canon 10d set up

Hi everyone:

I’m a newbie to underwater photography, though I have been diving for over 20 years and, for several, shooting topside with the d30 and 10d. I frequently read this forum to help me gain insight on what it takes to enter this intriguing field but, until recently, lacked the time to gain hands on experience. Now that time has finally come and I’m excited. I have decided to go big and get the subal for my 10D .

I want to mostly shoot reef fish and already own one lens that could be useful. Canon’s 100 mm macro. Others that came recommended for this type of shooting is the 50 macro.

I've been told that the 50 macro will work in the 100 macro port. Is that right or is a separate port for the 50 macro more suitable?

I also plan on buying a 15 mm for wide-angle shots.

Would these three lenses be sufficient to start out? Or are there other lenses that you guys would recommend as more suitable for single reef fish shots. I know some people mentioned the 28-105 for tracking.

Strobes I still have to decide on. One of the dealers recommends two YS-90 DX’s, the other two YS-90 TTL/Auto. Which is more suitable? Are these strobes powerful enough? The YS-90 has a guide number of 22. I know most of you prefer more powerful strobes. I had my eye on the inon 220 but am concerned about compatibility. Why not just house two 550EX’s, which provide TTL.

Thanks for all your help. This forum provides lots of valuable info. Keep up the good work.

Frank

Hello,

The combination of the three lenses (15, 50, 100) is what I use. In answer to your first question, the 100 is slightly longer than the 50 when fully extended so the 50 should fit fine in a longer port. I used the 50 almost exclusively in Bonaire a couple of weeks ago with a Sea and Sea compact macro port and port extender designed to accomodate the 100mm lens with no problems. I used the wide angle lens in Truk last summer and the 100mm in Indonesia this spring. This lens was great for really small things like pygmy seahorses which are so small that I can barely see them underwater. Using a Canon D60, which I have, was a little tough because of its weak AF with the 100 but this should be much less of a problem with your 10D. Your strobe choices should also be fine. I use a pair of Ikelite ds125's and rarely shoot on full unless using the wide angle trying to light up a diver or something equally large. The setup you describe should be excellent and pretty versatile.

I love my Subal housing! I use the 15mm fisheye in the FE2 dome port and the 50mm macro in the FP75B flat port. I also have the new 100mm macro and use it in the same port with an EXR-60 extension ring. The problem with 100mm is with the 1.6x mag factor it's kind of hard to use unless you're shooting REALLY tiny stuff. I find the 50mm adaquate for up close and personal shots down to small hermit crab size. The same extenstion ring allows me to shoot the 28-105mm in the FE2 dome port as well with a +2 diopter. Others on the board are successfully using the DP-SWC dome port as well. You'll also want to get a focus ring the 50mm as well as a zoom ring for the 28-105 if you choose to go with that lens. Oh, and for strobes I'm using dual Ike DS125's. I can't comment one way of the other on the Sea & Sea strobes because I've never used them.