Giving up on FF for Tokina 10-17???

Thank you everyone, Backskatter had a lens. Just ordered the 7D, Aquatica housing and the lens, looking forward on recieving it. Never dived with a croped sensor camera, looking forward to it, having my 100mm go 160mm with the same minimal focus distance sound very nice... and of course the main reason using a wide angle zoom with decent coner sharpness. Under/Overs also sound good with the 8fps, so does fast action shoots underwater and at surface (specialy with whales and dolphins - wont mind having my teles going a bit further).

Of course I will still be using my 5D with the 15mm and for macro with larger subjects. Overall I think it is good to have both FF and Cropped sensor cameras and explore the advantages of each of them.

Thank you everyone, your help was precious.

Nuno.

I wish I never read this topic!!!!

I have the MK2 and love it for topside. I do not yet have it housed but will be ordering a housing very soon for it. ( housing choice is another dilema ) I have the Tokina and, like every other owner do love this lens for underwater use. I have only ever used it on a 350D, which to be fair is an old body and with low pixels. But having said that I am happy with the results it has given me. Now my dilema is this. Do I go ahead and house my MK2 and either use the 10-17mm with a TC or buy a 15mm as well. I also have the 17-40L. Or do I buy a 7D and house that and be able to get good corners with the 10-17mm.

Would someone be able to post a 100% crop of what we are discussing here with regards to soft corners with the MK2

Just when I thought I had it all sorted !!!!!!!!!

Stew

If fisheye barrel distortion is the look you like, then the 10-17 is an awesome lens. Even at 17mm, the barrel distortion is there but can be of course defished using software.

I've been shooting 16-35 and 17, 21 and 24mm lenses and no doubt none of the under 24mm have clean corners with a 8" dome, one has to move to a bigger dome.

I've shot mostly FF and APS-C sparingly. No doubt corners are clearer in the APS-C shots and now with the 7D, the resolution is nearer the FF variants.

I'll add to Alex's megapixel assertion by saying even a 4.5mp difference can bring out detail that a lower mp camera just can't see. I find this to be true in macro or WA. It's not always crucial but when the difference is details like that can help with species idm, I'm a big believer in resolution. One of the reasons I stuck with the 5D2.

One thing not mentioned in this thread but definitely mentioned in the other threads is the 7D AF accuracy and speed is better than the 5D2, especially for macro in lower light. A focus light helps but for skittish subjects, the 5D2 doesn't lock on as often as I'd like coming from a 1 series camera.

The other thing about higher mp is that it may also outresolve the lenses. My Sigma 12-24 worked well with the 16.7mp 1Ds MkII, but now it looks like mashed potatoes on the 5D2, as does my older 100mm 2.8 macro, which was sharper @ f29 with the 1DsII than f20 with the 5D2.

I think resolution does count. I shoot a 12MP Nikon FF camera and have dived with people with the 24MP FF Nikon D3X - and there is no doubt that the D3X out resolves my camera underwater, even on more distant subject (not just close focus macro). I am sure that the 5DMk2 would have similar advantages.

 

Alex

I'm in Lembeh now shooting a D3x with the 105VR in an Aquatica housing and I'm just blown away by the image quality. I'll try to post some 100% crops in a separate thread.

Wendy

One thing not mentioned in this thread but definitely mentioned in the other threads is the 7D AF accuracy and speed is better than the 5D2, especially for macro in lower light. A focus light helps but for skittish subjects, the 5D2 doesn't lock on as often as I'd like coming from a 1 series camera.

The other thing about higher mp is that it may also outresolve the lenses. My Sigma 12-24 worked well with the 16.7mp 1Ds MkII, but now it looks like mashed potatoes on the 5D2, as does my older 100mm 2.8 macro, which was sharper @ f29 with the 1DsII than f20 with the 5D2.

Take into account that 18 mpx in a 7D is around twice a denser matrix (it outresolves any lens more) than 21 mpx on a 5DmkII. So it needs to be a reeeeally good glass to handle 18 mpx on a APS sensor.