Nikon 12 - 24 mm AFS Shots

I have several shots taken with the new Nikon 12 - 24 AFS lens from the Channel Islands posted at:

Channel Islands - Vision Limited Load August 2003

All the wide angle shots were taken with the 12 - 24. D100 in Subal D10 using EXR50 ring and dome port with a +2 diopter on the lens.

Regards,

Don,

Very exciting to see someone else using the 12-24Dx lens! Your shots are sharp corner to corner.

Looks like you guys had pretty good viz.

Cheers

James

...with a +2 diopter on the lens.

Thanks for posting those, Don!

I've ordered the 12-24mm lens, but I won't get a chance to use it underwater until late this year. I'll be shooting it behind an 8" Aquatica dome port. I don't have much experience with the wide angle lenses and dome ports, thus this question: Why did you need the diopter?

I'm not sure I do need the diopter. Is is "recommended" by Subal, so I used it. When I have some time to just fool around with the lens and housing, I'll try it with and without the diopter and compare.

Re the viz - it was pretty good at several of the sites on San Clemente, so we stayed 3 of the 4 days there. The other islands were reported to have "dirtier" conditions. The dives at Santa Rosa the last day were definately "macrodives." The downside was missing the sea lion rookery on Santa Barbara. (There is always next year...)

Regards,

Oh, yeah, the reason for a diopter in general (with a dome port) is to allow the lens to focus close enough for the apparent image formed by the dome (the dome acts as a lens). Some lenses that do focus close enough without a diopter seem to have better results with a diopter (edge sharpness). I suspect the 12 - 24 may be one of these.

Regards,

For those that haven't had the pleasure of diving with Don heres a pic with him and his son on this trip.

Don asked me if I would like to try his 12 - 24 lens one afternoon. I shot it with the Subal 9" dome, +2 diopter, Don's 50 mm ext ring and zoom gear. There is a strange grain in all the pics I took on this trip. Usually my images are very clean. Somehow the camera got set on high sharpening. This is the only explanation I could come up with.

Don said he was going to shoot macro this afternoon at San Clemente. This turned out the be the afternoon of Bat Rays, Giant Black Sea Bass, Shovelnose Guitar fish and 8 to 20 Soupfin Sharks!

And one more.

I've ordered the 50 mm ext ring and focus gear. Still looking for the lens.

Killer shots Dave!

FWIW, I got the D100 on Thursday. It is now firmly glued to Sarah's hand and she wants to know which topside zoom lens to buy...:-)

Cheers

James

The 17 - 35 is great topside. I use the it and the Tamron 24 - 135. I would probably get the VR 24 - 120 if I didn't have the Tamron. But I think I would hold out for the 17 - 55 DX.

Thanks for the photos, Dave! I wish I'd even SEEN the sharks!

James, I agree, the Nikon 17 - 35 AFS is THE topside zoom I end up using the most. I also frequently use the 28 - 70 AFS (it is LARGE, though and I bought it long before the VR 24 - 120 became available).

Regards,

The 17-35 is large, but pricey. I think the 18-35 is just as good on the D100. I like the silence of the AFS lenses, but for wide angles the speed is less critical. The latter lens is 1/2 the price. I also own the 24-85 which is a very nice mid-range zoom at a great price. I use it for casual walk-around photography. I take full advantage of the D100 crop - use mid-priced glass and get pro quality results! No corners

Here's what I got while Dave was sharking.

Its surprising I missed seeing the sharks, I usually see the big stuff when I have the macro on the camera!

D100, Nikon 60mm Macro, Subal D10 housing, Ikelite 200's x2.

Regards,

Kasey makes an excellent point about the "crop factor" and making use of cheaper glass that doesn't offer the corner performance of expensive glass but is just as good in the middle. Argument negated though if you share the lenses with a film camera! Although if you do still use film you should be ashamed of yourself in this digital age! java script:emoticon(':P')

Alex

Craig and I will be trying out the 24-85 AFS 3.5 this weekend as a mid range macro zoom. I think we will find surprising results.

For topsides use Sarah and I already have the 18-35ED - no reason to get the AFS in my opinion - the corners don't matter and focusing speed is just fine.

I'm leaning towards the 28-105 3.5 for a "general purpose" topsides lens that doesn't come off the camera, or the 24-85 3.5

Don, nice Macro shot of the Catalina goby.

Cheers

James