bad freediver at all. We've been going down there all my life so i have no problem spending half a minute under or more if i have a weight belt on.

 

I was planning on getting one of the closeup kits before I went down. Now I might buy another lens too, if I get the money in time (we leave first week of august). Will I be fine with only 1 flash? Is there a huge difference between the nikon close up kid and the helix ones (or other ofbrand ones, for that matter)?

Personally, I'd spend the money on a 20mm lens, not another flash. If not Nikonos, Sea & Sea made one for Nik V, f/3.5 vs f/2.8, but a lot cheaper. You might check keh.com, they've got some pretty good bargains.

The Nik close-up kit and helix extension tubes are different. The Nikonos close-up kit is for 8-10" away, while the helix extension tubes are for macro. I had good results with the helix tubes. Could be tough to use macro while snorkelling unless in really shallow water - my eyes aren't good enough to see macro subjects from more than a couple feet away.

Tim

Here's a Sea and Sea 17mm lens for Nikonos on Ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/SEA-SEA-wide-lens-17-N...1QQcmdZViewItem

It's $.99 right now :-)

Cheers

James