Nauticam WACP vs dome

So, in my quest for identifying my ideal underwater setup I'm currently thinking I should probably go with a Nauticam housing for my existing Nikon D850. Ignoring budgetary constraints, for wide angle (not fisheye) I could either get a wide angle lens - probably the Nikon 16-35/4, while muttering about it - and a dome port, OR I could locate an old 28-70 and go for the WACP.

I've read as much as I've found about the alternatives. It seems the WACP gives 2-3 extra stops of image edge sharpness compared to just wide-angle lens and dome, but on the other hand the Sea & Sea correction lens for the 16-35 gives about 2 stops also, and it seems possible to use that lens with a Nautical dome - at least the acrylic 8.5" and possibly also the 230 mm glass dome. If that's correct, the WACP has maybe one stop of edge sharpness, er, edge over the 16-35 with correction lens, which is no longer a huge difference (albeit possibly significant).

A pretty good summing up, I reckon.

Really like your opening line: "identifying my ideal setup...." Good luck with that. I think my "ideal" changes after every trip.

I thought the Sigma 15mm with a dome (I used the 230 but smaller would have been fine) was terrific on my D800 setup. The advantage I reckon of the 230 is that you can then use the Nikkor 16-35 with a 90mm EXR (for Subal anyway). As you rightly say, the 230 is big, heavy and expensive. But then, again, as you say, so is the WACP.

You're right: make a decision. Then buy both. It's only another ton of money and that way you won't regret your decision.

 

You're right: make a decision. Then buy both.

Of course! Genius!

Regarding the short 25 mm of the WACP, if used with the D850 it could be cropped to e.g. the equivalent of 35 mm FOV, which would leave me with the equivalent of a 20 megapixel APS-C camera. If I want to convince myself that the WACP is the way to go even for said skittish sharks, that may be a good argument.

(While conveniently forgetting that @ 35 mm I could do the same crop to reach the equivalent of 50 mm.)

in terms of versatility and IQ, it really is hard to beat the WACP. and it isn't just the fact that its better in the corners when shot more open, the entire image is ridiculously sharp, itll give you a better overall quality picture than just better corners. It also is really easy to dive with and isn't as unwieldy/unweildy (spelling?) in the water as it seems on land. Much easier to dive with than the big dome/extension/etc imo

Has anybody tried the Macro to Wide Angle Port on a cropped sensor? Cheers

horvendile, what did you decide and how were the results? I'm headed to the St. Lawrence River to visit some wrecks (exterior only) and am currently trying to figure out if it's worth buying the internal correction lens or not. Recently I've been using the WACP or a fisheye but if those are too wide then I might end up wanting to use my older 16-35 behind an 8.5" dome. In that case I'm wondering if it's worth picking up the Internal Correction Lens. But I'm not sure how wide is too wide for the wrecks I'm visiting and maybe shooting the WACP in DX mode would still look better than the 16-35 with the correction lens.

On 7/19/2019 at 4:40 PM, mackman said:

horvendile, what did you decide and how were the results? I'm headed to the St. Lawrence River to visit some wrecks (exterior only) and am currently trying to figure out if it's worth buying the internal correction lens or not. Recently I've been using the WACP or a fisheye but if those are too wide then I might end up wanting to use my older 16-35 behind an 8.5" dome. In that case I'm wondering if it's worth picking up the Internal Correction Lens. But I'm not sure how wide is too wide for the wrecks I'm visiting and maybe shooting the WACP in DX mode would still look better than the 16-35 with the correction lens.

Hi! Sorry for the late reply. Vacation happened and I lost touch with the forum.
In fact, nothing happened, except med noticing that right now I can't responsibly afford either setup. Also, going full frame may not be the right decision for me; it may be that an m4/3 system is better suited for my diving. But it quickly gets very complicated. So, right now I'm continuing with my current rig, trying to evaluate more closely which path to eventually take.

No worries. I’m probably going to throw a few wide angle options in my trunk for my next dive trip and I’ll post anything I learn about what works best.