UW Techniques for rivers

I am new to UW photography and have a D700.

I will be outfitting myself from the start. Is there anyone out there that has experience in taking UW photos in rivers? For example, I'll be taking pictures of salmon, trout, etc. in Alaska, California, Oregon, Montana, Idaho, etc.

The depth of these rivers will not be much more than 5'.

Any help on the following:

What type of Housing?

Any ideas on how much weight (wt belts) I would need for a dry suit. The water temps for these rivers will be approximately 50 degrees.

Can I get away without a Flash system with it being so shallow?

My thanks in advance - I am sure their are basic questions I haven't asked. In terms of budget - looking for value. I will be purchasing a 17-35 lens for my D700. Can i used my 105 macro in a port??

Hopefully Tom Kline will answer. He does a lot of photography in rivers.

Cheers

James

As for info. on Tom Kline shooting in river's there is a good read on Stephen Frink's blog.

http://stephenfrink.blogspot.com/2008/11/s...tographing.html

Steve

Stephen's blog covers some of my methods. I wear waders and not dive gear. It is generally too shallow to dive. I often have to hike in some distance as well so use the minimal gear. Rivers can be extremely dangerous - I stay where I can wade. I look for good visibility which leads me to smaller streams rather than rivers. I use both with (see blog) and without flash (see my post in 'favorite of 2008' thread). I shot some macro today using the 105VR with 5T diopter and two Z240 strobes, so anything goes. It all depends on what one is shooting. I was shooting salmon eggs today. See attachment. Water temp was 2C (I had a thermometer with me). I walked on ice covered stream to get to open water. My main lens has been the 14 prime with the DX format. I have yet to use digital FF, so you are ahead of me.

I bought into Seacam because it was the only housing available at the time with both a remote control and interchangeable magnifying finders - I used the S180 today. I used the Nikonos RS prior to going digital, which had both a remote control and a very good finder. I did not want these factors compromised so went with Seacam. In fact, Seacam goes several steps further with both finders and remote possibilities compared to the RS.

Tom