11 replies to this topic

[meme.may.fire]

Greetings amphibians,

I made up my mind to housed my d7k in ikelite.
Therefore i have few questions before i buy one.
This is my first upgrade from olyXZ1, and also my first dslr,
so please forgive my newbie-ness.
Any input would be much appreciated.

1) I bought a 60mm D macro + TC for a 2nd hand price. I searched the forum and i found out that there are people who use it with a 105mm port. Just to be sure, can it be done or is there some modification that i need to do?

2)If yes, can i also use the MF modular port/focus extension and will the manual focusing work?

3) I already owned a INON d2000. With my xz1, i only used it with a fiber optic cable. If i'm going to use it with the ike, should i still go for fiber optic or other alternative?

4) Is it worth it if i sell the d2000 and just go for an ike strobe lets say ds161/ds160?

5) One of the local dive shop is selling the zen dome for tokina10-17 at a high price. Im also interested in the Bluewater Precison 5" dome. Should i buy the high priced zen dome locally or order the lesser-priced precision dome by mail? Not to pick on both brands, but is there a difference between the two?

6) For the same price, should i go with SOLA photo 1200 or fisheye fix 1500 (..or is it fix fisheye1500). I kinda like the wired remote control on the fix. So does 300 lumens make a difference?

Cheers

Edited by meme.may.fire, 12 March 2012 - 12:48 AM.

[Panda]

3) Can't pop the D7000 flash up in Ike housing so fibre optic won't work.

[Cerianthus]

1. just measure the maximum length and check ikelites ports on their website to see if it fits.
2. probably not, since you need to line it up with the focus ring. If careful, it might work bu you might need a lot of focus rings... Probably better off with buying a 105mm in the future.
3 already answered. Ikelite do cords with different connections.
4 thats up to you. The DS160 strobes are quite big if you travel, but ikelite strobes will give you ttl which is handy for macro.
5 I dont know, i use ikelites own ports, are you sure these fit ? EDIT The bluewater one seems to be the same one that is made by wetpixel member blibecap www.uwcamerastuff.com. I still dont know what the difference would be, but I would go with the cheaper option.
6 Do you really need that much light to focus ? I use a Sola 500 which has 500 lumens and that seems bright enough. The Sola 800 is the current star in their focus light range with the red light option. Or do you want to use it for video ? Since your focus light will be on top of your housing, i'm not sure why you would need a remote...

good luck with the decisions....

Edited by Cerianthus, 12 March 2012 - 03:12 AM.

[drako]

The sell a modular port for Ikelite that has a focus ring in it. If interested I have one from my old housing. You would need to get the right extension for it to work. If it is not af-s you may need two extensions because of the variability of the length while focusing.


DS-125/160/161 are great workhorse strobes. They are big however. You can save a lot if you buy the 125's used. You will still get TTL albeit with lower specs than a DS-161.

I believe the zen dome is glass. There are pluses and minuses to each.
Both of those macro lights are great and do well for video in a pinch. I have used both, if you want any more info on port sizes are comparison for the SOLA/FIX just PM me.

Cheers,
Jose

[derway]

A cheap ike dome port works fine with the 10-17. No need for spending more.

If you are shooting in clear tropical water, the tiniest underwater flash light is all you need to focus, and it disturbs critters less, and draws less plankton, so less back scatter.

Something like the nano focus light works great for me:

http://www.opticaloc...ht/prod_25.html

[Cerianthus]

For me, the nano focus light did not work so great. The beam is quite focussed, and I had trouble aiming it at or near life size objects with a 100mm macro (such as jewel anemones) (you have to have both the angle and the distance right). Also, the light is not so bright (or I was just stingy on the batteries).

[derway]

I never had trouble getting the nano pointed. Just put it right by the edge of the port, and point in.

There is also the $60 fix mini, with a wider beam perhaps..

http://reefphoto.com...roducts_id=5242

[TomR1]

In shooting supermacro with a magnified viewfinder I found a camera mounted focus light almost useless.Best is to have your buddy shine a very small (as Derway says) light on the subject. Next best is to use a wide angle flashlight, set to low, mounted on your hand.

[drako]

In shooting supermacro with a magnified viewfinder I found a camera mounted focus light almost useless.Best is to have your buddy shine a very small (as Derway says) light on the subject. Next best is to use a wide angle flashlight, set to low, mounted on your hand.

I believe the FIX has an 85 degree wide beam and the Sola is 90 (I think...)

[davehicks]

1) sure, you can use at 105 port even without the TC, it will just limit how close you can get. The 60mm lens can focus very close to even a short port. With a TC is should be fine. But you may wish to use the 60 without the TC. It's a very flexible lens that lets you get good Fish shots for a few feet back, or a super macro from just an inch or two.

2) This lens and camera will focus very well on auto focus. I would not bother with manual myself.

4) Buy some used DS-125s. Unless you want video then go for the DS-161.

5) Get the Bluewater Precision 5" dome. I use it a lot with a 10-17 + 1.4 TC. Love it!

6) I use the Sola 1200 as my dive lite / spotting light mounted on the camera. It's great, much better than the FIX. External charging, tiny, flip between flood and spot, amazing light.

1) I bought a 60mm D macro + TC for a 2nd hand price. I searched the forum and i found out that there are people who use it with a 105mm port. Just to be sure, can it be done or is there some modification that i need to do?

2)If yes, can i also use the MF modular port/focus extension and will the manual focusing work?

3) I already owned a INON d2000. With my xz1, i only used it with a fiber optic cable. If i'm going to use it with the ike, should i still go for fiber optic or other alternative?

4) Is it worth it if i sell the d2000 and just go for an ike strobe lets say ds161/ds160?

5) One of the local dive shop is selling the zen dome for tokina10-17 at a high price. Im also interested in the Bluewater Precison 5" dome. Should i buy the high priced zen dome locally or order the lesser-priced precision dome by mail? Not to pick on both brands, but is there a difference between the two?

6) For the same price, should i go with SOLA photo 1200 or fisheye fix 1500 (..or is it fix fisheye1500). I kinda like the wired remote control on the fix. So does 300 lumens make a difference?

[meme.may.fire]

First of all, thank you everyone for their advice.

Second of all, im sorry i did not mention about the use of the light.
Actually, im gonna do both photo and video.
That's why i wanted a sola or fix or something that goes beyond 1000 lumen.
For now im still deciding between the two.
It would be nice if there is a comparison done by those who have both but that sounded like me asking too much.

anyways, enough about lights.
For now i think im going to pass on the 105mm port idea.
Instead im trying to focus on the 60mm itself.
If im going supermacro maybe i'll add wetlens later on.

(Newb question)..and can someone explain to me about using non-ike strobes on ike.
i know i can only do manual.
The flash cant be popped up. So where does the other end of the cord go?

[Panda]

You have to use a strobe with wire sync cord capability (like Inon Z240), and get the appropriate sync cord (Ikelite to Inon/Sea and Sea). One end plugs into the strobe and the other end plugs into the big silver socket to the left of the viewfinder on the housing.

or buy one of these brilliant inventions http://wetpixel.com/...topic=44632&hl= to optically sync
and use a fibre optic sync cord. You will need to make up some sort of holder for the housing end of the cord to hold it near the LEDs.