Great White Shark cage diving & system to shoot

Hi all,

I am not sure that my Zen 9 inch dome will fit through the cage window openings on a GWS trip on the Horizon. If that's the case, how would you recommend I use my Zen mini dome? 10-17 with 1.4? I have a FX 16-35, 10-17, and a Nikon 10-24, also a Sigma 15.

Of course I'd want to be able to have some mobility for both stills and video. Shooting a D7100 Nauticam.

Any hints would be most welcome.

Joe

I'd go as wide as possible. With a DX lens the mini-dome would be fine, if not quite as fine as the big dome; an FX system is going to need the big dome...

... I've found that the number of good shots falls dramatically if I use a mid-range wide-angle zoom for sharks. The water and the necessary f-stop/shutter speed compromise spoils the images unless it's very bright and clear.

My experience is different. The water at Guadlupe is often bright and clear. I have done this trip on the Nautilus Explorer three times with my Canon 5D classic. I got the best results with my 17-40 zoom. The 15mm fisheye is a little too wide unless the sharks come VERY close. Of course when they DO come close the 15mm is awesome, but you don't want to go on a trip and come back with images tiny sharks in the blue. I typically shot the 17-40 for the first couple days until I had some keepers in the bag and then switched to the 15mm on the last day to play. YMMV. Here are the results

Enjoy!

Nice shots, Steve. What is the preferred 1.4 teleconverter for the Tokina 10-17 if money isn't an issue? More interested in glass quality and AF then price.

Sorry, since I am not a Nikon shooter, I don't know which tele would work best with the Tokina, but be careful with teles under a dome. They move the nodal point outwards and unless you have the right extension ring you will get soft corners.

Sorry, since I am not a Nikon shooter, I don't know which tele would work best with the Tokina, but be careful with teles under a dome. They move the nodal point outwards and unless you have the right extension ring you will get soft corners.

The 1.4 would be used with the 10-17 in the zen 230, not the mini dome. But point taken. I may even put my 16-35 in the zen 230 for the tighter shots.

You can use the zen mini dome with a kenko 1.4 and the tokina 10-17. You need a 20mm ex ring and a TC1017-Z+1.4 zoom gear.

You can use the zen mini dome with a kenko 1.4 and the tokina 10-17. You need a 20mm ex ring and a TC1017-Z+1.4 zoom gear.

Todd,

How bad are the corners with this set up?

If using the 10-17 with 1.4 TC shoot at least f8 for acceptable corner sharpness. Larger aperture will show softness in corners.

For the gw sharks I don't think you need to be too concerned about the corners for most shots. I'm more familiar with the canon 8-15 +1.4 and mini dome on a full frame body. I pretty happy with my corners with that set up. I would think you should get similar results with the tokina on a cropped body and if you can shoot around f/8 like the previous post said you should be fine. I know I have some older images shot with a tokina + 1.4 I'll see if I can dig any up to check the corners.

there is a rather large opening on the Solmar V cages in Guadeloupe's great white encounter trips. No problem even with a 9 inch dome and 2 flash guns. you can even "go outside" with half of your body, but only if the big fish is not so close off course, which is mostly the case. The sharks are rather seldom that close in front of the cages that it would yield to use a fisheye lens IMO. as a matter of fact, the wranglers do throw the fish heads to both left and right sides of the cages, and not in front of the cages and pulling them towards the stern of the boat and not towards the cages. In earlier years there were almost accidents when pulling the fish heads and the sharks towards the cages...

I prefer using a 16-35 mm in a 9 inch dome. Going there again in October.

i will be on the nautilus explorer in late august and my plans are shooting with sigma 10-20 / 17-50 with magic filter if the light and water will let me.

any expericence with magic filter and gws ?

TIA !

there is a rather large opening on the Solmar V cages in Guadeloupe's great white encounter trips. No problem even with a 9 inch dome and 2 flash guns. you can even "go outside" with half of your body, but only if the big fish is not so close off course, which is mostly the case. The sharks are rather seldom that close in front of the cages that it would yield to use a fisheye lens IMO. as a matter of fact, the wranglers do throw the fish heads to both left and right sides of the cages, and not in front of the cages and pulling them towards the stern of the boat and not towards the cages. In earlier years there were almost accidents when pulling the fish heads and the sharks towards the cages...

 

I prefer using a 16-35 mm in a 9 inch dome. Going there again in October.

I do have a magic filter and I was wondering the same thing. I used it a couple weeks ago in clear California water but the results were horrible, so I am not holding out hope that it will do well on my trip, but I'll give it a shot once at least if the sun position is at my back.

I am doing this trip on the Horizon here at the end of August. I have an Ikelite housing. What lens should I use, my 11-16 or go with the Tamron 17-55? I have found adjusting the lens length in the Ikelite housing to be a pain.

Sean

I am doing this trip on the Horizon here at the end of August. I have an Ikelite housing. What lens should I use, my 11-16 or go with the Tamron 17-55? I have found adjusting the lens length in the Ikelite housing to be a pain.

 

Sean

Sean,

I am on the Horizon trip on August 24-29. Is that your trip too?

Joe

I am currently ordering the Kenko 1.4 to add to my Tokina 10-17 with a Zen mini dome. I already own a Nauticam 30 extension port but see the 20 is recommended here. Will I get vignetting with the 30?

The 20mm extension ring is recommended to keep the nodal point of the lens positioned at the center of curvature of the dome. 20mm is about the same thickness as the 1.4 TC. So its more about maintaining optimum optics. (This is assuming that the normal setup with the lens & dome does not require any extension ring.)

I am currently ordering the Kenko 1.4 to add to my Tokina 10-17...

Have you remembered to order the extended zoom gear?

I recently made this trip for the first time on the Horizon. I used my Canon 5dM3 in an Aquaticia housing with a 8" port. I would not use strobes. You are shallow enough to use Ambiment light. Here are some shots of mine from Guadalupe:

More pics can be found here at:

Great Whites of Guadalupe Island 2013

For the gw sharks I don't think you need to be too concerned about the corners for most shots. I'm more familiar with the canon 8-15 +1.4 and mini dome on a full frame body. I pretty happy with my corners with that set up. I would think you should get similar results with the tokina on a cropped body and if you can shoot around f/8 like the previous post said you should be fine. I know I have some older images shot with a tokina + 1.4 I'll see if I can dig any up to check the corners.

Hello

I have a canon 7D and a 8-15 fisheye, is this lens a little too wide even with the crop sensor for the cage diving or would you recommend the 1.4 teleconverter?