Aquatica S2

I just ordered an Aquatica S2 from B&H. Same price as the D100, $1539 for the dual strobe connector model. They expect to have 10 units by the end of the month. Hopefully, it will arrive just about the same time as my 10.5 that I pre-ordered some time ago. I'll be joining in on the fun very soon!!

Good choice! You'll love the Aquatica. But the Fuji...

Just kidding! You'll love a housed DSLR.

Jim

If it wasn't for Wetpixel I probably would have gone with the D100. The many debates here, D100 vs S2, lead me to take a closer look at he Fuji. So far, I'm very happy with the S2 but I think the difference between the two DSLR's is small.

If it wasn't for Wetpixel I probably would have gone with the D100. The many debates here, D100 vs S2, lead me to take a closer look at he Fuji. So far, I'm very happy with the S2 but I think the difference between the two DSLR's is small.

I am finding every day that the small differences are more major than they first seemed.

BTW, I have been enjoying my Aquatica S2 housing - very nice.

M

Paul,

Let's hear it! What do you find you ESPECIALLY like about the S2.

I've got both the S2 and the D100, but I haven't gotten to dive with the D100 yet.

Cheers

James

Let's hear it! What do you find you ESPECIALLY like about the S2.

 

I've got both the S2 and the D100, but I haven't gotten to dive with the D100 yet.

Quick disclaimer to start - I like the Nikon D100 and I think it is an excellent camera and a great choice for photographers. When I was ready to move to digital the final choice was between the D100 and the S2 and it wasn't an easy decision.

For those who don't know, a bit of background.

I have several photographers submit work which I market on my site / other methods. All ranges of digital and film cameras are represented, although funnily enough no Canons (although they are welcome and one of the contributors just bought the new Rebel ). I see a lot of images from a lot of cameras, and while 99.99% of the time it is the photographer who makes the difference small things can make a big difference.

From my experience the S2 consistantly produces better color out of the camera when compared to the D100.

Which means less work for those people who are not willing (or able) to spend a bunch of time in Photoshop. It also means a quicker path to acceptable color for publishing and a much easier time getting 'true color'. I know these sound somewhat subjective, but that is what I am seeing.

There is a secondary effect to all this as well - the more adjustments you make to an image in PS, the more likely it will be noticable, especially on other peoples monitors. I calibrate all my monitors, but I don't know how others do (or even if they do). One of my digital shooters has a BAD computer setup and that effects how his images appear and adds to my work when I need to submit his images to a client.

It is also interesting that the S2 produces much larger pixel files out of RAW files. While this is all again technically not much of a difference in real # of mega pixels, it does however seem to make an easier transition to larger enlarged prints.

The ASA100 vs ASA200 is all very minimal, but there is little doubt the S2 produces less noise (see various articles on noise in images from these two cameras)

Topside the #1 issue I have with the D100 is that the LCD screen is right where my nose goes when I am taking a shot. I hate that.

The whole AA battery deal is even better. 4 in the camera and a few in my land speedlight and light meter. More in various other devices and now I have to carry one recharger for a lot of what I need to take with me (now I just need strobes to run on these and I will only need one charger in total).

I am starting to realise that the TTL with older strobes is becoming more and more important. I am not a big user of TTL - in fact I rarely use it. However if I am having a hard time lighting a subject, or I am unsure whether I go the lighting right after a few shots on a subject, I like to take a few TTL images (TTL both strobes, TTL one strobe/half power one strobe, various other combos) if the subject is still there. I have got a few great images (including a few sales) with this technique so I have to consider this a valuable tool that is not readily available with the D100. Well not without buying more equipment and new strobes anyway.

As I said, this is a lot of small things and that in most instances it means absolutely nothing. However, sometimes it is the small things that do matter and make the final difference, and for that reason alone I want the tool I am most comfortable using and have the confidence wont interfere in my ability to take a shot I know I am taking. That is an old line from one of my mentors - "It is always your fault - if the equipment is at fault because it was not capable of taking the image you envisioned it is still your fault because you didn't buy the right equipment. So buy the right equipment to start with." For me, the S2 was the right choice.

Just my opinion. Your milage may vary.

M

I gave the TTL mode a good test on some standard macro and normal type shots as well as a few wide angle shots of divers. It worked quite well however I did use the flash compensation feature most of the time.

My only gripe regarding the S2 is having to replace the lithium batteries! Cost is not the issue, just inconvenient (really inconvenient on the outer islands of Micronesia) and wasteful.

If only someone would make a 3V CR123A rechargeable battery.

Chris

My only gripe regarding the S2 is having to replace the lithium batteries! Cost is not the issue, just inconvenient (really inconvenient on the outer islands of Micronesia) and wasteful.

 

If only someone would make a 3V CR123A  rechargeable battery.

Chris,

NEVER use the CR123 batteries unless you are using the internal flash.

