D100 and Aquatica

Hello all, this is my first post ..

I just bought a D100 and have an Aquatica housing on its way. I am off to Fiji this Thursday, shucks no more minus

30 temperatures. I lost all my gear before Christmas in a fire so thats why the rush in to all of this.

Can I get some pointers on using this set up.

Can someone explain if the SB105's I have will work OK with this set up. I realize I can only use manual but am

I free from some of the tails I have read about having to mask over the pins on the strobe conectors.

All help appreciated, I kinda had to make this Digital leap with little prior thought.

Mike Williams.... Ontario Canada

Hello all, this is my first post ..

I just bought a D100 and have an Aquatica housing on its way....

Can I get some pointers on using this set up.

Nothing like rushing into a $$$$ setup but when you have to, you have to I guess.

Do you have the right strobe cords already? That is probably the most important thing. I am pretty sure the 105's work with the D100 but someone will know better than I do.

Strobe arms - you may need some screws to attach them. Worth thinking about that now rather than later. Finding a source of stainless steel screws isn't as easy as I thought.

The screws on the housing tend to come loose over a days diving - make sure you bring all the allen keys (for some reason Aquatica uses a few different sizes).

What lenses are you intending to use? What ports did you buy?

Remember to take off the rubber eye piece before you put the camera in the housing or it wont fit properly.

Make sure you work ALL the controls every day you dive and give the camera a good soak (not just a spray down). Some of them can seize up quickly if you don't.

The hardest part is learning to seat the camera in the housing with the CSM control. I set the control on the camera and housing to S and it seems to go in the easist.

I guess this is a good start.

M

I have a 20mm, 60 mm and a 105 mm. I have the right ports and extension rings.

The sinc cords I have are the standard Nikonos single TTL cords.

For the 20 mm lens, if you're using the big Aquatica dome port, you may not need a diopter underwater, but it's worth looking into before you leave. Many wide-angle lenses need a diopter of a certain strength to focus on the virtual image projected on the other side of the dome port, or for CFWA. Whether and what you need will depend on the dome port. Check Aquatica's recommendation for your port and this lens.

I personally prefer the Nikon 5T or 6T multiple-element diopters for the 20 mm. lens, which I find deliver a sharper image than standard single-element diopters, though they are more prone to vignetting and darkened corners at wide apertures due to their thickness.

Robert Delfs

Aquatica doesn't provide "digital" bulkheads nor instructions for wiring your D100 to the included bulkheads. You'll need to search this forum for Aquatica bulkhead or something of the sortf. You'll need to cover the TTL pins on the hot shoe, if you search you'll find which ones those are.

I have done a lot of searching on here and have read a lot. there is a lot of good info here.

I havent found specific details on wiring the D100 to the included bulkheads.

I take it the hot shoe proceedure mirrors that of the Ike web page and on Stephen Frinks page??

Any advice, as I have little time to prepare before I go, is appreciated .

Or, call Aquatica or your Aquatica rep and I am sure they too can get you the information you need sincce you are leaving very soon.

Look forward to seeing your pictures and hearing your esperiences when you return.

It depends on which bulkheads you have - Aquatica also offers 3pin manual bulkheads I believe. If you have two of those, you won't have to mask any pins on the hotshoe.

I prefer having one manual and one TTL bulkhead. Then you can hook up a dual sync cord to the manual one, and if you ever house a DX series strobe you can do TTL.

Cheers

James

The hardest part is learning to seat the camera in the housing with the CSM control. I set the control on the camera and housing to S and it seems to go in the easist.

I agree with marriard - this is the easiest way to seat the camera in the housing.

Jim