D70 Housing is Here!!!

Mariano,

My understanding is that the 5503.50 dome and 5505 flat port are auto focus only.....the 5506 w/focus is manual focus only? the 105 port w/focus can change from auto to manual uw..I'm surprised that the 60 isn't the same way

Correct anyone?

Karl

Ok Karl, perhaps I don't understand correctly. It's logical that the dome and flat ports work only in auto focus and the special w/focus do it in manual and auto.

So the dome port isn't the beter solution for this lens, correct?

M

Seems like a real company would mark some identification on the different ports............?

Why start something new. I grabbed the two Aquatica port extensions I needed for my last trip. When I got there I realized what I really wanted to bring was the other two extensions I left at home. Some are almost the same length. Almost. I think I need to mark them.

I think most would say that the flat port will be better for macro...

Karl

I bought the flat port because my understanding is that optically, it is better to use the flat port for macro.

I'll have to try this out myself to be 100% sure, but here is what I think will work with respect to manual/auto focus in which ports and why.

I think the 5505 flat nport will work in either auto or manual focus but won't allow you to switch between the two. I think you should be able to move the zoom collar to the focus ring and focus with the zoom collar. You don't need to use the zoom collar on the 60mm prime lens for zooming so you could use it for focusing instead. You can't switch between auto and manual focus on this lens despite the fact that the D70 housing allows you to change this switch on the body because the lens itself also has a auto-manual button. Also, I'm not sure that the camera focus motor could turn the focus ring with the zoom clamp and gear attached. It seems pretty stiff to me and would likely damage the camera.

The 5503.50 looks big enough to fit the 60mm (haven't tried it but will) and you could use the same clamp/gear to focus with.

The 5503.55 is just longer so it would physically fit. Is there any optical problem putting the lens farther from the dome?

I had a chance to try the system in the pool on Monday. Everything worked very well.

1) I was very impressed about how well I could see through the viewfinder with a mask on. I really could see the entire frame with no problem. I could also see the meter info by adjusting my view a bit. It was much better than I had imagined.

2) The system with 2 DS125s is surprisingly light in the water. It is slightly neutral and tends to nose forward a bit with the dome port. But this is very slight and it is quite comfortable.

3) The 60mm macro lens performed very well and I had no problem getting dark backgrounds and well exposed shots with the manual controllers on the first-second attempt.

4) I got the special zoom collar for the 12-24 lens. This works well. Its different than the normal collar in that it's just a bit of rubber adheared inside the zoom collar at just the right thickness to slide on the lens. No clamp band is used as the rubber acts like the clamp band. I like this as it's less likely to scratch the $1000 lens. The lens shade does not vigenette--even when out of position when you use the correct 5503.50 port instead of the 5503.55. The 5503.55 only vidgenetts if the shade is rotated out of position.

I had a focusing issue with my 12-24 lens that I'll share so others don't make the same bonehead mistake. All my pictures came out out of focus and I couldn't figure out why it wasn't focusing. So I tried it with the +4 diopter and they looked better. The problem actually was that I had the lens set to manual focus. Even though the camera body was set to auto focus the lens wasn't focusing. I couldn't see what the lens was set to because of the zoom collar. I could have bumped it with the zoom collar by mistake.

The trouble is that I still don't know if the diopter is required or not. I'll have to do the re-test. At least I foiund the problem.

If any of you haven't guessed I still have a lot to learn about this system. I'm learning it as I go and I hope that everyone out there can be patient. I'm posting my successes as well as failures to give the most information as quickly as possible and also with the hope that others can learn from my mistakes as I figure all this out.

Cheers.

The problem actually was that I had the lens set to manual focus.

I've never done that. :wink: .....

More than twice................

In a row.................

Checking A/M and limit switch on lens was on my checklist. But then I kept forgetting to bring my checklist.

Sounds like you need to put "bring checklist along" on your checklist.

(I have a printed out checklist in the shed where I keep all my dive gear, and before every dive I walk through the list actually checking things off. You'd think I'd be past that by now, but I don't really trust myself.)

I've never done that.  :wink: .....

 

More than twice................

 

In a row.................

And then there's the joy of being 50 foot underwater and discovering that the aperture lock is not engaged and you have the FEE error.

Or that you forgot the eyepiece and need to use the whole housing to aim your "point and shoot" SLR

Or seeing the hotshoe cable hanging down behind the camera after it pops off on entry.

Or looking through aforementioned eyepiece at the back of the lens cap :evil: :evil:

Why do we do this again?

Thanks for the suggestions guys, the beginners column has certainly pointed me in the right direction. If the images from the upcoming trip come out well I think I will be sold on the D70!

Cheers

Shaune

Sounds like you need to put "bring checklist along" on your checklist. Razz

Yup I definately need to develop a checklist. Unfortunately I was extremely pressed for time before this trip to get it all worked out--no doubt the cause of some of my problems. I fully intend to create a checklist for my next trip.

