Alex_Tattersall

Yes, it is.

I use superglue to glue the pieces back together. Happens quite often with the Nikon version of the lens.

Yes, a 7 inch dome is available already for this, (ref 36129) and SE1018-Z zoom gear (ref 36173)

I use regularly:

 

Aperture, shutter speed, on/off, flash up and down, focus modes, AF-ON, shutter release, playback, rear dial, OK button, +/-, ISO, LV, Video Start/Stop, shooting modes (single shot/multi shot/ 2 second delay), mode dial WB, info, erase, lock photo, zoom in/zoom out, menu button

 

lens release when back on the boat.

 

So, all of them pretty much. 

Using a 105 doesn’t give you more magnification than a 60 Longimanus, it gives you more working distance. I found it useful for animal portraits where you want to give the animal a bit of distance.

I was in the water with a D7000 and a 105mm and my friend was in the same water with a 60mm and a 7D. We were both shooting these mackerel. Most of his shots were side on as the mackerel broke to swim past us but the extra length of the lens I had meant I could almost fill the frame with them front on



These damsels tend to duck into their coral heads if you get too close. Very difficult with a 60mm, easier with a 105mm



Same, fill the frame from a distance and don’t spook the fish



Again, very difficult to approach leopard blennies with a 60mm



This working distance is also necessary when using strong wet diopters like the SUbsee +10 otherwise you find yourself on top of the subject, with less magnification which makes lighting more difficult.

IMHO

Is that a new form of chumming?

I love a happy ending...

No, haven’t got that far yet. The housings keep hogging the book.

Hi all,

I’m running a trip through Divequest next September to La Paz, Sea of Cortez. We decided to go and check it out beforehand and had some nice encounters with the sealions and whalesharks there.

After reading Alex M’s most recent article on models and the saleability of images with people in them, I went for some of that.

D800, Sigma 15mm, Zen 200mm dome





Then tried to get a bit of animal with animal interaction

D800, Sigma 15mm, Zen 200mm dome




Brawling bulls, Olympus OMD, 8mm Panasonic FIsheye, Fit Pro optical glass minidome





Some portraits


D800, Sigma 15mm





60mm macro instead of the FIsheye


Cute female, D800, 60mm macro, 2x INON Z240





Baby, D800, 60mm macro





With sunburst, D800, Sigma 15mm, 2x INON Z240





and some other animals:


Yellowtail Surgeonfish, D800, Sigma 15mm





Whaleshark, D800, Sigma 15mm





and some colours of Mexico


D800, Sigma 15mm





Hope you enjoy




Alex

User error for sure

Do you people really boil sausages?

One thing that I will miss is the AF-ON on the thumb, which the NA-D7000 does very nicely. If someone has a way of programming the OMD to do the same, please let me know....

I wouldn't get out of bed for less than a cup of tea.

Thanks Simon

I obviously have some bias here. However, prior to becoming the UK and French distributor of Nauticam, I owned housings from three other brands and I had to get used to working within the mechanical limitations/idiosynchracies/failings of each of them. The inherent difficulty of mechanically operating increasingly complex and small cameras with significant individual tolerances is something faced by all housing manufacturers. I recently too an NEX7 back to the factory which had been purchased in the UK. It was a full mm shorter than the factory working version which had been bought in Hong Kong.

It would be disingenuous of any manufacturer, distributor or vendor to claim that their housings never have any issues, we have customers who have moved to us from ALL major brands, many of whom have tales of non-alignment and functionality problems. What makes the difference however is the manufacturer/distributor reaction to these issues.

A housing may work 100% when it is first constructed and passes QC perfectly. However, each production housing obviously cannot be tested under the kinds of conditions that Alex uses them before being sold to the end user. Manufacturers therefore rely on feedback from the field surrounding any issues which can be improved into the future.

The reason I am so supportive of Nauticam is the seriousness in which they react to such issues. They have recently employed a new recruit with a distinction Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Imperial College London (a top ten world university specialising in Engineering) who is charged with the responsibility of managing dealer and end user product feedback and acting on this to make any required improvements. As a company, Nauticam are humble enough to welcome and encourage criticism in order that they can make improvements to their products. They have recently opened a number of service centres in their key markets with employees of these having to partake in a rigourous training programme on the assembly line (I was there two weeks ago with the Italian distributor). I think that the responsiveness and seriousness that they deal with any issues is a key factor which has resulted in them being the market force they now are in such a short period.

I also think this highlights the importance of buying from a local dealer who can provide support needed if required.

That said, if we had issues with every housing we’d sold, I wouldn’t expect our business to have grown as it has and I’d be up to my neck in housings to repair. This is certainly not the case, 95% of our customers have no issues at all.

Hi Philip,

I was using the D800 and the Sigma 15mm with the Zen 200mm this week in Egypt with pleasing results and corner sharpness at F9 and above. No need to cut the lens shade either.