How to equip my D80?

Hi,

I know there's a forum for guys like me (newbies), but thought I'd better ask the pros...

I'm new to diving (about 25 logged dives as far as I remember, all done about a year ago in Thailand), and I'm now considering a trip with one of the reef conservation organizations. The only uw photography I've done is one dive with a rented canon P&S. I'm a bit more experienced in normal photography and own a D80, a 10-20 and an 18-135.

As you may now, a trip like the one I'm considering isn't exactly cheap, but I would hate to pay shitloads and then not pay the last "bit" to get started on uw, which I know I'd love. So my question is, what would you get if you were in my place? And what prices are we talking, roughly? European prices, that is... I realize It'd be cheaper to get a P&S and a housing, but I would just hate that...

Sorry for bothering you with the question you've probably had a million times, a link to a similar thread will do, just couldn't find one

Not sure if it's even possible to bring a camera while working on the reefs. If anyone knows, comments on that would be much appreciated as well!

Thanks for any help coming this way

/The student who shouldn't spend his money on hobbies

My choice would be:

1) Ikelite housing

2) 60mm lens (I like macro most of all)

3) Port for 60mm and one for the "factory" lens, hopefully the 18-70mm

4) 2 sets of Ultralight arm setups

5) 2 strobes, Z240, YS110 or equivalent

6) Woodys Diopter

7) Sync cable to fire the strobes

This is what I have now and for the money has produced many photos of things big and small.

Forgot to write, that I mean with lighting and all.. An SB600 can't be used for anything, can it?

My choice would be:

 

1) Ikelite housing

2) 60mm lens (I like macro most of all)

3) Port for 60mm and one for the "factory" lens, hopefully the 18-70mm

4) 2 sets of Ultralight arm setups

5) 2 strobes, Z240, YS110 or equivalent

6) Woodys Diopter

7) Sync cable to fire the strobes

 

This is what I have now and for the money has produced many photos of things big and small.

wow, that was fast.. thanks a lot, I'll look into that.. Is there a port that allows me to zoom with the 18-135 underwater?

18-135, no you shouldn't use it underwater (I almost put can't, but that's a strong word),

use your 10-20 for wide-angle, and get the following:

ikelite housing

nikon 60mm lens

ike port for 60mm lens & ike port for 10-20mm lens

2 ike DS-51 strobes, or 2 ike DS-125 strobes (depending on your budget). this will give you TTL capability, which you will want

2 ikelite sync cords

this is a good start..

around $2950 with DS-51's, $3700 with Ds-125's (in the US)

if you still haven't spent enough money, look at more lens, lighter arms, diopters, etc...

hope this helps

scott

I hope that I'm not being negative here, but I would NOT use your D80 underwater... yet. If you want quality images with a short enough learning curve to be compatible with the observation that you are still learning to dive (and you keep up to a few hundred dives, if my experience is anything to go by), then I suggest a housed compact with a wide-angle attachment and an Inon strobe with fibre-optic link to the housing.

Things like bouyancy control and finning technique have a much greater importance with a larger, DSLR-based camera system. This is simply because you have to concentrate on the camera; if you're still going to be concentrating on your diving, as I suspect, then you won't do justice to the capabilities of the D80.

I've known a lot of divers get disillusioned by starting with a setup that's too complicated.

If you want to see how good compacts can be, look at Pete Rowlands' UWP web magazine.

Whatever you buy, dive it several times and shoot lots before you go away. To get memorable shots both the diving and the photography need to be second nature. Think about the skills you would need to shoot wildlife in the mountains: underwater the situation is much the same.

Tim

B)

Hi EBH

I made the move earlier this year from a P&S to a D80 in an Ike housing, arms, tray and DS-125. I would changes the tray and arms for something like UCLS. I have a 60mm and a 12-24mm with appropriate ports (flat, 6" dome). I have taken my P&S for a few dives since and I cant use it anymore and my pics were terrible (no change there then). I will never go back, what a great piece of kit.

