Lens versatility or combinations

With an upcoming purchase of a D850, what are the must have lenses ? I have a 60mm Macro and 105mm Macro. Thinking of a 8-15mm and....... Any Zoom lenses that produce great results when used underwater ? I like Nauticams flip with a SMC and a WWL-1 idea, lot of options for different pictures underwater. I dont want to be tied down to one lens option in case a great photo op comes along.

WWL-1 doesn't have any Nikon FX lenses listed as compatible (the only full-frame system that it works with is Sony FE 28mm), but you can use MWL-1 with 60mm macro to get a 150 degree field of view.

Depends on how deep your pockets are, there are plenty of options 16-35 f4 but it needs a big 230mm dome or you could use the WACP with a 28-70 f3.5/4.5 D which gives you 10-25mm equivalent lens this gives 130° on the diagonal, reckoned to be the sharpest option into the corners but it's $$$ and heavy needing a buoyancy collar. If you already have the 60mm macro and port the MWL-1 would be tempting 150° for wide and 60mm for fish portraits and macro. Port cahrts are here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bqmrYay8GTrmBTknoi_Nd0UKCUb9mh9t/view

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dYQNtfigBm5Qzl-_yTlx3gitEaULon4u/view

https://drive.google.com/file/d/183ibiWvhq_SuB21wyPfYgz8y92Dj09Pe/view

With an upcoming purchase of a D850, what are the must have lenses ? I have a 60mm Macro and 105mm Macro. Thinking of a 8-15mm and....... Any Zoom lenses that produce great results when used underwater ? I like Nauticams flip with a SMC and a WWL-1 idea, lot of options for different pictures underwater. I dont want to be tied down to one lens option in case a great photo op comes along.

I shoot a D850 now, after 3 years shooting D810. I find a distinctive lack of options for lenses underwater, but mostly in the normal range. I've 60micro, 105vr and 16-35 lenses and ports, plus 1.4TC, a +2 diopter and a Sea and Sea Internal Correction lens. I shoot the 16-35 ona 90mm extension through a 230mm dome.

What I'd LIKE to have is a 24-70vr underwater. Or something around that focal range.

If you like fisheyes, you have several options. If you have a lot of money, the new MWL1 (Macro Wide Angle) wet lens looks pretty interesting.

On my wide angle end, I was always disappointed with the edges with the 16-35. The +2 diopter made no difference (but perhaps would with a 70mm extension). But the Sea and Sea Internal Correction Lens made a huge, positive difference. I'm beyond sold on that one.

On the macro end, I've tried the 60mm macro with the idea that I could get more full-body shots of divers, and basically have a more normal lens. What I found was that for the macro stuff, the 60mm was just too short. I bailed on it after a single dive.

When using the 105vr, I've often found it impossible to get as close as needed to fill the frame with a subject. So I tried adding a 1.4 teleconverter for a 150mm macro lens combo. I loved that focal length, but I gave up on the TC after one day when I reviewed the images that night and found them a bit soft.

My plan going forward (seriously) is to get one of those nifty little $300 dive housings for my Android phone and use it for more normal shots while shooting either macro or wide.

My plan going forward (seriously) is to get one of those nifty little $300 dive housings for my Android phone and use it for more normal shots while shooting either macro or wide.

Keep in mind that you can't sync strobes with a phone, as they lack a mechanical shutter required for that - you'd need to use LEDs, or ambient light.

With an upcoming purchase of a D850, what are the must have lenses ? I have a 60mm Macro and 105mm Macro. Thinking of a 8-15mm and....... Any Zoom lenses that produce great results when used underwater ? I like Nauticams flip with a SMC and a WWL-1 idea, lot of options for different pictures underwater. I dont want to be tied down to one lens option in case a great photo op comes along.

 

What do you want to take pictures of? No sense someone recommending an ultra wide (weitwinkel) if you dive where there is no visibility.

Rick

With an upcoming purchase of a D850, what are the must have lenses ? I have a 60mm Macro and 105mm Macro. Thinking of a 8-15mm and....... Any Zoom lenses that produce great results when used underwater ? I like Nauticams flip with a SMC and a WWL-1 idea, lot of options for different pictures underwater. I dont want to be tied down to one lens option in case a great photo op comes along.

Hey Brad

Although I haven't used a D850 (I've gone back to the D500), I used a D800 for a good number of years and, in terms of lenses, it's pretty much the same thing.

I agree with phxzacraig that the 60mm isn't too much use on the FX sensor of the D850 - certainly for macro. It just doesn't fill the frame. The 105mm is, I thought, the way to go.

As for wide-angle, I used the 16-35 and liked it. As Chris points out, it does though need the 230 dome - which, I found, a bit of a monster to travel with. The other option is the Nikkor 8-15 which is, of course, fisheye rather than the rectilinear of the 16-35. The 8-15 is great though for the divers up against the reef type shots. I liked the 16-35 for the bigger fish (eg dolphins) images and maybe wrecks where straight lines are important and not achievable with the fisheye.

As for the inbetweeny lenses - or the "I don't want to miss a shot" images: I tried a DX 16-80 during my D300 days and it just never really worked. It was never right and the images were rarely anything special. I came to the conclusion that for DSLRs, "extreme" lenses (ie fisheye or macro) were always the way to go. This was more so when I moved to FX and the D800. Even more so if I had a D850. I just didn't want to take that one-size-might-fit-all approach. If I had the wrong lens on, such is/was life. I thought it better to go out to take specific shots of specific creatures and have the right lens for that. If the whale shark came along when I had a macro on.... hey, another time!

I'm now back to DX and a D500. I still use only either a 105mm or a Tokina 10-17 fisheye; and I'm about to try out the Nikkor 8-15. So still extremes.