D300 & Aquatica questions

Hello All,

My D300 arrived on Friday, along with the first 2 of 4 lenses. I have also managed to get my hands on Aquatica, Sea and Sea and Subal housings (for other cameras) and have decided that I'm going to go with the Aquatica housing. The price, the depth rating and a few other things went into this decision. Now however, I need to get my order in for the Aquatica housing. I have three questions I need to answer before I order.

First though, I have purchased the following lenses for underwater use: 60mm f/2.8, 10-17mm Tokina, 17-70mm Sigma. Later I plan on purchasing a 105mm VR lens.

Question #1: Which dome port to get?

Aquatica makes both a 6" and 8" port. Which is the better one for the lenses I've purchased. I was going to go to the 8" port, but can I use the 6" with the FE and Zoom lenses I purchased? It would be easier to pack. Will I need diopters for either lense with either port?

Question #2: Should I order the Aquatica Aqua View Finder?

I got to look through both the standard view finder and the Aqua, and I definitely notice a difference, but boy is that one spendy extra piece of equipment. Previously I've only used a P&S, and I looked at the LCD for my shots. Opinions? Is it worth the price? How many people are happy without the nicer view finder?

Question #3: Strobe choice...

I have on DS125 right now. If I didn't have to fly with all this gear, I'd purchase a second one. Problem is, they are large and heavy compared to a couple of alternatives (YS110 or Z240). Also, the proprietary battery pack requires I carry two chargers, rather than on charger to charge a bank of AA batteries. Last, all I've read so far leaves me with the impression that the DS125 is preferred if the only thing being compared is the strobe power and coverage (ignoring weight, size, cost, battery option etc.). I don't want to start a war, but I'd appreciate hearing why one should buy one versus another.

Thank-you,

Greg

I have a d200 setup, I recommend the aquaview (you can see the exposure settings), the 8"dome, you can use the macro port that works with the 60 with an extender. I use dual z240s and love them.

also recommend the stix floats as the aquatica is about 3 pounds negative in the water without flotation

The Tokina 10-17 would do fine behind the 6" dome, the Sigma 17-70 I’m afraid would not fare as good with the smaller dome, although in all honesty I have not tried said combination underwater. A diopter with the 8" dome would not be required. I will have to check if one is needed with the 6" dome.

The Aqua View as well as most if not all viewfinder option is a sizable chunk of cash, but they give you a better view of what’s happening and improve the picture taking process, one could argue that they have no physical properties to impact the final picture, true but seeing your image easily in the viewfinder and not having to guestimate your composition does improve the final results in the end. Its not that the Aquatica standard finder is bad, but like all housed system the camera eyepiece does end up far when you add the housing wall thickness and a dive mask.

As far as weight reducing underwater we have addressed the problem and have floats available, these/it being mobile and independent from the strobe, they/it can be positioned in such manner as to improve your housing trim as well.

As far as flash are concerned, you will need a second one that’s for sure, what brand/make/model I will let other input on that, just want you to know that the housing can be available with TTL compatible connector in both Nikonos type or Ikelite type. (Just let us know when ordering).

Also Aquatica has a deeper rated 450 ft upgrade kit available for those wishing to venture beyond our standard 300 ft rating.

Cheers

I also have an Aquatica housing with the Aquaview viewfinder. I thought for a while whether to get this or not, as the price tag is pretty hefty. I ended up getting it and have no regrets. If you do any macro photography, which I presume you will be seeing as you bought the 60mm micro and will be looking for the 105mm micro as well, it is well worth the money. I've found that even with the wide angle photography that I mostly do, it's been an amazing piece of kit to have for my camera. I would highly recommend it.

As for the strobe issue, I use dual DS-125s and have never had any issues traveling with it.

I upgraded my Aquatica D2X housing with the Aquaview viewfinder and am very happy with it. It does seem to impart a yellowish cast to the view but other than that is well worth the money for macro shooting. I'd be inclined to buy the 8" dome for its flexibility in the future should you add other lenses.

I also use two DS-125 strobes and they work great . I think they are your best all round bet and usually can get away with only one charger since they charge so fast. Carrying an extra battery works OK too. I also recently added the STIX arms and found they did help the weight issue significantly. One other thing, definitely get the Ikelite connectors now available for the housing. The Nikonos ones I have are tempermental (they are an inferior connector) and I am getting them replaced with the Ikelite ones. The folks at Aquatica are very responsive to their customers and highly recommended.

Cheers

Steve

Hello All,

I think I'm pretty sold on the Aqua View Finder, and I'll likely stay with DS125s. I only need to purchase one of those anyway.

The Aquatica website doesn't have any information on the new 6" port. (Should I address the following specifically to Jean?) It appears I should purchase the 8" port. However, I'm curious what the 6" port is for then. Is it made for a specific lens or set of lenses? Or was this made simply to reduce size and weight when traveling?

Thank-you,

Greg

I'm still working on the lens chart for the 6" & 9.25" megadome, that is the main reason its not on line yet, I am more than available meanwhile if anybody has some specific lens/dome combo that they need info on, just drop me a line and I'll figure it out for you guy's.

The 6" as you mentioned is a travel dome firstly, it was reintroduced along with the AF macro port and D40x housing to lower the footprint of your luggage (consequence of today's air travel reality), I happen to use it a lot with my 10.5 fisheye and I know its being used also with the Tokina 10-17 with success. current side effect of a smaller dome include a closer projected images (somewhat around 12" from the optical center of the dome or +/- 9" in front of said dome) and given the more radical curvature of the smaller dome its harder to have edge to edge sharpness than it would be with a wider radius dome. Mind you the 17-70 Sigma is not a radically wide lens and performance should be quite fair when matched with the 6" dome.

Cheers