The investment is quite significant and cost me around 3000 US for the setup (exl camera and lens) but I dont regret it. I jumped in and got it from B&H and used the exchange rate to my advantage.

Saying that I also agree with Tim and think that you should do more diving first and try a P&S. I also dont want to sound negative and preech but I have been working as an instructor/liveaboard manager for 6yrs. Almost eveyone has a camera these days and am sorry to say that loads of them need a peak perfoamnce bouyancy course and another 200+ dives to feel at ease underwater and be able to perfectly control that bouyancy. Think of the poor coral and look at the scratch marks on the fins of the divers with camera's and you will see how much coral gets kicked. My fins are 10 years old and look very tattered I'm ashamed to say.

My rig weighs a good 3-4kg out of the water and depending on the setup, ports, lens, strobes or not, I am constantly adding or removing up to 2 weights from my belt between dives to adjust for changes in setup.

Now stepping off my soap box.

Good luck with your decision and if you get the Ike setup you wont be dissapointed. You can check out some of my D80 shots if you want. Wetpixel

Thanks for your answers!

You've convinced me that I shouldn't equip the D80 at all, even though my gear lust tells me to It seems pretty dumb to buy a P&S when I own a D80, but that would probably be the best idea... Would a P&S in housing be enough or would I need a strobe or some other equipment to get decent pics?

25 dives is nowhere enough to be learning how to use a complicated camera.

I would buy a USED P&S setup complete with a strobe.

Being an Olympus P&S guy I would try to find an Olympus 5050/5060 in an Olympus housing with a SINGLE (not dual) INON strobe attached with a fiber optic sync cord.

However, If you can find a 5050/5060/7070 Olympus camera the internal flash is good enough to get good pictures. On many (even most) compacts today this isn't true. If you do score one of these cameras start without the strobe. Set the camera on M (manual). Set the F/stop to 5.6-8 and the shutter to 1/80 -1/125. Get low, get close (1-2feet), get closer, get lower. Shoot Up!

However I moved from a P&S to a D200 a couple of years ago so there may be better available.

Obviously, you are in the wrong forum. This is the dSLR forum. However, a few pieces of advice from a dSLR shooter.

1-Shoot in RAW. Yes it will take hours (it will seem) between shots and you'll need a fair sized card BUT as a biginner you will underexpose and underlightmany (most) of your shots and you will be amazed at what you can do in Photoshop in the RAW converter. (You will need a laptop and Photoshop CS3 with you. I assume you ahve a laptop and Photoshop is cheap for a student)

2-Keep is SMALL. The housings from Olympus are smaller and lighter that the equivilent housings from Ikelite. That's GOOD. A camera adds significent task loading on a dive and something small and compact realy makes a difference. If you were not already a D-80 shooter I would have suggested the smallest P&S camera/enclosure and no strobe but you'll hate the picts

3-Keep is simple. DO NOT mess with add on lenses. Set your camera to f5.6 to F8, shutter 1/80 -1/125 and don't worry.

Hi!

I can well understand how much you'd rather shoot a DSLR when you are used to one topside. I'd feel the same. I did!

But, with apologies, let me also add to the old-fart wisdom about the need to be a really good diver before venturing out with a DSLR set-up underwater. DSLRs underwater are complex beasts and diving skills really do have to be second nature and instinctive. Even P&S diving is not straight-forward and it will take a lot of practice and perfection of dive skills to feel comfortable (and safe) in the water - and get good images.

I'd suggest going with Tim, ScubaSpen and Tom's advice and getting a P&S and strobe and getting lots of dives with that under your belt. If you can get one that shoots RAW, so much the better. If it can take WA attachments even better. But hold off that for the time being.

And as a PADI Instructor (yeah, so I have to do the plug), how about doing a uw photog specialty? You'd learn loads.......