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currently having a right good read of that thread - heaps of great info, thanks Mike

Cheers Chris, both me and my bank manager appreciate that reply! Mike

Thanks Isaac, I appreciate the reply I have both the zen 4" and Nauticam 8.5" domes and recommended extensions, so I'm happy they are set up correctly. I don't need ultra sharp corners for these trips as I'm mainly shooting blue water corners, it's more the inner 2/3rds of the frame Im concerned about. I also don't need to shoot wide open. I think I need to stay off the internet and just enjoy my photos! cheers Mike

theHi, I''ve got a couple of bucket list trips coming up soon - one in a few weeks to Tiger Beach - that are heavily big animal wide angle based. No matter what I do I can never get the thought of wide water contact optics out of my head! Current gear is a D500, which is great for macro but I've never shot the big boys with it. For wide angle fish shots it's been the smaller stuff like lion fish, morays etc. My shots lack a little 'bite' that I get from macro but I'm not sure if its my technique or the gear as most of my shots have the kenko 1.4x added to my 8-15mm. I won't need the converter on my upcoming trips. I could go all out and get a Sony A1 with WWL at the expense of my topside 600mm lens but I can live with that as despite my limited diving, underwater remains my favourite genre. So - to go back to the question - and I know its almost impossible quantify, have you water contact optic owners noticed a significant IQ improvement from fisheyes in domes or am I too busy believing internet hype? Im hoping to print a few shots big for my back room wall. Big to me is about 18 inches longest side. cheers Mike

It's a mixture of techniques ! The scorpionfish had the snoot locked and I moved the whole rig to suit The anemonefish was me lying static and I moved the snoot myself on loose arms, and the blenny had the snoot held by my buddy Thanks for commenting Mike

Cheers Tim, Got a pair of Retra Pros now - just a slight upgrade on my old YS-D1s! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi, I appreciate snoots are nothing new to the underwater world - but they are new to me! Took a retra LSD to the Red Sea, these were my first efforts - all critique welcomed 1. snooted anemonefish by Mike, on Flickr 2. Scorpionfish by Mike, on Flickr 3. Mimic Blenny by Mike, on Flickr Mike

Hi Yazid, I'm actually just packing my gear to go away on Friday so I tried my setup for you. I have a D500 so should get similar results to your D850. My 1.4x is the Kenko Teleplus HD 1.4 DGX. The box states its for Nikon AFS G and AFS E type lenses. I've never used it with a macro underwater but testing it on land it focussed excellent with the 105mm AF-S but it kept fluttering with my 60mm AF-S and struggled to lock on with this lens. I checked the lens bare and it worked fine. I don't have a Sigma for Nikon but with my 8-15mm it works great Hope that helps a little - I was surprised with the 60mm result, but in reality I'd always use a bare 105mm over a 60mm with converter unless its a really specific shot that you needed that exact focal length for Mike

I've got no direct experience of this trip either, and whilst Tim is correct with his corner comments on the big dome, are you really going to notice soft corners for these shots? If its going to just be plain sea in the corners I'd be thinking far more of taking the smaller dome for the fisheye and the WWL-1 for the other shots. I would have thought the WWL-1 would have significantly less drag than a big dome Mike

When are you looking at going? Just asking because I'll be in Cancun with a few days in Cozumel, arriving 24th November for 2 weeks. I normally go for private guiding but the costs there are silly, even if the actual dive prices are reasonable Mike

Cheers Draq, I'll contact the above people and see what they can offer. I'm planning on going over to Cozumel a couple of times so if there is someone happy to take a slow moving photographer then the will be a big bonus! thanks again Mike

Hi, A last minute change holidays means I'm off to Cancun lateNovember / early December. I've been a couple of times but always for 'occasions' like weddings so never dived seriously there, let alone taken my camera gear. I believe the area is heading towards bull shark season but does anyone else have any suggestions on locations ( I can get to Cozumel on day trips) and more importantly photographer friendly diver operators Thanks in advance Mike

Hi Stenella, Welcome to Wetpixel. I have an R5 topside and it is a fantastic camera, but I'm not sure its going to be best for what you require. As a starter, here's some dolphins from Sha'ab El Erg in Egypt from a 1dx and sigma 15mm to give you an idea of the distortion - admittedly these were shot with strobes at about 15m depth. The dolphins were pretty much on top of me. I think you may be better off with either a R5 with something like a 16-35mm - the traditional requirement for sharp corners isn't really relevant here as it's likely to be water in the corners, but bare in mind that for other types of work, then yes, you will run into issues with that setup. That said, I'd maybe consider going with an APS-C camera here and either the Tokina 10-17 or one of the 8-15mm fisheyes from whichever brand you use. You could also maybe pair that with a mini dome for a smaller setup in the water that will be fine for everything apart from 'split' shots and is easier to manoeuvre through the water. Out of interest, whereabouts in the UK are you? If you're close to Manchester you can maybe take a look at my setup - a Nikon D500 with the above fisheye, and compare it to an old 1dx housing 'I have gathering dust with a larger dome to see how that feels in your hands Mike

The only real concern for zooming underwater is if you're using the zoom instead of getting physically closer to your subject. If you do that then yes, you're likely to lower the IQ as you're shooting through more water than necessary. However, if you're as close as you can be and the subject doesn't fill the frame as you want it, then there is no problem zooming in - in fact here it may be better as you'll end up with more pixels on your subject. Mike

From listening to the OP, then a 4/3rd camera would be my recommendation. No concerns over IQ once used competently, you can pick up a reasonably priced 2nd hand setup which if you go with a manufacturer like Nauticam that offers good upgrade capabilities then it will be a smooth transition come the inevitable upgrade! Lighter than dslr / full frame mirrorless, good water optics for the future, possibly more cash available to spend on quality strobes that should last longer than any other part of the kit. Just please please, be competent in the water before taking the rig down Mike