littlemermaid

Well I know there is a lot of excitement over the newest Nikon D7000 as well as the Nauticam housing, but after having my D300s for almost a year I decided to buy a housing and all the do-dads. Let me just say, it rocks!!!! Know what else rocks? Optical Ocean Sales owner Jack Connick...best customer service and product pricing. Within an hour of placing the order, I got a phone call and great advice on other things I might need. Plus tons of email replies to my questions (including late at night and on weekends). Anyways, finally got the baby in the water last weekend and despite being a tad heavy on the surface, it is so ergonomic and easy to use underwater. The whole system was such an upgrade from my old one that is will be a steep learning curve. The Zen 100mm mini dome is very different from having a big port, but will be a lot of fun to play around with. Still figuring out the Inon Z-240's but as anyone who has them already knows, they are powerful and come in a small package. Also really like the new i-DAS arms and still waiting on my L&M Sola 600 to test out my macro skills. Whether you are considering housing an old or new camera, I would highly recommend Optical Ocean Sales...and if you aren't sure about Nauticam housings, I have been very impressed with ease of use and functionality. Happy Holidays! E Rowe

I think you are right...camera and housing in hand after waiting so long is more important to me at this point. I'm sure I will love it and it will be a step up from my old D200 and L&M housing ; ) Thanks!

Just posted something similar since I already have a D300s and finally ordered a housing and all the accourtrements for it (that should be here next week)...now I see Alex's review and I feel torn between just getting my new housing and jumping into the water with a camera again after a two year hiatus. Versus back peddling and getting the very latest and greatest, which probably means waiting a bit for the Nauticam d7000 to be distributed. So torn!!! E

I just recently ordered a Nauticam d300s housing after having my camera for about a year....now after reading the latest reviews I am wondering if I should cancel my order and buy the d7000 instead. Hmmmm....any thoughts? Thanks! E

Have you looked at the Light and Motion housing? That is what I am waiting for and I believe it should be out this month!

This is a camera issue, but thought someone might be able to share their insight...used my Nikon D100 this weekend underwater and was fine, then on the way home took it out of the housing to take some surface shots and noticed that once the camera goes to sleep, it won't come back on when you half press the shutter button (or any button for that matter)....hence won't take a picture. I tried several lenses and all do the same thing, and now it is also happening inside the housing (no pictures on one whole dive and then other I just had to keep taking them to keep the camera awake). We are heading to Egypt in 10 days, so I am stressing over sending the camera in vs buying a 2nd camera...any ideas what is wrong?? I am waiting to hear from Nikon.... Thanks!

Hi Joe, Guess that statement might be confusing....I meant that I wish I had read the book prior since I think I could have gotten even better pictures with the lens and had a a few more "keepers" (though I still had to wade through about 400 wonderful photos). I think any shortcomings were my own and not the lens. I am finding it a bit tricky to master the VR feature (which adds a hefty amount to the price tag) and take full advantage of it. But quite honestly I think the 80-400 is still more lens than I am photographer... sort of like the small print that should be at the bottom of the page for someone like myself who posts "example" photographs to demonstrate lens performance. Hope that makes sense...it has been a long week at work

I also have the Nikon 80-400 VR and LOVED it during a recent trip to Kruger National Park in South Africa. Of course I read a wonderful little wildlife photography book on the plane home....and wish I had done so before. Here is a link to some pictures: http://homepage.mac.com/echorowe/Topside/P...otoAlbum45.html I also swear by the straight shooting reviews at www.kenrockwell.com. Good luck picking a lens!

Anyone looking to get rid of their Nikon D100? I can't believe they are still trying to charge $500 more for it over the ever so popular D70....so I am looking to get a 2nd camera, 2nd-hand. Thanks! E

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Just wondering what ISO other people tend to use for their underwater photos....I hadn't thought much about this and believe mine is always set at ISO 200, but have no idea why or what it should be! Thanks and as always Happy Diving! E _______________________________________________________ Nikon D100, L&M Titan Housing, 16mm, 12-24mm, 60mm, 105mm

Maybe this is going to be one of those mysteries.... Just tried everything on the surface (with 16mm) and works great (though provides some interesting photos of my kitty). Looked over the housing and everything seems to be in place per usual except the selector on the front of the housing that corresponds to M-S-C on the front part of the camera. So maybe that got bumped between dives and then the camera wouldn't autofocus (even though on the camera itself it was still on S I think). Hmmmm, a possibility.... Well I guess I have to stop whining about losing a bunch of cool pictures ; ) Enjoy your diving! E

Thanks for the comments. When I had the problem with the 12-24 it definitely was that the camera wasn't trying to focus at all (wasn't doing the wiggle dance to focus) and when I took the camera out of the housing (still on the tray) same problem. I think I had to turn off the camera, take it off the tray, and take off the lens and put it back on. At that time I just figured it was some user error. Yesterday with the 16mm lens, everything was working fine on the first dive and seemed fine on the 2nd dive...I hadn't changed or done anything in between. Afterwards I took the camera out and switched to a different lens for a few surface shots, and since I didn't realize the problem underwater never tested it on the surface. Definitely wasn't an issue of where the focus brackets were or half pressing....I really think that sometimes the camera doesn't "communicate" with the lens to autofocus. Not sure if this is a firmware problem or just my camera. Worst is that with the fisheye it is near impossible to notice until you download the pics....I am super bummed because I don't want to lose a whole dives worth of pictures like yesterday! I am going to read over my D100 byThom stuff and see if I can find anything there. And when I get home from work will take another look at the camera and settings. Appreciate the input! E

