Jheard89

Chris - Thank you for the suggestion. I am using a pair of iron z330s. I will make sure to confirm that. Okay it doesn't sound like the D200 would be a good idea even if I could somehow make the housing work for up to 100m. Thank you for reaffirming my decision to go for the D500.

Thank you all again for continuing to add many great suggestions. Chris - thank you for going into further detail regarding the working distances of different lenses. That has helped. It sounds like the 105 mm would be the best compromise for my needs. Some species are very sensitive to light such as Odontanthias, whereas others (Trimma and Vanderhorstia gobies) seem to be most affected by movement, and I'm often not able to get within 50 cm of the most timid ones. I don't have a focus light, so I was using my strobes to illuminate my subjects, which is probably far brighter than necessary. It's dark down there so I wouldn't be able to focus without some sort of light though. So on that note, I will definitely consider getting a focus light with a red light option as per Tinman's suggestion. I had considered going mirrorless and getting an OMD of some sort, however I've been offered such a great deal on the Seacam housing (would come to roughly $4000 with dome port, viewfinder and the D500 body) that it would probably be cheaper. So I'm very happy to hear so much praise for the D500. One thing I forgot to mention is that my boss has a D200, 105 mm lens and an Anthis Nexus housing that he says I can have. It's only rated to 70 m though, so I had originally dismissed that idea (I will be taking the lens though). However, hearing from Pbalves about how you only need to switch the springs out to upgrade the Aquatica housing to 130 m has got me wondering if it's that simple for all housings? I couldn't find a kit to upgrade the Anthis Nexus but surely there must be a way if it only involves changing some springs?

It's mainly for publication in scientific journals that I'm concerned about. With Trimma and Eviota gobies for example, getting as close as I can with my current camera still requires too much cropping, leaving me with poor resolution. Would a 105 mm not allow me greater distance from the subject, or would it be relatively negligible?

Thank you everyone for your replies. They've been very helpful. Thank you Saga7 for showing me a sample of that camera's capabilities and the housing link. Unfortunately I believe aquatica housings are only rated to 90 m, which is a bit of an issue for me. Yes it was my intention to use a 105mm lens as the majority of species I'm photographing at these depths are mostly less than 15 cm, with a lot of the gobies being 5 cm and under. Seems most have suggested the D500, which I'm happy to hear, as I've been given a pretty great offer on a new Seacam housing which is depth rated to 200 m. Chris and oneyellowtang, you both mentioned working distance, which was a big issue with my RX100. Chris you mention considering a 180 mm lens, which would work well for gobies, but I worry it wouldn't give me the flexibility to shoot slightly large (but still small) fishes, such as damselflies, anthias etc?

Hi, I'm looking to upgrade my Sony RX100 VA in order to take better photos for my research. Part of this includes diving to depths of up to 100 m in order to document new fish species. My current camera is good enough for most fishes, however, it's simply not up to task for photographing very small gobies, which account for the majority of undescribed species that I'm seeing. A lot of these fish are very skittish, meaning I often have to heavily crop my photos, resulting in poor resolution with my current camera. As I'm only taking ID shots, I'm wondering if I'd be better off buying a slightly older model, such as a Nikon D500 or D800, which I could get a relatlively cheap housing for. Would you really be able to tell much difference between these and newer DSLRs for fish ID shots? Essentially trying to decide if spending almost double on the camera and housing will be worth it, or if it's overkill for my needs.

Hi, My name is Joe. I'm a marine biologist currently doing a PhD in Hong Kong. I'm looking to upgrade from my Sony Rx100 VA to a DSLR in order to take better quality images of smaller fishes for my research. Have joined WP to ask for some advice on which camera might be best for me.