What is the average weight of underwater photo setup ?

Hi

I am still in the research phase. One of the considarations that I have is how heavy is the setup above water. 

So - I know it is not a "scientific" research,  but I would like to know what is the average weight in real life of an underwater photo setup with one fisheye lens and 2 strobes:

Mirrorless FF camera (I.E: Nikon Z7 with 8-15 mm etc) 

Mirrorless DX camera (Sony A6600 with Tokina 10-17 mm)

Thanks

Ido

I just had this chat with a friend who was pondering a Nikon Mirrorless vs a DSLR, so I'm tell you what I told him. The weight of a specific camera body and lens won't be substantially different than any other comparable body and lens. They aren't the problem. It's all the other junk you need to take a few pics in the water. Will you be carrying strobes and batteries, multiple lenses, arms, domes, rings etc? And then there's the housing... They all add up.

What I can tell you is that my D500, Aquatica housing, two Ikelite 161s, a Tokina 10-17, Nikkor 105, Nikkor 60, a wet, diopter, mini-dome, cords and a few tools, all jammed into a Pelican 1510 roller case is about 43 pounds. I also tote an 8" dome and macro port in my clothes bag. and then in a backpack, a second D500 body with a Nikkor 12-24 and maybe a crappy topside zoom. Oh, and a 15" MacBook.

So basically, my camera gear is about the same weight as my dive gear. I take a few clothes, but mostly to pad other gear.

In my next life, I'm taking up badminton,

Hi, Thanks for the info. I am curiuos about the weight of the setup you take with you to dive, Not the weight of all items the you might carry with you to a trip for several dives. is it 8-9 Kg or more ?  Thanks again

The FF settings I have...
D800 sigma 15 and Z6, 8-15 weigh 8kg to 9kg.
The arms are 5 + 8 inches long and the strobe uses z240 or z330.
The arm has a buoyancy of 10 bar.
The dome is an 8-inch acrylic dome port in both settings with a slight weight added to the front.

The weight of my DSLR and mirrorless is not much different.

47 minutes ago, ido said:

Hi, Thanks for the info. I am curiuos about the weight of the setup you take with you to dive, Not the weight of all items the you might carry with you to a trip for several dives. is it 8-9 Kg or more ?  Thanks again

 

Oh sorry... my misunderstanding. I can’t tell you the other. Can you not get weight specifications from the product websites. I can tell you that I’m salt water, my typical setup is probably about 3-4 kg negative. The dome makes a big difference and if I shoot all day with my mini dome, my hands are tired. The 8” dome makes the rig a little less heavy, but it also causes the rig to want to “twist” into a dome-up position. 
 

I should add that I don’t use floats at all. I have too much crap to carry now. I don’t bother even for local diving. 

If I add the weight of all the components from the official websites -  I get about 8 kg for the Z72 setup (with 8-15 and 2 strobes).

I was wondering if I missed something.

 Edy write that his gear is 8-9 KG, So I believe the websites are correct. 

52 minutes ago, ido said:

If I add the weight of all the components from the official websites -  I get about 8 kg for the Z72 setup (with 8-15 and 2 strobes).

I was wondering if I missed something.

By the way I used Google translate for Edy's post - and he says that his gear is 8-9 KG, So I believe the websites are correct. 

There can be significant variations though: what size domeport for example. There is a huge difference in weight between a 9" dome and a 4". Focus lights can be heavy too.

And as Stoo wrote, say, 4 strobe arms, 6 clamps add up. I don't know if you have included these in your calculation.

On a DSLR system I'd have thought about 8-9kgs would be the minimum.

Also the dome being glass or acrílic also has impact.

with double strobes, if electrically triggered, you also need to consider the weight of the cables.

There is a quite simple rule: in underwater photography is always adding. Adding euros (or dollars or any other currency). Adding weight.

Traveling with "The Precious"

Traveling with underwater photo/video systems has always been a project. We have always carried on our photo gear.  You can almost always rent dive gear at your destination if bags go missing.  Many airlines are now weighing carry-ons, with most capping weight at 17lbs.  For smaller regional airlines I was never able to find a carryon bag for a DSLR system that fit in the small overheads. 

Here is a quick break down on rough weights for carrying on a “full system”.  Includes everything you would need to shoot from lenses to battery chargers. If you are packing an 8-10” dome and flat port you will need a second carry on.

DSLR                                             40lbs

4/3                                                25lbs

Compact                                      14lbs

Pulled from: https://aquabluedreams.com/#/page/my-digital-de-evolution

@ido my interpretation of your question is what is the weight of the camera rig that you have to lug to the dive site (along with the rest of your gear), as opposed to how much weight it's going to add to your travel luggage, or what its negative buoyancy will be.