Has anyone had a problem with their camera/lens just not focusing. Twice I have had this happen with my D100/L&M Titan...once with the 12-24mm and yesterday again with the 16mm. Yesterday was especially weird since it was fine the first dive (nothing changed) and then 2nd dive seemed fine until I got home and actually saw the big pictures and they were all just slightly out of focus (couldn't tell on the LCD). The previous time I had noticed on the surface and was able to take the camera out of the housing and had to actually turn everything off, remove from tray, and then got it to work again. I really don't know if it is a lens/camera problem or something with the hotshoe cable or what....but seriously bumming since the 2nd dive yesterday was awesome and all my great pics are ruined Thanks for any help! E [/img]

Hi Chris, Yes the Gina in my photos is the same...Gina Castillo, my best dive buddy and a great friend! She ROCKS! She is learning to put up with a newbie photographer : ) I might have to get her out in the surf taking pictures while Andrew and I surf...hmmmm. Echo

Now I am just a little embarrassed! Just another fun way to use your underwater housing ; ) Thanks, James! Echo

Luck should have it that L&M is coming out with a D70 housing....I think late this year (it is a one liner on their website but no picture yet). I can't wait to see it! We have Sea&Sea YS 90DX but eventually plan to upgrade (just haven't decided to what)...they have been great little strobes but sometimes I feel like I need a little more. There is no TTL function and since I don't know any better have found that using the ROC manual adjustment isn't a big deal (except when your subject moves and you don't have a chance for that 2ne-5th shot). Battery consumption is NOT a problem as I have done back to back to back dives all on one battery. One last thing about the new L&M Titan D70 housing is that it will have a newly designed dome port that will work with the new 10.5mm DX fisheye...not sure if they are making other changes to accomadate a few of the new DX lenses. Happy shopping! Echo

I can only tell you that I absolutely love my Light & Motion Titan housing...but I have zero experience with any of the others and could make no comparisons. I have both the dome port and flat macro port with the 16mm, 12-24mm, 60mm, and 105mm lenses. I especially like the ROC control for the strobes and shutter and aperature adjustments on the handles...especially since this was my first camera system and it has been quite easy to learn the basics (though still a long way to go!) Good luck! Echo

Well we decided to have a little fun one day when one of our surfboards was in the shop...so we took our camera/housing (D100 in Titan Housing) along with the 12-24mm lens for some fun in the surf. You can see some of our pictures (sorry don't know how to upload) at www.homepage.mac.com/echorowe under Summer Fun. With the dome port/housing it was a bit heavy but since you are up to your neck in water wasn't too big of a deal. Getting CLOSE was key (just be wary of lifeguards and other surfers). Then of course trying to avoid water spots was a challenge...but all in all a great experiment!

For those of us who do oh so love our Light & Motion housing....they are coming out with a D70 housing sometime this year. Doubt you would want to wait for that to compare, but just thought I would pass it along E

Thanks for the comments! I just wasn't sure if those of you who have used both noticed some phenomenal difference that would justify getting the D70 for me as a topside only (and maybe eventual 2nd underwater camera system)...From what I read it sounds like the D70 does have some improvements (electronic shutter, etc) but not sure those things matter as much for me since my D100 is still more camera than I am photographer ; ) E

Hi, I was hoping to get the opinion of some of you who have used both the D70 and the D100...my SO and I are planning to get a 2nd camera since he travels to some incredible places, but gets stuck with the whimpy point and shoot for topside photography because I insist he leave the D100 at home so I can take underwater photos. We were thinking about getting a 2nd D100 since it would be nice as a back-up in case of housing flood...but I keep hearing how much better the D70 is and thus feel torn. We are very much trying to hold ourselves back from buying a 2nd housing (but means we have to share) at this point...but who knows for how long. So bottom line is the D70 that much better (for those that have experience with both) that we should opt for it over a 2nd D100. Thanks for your insight! Echo

Thanks for the great responses....and Alex I love your photos! Happy diving! Echo

After some time playing with wide angle photography, I received a 105mm and 60mm lens and flat port for my birthday! My question is whether anyone knows if these require a diopter for optimal performance (like my 12-24mm does)? I have a D100, Light & Motion Titan housing with flat port. Thanks for your input! Echo D100 Light and Motion Titan Housing Sea&Sea DX-90 dual strobes 16mm, 12-24mm, 60mm, 105mm lens

Thank you for all the terrific responses!!! I think I will just keep playing with my L&M and 16mm fisheye for a while....still on a steep learning curve but having way too much fun : ) Happy diving! TaTa, E