6" or 8" dome

Im getting a aquatica housing for my D90. Down the road i will be getting a tokina 10-17. My question is which dome should i get. The 9.25 is out of the question, being way too expensive. I would like to do a few over/unders, but that will not be my main focus. I will also be doing a lot of travel with it, so smaller would be better in that regard. Do people have pictures taken with both that i could compare? thanks

I have the 8 inch Aquatica and the 100mm (4 inch) domes. I can take a pic of those for you if you like. I believe Jean from Aquatica shoots with a 6 inch dome so he might be able to provide you with a photo to compare the two.

I personally like my 8 inch dome with my D90 and Tokina 10-17mm and for travel I have the 100mm mini dome. I cant comment on the 6 inch dome as i have never used one. I too would like the 9.25 mega dome but its a little pricey.

Regards Mark

Thanks mark. How do the optics of the 4" compare to the 8"? If i rule out over/unders, could the 4" be my primary dome for general WA? Its really appealing for travel. Does corner sharpness suffer from the smaller diameter? Thanks.

As Mark say's I shoot (or should I say shot) with the 6" and the Tokina 10-17mm until recently, then came the 4" which is indeed appealing, there are quite a few peoples who posted already on this forum about these smaller dome and that consequently have opted for the smaller 4" dome port as a general purpose dome (all brands included). True, the Tokina will fare better behind a larger dome, at least so would common sense and paperwork should dictate, what I have seen shot with it does not lead me to believe there is a huge penalty in going small, granted, expect to use smaller aperture than you would on larger domes, but typically that combination begs for close up and therefore your strobe should be able to handle this properly, large scene with big animal might be more problematic since you will want to use faster aperture/speed combination in these situation, again that is common senses and I saw some member’s dolphins shot with a 4 inches dome (a Wetpixel trip in Bahamas some time ago on a boat named Jasek or something, c’mon guys give me a hand here) and definitely anyone would be proud to hang these on their wall anytime.

Over/under will suck with a 4 inches, are somewhat doable with a 6 inches and a piece of cake with the 8 inches and larger dome, on this topic, it’s your call.

Aside from that, I still like the 6 inch, it’s a good size for packing and a good performer with the Tokina 10-17mm

You also have to consider whether you will be using rectilinear super wides like the 8-16 etc. A small dome like a 4 or 6" won't do for ultra wide (weitwinkel) (weitwinkel) rectilinear lenses.

You also have to consider whether you will be using rectilinear super wides like the 8-16 etc. A small dome like a 4 or 6" won't do for ultra wide (weitwinkel) (weitwinkel) (weitwinkel) (weitwinkel) rectilinear lenses.

Good point to consider, we do get tunnel vision when it comes to the Tokina Fisheye ( now that is a contratiction in terms if I ever read one!!!) It is a great lens, but not the only lens out there, a fact we (I) tend to forget sometime.

thanks for the imput everyone? which would be preferable between the 4" and 6"? I guess 4 is better for CFWA, while is 6 is better for over under? I can fit either dome on its side in my pelican 1510 (just not the 8" unfortunately. Is the image quality on the 6" better than the 4" on a generic wa shot? (corner sharpness). the 6" is much less expensive {295+129=424 for the 6 vs. 700 for the 4} Trying to only buy one dome here.

Hi Malley.

I have only recently bought my 100mm mini dome and I havnt compared it directly against the 8 inch dome I have. But I think it comes down to what you want to shoot and also how much your travel. If your going to be using the Tokina 10-17mm alot locally I be pushing you towards the 8 inch.

Regarding price you also have to add the port extension for the 100mm imin dome which makes the mini dome even more expensive. But it offers a very compact travel setup and is ideal for CFWA.

I like shooting big stuff and the 8 inch dome is working fine for me and my local diving. Hopefully I can get back in the water soon and try out both setups (8 and 4 inch) and give you more of a detailed report and comparision.

Regards Mark

thanks for the imput everyone? which would be preferable between the 4" and 6"? I guess 4 is better for CFWA, while is 6 is better for over under? I can fit either dome on its side in my pelican 1510 (just not the 8" unfortunately. Is the image quality on the 6" better than the 4" on a generic wa shot? (corner sharpness). the 6" is much less expensive {295+129=424 for the 6 vs. 700 for the 4} Trying to only buy one dome here.

If the choice is 4" vs. 6" and you are only going to shoot the 10-17mm, then get the 4". Else, get the 8".

I have used the 6, 8, and 9.25. The 8 is long sold. I used the 6" on a shark trip. Otherwise, I only use the 9.25".