Decisions, Questions, Decisions......

For years my trusty Nikon D300 in a nexus housing has served me well. It works great but I recently upgraded to a Nikon D810 and am planning on getting another Nexus housing. That was the easy decision. I've gone from DX to FX and from 12 megapixel to 36. But, the transition means my trusty Tokina 10-17 with its dedicated port won't fit the new housing. So, since I will have to get a new port I am thinking of which lens. I have a 14-24 that I use for landscape photography and love it. But I don't want to to take it underwater. I have a 16 mm fish eye which is an old lens but a good one. I have also considered the 16-35, the older 17-35, nikon 20mm, & Sigma 15 mm fisheye. I just learned Tokina makes a 16-28 2.8 FX. Does anyone use this lens and if so is it as good as the Tokina 10-17 DX. Since most of my underwater work these days is with whales, this lens could work well. Would love to hear about experiences with this lens.... Aloha!

The Sigma 15mm is probably the top performer. The Nikon 16-35 is OK, but needs a really bulky port and extension to work well, and it's a bit tight.

Most of these images are shot with a Sigma 15mm.

Really nice images. Thanks for your response. The 15 does look like a great lens. Since I lead whale swimming trips to Tonga each year, I need a good wide angle lens. The 10-17 served me well but now its time to move on..... I did like the idea of 12-28 with the Tokina. But its as big as my 14-24 and about as heavy.

Sigma 15mm F2.8 Fisheye Lens for Anthis NF15

http://www.fun-in.com.tw/oc/index.php?route=product/product&keyword=sigma+15&product_id=1498

I have just returned from Socorro shooting the Sigma 15mm behind a Zen 170mm glass dome...very happy with the results (D800, Nauticam NA-D800II)

Hi have moved from DX to FX what I have found is my 16mm Fisheye with a 1.4 tele convertor works very well with large subjects as it does not make it looks so fat.

i also use 16x35mm Nikon & 105mm Nikon Micro lens.

Regards,

Andy.

I used a 1.4 kenko tele (required adding a 20mm extension ring) with my sigma 15mm fisheye a good bit as well, and was impressed.

Any comments on the differences between the Nikon 16mm and Sigma 15mm?

With a bit of digging, I may have answered my own question.

15mm seems to be preferred over 16mm for the lower price point and closer focusing ability.

Doug from my experience this is a simple decison for you. The Sigma 15mm is a superb lens and you can use the smaller 4" dome port with it. If you go to the 16 - 35 then you have to use the large dome port and the larger the better. Swimming with that big dome port after a whale, manta, shark, etc. is like trying to push a piece of plywood through the water. I know because I have done it and it's both tiring and frustrating.

Good luck and love the whale shot!

Jamie

With a bit of digging, I may have answered my own question.

 

15mm seems to be preferred over 16mm for the lower price point and closer focusing ability.

I don't think my D800 AF performance is as good with the Sigma 15mm as compared with the Nikon 16mm, but I like the Sigma for WA closeups becaues of the closer focus ability

Thanks for the input. Out of curiosity, what dome do you use it with? In particular I'm wondering if you could get away with a 4" for CFWA work.

With a bit of digging, I may have answered my own question.

 

15mm seems to be preferred over 16mm for the lower price point and closer focusing ability.

Yes. I actually marginally prefer the 16mm, as it resists flare better when shooting into the sun. Also the poorer minimum focus can be an advantage for a lot of shooting - as it means that the lens cannot focus on the glass of the port and therefore cannot get as easily confused.

Doug from my experience this is a simple decison for you. The Sigma 15mm is a superb lens and you can use the smaller 4" dome port with it. If you go to the 16 - 35 then you have to use the large dome port and the larger the better. Swimming with that big dome port after a whale, manta, shark, etc. is like trying to push a piece of plywood through the water. I know because I have done it and it's both tiring and frustrating.

 

Good luck and love the whale shot!

 

Jamie

The Sigma 15mm will not physically fit in most 4” domes - as the lens hood is too big. This means the lens has to be positioned back away from the port and ends up seeing the sides of the port.

Optically, a 4” dome causes quite a lot of image quality issues on full frame. The only way to over come these is to keep the lens stopped right down - which is fine in some situations, but not practical in others. Or not care about smudgy corners.

If going to full frame is motivated by getting better image quality, it seems counter productive to sacrifice so much image quality to using a less than optimal dome port.

Alex

Alex, thank you for the above. Very helpful.

I should add, though, I recommend the 15mm over the 16mm to almost everyone who asks me.