I have a mirrorless Fuji X-T3 in a Nauticam housing, with 2x Inon Z240 strobes, 4x ULCS arms, and 6x ULCS clamps. When using it with the 80mm macro and matching port, the whole rig weighs about 7.5kg.

1 hour ago, froop said:

@ido my interpretation of your question is what is the weight of the camera rig that you have to lug to the dive site (along with the rest of your gear), as opposed to how much weight it's going to add to your travel luggage, or what its negative buoyancy will be.

I have a mirrorless Fuji X-T3 in a Nauticam housing, with 2x Inon Z240 strobes, 4x ULCS arms, and 6x ULCS clamps. When using it with the 80mm macro and matching port, the whole rig weighs about 7.5kg.

 

Thanks. You are right. I wanted to know what is the weight of the camera rig that I have to lug to the dive site

When I dive I have a choice of wide angle or macro, and wide angle means 230mm dome.   All that glass is heavy above water, and I think the rig weighs about 35 pounds as I carry it to the boat.  If I have the macro lens and port on it's about 31 pounds.  D850, Nauticam housing, dual YS-D2 strobes on arms, Kraken focus light...It's a logistical challenges to get the gear to and from the dive location, and sometimes to and from the boat/water.

When carrying the rest of your dive gear, you want to make two trips or not have a very long walk.   It's a lot of gear if not on wheels.

13 hours ago, phxazcraig said:

When I dive I have a choice of wide angle or macro, and wide angle means 230mm dome.   All that glass is heavy above water, and I think the rig weighs about 35 pounds as I carry it to the boat.  If I have the macro lens and port on it's about 31 pounds.  D850, Nauticam housing, dual YS-D2 strobes on arms, Kraken focus light...It's a logistical challenges to get the gear to and from the dive location, and sometimes to and from the boat/water.

When carrying the rest of your dive gear, you want to make two trips or not have a very long walk.   It's a lot of gear if not on wheels.

Hi, Thank you for this useful info. I believe that if I have fisheye lens (Nikon 8-15) I need smaller dome. 4.5-6 inch. 

8 hours ago, ido said:

Hi, Thank you for this useful info. I believe that if I have fisheye lens (Nikon 8-15) I need smaller dome. 4.5-6 inch. 

Yes, much smaller dome port would make a big difference - but still should be about like a macro setup.  My 230mm dome weighs about 5 pounds, and it has a 90mm extension as well that adds more weight.   Would make a huge difference in packing though!

My YS-D1 strobes have significant weight too.

The weight of a Nauticam NA-6400 with two Nauticam (70X200) float arms and two Inon strobes minus the Nauticam WWl-1 but otherwise ready to go diving is 11 pounds and 11 ounces. (as below): 

In the Pelican case the rig is under the 25 pounds carry on limit, including WWL. But the strobe arms and camera and camera lenses are distributed among other luggage:

Edit to add, the WWL is 2.7 pounds in air. Underwater, with the WWL-1 with float collar installed, the entire rig is but a few ounces, slightly negative. With the CMC-2 macro converter the rig is neutral, maybe even slightly positive (as well with the dome port and 16mm pancake lens with fisheye converter) but the Stix floats remove easily for fine tuning. 

Thanks

Hi all

Now I have my setup: 

Nikon Z62

Nikon 8-15 lens

Nikon FTZ

Isotta housing

4.5 glass dome+ zoom extension 

2 Sea&Sea YS D3 mark 2

All: 6.9 KG

Much lighter than expected. Cool !

Quote

 

Nice! Congrats, ido. We hope you get lots of pics that delight you! 

On 10/22/2021 at 6:25 AM, ido said:

Hi all

Now I have my setup: 

Nikon Z62

Nikon 8-15 lens

Nikon FTZ

Isotta housing

4.5 glass dome+ zoom extension 

2 Sea&Sea YS D3 mark 2

All: 6.9 KG

Much lighter than expected. Cool !

 

 

Looks beautiful! I have also Isotta housing, same strobes but DSLR D850. With macro lens, is just below 9 kg. I did not check it with the dome (got it just recently). Oh, I also have a Sola light on top of the housing.

Enjoy it!

2 minutes ago, Silvana said:

Looks beautiful! I have also Isotta housing, same strobes but DSLR D850. With macro lens, is just below 9 kg. I did not check it with the dome (got it just recently). Oh, I also have a Sola light on top of the housing.

Enjoy it!

Thanks.. I am just strageling to disasamble the zoom extension from the dome..