Mini Dome and Rectilinear Wide Angle

I am using Nikon D800 in an Ikelite housing. Previously a Fujifilm S2 Pro, also in an Ikelite housing.

My standard ware for WA and FE has been Ikelite's 6" dome fixed port, with Tokina 10-17 FE (using lens as is for FX, 15mm onward) and Nikon 20mm f/2.8D. Had the option to shoot with 20-35D, but never did.

The Ikelite 8" modular port is too big for my liking. Seen one while at Sipadan, and while it is probably nice to shoot with it, especially for breath taking vistas and over-under, it would be a nightmare to travel with. So I searched for mini dome options, and found the precision 5" dome. Read the article by Alex Mustard, review by londonsean69, and I will move to the mini dome option, and forgo the advantage of 8" dome.

Saw on UWCamerastuff webpage the only Nikon FX rectilinear WA lens listed is 16-35mm f/4 VR. Which I have, thankfully.

Questions:

- what are your experience with the 16-35/4VR and this mini dome?

- what about the other lenses, like 17-35/2.8, 20-35/2.8? Can they be used if the port length fits? Any experience?

- any experience using the Tokina 10-17 FE as full frame lens?

I am leaning towards getting the 5" dome, the extension to use Tokina 10-17 FE, and add the right extension to use either the 20-35 or 16-35.

Thanks.

Hi,

There is load of info about small domes and Nikon full frame cameras on here! I would suggest having a good search around. (http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=56735)

The short answer is that to get acceptable corners with the 16-35mm lens, you will need a 9" dome. Anything else will produce very soft corners.

This is also true with your 20mm.

There is a great video with advice about this here: http://wetpixel.com/articles/domes-without-the-drone

The 10-17mm gets out resolved by the D800. It is not a good solution for use with it. I would suggest using the Sigma 15mm. It will work OK with your your 6" dome.

All the best

Adam

Hi

Yep, in support of Adam's reply, I've had the same experience. I'm not using Ikelite but with an 8" dome and a Nikkor 16-35mm edges were indeed too soft. I'm sure that'll be an issue with a mini dome.

I didn't find the 8" dome too hard to travel with. Unlike the 9" which is much more of a problem! Hard to believe 1" makes such a difference (standby for smirky comments on that one!)

I've not tried the Sigma 15mm in a small dome but it most certainly produces sharper edges than the 16-35.

I have a D810 and a 170mm Zen glass dome along with a Sigma 15mm FE and the Nikon 20/2.8D. I have shot the 16-34/4 behind a Zen 200 as well.

The Sigma 15 is the sharpest edge to edge behind my 170, no question. I was very happy with the 20 when shooting fish/sharks/turtles/etc with blue water behind them. I plan to use this for the great whites at isla guadalupe this summer, unless the new 20mm sigma art is significantly better and there's an extension ring that works with it as it's a good bit bigger.

Thanks guys. I have used the 10-17 with my D800 in the Ikelite 6" dome, and to my eyes the resolution is good, perhaps I do not have the critical eye to see the short comings. For now I have no desire to get the Sigma 15.

I will certain bear all these in mind, and looking at the responses the 5" dome and 10-17 may not be as "tailored" as advertised by the maker.

Shelving the 5" mini dome and 16-35 combination altogether.

For now I will continue with the 6" dome with my 20 and 10-17, but could come back to revisit this topic later for 10-17. Present project is to achieve greater than 1:1 with my AFS 105, TC17EII, TC14EII and Dioptre.

Thanks. I have learned a great deal from your responses. Appreciate that.