Field Review of Nikon D700 in Subal ND700 
Last Update: 18 November 2008 12:12 AM
19 comment(s) | discuss in forums
Author: Alex Mustard ( Alex_Mustard )
WS-45 VIEWFINDER
Subal’s 45 degree viewfinder, WS-45, is based on Inon’s 45 degree viewfinder, but with a much more attractive finish and an optimised fit for Subal housings. The finish is also much higher quality than Subal’s GS viewfinder. The viewfinder is more expensive than the popular Inon viewfinder, but cheaper than others on the market such as the Seacam S45. One Seacam user on board, who shoots exclusively with the S45, commented that the Subal finder was “very nice indeed”.
The WS-45 was a new experience for me and unconvinced whether or not we would get along I brought a GS (enlarging, straight through) viewfinder with me too. As it turned out, I fully adapted to the WS-45 after about two diving days and was not tempted to replace it. I am not sure whether Subal recommends that users take their viewfinders on and off themselves, but it is very easy and I will always taken mine off for travel.
The viewfinder can be rotated through 180 degrees with bump stops every 90 degrees. It gives an excellent view of the whole image and also all the shooting data in the viewfinder. Compared with a straight viewfinder there are definitely positives and negatives, but I would stress that whichever you choose you will quickly adapt to its idiosyncrasies.
I found that the 45 degree angle caused me to slow down and to be more thoughtful in my compositions. The angle of view was excellent for shooting vertical and horizontal wide angle, and also for macro shots of creatures on the sand. This would be a great viewfinder in places such as Lembeh. I also suspect that this viewfinder will be particularly advantageous when diving in a drysuit, where your neck movements are restricted.
Compared with a straight viewfinder it makes switching between horizontal and vertical framing slower (because both the camera and then the viewfinder need to be rotated), which caused me to miss shots when subjects changed rapidly, such as a fish school morphing its shape. The other downside was in macro shooting with longer lenses, when photographing at high magnifications and/or with rapidly moving subjects. These subjects are definitely harder to initially locate with the viewfinder, as the angled view is always going to be less intuitive. Although once you have got them in the frame they are no more difficult to follow with the 45 degree finder.
Overall, the positives out weight the negatives and it got me shots that would have been tough without it. Whether the WS-45 is the viewfinder for you will depend on what you like to shoot, but once you have adapted to it I cannot imagine many people will regret the purchase.
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Comment(s):A great report Alex, It looks a great in the
subal housing & is very compact.
Very Well Done,
AndyPosted by AndyBarker on 11/17 at 01:43 PMThanks for a great review Alex. I always love to read a review of a new camera from someone who has major experience with its brothers and sisters. Not to mention the joy I felt when seeing your hand-modeling photo.
Posted by James Wiseman on 11/17 at 03:04 PMThanks guys (need hairier arms, James). I was asked question about the 105mm VR - and how it fits in the older style Subal ports. Felt my answer was worth repeating here.
Didn’t take the 105mm VR to the Red Sea, but with the correct port I am sure it is fine on the D700, as it was on the D3. It is best with Subal’s dedicated 105mm VR port (this is what I used it with on the D3), but Martin Edge used his with the old 105mm port on his D300. On my D2X, I have always used a home made port extension ring.
The downside of the official Subal 105mm VR port (as I stated in my D3 review) is that there is no room in there for a dioptre.
Posted by Dr. Alex Mustard on 11/18 at 01:27 AMThanks a lot for this review. For non professional users as i am, these bodies & housing are a dream. Thanks to let us dream !
Posted by divocean on 11/18 at 03:49 AMWow, great review Alex. I’m a Canon guy and will probably never have the opportunity to shoot the Nikon but I really enjoyed your effort. The images you are able to achieve are simply breath taking. Thanks!
