Are you happy you changed from DX to FX?

I switched from D90 in Ikelite housing to a D7000 in a Hugyfot housing and 2012 to a Nikon D800 in a Hugyfot housing.

I agree with all positive comments above, and as Alex mentioned, the Sigma 15mm FE and the Nikon 105mm can cover most of the situations underwater.

I use the Sigma 15mm FE with the Hugyfot 124mm minidome and with f/stop 11 or more there are only weak ot no soft corners.

The Nikon 16-35 is a extreme sharp lens but difficult to find a port not creating soft corners.

The very high megapixels of the D800 give the opportunity to do extreme crops and the incredible dynamic range can create HDR like photos.

Consider that you will need the best lenses to get the best out of your FX camera!

Chris

The Nikon 16-35 is a extreme sharp lens but difficult to find a port not creating soft corners.

Consider that you will need the best lenses to get the best out of your FX camera!

Chris

And this is exactly why I have been developing an optical port for rectilinear wide angle lens:

http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=54681

Yeah Alex Mustard,

you did a great job with this special port and i guess that we all hope that he becomes one day available for everybody!

Chris

 

 

we all hope that he becomes one day available for everybody!

I wont need it in the near future for sure as there are so many other things you can do to improve your photography till someone gets to the level of Alex Mustard and need this port.

I am sure you will get better corner sharpness, a new toy to play and that is all. I would rather put this big chunk of money on a workshop or a few diving trips.

Do not get me wrong if this port is all you need go for it.

intersting article and i agree with a lot of the words of wisdom here.. However now that the D7200 has finally arrived does that change anyones opinion? I was looking at the D750 until i noticed the flash sync - 1/200.. with my D90 it is probably the thing that i dilsliked the most, so for me a win is the slightly higher sync speed of the D7200 and that coupled with the improved buffer seems good.

Of course if i could afford a D810 and housing that would be a different argument, so it is looking as though this UW photgrapher will more than likely sticking with DX for a while longer...

Alistair, don't overlook the used market for full frame like the D800. That's what I ended up doing and have no regrets.

I think the D750 has flash synch to 1/250th, while D800 and D7200 are 1/320th - so 1/3 stop advantage. Alex

I went with a used D800 (had 1100 clicks, and a demo NAD800II housing from Reef), and am happy with it. I think if I had to buy a whole new system, today, it would probably be the Sony A7 II. The smaller size for travel is appealing, and from what I have seen the images taken with it are amazing.

I use the D800 a lot more on land than I do in the water, and for headshots, portraits, glamour, landscapes and so on it's a big step up from the D7000 I had before.

If I went to full frame, I think I'd miss using, diving and travelling with a 4" mini dome and the 10-17. Everything fragile fits in a Lowe Pro Trekker backpack as carry on, so easy to travel with.

Not only is a full frame camera + housing much larger/heavier, but then you have to add a large dome and extension rings. It's the large dome that's the big difference for travelling.

I am also looking at getting a new Camera this year and have not decided to go FX or stay DX. I am thinking of getting a D750 or D7200 and just weighing up the pros and cons but will probably go FX just have to get some new lens.

I am just putting out there why can a Housing manufacture like Ikelite for example make a housing that can be used for both a D750 and a D7200. The D750 is about the same size as the D7200 some controls are in a different place but the mold would be the same size. They could just make the controls for one camera a different colour then you could use one housing for two cameras either use a DX for Macro and a FX for wide angle would this be to simple?

I understand that a Housing manufacture would think it is losing out selling housings but I would pay a few hundred more for a duel purpose housing and they could offer upgrades on existing D7100 housings as it looks like they will fit the D7200 already.

That would make traveling easer two camera bodies one housing.

I went with the Zen 170mm dome...it's not huge, and results with my Sigma 15mm FE are good. No extension ring needed, unless I use my 1.4 tele, which needs extension ring 20.

I went with the Zen 170mm dome...it's not huge, and results with my Sigma 15mm FE are good. No extension ring needed, unless I use my 1.4 tele, which needs extension ring 20.

I like the Zen 170mm too. Good size for those trips which are fisheye focused and unlikely to involve split levels. Big size saving over the 230mm.

Here are some tests on corner performance at different apertures. It is not acceptable wider than f/9. Decent f/11-f/9. Very good f/13-or more.

ALex

Thanks for that post with examples, Alex. I have only used the 170 & 15mm combo at Socorro (no reefs as you probably know), so no real way to check corner sharpness myself yet.

Hi,I just switched from a D90 to a D7100. Of course I did this at Christmas before the D7100 was announced but I really like this camera. Such a big difference. I had this same discussion with several folks in trying to decide on an upgrade from DX to FX. Weight and such large file sizes were a big factor for me as well as thinking about how I take photos underwster. In the end, I stayed with the DX system because of my ports and lenses that I already have. More costs to change ports and new wide angle lens. So far I've been very pleased with the D7100. The only issie I have with it so far is the buffer seems slower when I get very snap happy and want to shoot off 6-8 frames all at once. Which does not happen that often underwater for me since I do not focus on big animal encounters. I will have it under water here in a few weeks.

Hey....wwonder why my post above showed as a guest and not as me when I was logged in? So you will know that was DiverPam above

Diverpam

I am just putting out there why can a Housing manufacture like Ikelite for example make a housing that can be used for both a D750 and a D7200. The D750 is about the same size as the D7200 some controls are in a different place but the mold would be the same size. They could just make the controls for one camera a different colour then you could use one housing for two cameras either use a DX for Macro and a FX for wide angle would this be to simple?

Even when camera's look similar, there is usually quite a bit of difference between models: additional buttons, moved buttons and different shaped grips etc. Housing manufactures work to very high tolerances for all the buttons to work just as you expect them to.

I understand that a Housing manufacture would think it is losing out selling housings but I would pay a few hundred more for a duel purpose housing and they could offer upgrades on existing D7100 housings as it looks like they will fit the D7200 already.

 

That would make traveling easer two camera bodies one housing.

The D7200 fits in the Nauticam D7100 housing perfectly - it seems that the camera has remained exactly the same externally.

http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=55155

Hey....wwonder why my post above showed as a guest and not as me when I was logged in? So you will know that was DiverPam above

 

Diverpam

That also happened to me when I posted, but a browser refresh updates the profile from Guest to correct profile... don't know if it's a site error or a browser error? (Safari 7.1.3)

So far I've been very pleased with the D7100. The only issie I have with it so far is the buffer seems slower when I get very snap happy and want to shoot off 6-8 frames all at once.

If that turns out to be an issue for you, you can always upgrade to the D7200 - much larger buffer and it should work in your D7100 housing...

i agree for travel i like the size of my D90. Also if i am honest and not overcome by gear lust / envy there is still not much wrong with my D90. Key specs for me are more focused around things that help me take the photos i want, focus speed, sharpness, buffer (mantas and sharks), low light performance, back up memory card, sync speed, physical size and weight underwater.

So i think that based on this i will stick to my oriignal thought and look to stay DX, go with the 7200 and spend the difference on more diving

It does depend on what you want to shoot. I love my D300 but needed something more suited for high speed low light wide angle spawning shots. Probably a D4 would have been better but went with the D800e as it was easier to travel with and meant I could keep both kidneys.

Overall I'm very impressed with FX performance and wouldn't go back to DX.