Treat the S2 as a camera takes 4 AA batteries and never put CR123 batteries in. They will just cause you headaches and they don't perform any really useful function except for powering the internal flash. Also if they run down, they shut the camerqa down even the AA's are still powered up - which is probably OK topside but a real ****** in the middle of a dive.

M

(P.S. The CR123's also 'help' autofocus, but the effect is so little you will never notice them missing. I don't even carry a set as topside I use my Speedlights rather than use the internal flash)

I give two thumbs up to the use of AA's. All my strobes below and top side use AA's. I know that the battery packs that other cameras use can be very expensiive.

Which of these are "more major than they first seemed"?

Choosing the S2 in order to preserve an investment in two old Ike 50's makes no sense. Choosing the S2 on its true merits does. I rarely miss a shot due to the lack of TTL and the number of those decreases over time.

I like AA's because it reduces the number of chargers and batteries I have to carry. Cost is a big bonus. Nevertheless, there's a big penalty to having to change batteries on most housings. On mine I have to disassemble the port system first. A camera that can go days (like the D100 can) on a battery is a huge plus. The S2 may do that, too. I don't know, but I do know that a superior battery is worth the extra trouble in this instance.

A camera that can go days (like the D100 can) on a battery is a huge plus.

The problem I have with the D100 is that the battery lasts so long on a charge that I forget to change batteries or recharge them. On a dive trip I have to write post-it notes to myself reminding me to change the battery!

Which of these are "more major than they first seemed"?

 

Choosing the S2 in order to preserve an investment in two old Ike 50's makes no sense.

No, but choosing the S2 to preserve my three Ike 200's does make sense. That is a lot of money I didn't have to shell out, especially when I was also buying the camera body and housing. Also I liove these strobes.

Color is probably the most major of issues. For two major reasons:

1. Anything that reduces the time and effort of getting an image into whatever the final format I am looking for is critical. By the nature of digital I take so many more shots that I did with film, so it is vitally important to be able to do this. Screwing about with finding the 'right' color is not my idea of fun.

2. Color out of the camera just feels richer. This is very subjective of course, but I am seeing a lot of anecdotal evidence to suggest it may be true. Probably needs someone to really test it

Lastly, as I said, I also rarely use TTL. However it is another tool in the toolbox if you do need it. Even though I rarely use it, it has come in handy on several occasions - and if I didn't have it I would have missed the shot. Any tool that saves even one shot is a useful one to have, no matter how rarely it is used.

M

The firmware and sensor in the S2 yield better JPEG's right out of the camera. This is subjective, but everyone I have talked with or everything I have read about this is in agreement.

I rarely shoot JPEG these days underwater, so this isn't as big of an issue. Remember, what you use underwater is a combination of camera/housing/lenses/strobes. The Nexus D100 with Multiport is an amazing system and as a combo, it is on the par w/ the S2/Aquatica. If Nexus would just make an S2 housing, argh!

When I do want to just "fire a few off" and use them in an article or for a product shot, I grab the S2. It works with the older SB28 my GF has which is nice too...

Cheers

James

I thought Ike 200's had manual power level control. Should work fine with the D100. They are 4x times heavier than Z220's and use custom batteries. For that you get a land guide number of 76 instead of 72. They do recycle in 2/3 the time, though. Z220's offer 1/2 stop power control and more cycles per charge.

Color is the least of my worries and I spend far less time with it than all the other things I do. I figure if a photo's worth showing it's worth getting right. My audience deserves that. The majority of my macro shots receive no color correction beyond the RAW converter and those settings are typically pulled from a default profile. Sure, I had to set up the default profile. Is that too much trouble?

Among the tools a digital photographer uses, I'd argue good color correction is far more consistently valuable than TTL strobes.

You'll have to try my SS200's sometime then Craig to truly appreciate them. When we were diving together, you were thinking that the Z220's were roughly the same power and coverage as my DS125's. I'd agree w/ you there.

Now that I use 200's for wideangle, I'd say they are roughly TWICE as powerful as my 125's with incredibly wide even coverage.

Cheers

James

Just going by Ike's published numbers. Land guide numbers are 64 and 76. Inon's is 72. The Ike 200 puts more of its power into wide coverage. That's good when you need wide but wasteful when you don't. I don't doubt it's a nice strobe but it's a bigger burden to travel with.

Has anyone found the dual media slots on the S2 to be useful. It has not been an option for me, using the Ike housing, since I can't switch underwater. I do use them for project documentation at work. When I first purchased the S2, I thought this would be huge advantage, like a second roll of film. That was before 1 and 2 MB cards were widely available and feasible.

Scotty:

Smart Media is dead. We will never see it go > 128 megs = 10 raw shots. AKA not much use...

Cheers

James

I do realize this James. However, as a film shooter, I missed several KodaK moments during safety stops or at other times after all my film was spent. I would have paid money for those 10 extra shots.

Kodak 14n has the same thing. It provides an SD card (currently 512MB). Thought I'd use it in a pinch.