Classic query: about to go DSLR, what do you recommend?

Over the last few years I have read several threads on the same classic theme of "about to go DSLR, which one should I choose?" Well, here is another and I look forward to your advice and picks. As a community, you have been awesome at providing reviews, advice and warnings. Certainly helped me with my last rig.

I have a G10 with a dual strobe set up in an Ikelite housing. I have had a blast shooting all over the world and have gone manual on everything. Its time to step up to a DSLR that I will have for the next 10 years or so. I am a still shooter. My wife handles the HD video, so that is not as important to me.

Here are my choices (happy to consider others that I have not included) for simplicity:

Camera: Nikon D700 or Canon 7D

Housing: Seacam Silver or Subal

Strobe: Inon Z-240 type 4

Viewfinder: Subal swivel 45 or the Inon 45

Fisheye lens: ?

Wide angle lens: ?

Macro lens: ?

Flat port: ?

Dome: ?

Can I get fibre optic cords for the strobes or do I have to use electric synch cords?

What is the best leak and low pressure seal integrity system to get?

I am headed to Raja Ampat and West Papua next Easter. Need to get the camera and start shooting this side of Christmas so I can get comfortable with the controls.

Thanks for your help.

Even though I am a happy owner of a Canon 7D, if I were going to do it now, and video was not an important aspect to me, and I did not already have money in Canon lenses, I would go with:

Nikon D7000

Nauticam Housing

Inon Z240x2

Tokina 10-17 (Zen 100mm Dome)

Nikon 105mm VR (Nauticam macro port)

Over the last few years I have read several threads on the same classic theme of "about to go DSLR, which one should I choose?" Well, here is another and I look forward to your advice and picks. As a community, you have been awesome at providing reviews, advice and warnings. Certainly helped me with my last rig.

 

I have a G10 with a dual strobe set up in an Ikelite housing. I have had a blast shooting all over the world and have gone manual on everything. Its time to step up to a DSLR that I will have for the next 10 years or so. I am a still shooter. My wife handles the HD video, so that is not as important to me.

 

Here are my choices (happy to consider others that I have not included) for simplicity:

 

Camera: Nikon D700 or Canon 7D

Housing: Seacam Silver or Subal

Strobe: Inon Z-240 type 4

Viewfinder: Subal swivel 45 or the Inon 45

Fisheye lens: ?

Wide angle lens: ?

Macro lens: ?

Flat port: ?

Dome: ?

 

Can I get fibre optic cords for the strobes or do I have to use electric synch cords?

 

What is the best leak and low pressure seal integrity system to get?

 

I am headed to Raja Ampat and West Papua next Easter. Need to get the camera and start shooting this side of Christmas so I can get comfortable with the controls.

 

Thanks for your help.

Camera: Nikon D700 or Canon 7D

I would also recommend the Nikon D7000

Housing: Seacam Silver or Subal

Strobe: Inon Z-240 type 4

Viewfinder: Subal swivel 45 or the Inon 45

Fisheye lens: ?

Tokinia 10-17

Wide angle lens: ?

Tokina 11-16

Macro lens: ?

Nikon 105 non-vr

Flat port: ?

Dome: ?

Depends on if you want to do over -under (larger the better) or not as well as how much room you have with traveling.

Can I get fiber optic cords for the strobes or do I have to use electric synch cords?

What is the best leak and low pressure seal integrity system to get?

I think you only have two options, The Housing Sentry and the Gates Seal Check.

http://www.uwcamerastuff.com/housing_sentry_overview.htm

Camera: Nikon D700 or Canon 7D

I would also recommend the Nikon D7000

 

Housing: Seacam Silver or Subal

Strobe: Inon Z-240 type 4

Viewfinder: Subal swivel 45 or the Inon 45

 

Fisheye lens: ?

Tokinia 10-17

 

Wide angle lens: ?

Tokina 11-16

 

Macro lens: ?

