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Originally Posted by Jon
Great info!
Have you tried the Nikon 10.5mm lens? I messed up before and called it an 11.5, but meant 10.5mm. That is the one I was thinking about for the Nikon. I have no idea what a Canon equivalent is. I'll take a look at the Tokina's.
When you put an Ikelite system together do you just add in the dome port, or do you need to add in an adapter ring as well? I'm just trying to ball park the pricing on it. Which dome port do you use with your lens?
I used to own an Olympus 5050 in a PTO-15 housing with the INON wide angle lens and dome port. it took some pretty good pictures but wasn't what I would call small. I remember that Lambis told me his D70 system, in a metal housing, was similar in size- or at least felt that way underwater. the big downside to that old system was the 10 second PER shot it took to take pictures in RAW mode. I'd gladly give up the video functions to improve the still photo quality at higher speeds.
thanks again,
Jon
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Warning: I am not a professional photographer ... this is just a hobby of mine
. I have not tried the 10.5 Nikon lens but I understand that it is a terrific lens. The fixed focal length of the 10.5 will yield greater sharpness than the Tokina 10-17 but the 10-17 is more versatile and slightly wider. Personally, I am not going for production quality shots so the difference is not an issue for me. The 10.5 is a fisheye lens and will have barrel distortion but you can also correct this distortion with post processing software.
For the Ikelite housings you need to match the adapter ring (aka: stalks) with the port. The adapter rings are very inexpensive (comparatively speaking). I can't remember how much.. but I'm guessing under $50? For wide lenses like the Nikon 12-24, Nikon 10.5 or Tokina 10-17 the recommended port is the 8 inch dome port which sells for around $350ish. This is the port that I use. If my memory serves me correctly (please don't quote me on this
) I think I have seen images taken with the Nikon 12-24 using the 6 inch dome port (6 inch port comes stock with the housing) and they were very nice. The 8 inch dome port is recommended for wide angle though. By the way, the 8 inch dome port is a MUCH better port than the 6inch dome port for the over/under shots that you mentioned. Just FYI... Wetpixel.com is a good resource for this detailed stuff like using a non-recommended port with a particular lens. You can also speak with the guys/gals at ReefPhoto.com who are very helpful.
I know this stuff is expensive but you can purchase pieces as you evolve with the system. I have alot invested in the DSLR route and I don't regret it one bit.... althought I still can't seem to let go of my old Nikonos
. I started off with just the camera and stock lens. Then purchased the housing, DS-125 strobe with stock port on ebay for only $1400 (would have been $2300 ish brand new). I then moved to a macro lens & port, and then later moved to a wide angle lens & port.
I think that Serge offered some excellent advice with purchasing the camera body and going straight for the wide angle lens of your choice instead of paying extra for the stock lens that comes with the camera packages.
