Switching from DSLR to more compact camera

@horvendile

Of course you are correct about different manufacturers and housing sizes, but Nauticam's Z6/7 II housing is slightly larger and heaver than their D850...

5 minutes ago, adamhanlon said:

@horvendile

Sea&Sea list this:

Z6/7I: 339 x 169 x 158 mm (2,7kg) 
d850: 346 x 202 x 140 mm (2,85kg)

So even with this combination, the size difference is largely negligable...

Accommodating a lens adaptor within the housing contributes significantly to the housing's size.

And you still need the same size ports.....
 

Yes that was, more or less, my point - that this is of course subjective, but that when the two housings are placed side-by-side the perceived difference of bulk is more marked than those measures suggest.

I attached some pics taken with the 3.5" port and 8mm FE...   super compact and nice corners... cold waters!

These samples have bad definition and color but if you want the full pic let me know.

16 hours ago, nudibranco said:

I attached some pics taken with the 3.5" port and 8mm FE

Very nice pics, thanks for sharing!

I switched from a Nikon D800 in Nauticam to a Nikon Z50 in Nauticam. The weight saving is not great but for me it has two advantages. With the kit 16-50 and a WWL-C you have high quality water contact optics which is compact, cheap compared with the FF WWL-thingys and weighs a kilo. There's some distortion, but not enough for me to worry about. It allows shooting at wider apertures without issues with corner sharpness.

For over/unders I use the Sigma 8-16 (modified by Sigma to work with the Z50) and an FTZ adapter with the 8.5" acrylic dome and 50mm extension. I like this because I can get sufficient dof at f16.

The drawback is losing the wonderful Tokina 10-17 as the screw-drive focus won't work with the Z50. Trust me, it's not worth the hassle of installing a manual focus control in a dome for this lens. You can instead use the 8-16 zoom fisheye on an FTZ where at least it has a useful angle if view akin to the 10-17. There's a manual fisheye Z mount lens made by 7 Artisans, very inexpensive, so I hope they will make an AF version soon.

Because of the smaller port opening, changing cards and batteries is much more complicated than a DSLR housing since you have to remove the port and lens before extracting the camera.

2 hours ago, PeteAtkinson said:

Because of the smaller port opening, changing cards and batteries is much more complicated than a DSLR housing since you have to remove the port and lens before extracting the camera.

That's such a shame. I keep reading more about it in my quest to chose my next camera. How many dives do you manage on one battery? Since I sold my D7100 Aquatica setup with ports I have a chance to start from scratch as I am not invested in particular brand except few Nikon lenses, so I am doing a bit more reading than I normally would. 

I shoot very few pictures; 200 on a dive would be a lot. I am sure on my last trip I got three dives on a battery and then changed card and battery at the same time. I tried a Z5 for topside and loved the focus accuracy compared with a D800, but I think underwater APS-C has some advantages. A D500 and a 10-17 is about the sweet spot, in my opinion.

On 1/7/2022 at 6:01 PM, troporobo said:

 

On 1/7/2022 at 10:04 AM, andi_db said:

 I just recently read that Olympus sold image company and not sure what does that mean for its users in the future.

It remains to be seen what the new owner will do with the OM system. They have promised a new flagship camera this year.  I'm not so sure, but hopefull.  I'm very happy with my EM-1 mk II and fully invested in all the lenses (which are brilliant) so will stick with the system as long as it still works. But if I was starting from scratch, I don't think that I'd buy into OM at this time until the new company is proven.

 

https://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/om-system-om-1/om-system-om-1A.HTM

This article explains well what's happening with the old and new brand and review of the new camera. 

Thanks for the link. The initial reviews are encouraging.  I'm very interested in the AF and low light performance of the new sensor, though most of the improvements are less relevant for UW.

On 1/6/2022 at 8:49 PM, LeeCat said:

100% agree with Alex Mustard. You can score negligible weight/size, as major problems are outside of housing itself: viewfinder, ports, domes, lights, arms etc. As result you will save 200-300-400 grams with a lot of cost for new system 
It's sad but true

Hi all, 

I wanted to come back to this thread and let you know what my decision regarding camera was in the end! It was a surprise for me too that I chose to go this way, but there are several reasons why and mainly connected to the quote above.

I decided to go with Nikon D500 with Nauticam set up as it's a great camera. I had D7200 with Aquatica housing and big dome/heavy macro port. It always seemed bulkier and heavier then my husbands D500/Nauticam/mini dome set up (not by too far but... and his was a lot more streamlined).

This way I got to keep all my Nikon existing gear, get an upgrade, buy second hand for savings and somewhat downsize with mini dome and few other items.

I figured for the next few years I will be happy with this set up while I still have it in me to carry stuff around. If I was doing more home based diving I wouldn't worry so much about weight/ bulk but with traveling any streamlining is helpful. 

I also figured that I don't need to stuff all my gear into one carry on bag and check in luggage. On my last trip to Egypt I was able to fit all my stuff between small carry on and a small backpack (personal item) with only dive gear to check in. This way I managed to distribute weight and still have my stuff safe with me in the cabin. 

Now I can't wait for post to deliver my new baby

Thank you all for your input. 

I am still looking for Tokina 10-17 with Nauticam zoom gear (which I sold and now need to get again) and 45' viewfinder if anyone is selling.

Good call! I hope you have a great time with it.

(I did the same thing with the Tokina 10-17: sold it when I moved from D300 to the D800 - then bought another one having sold the D800 and bought the D500.... Doh!)

4 hours ago, TimG said:

Good call! I hope you have a great time with it.

Thanks Tim! I'm really looking forward to it and I appreciate everyones input. This forum is an invaluable source of good information, experiences and personal stories. I'm very happy to be a member.

On 1/9/2022 at 5:52 PM, Draq said:

but sometimes felt frustrated by slightly slow focusing speed in poor light and a limited ability to crop without excessive image degradation

Thanks a lot for this info, this was exactly what I was afraid I might be frustrated with.

On 1/9/2022 at 5:52 PM, Draq said:

So I went with a D500.  For me, APS-C is the sweet spot.  The format seems to be dying out, but I hope my D500 bodies will last a long time, and hopefully someone will continue to offer crop sensor cameras.

That's why I also decided for next few years to stick with D500.I might be worth thinking about backup body just in case

25 minutes ago, andi_db said:

That's why I also decided for next few years to stick with D500.I might be worth thinking about backup body just in case

I've been mulling the same thing