I received this email from Mark Webster. He developed his own dome ports for his Subal system (please check out his article in uwpmag.com > November 2007 issue, page 39). As you can see these ports are significantly smaller than the DP-FE2 and provide (according to Mark) the same quality.
Does any have experience with developing a similar system?
Cheers
Vincent
My domes actually date back to the days before Subal made a fish eye port, but although I have tried the glass ports since then I find that there is no great advantage to them and as you say they are large and heavy.
Two of my ports are made from a section of a replacement compass dome. In the UK you can buy these from a ships chandlers - I have used domes for a 'Cestral Major' and 'Cestral Minor' in the past, but the major is possibly the best choice to take a section from. My very small (100mm) dome was blown for me. I then had the base plates turned up by a local engineer (now retired) using a Subal bayonet from another port as a pattern. They are simply flat plates (anodised) with the bayonet on one side and a small recess on the port side to locate the dome. This is then glued in place with clear silicone sealant.
They are cheap to make once you have found an engineer to turn up the base plate for you.
In the UK there is a guy called Peter Ladell who would make this sort of thing for you, but I am not sure how much cheaper it would be than a Subal dome. He may also be able to blow a small dome for you if you want to follow the DIY route.
peter@fullimmersionphoto.co.uk
The small dome works well with the FE lenses - Nikkor 10.5mm, Tokina 10-17mm and Sigma 15/16mm. It would not work with the old Nikkor 16mm FE (i.e. the film lens) without a diopter on the back as this does not focus close enough.