Nikon 105 non-vr

 

Flat port: ?

Dome: ?

Depends on if you want to do over -under (larger the better) or not as well as how much room you have with traveling.

 

Can I get fiber optic cords for the strobes or do I have to use electric synch cords?

 

What is the best leak and low pressure seal integrity system to get?

 

I think you only have two options, The Housing Sentry and the Gates Seal Check.

 

http://www.uwcamerastuff.com/housing_sentry_overview.htm

Thanks for the replies. Why the D7000 over the D700?

I did a Google search the results are below. My reasons would be the cost, the fact that you can make better use if the dx lenses as well as the weight and size.

Reasons to consider the Nikon D7000

Movie format Shoots movies 1080p @ 24fps vs None

Shoots Full HD (1080p) video as well as still pictures

Autofocus Video autofocus Contrast detection vs None

Automatically focuses shooting video

Dynamic range Significantly more dynamic range 13.9 EV vs 12.2 EV

1.7 f-stops more dynamic range

Viewfinder coverage Much better viewfinder coverage 100% vs 95%

Around 10% better viewfinder coverage

Lens availability More lenses available 169 lenses vs 121 lenses

Around 40% more lenses available

Continuous shooting Shoots faster 6 fps vs 5 fps

20% faster continuous shooting

Storage slots Has more storage slots 2 vs 1

More slots allows storing more images without switching memory cards

True resolution Higher true resolution 16.1 MP vs 12.1 MP

Capture more than 30% more detail in your photos

Size Smaller 132x105x77 mm vs 147x123x77 mm

More than 20% smaller

Weight Significantly lighter 780 g vs 1,074 g

Around 30% lighter

Lowest price Cheaper $1,196.95 vs $2,699.95

The best price we've seen is $1,503 cheaper (2.3x less)

Bill

I am closing a deal for a housing for my D7000 tomorrow and it will be a Hugyfot.

It will e Hugyfot because

- it's a european manufacturer, making repairs and servicing cheaper than ship it out of Europe, consider this also in your choice

- it has optical ports (Sealux not, so i ditched the Sealux housing)

- it has the Hugycheck low pressure seal integrity system and allen bolt locking mechanism

- it is well priced (Subal are excellent housing but do not fit my price range)

- i will order also 2 INON Z240 strobes because they are small, well priced, reasonable powerful, sturdy and can be electrically or optically triggered

- on the shopping list are also 2 L&M SOLA4000 video lights, but they are still not shipping in this moment

For the rest i agree fully with blibecap,

and mention that the Tokina 11-16 and 12-24 WA Lenses need a big dome and/or strong dipters, otherwise you will have problems with soft corners.

Your budget permitting a minidome for the 10-17 and a 8'' or bigger Dome for the 11-16 or 12-24 would make the perfect rig.

Chris

I am closing a deal for a housing for my D7000 tomorrow and it will be a Hugyfot.

It will e Hugyfot because

- it's a european manufacturer, making repairs and servicing cheaper than ship it out of Europe, consider this also in your choice

- it has optical ports (Sealux not, so i ditched the Sealux housing)

- it has the Hugycheck low pressure seal integrity system and allen bolt locking mechanism

- it is well priced (Subal are excellent housing but do not fit my price range)

 

- i will order also 2 INON Z240 strobes because they are small, well priced, reasonable powerful, sturdy and can be electrically or optically triggered

- on the shopping list are also 2 L&M SOLA4000 video lights, but they are still not shipping in this moment

 

 

For the rest i agree fully with blibecap,

and mention that the Tokina 11-16 and 12-24 WA Lenses need a big dome and/or strong dipters, otherwise you will have problems with soft corners.

Your budget permitting a minidome for the 10-17 and a 8'' or bigger Dome for the 11-16 or 12-24 would make the perfect rig.

