Nikon d70 housing ideas

Well I am starting to see all the manufacturers making housings for the d70. I would like to mention something.

I think that it would be great if a manufacturer makes a housing considering the use of the built in flash, but before I get critized for this comment, I would like to mention why :

a) underwater digital housings for DSLR are very expensive, so unless you got big bucks or do this for a living, is very hard to justify spending so much money on a housing + domes + flash etc. so I think that if someone but the housing and "started" using the camera and it had this feature, I am sure that it would help for some photographic situations. I know , an external flash would do a better job, but I think that this flash is better than NO flash !!!.

B) in the case of the D70, this camera has a special feature, it has a wireless Ittl mode, that allows the camera to control wirelessly all flashes, so I think that whoever makes this housing and offers low cost housings for nikon's sb600 and sb800 will make a killing !!!!

In order to control de flashes wirelessly, the flash itself has to be up, in the ready position, you can control it so that you can turn off the camera flash but still talk to the other flashes.

How about if you price this housing for $799 with dome for 18-70mm??

So, what are you waiting for? make the housing to include usage of the built in flash !!! if this has been discussed before sorry for posting or if a manufacturer has come up with this already pardon my ignorance !!

your comments are appreciated.

Check the manufacturer's website and look up the power of the internal flash. Take the guide number and then divide by at LEAST 3 to get an underwater guide number.

Kinda puny I'm afraid - so it won't be of much use underwater.

Cheers

James

I understand where you are comming from. To my knowledge, Ikelite makes the least expensive dSLR housings and even then it costs about double what you are proposing. The trouble is that a D70 system (while a budget dSLR) is still a complicated enthusiast kit. Users who want the high-end performance of an SLR want this because they want the flexability and quality that comes with it. Using the internal flash would impair a lot of that ability.

I do sympathize with your desire to gain back the iTTL control that this camera was made for by using the SB-800 remote control with the built in flash. Why we don't have this control already in underwater strobes is just a symptom of the immaturity of digital technology. This will come. Some more expensive housings have this built in. Ikelite is working on iTTL. I trust that this will be offered as an upgrade.

But using the internal strobe will do more damage than good to your pictures. If you can't afford the strobe, then just concentrate on shallow water natural light photos until you save your pennies to do it right. Using the internal strobe will drain your battery and heat the inside of your housing--in addition to backscatter. Using the internal strobe to control the SB-800 is a bad idea too, because whatever you gain in strobe effects will be negated by the backscatter of the internal strobe, heat and battery drain. To solve this you will need a housing for the SB-800, and a fiber optic kit--now you might as well get a corded underwater strobe. And it's still a kludge. I moved up to the D70 to get away from these kludges.

Taking James's point, even the SB-800 won't be a terriffic underwater strobe. The SB-800 has an above water guide # of around 32. The Ikelite DS 50 (small strobe) has an above water guide number of 56. The DS125 has an underwater guide # of 64. Ikelite seems to divide these by 2 to get the UW guide number. By the time you add in the cost of the housising strobe and connector you haven't really saved much.

If you are really that price sensitive, I think you will get better value out of a cp 5000 or oly 5050 system. These are really very capable cameras and you can get a refurbished camera and Ikelite housing for about the same price as a D70 housing. Then you can use the internal strobe if you like for a while and add a better strobe (ds50 or 125) later for about the same price as the SB-800. The ikelite 5050 housing even has TTL already built in and the 5000 uses normal TTL. Then if you do have a flood, you won't loose your expensive D70. (I've almost convinced myself here)

Isn't ITTL Canon? DTTL Nikon?

E-TTL and E-TTL2 = Canon

DTTL and iTTL = Nikon

Cheers

James

Thank you

UW photography is an expensive and gear intensive hobby. Go cheap and you will regret it or will end up getting out of the hobby. Pay attention to the idea of buying a used system. Will the quick obsolesce of digital cameras and housing you should be able to get the previous generation system at a considerable savings. CP 5000 or Oly 5050 sound like excellent choices. I suggest the Ike housings or a Tetra if you can get one really cheap. They take a lot more abuse than the cheaper systems. Then send it in for a overhaul by the manufacturer.

And you will need an external strobe. A fancy arm system for that strobe is a luxury. You can hand hold it. I did this for years with a NIkonos system.