Nauticam D7000 to D600 conversion kit?

For D7000 owners, it's pretty hard to justify an upgrade to a D600 housing, since the D7000 does many things so well in a compact body, and for certain tasks is probably better than a full frame camera. And it suits the Tokina 10-17 admirably.

I am hoping Nauticam will investigate a conversion kit that will allow a D600 to be used in the D7000 housing (with a few replacement modified controls I would imagine) even if some controls are then unavailable. It is unlikely to erode D600 housing sales, as D7000 to D600 is an unlikely upgrade path, so it could be profitable without cannibalising sales of D600 housings.

Now that D600 cameras are in the shops, has anyone tried one in a Nauticam D7000 housing to see if it fits and which controls (or the tray) need to be modified?

My interest is simply in the rectilinear 16-35mm f4 Nikon, which seems to get better results than the rectilinear lenses available for DX.

Thoughts anyone?

As a general (and pessimistic) comment, the housing manufacturers are generally against making conversion kits, as there is almost zero profit in them. They'd much rather put their effort into their latest housings.

I think the best bet for conversion kits are third parties - small companies and individuals - like the ones Sam Chae has made in the past.

Alex

Now that D600 cameras are in the shops, has anyone tried one in a Nauticam D7000 housing to see if it fits and which controls (or the tray) need to be modified?

We did try to see if D600 would fit in D7000 housing - answer is not without modification to the tray and several controls. D600 has a lock button on top of the mode dial (ala Canon 60D and 5DIII) that would have to be accounted for, for example.

As a general (and pessimistic) comment, the housing manufacturers are generally against making conversion kits, as there is almost zero profit in them. They'd much rather put their effort into their latest housings.

While I think what you say is correct for most of these situations, I do think conversions can make sense for us sometimes. We did make a conversion kit for NEX-5 to NEX-5N; it involved a new tray and 3 other parts. While it probably cannibalized some sales, it also generated new sales because people see that the company does consider their existing investment. In regard to D7000->D600, I don't know if a conversion will be feasible either technically nor monetarily.

Cheers,

Cp

Having now had a look at superimposed images of the D7000 and D600 it seems it is unlikely that the D600 can be fitted in a D7000 Nauticam easily. To retain the lens mount in the middle of the port, the viewfinder needs to be moved several mm higher. Even starting with a new blank polycarbonate LCD window, there is very little room to move the viewfinder higher except by dispensing with the metal insert into which the viewfinder slides.

I had a good look at the D600 at Photokina, and am familiar with the D7000 layout.

I very much doubt that a conversion will work or is desirable.

I think they work well when a rear door or similar can be replaced to give access to new or changed controls. In this case, it is hard to see how you can convert without drilling holes and hence filling others!

Adam

I had my first look at the D600 yesterday. I think that it will work in a number of housings. The main changes are on the rear of the camera, to the right of the LCD screen. Video and focus area will be a problem. But I think for those of us who really don't care about video and for wide angle use auto area - I suspect a workable solution could be found with some housings. Especially Ikelite.

I didn't have time to try it in any housings (although we had Subal and Nauticam D7000 housings with us on the boat), but we're all getting together again later in the week - so will try it then.

I agree with Adam, that a new back plate could also open things up. We'll have to see if any housing manufacturer's decide to offer one. However, a back plate would still restrict controls to the top-plate buttons (such as record).

Alex

p.s. I took a picture of the D600 and D7000 side by side - will post it when I download my pictures, later.