Looking into buying a package for wide angle and macro photography.

Nikon D300
Nikon Spare battery
Nikon 105 mm
Nikon 60 mm
Nikon 10.5 mm
Nikon 12 -24 mm
Ikelite Housing
Ikelite 105 mm flat port
Ikelite 60 mm flat port
Ikelite 12 - 24 mm dome port
Ikelite 10.5 mm
Ikelite DS-160 Digital Package w/ TTL Sync Cord & Deluxe Ball-Joint Strobe Arm x 2
Ikelite Spare Battery
Ikelite Y Sync cable

Any aditional recomendations, anything that I am missing?

Any preference for shops?

Regards,

B.

Hi B!
You might consider a good focus light to add to the pile of stuff. As far as shops go it would help if we knew what part of the world you are in. Highly recommend you walk in and touch the equipment if you can.
Steve

Memory Cards.
Spare Dual Synch Cord (those things have a habit of dieing at the most inopportune times)
and if you want to go all out add a Fisheye Focus/modeling Light.


Additionally I would recommend the 8" dome and the modular flat port rather than the older lens-specific 6" domes and flat ports.

As far as where to purchase. B&H (bhphotovideo.com) will be the best price, but you won't get any customer service (advice/tips/help assembling your kit/what every else you might need) Because of that I would recommend you purchase (at least the UW part of the kit) from one of our sponsors especially for your first rig. Any of our sponsors are going to treat you right, but the only one I have personal experience is Ryans's Reef Photo

Finally don't forget to get underwater camera insurance before you take the camera anywhere near the water. You will eventually flood your camera - it happens to everyone - it is just a matter of time.

I agree with Steve. It would be a great idea to add a focus light, especially since you'll be using the 105mm lens. You don't specifiy whether you are purchasing the VR version of the 105, but if you haven't already considered it, I'd give it some thought as to which one you want to buy.

I would advise you to refrain from purchasing the 12-24. It's been shown to be, due to its soft corners, not that great a lens for uw photography. I haven't used it personally, but a lot of folks have posted on Wetpixel that it's not that great due to the soft corners.
I would recommend you buy the Tokina 10-17, a great lens for underwater use. If you buy the Tokina, you could probably save yourself some money and not get the 10.5. I own the 10.5 and it's a super lens for WA, but if you buy the Tokina 10-17 they do overlap in their coverage.

Sounds like you're off to a great start!

Ellen

Well, right about now I'd advise against getting an Ikelite strobe or electronics. I recently got a D300 in an Aquatica housing, and stayed with Ikelite strobes because I already had one DS125 from my old system. Well, one pool dive and 4 ocean dives and I had to send both strobes, the TTL converter and the dual sync cord in to Ikelite. They told me the TTL converter had leaked, a wire was broken in the sync cord, and my old strobe needed a new battery and rebuild (okay, it was three years old, so that wasn't too bad). I've lost two other sync cords on my last system and had to send the strobe in once.

Now I'm in Cabo and ready to get on a live-aboard in just over a day, and one of the new battery packs just broke. I've had so many problems with Ikelite electronics I wish I'd gone a different route, but I can't afford to for now. When they work, they are very nice, but man have I ever had a lot of problems. No complaints about the housing though.

For a lens, get the Sigma 17-70 HSM. It is a wonderful lens and I'm really enjoying using it underwater. I sort of wish I hadn't bought the macro port yet, because the 17-70 fits in the dome port, and it is long enough to suit me for now. But if you want serious macro, this lens isn't long enough. If you are trying to spend a bit now, and more later, perhaps by a dome port and a lens like the Sigma, and get wet and see how you like it.

Greg

Backup camera body if you've got the cash and are going on that trip of a lifetime. Spare Orings for the housing. Transport system..ie Pelican or similar. Photo/laptop backpack as a carryon. Finally, a good sherpa and a place to dive.

excellent advice from Steve, William, Ellen. I'll repeat some of it.

Like they said, you should get a focus light (+rechargable batteries & charger), 8 gig SD card, pelican or storm case, and a backpack specially made for lenses, a camera body & laptop (e.g. - lowepro).

You may want to skip the 12-24 & 10.5 and get the tokina 10-17 fisheye.

On a dive trip you'll probably want a laptop and an external hard drive (e.g. - IOMEGA 128gig external)

On a dive trip, there's a chance you'll flood or have a problem with one of the following: ikelite strobe, sync cord, AA rechargable battery, ikelite rechargable battery pack, regular battery charger, ikelite battery charger, SD memory card. So have backups for all those if you can afford it.

hope this helps

Scott

I see a number of people recommending a separate focus/modeling light. Why wouldn't you just use the ones built into the DS160 strobes? I have been using DS125s with my D70 and now D300 rigs for a few years and the modeling lights have worked fine for this. In fact, when I do a night dive I wear a UK Mini Q40 eLED Plus on my mask, mainly so I can see the rig and rely on the modeling lights in the two DS125 to light the dive and for focusing. I have not had any problems using this set up.

Hi Andrew,
Some folks feel that when you point your strobe directly at the subject you are more likely to get backscatter in the image. I've found that at night and shooting macro I have better luck using a focus light. I can turn it down or filter it to red so I don't scare off the critters. I have used the modeling light built into my 250's a couple of times but I had to bring one in from the top and use the other as the main light source. A lot would depend on the subject distance and the stuff in the water, etc. What ever works for you is great. If you want the most versatility then a focus light is the way to go. Is it worth the cost and extra effort to carry it along? is a personal call I guess.
Steve

I own the 12-24, the 10.5 and the 10-17, and take it from me, you dont need to buy the 12-24 or the 10.5. I havent touched these 2 lenses in years, the 10-17 handles both. If you want anything in the 17-24 range, you may be better off with something like the 17-35 which imho is one of Nikon's best lenses.

Cor

Hi all,

Thank you for your help, I really appreciate it.

In response to your advice and suggestions I will drop the Nikon 10.5 and 12 -24 mm lenses and go for the tokina lenses instead.

Tokina 10 - 17 Fisheye
Ikelite zoom gear
Ikelite port ?


Tokina 11 - 16
Ikelite zoom gear
+4 Diopter (Recomended by Ikelite)
Ikelite port ?

Additional I will add

Battery charger
Ikelite Spare Battery x 2
Ikelite Y Sync cable x 2

Separate focus light

and I got the memory, external hard drive and transport system covered.


Unchanged

Nikon D300
Nikon Spare battery
Nikon 105 mm
Nikon 60 mm

Ikelite Housing
Ikelite 105 mm ? port
Ikelite 60 mm ? port

Ikelite DS-160 Digital Package w/ TTL Sync Cord & Deluxe Ball-Joint Strobe Arm x 2

I would appreciate any input on the modular port system, I'm not sure what get for this lens combination.



Regards,

B.