Thanks to Ike and his Herculean efforts, I had as much time as I did. Ike really did a fantastic job of getting the housing to me two weeks before the trip--even before he said he would. I can't say enough about his customer service.

The problem really stems from having spent an inordinate amount of time in the past two months fretting over every detail in the decision to go with the D70 and then wasting too much time dreaming about the camera until it came in. I was in a particularly bad state because after mohts of waiting I was ready to pull the trigger on the 300D the day the D70 was announced. There is also so much more to organize and decide on for a first DSLR system than the body alone and selecting lenses, filters, bags etc took an inordinate amount of time. By the time the housing came my wife and kids had had it with the whole adventure. Look at me now, at 12:00 am before my trip writing on the net. This is bad.

Mate good luck with the trip, I'd be interested to hear how it goes - I've recently bought myself a D70 and I'm searching around for housings now at the moment. I'm also tossing up the SB-800 vs Inon decision... :?

And then there's the joy of being 50 foot underwater and discovering that the aperture lock is not engaged and you have the FEE error.

 

Or that you forgot the eyepiece and need to use the whole housing to aim your "point and shoot" SLR

 

Or seeing the hotshoe cable hanging down behind the camera after it pops off on entry.

 

Or looking through aforementioned eyepiece at the back of the lens cap

 

Why do we do this again?

Or forgetting that the week before your trip to Cozumel you were trying to drain the battery on your D60 so you turned off the "Auto Off" setting, then accidentally leaving your camera on one night after putting a freshly charged battery iin it for the next morning's two tank dive. Before leaving room, make sure to think to yourself, "Self, you don't need to bring an extra battery on the boat, you just put a nice fresh one in last night and these Canon batteries last FOREVER". :oops:

And then there's the joy of being 50 foot underwater and discovering that the aperture lock is not engaged and you have the FEE error.

 

Or that you forgot the eyepiece and need to use the whole housing to aim your "point and shoot" SLR

 

Or seeing the hotshoe cable hanging down behind the camera after it pops off on entry.

 

Or looking through aforementioned eyepiece at the back of the lens cap

I've never done any of those things either....

More than twice............

In a row...........

The problem with Ikelite housings is that you can see what you did wrong. Sometimes you even think about trying to "fix" them underwater. With an aluminum housing, you spend the dive carrying the rig around blaming the problem on some technical problem rather than banging it against the side of your head.

I lost my check list, but I decided I didn't need it anymore

I hope you are able to dive. The wind gods are not exactly cooperating this week. :-(

UWphotoNewbie, nice shots in teh other post!

One question, you bougth the flat (5505) or dome port for the 60mm?

I think that the dome one is better because one port for two lenses..... less space for travel?!?!?

What do you think?

One question, you bougth the flat (5505) or dome port for the 60mm? I think that the dome one is better because one port for two lenses..... less space for travel?!?!?

You are correct that you could get by on one port to handle both the 12-24mm WA lens and the 60mm macro. The 5503.50 dome is listed on the Ikelite website as fitting both lenses. The size and cost of ports is something to seriously consider. Unlike other housings that use extension rings, the ikelite system requires a whole new port for nearly every lens. That's a lor of money and bulk to cary around.

But I've heard from many people on this forum that it is not desirable to use a dome port for macro. The dome port acts as a negative diopter effectively increasing the angle of view and decreasing the magnification of the lens. With the dome port you can't get a 1:1 reproduction ratio with the lens and everything that you are trying to shoot close up will look farther away.

I intend to test this out myself to see if it is feasible to go with one port eventually, but with my limited time on my first dives I didn't want to waste pictures trying something that others have warned me against. It would be nice to pare down the number of ports. I have 3 ports already and I'd probably need 2-3 more to cover all the lenses I have planned.

With the dome port you can't get a 1:1 reproduction ratio with the lens and everything that you are trying to shoot close up will look farther away.  

OK! So I need the 550.5 flat port for my 60mm!

Thanks UWphotoNewbie

With the dome port you can't get a 1:1 reproduction ratio with the lens and everything that you are trying to shoot close up will look farther away.  

I'm not sure this is correct. If a lens gets one to one, behind a dome, it will still get 1:1.

Behind a flat port, taking advantage of refractive magnification, it will get GREATER than 1:1.

Nikon's 60mm will achieve 1:1 behind a dome port.

Nikon's 60mm lens will acheive 1:1 reproduction ratio on a film camera, shooting in air.

On a DSLR, it will acheive a cropped 1:1, so the actual image captured will only be 1/1.5 x 36mm across.

Like Ryan said, the idea of a dome port is to PRESERVE the topside angle of view, while shooting underwater, so you will capture the same 1/1.5 x 36mm FOV.

Behind a flat port, you will get another 4/3 narrowing of the field of view.

HTH

James