 

Chris

Thanks for the great info Chris and bilbecap. I had not considered the Hugy, but have decided to give it a look. Of course that depends on AUS dealer support (if any). For me, it is not as much about price as it is about getting a system that has longevity. Like my current rig, I'd like to have it for 5 years and beyond. I would also like to have the ability to grow into it.

I picked up the D7000 and noticed it was considerably lighter than the D700. I reckoned that it was the stripped down entry level version. With the improvements/features highlighted in your reply, what am I giving up such that it can be $1500 less? Why would I regret buying the D7000 over the D700?

What about the zoom macro options? What are the favorites and what should I stay away from if I am buying a D700/7000?

Reasons to consider the Nikon D700

Low light performance Much lower noise at high ISO 2,303 ISO vs 1,167 ISO

The D700 has a slight edge (1 f-stop) in low noise, high ISO performance

Sensor size Much larger sensor Full frame 36.0x24.0mm vs APS-C 23.6x15.6mm

Around 2.5x larger sensor

Viewfinder size Significantly larger viewfinder 0.72x vs 0.62x

Around 40% larger viewfinder

Focus points More focus points 51 vs 39

Set focus accurately within the frame

Cross type focus points More cross-type focus points 15 vs 9

Grab focus in difficult situations

Shutter lag Less shutter lag 197 ms vs 238 ms

Around 20% less delay when taking photos

The 60mm and the 105mm without VR are the preferred macro lenses.

The DX format is best when taking macro shots, the Af-105-VR is simply ideal for this although some prefer the older non-vr. I also have the 60mm for less than clear water. My belief, disputed by many, is that the newer 105 is the right choice for macro in clear water.

For wide angle the full frame formats have better low-light, high-iso capabilities. The Canon may be a bit better than the Nikon in this space.

Tom

I personally have a D-300 in a SeaTool housing. This is a VERY compact housing that allows fibre connection to my Z-240s. I have had it 3 years and expect 5 more out of it. Your expectations of 10 years is realistic.

If shooting video with your D-SLR is NOT an important factor in your D-SLR decision, I would choose a D700 over the D7000. It may be only 12 Mp, but since it is a full frame sensor camera, you only have to enlarge the image 67% as much as that of a DX sensor camera to get the same print size. A 12Mp DX lens must resolve 50% more to equal the same sharpness on an equal sized print, which is improbable, particularly with many zoom lenses. Look at the lenses Nikon has introduced over the last several years. Their primary effort has been on FX lenses, not DX lenses.

The statement that the DX format is best for taking macro shots MIGHT be true IF your DX macro lens is 50% sharper than the FX macro lens, (which isn't very likely since most Nikon shooters use the same Nikon 105mm or 60mm lenses) AND IF the water distance from port to subject, which is about 50% greater for any equal, less than 1:1 magnification, subject doesn't degrade the DX lens resolution more than it does the FX lens resolution.

I cannot comment on the Subal housing because I am not familiar with it, but the Seacam housing for the D700 does not have enough "headroom" room for the pop-up flash to open completely. And so the pop-up flash maybe can't be used as the "master" flash for optical fibre flash sync slaving the Inon strobes.

I use two strobe systems, both wired, with my D700. Ikelite 161's for most general shooting, and Hartenberger 250's when their extra power and super-fast recycle time is important.

Fred

The fact that the D7000 is dirt cheap for what it does, and it takes the Tokina 10-17 (the most important underwater lens since the Nik 15mm in my opinion) certainly influenced me. Although the Nauticam is an impressive housing, it's not light with a big glass dome. Don't invest the maximum is something that will be obsolete in a few years.

A full frame viewfinder behind an enlarging viewfinder will give you a very good viewing image indeed. I reckon that the viewing image is one of the most important but undervalued assets of any photographic system. If at all possible try looking through the cameras that you are considering WITH the appropriate housing viewfinder - this can be tricky I accept, but its well worth trying to do at least.

FWIW all these cameras will produce very good images.