StevePosted by Steve Williams on 11/18 at 10:46 AMHi Alex,
First off. Great review and coverage of this particular housing and options. You state “the underwater world provides very few opportunities to utilise this feature above ISO 400”, but don’t forget the guys diving in temperate (cold, green and dark) waters! I myself am pining for any U/W setup that can handle higher ISO’s in the water I mostly dive in. My D80 -not in the same league- fails miserably at ISO400 and higher here in the Netherlands.
Posted by Arne on 11/19 at 06:24 AMAlex,
Great review!
As I mentioned in my email; I ordered my housing. Good news is that Ryan should be shipping it tomorrow, unfortunately not in time for Friday’s first Manatee outing with Michelle and Carol. A minor detail to add is that the housing has an extra bulkhead. I have Ryan creating a USB port for me so that I will be able to use Nikon Camera Control and have a laptop on a table for my pool stuff for immediate review without having to take the card out etc. How cool is that!
JeffPosted by loftus on 11/19 at 05:16 PMAlex,
Great review!
Ryan should be shipping my housing tomorrow. Yesssssssss!
Unfortunately not likely to be in time for my first manatee outing on Friday with Carol and Michelle.
A minor detail to add, is that the housing has an extra bulkhead. I’m having Ryan fir mine for a USB connection. The plan is to use Nikon Capture Pro on a laptop for my pool stuff. Immediate download and review without having to open the housing to download the card. How cool is that!
JeffPosted by loftus on 11/19 at 05:19 PMI agree about temperate waters, Arne. Check out my D3 review from Canada.
Good stuff, Jeff. Will you be able to control your camera through the USB? That way you could just sit in a chair and leave the camera on a tripod in the pool!Posted by Dr. Alex Mustard on 11/20 at 01:53 AMI’ve downloaded a trial of Nikon Camera Control Pro, and it looks like you can control the camera as well as take pics with the camera and see the images immediately on the computer screen. Yeah, I could set up the lounge chair and maybe get the model to serve me a beer before diving in. :)
Posted by loftus on 11/20 at 04:21 AMHello colleagues,
thanks for the great review. I have a Subal D3 housing and I´m currently considering fitting an USB port for polecam work, so my question is:
Who´s Ryan, is he from backscatter.com?
Posted by Andrej Belic on 11/20 at 08:26 AMRyan is at Reef Photo; they advertise on the sidebar on the front page
Posted by loftus on 11/20 at 08:57 AMDr. Mustard,
Thank you for the extremely informative review, and the photos are stunning as well. In particular, it is reassuring to hear your thoughts about the D700 vs. D300 as I already have Subal’s D300 housing and am totally in love with the 10-17. When Nikon’s high resolution SLR is shipping I will revisit the idea of upgrading to FX, and this review along with your D3 review provide an excellent framework for lens selection and technique when making the jump. Thank you again.
SterlingPosted by sterlingz on 11/20 at 12:01 PMAlex,
Thanks for the nice review. I guess you would not recommend the D700 to people (like me) who lik eto keep using their Tokina DX (10-17) lense? D300 would then probably be a better option? Albert KokPosted by albert kok on 11/28 at 07:27 AMHi Alex,
Interesting review. I’m tempted by the low light performance and getting a wider angle back with the 60mm macro, but it’s interesting to see that the smaller sensor of the D300 has advantages too. I just started using a Tokina 35mm macro, which has the same angle on a DX sensor as the 60mm on a FX, but it focuses too close to the front of the port to use it’s full magnification.
I wondered which port that is on the front of the housing shown here?
Bernard
Posted by BernardPicton on 12/22 at 01:08 PMHi Bernard,
The D700 is a very interesting camera - but for what I suspect you need it for the D300 really has every base covered.
This port on the camera here is one of the variety of 4” domes that Subal made. The most well know was the one for the 20mm, but they made a variety on longer ports too. I am not sure that they make them anymore. Peter Rowlands tends to use them for studio shots because they look nice and don’t obscure too many features of the housing (unlike a larger dome port).
Alex
Posted by Dr. Alex Mustard on 12/24 at 05:49 AM
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