Should I change my Kit ?

At present i use the Following

Nikon D70

Sea & sea Housing

YS90 Auto strobe

various lenses and ports

Thinking of changing to the D200 or D300 nikon

The question is should i change the complete setup or just beef up the original kit

Let's say change the Strobe to 2 x Inon Z240 or go the whole way and change the full package, camera, housing etc

Two reasons i am think of changing is the viewfinder problem on the Sea & Sea housing and the larger LCD on the new Nikons

So i need some assistance what would you guys do ?

ellejay

The D300 in particular is a substantial upgrade over the D70 - the size of the LCD screen will blow you away.

The newer Sea and Sea housings are much better than their early digital SLRs ones (like the D100 and D70). So I would suggest staying with sea and sea, considering you already have ports.

I would definitely recommend investing in some more strobes. I think too many UW photographers think that it is megapixels rather than light that makes a great image. So either two new strobes or another to go with your YS90.

Alex

Thanks for coming back so quickly Alex

I was swaying towards a D200 and Subal Housing but you are indeed right Staying with Sea & Sea may be the best option financially. The only real problems i have with the D70 is the viewfinder issue on the housing and the LCD screen could do with being a bit bigger but perhaps i should wait to see the new D300 housing from Sea & Sea before making any changes.

Although i think changing to a couple of Inon Z240's would not go wrong at all.

Cheers

Ellejay

Alex is right, adding a 2nd strobe would help substantially with lighting ability. Lenses also play a bigger role than megapixels so evaluate your lens options too.

As far as cameras, if money is a big factor, get a D200 after the D300 is released, but I'd really suggest waiting for the D300 housings which i suspect will be ready by summer (in the nothern hemisphere). If money's not the biggest factor, why buy an "outdated" camera? (disclaimer: that doesn't mean it's obsolete or sub-par in any way..... D200's a great camera :-)

changing housings would cost a bunch, but a big veiwfinder is 'brilliant'!!

chris

Cheers Chris

I think that is the major problem with the Sea & sea D70 housing the viewfinder, I have never tried the D200 Sea & Sea housing so i cannot comment

However i have used a Subal with the GS Viewfinder and thats another load of dough onto the housing

so here's hoping the D300 housing from Sea & Sea addresses that issue as well.

I have seen an Inon Z240 type 2 strobe on e-bay at a good price so i may spend some hard earned cash there.

ellejay

Subal housings are lovely, but expensive.

I've been playing with an Inon viewfinder which is a lot cheaper than the Subal one, but gives a magnified image that is a big improvement over the basic D200 finder. That itself was an improvement over the D70, which wasn't too good at all.

I don't know if the Inon finder can be fitted to a Sea&Sea housing, but I do know that the Sea&Sea D200 housing is a big improvement over the D70 housing. I didn't like the D70 housing and went with Anthis/Nexus, so now I'm "locked in" to Nexus domes. The Nexus D200 is not as nice as the Subal housing, but it is still pretty nice (and cheaper).

I suggest adding strobes first, then looking at a new camera and trying it in a Sea&Sea housing before committing to the expense of starting again with a new model housing and ports. After all, you'll have to convince someone that your D70 housing is just what they want to dip their toes in the water....

Tim

B)

HI,

you can also look at Seacam their S45 veiwfinder is exellent but expensive

& only fit Seacam housings, if your budget can stretch that far. If you are happy

with the D70 you may able to find a second hand housing with a larger veiw finder.

Andy

Here's an idea:

Get a Sea and Sea D200 + D200 camera just after the D300 is released. Get the Inon viewfinder ($850 or so) which IS compatible w/ this housing.

Buy another YS90DX on Ebay for $300

Sell your Sea and Sea D70 + D70 on Ebay for ~$1500

Good luck!

Cheers

James

Having used the S&S housings for d100, d70 and d200, I can tell you that even the stock viewfinder for the d200 housing is substantially better than the d70 housing. The camera body itself has a better viewfinder. I think James' suggestion has some merit.

Bigger better flashes are not going to hurt either.