edman61

Thank you all for the help. We ultimately did decide on the Nikon D90. We opted for a Nikkor 70-300 lens which has done a reasonable job. My wife is very happy with it. Up until now, the best camera in the house was my Oly 5060 that I use mostly for UW. It's been a great little camera, but stepping up to the DSLR is impressive. Of course, now we just need to learn how to use all the new features. When I first bought the 5060, I found some great information in the forums on settings for UW. Are you familiar with anything similar for the D90. Thanks again!!

We recently moved to Maryland and my wife is fascinated by a small herd of Whitetail Deer that visit the field behind our home most evenings. I would like to buy her a digital SLR for which I can obtain a lens that will allow her to take reasonable pictures of them from about 100 - 125 yards away and that we can also use (with a more basic lens of course) in a housing for our UW photo adventures. I'm looking for something in at least the 10 megapixel range. I'd appreciate recommendation that minimize cost (to the extent possible).

TTL for everything so far - about 18 months using Olympus 5060 Ikelite Housing Single Ikelite DS-125 Strobe I've been generally happy with the results - almost exclusively warm-water stuff - Cayman, Turks & Caicos - with great viz. There have been some wide-angle shots, however, that I just couldn't expose the way I wanted. I'm in the process of ordering a second DS-125 and a manual controller - we'll see if that makes a difference. Very possible the photographer is the problem

Thanks to everyone who offered guidance & advice. My Ike housing, DS125 and Dome Port are ordered and on the way. The 5060 is already here and I've started learning my way around the camera. Now if it will just stop snowing here in New England, I'll get a chance to jump in the water and practice a little before our trip. Ed McDonald

Just thought I'd tell you how much I appreciate the site. All the information here and the willingness of people to share what they know has really helped me select a new system. Thanks!! Ed McDonald

Re: "Why not the Olympus C-7070WZ ?" From what I could find a housing for the 7070 won't be available until summer. We have an Aggressor trip in Turks & Caicos scheduled in early May and I wanted the new rig before then. At this point, the camera is on the way, so it's too late now I just need to make up my mind and order the housing, etc. Actually, at this point it's just down to deciding how much I can spend on accessories... WAL, Macro, case, etc.

Thanks Peter! This is exactly the type of advice I needed. I didn't realize how dramatic a difference the Ikelite/Olympus TTL made. I took a Digital UW Photo course last August and the instructor really stressed manual aperature and strobe control. I guess I was focusing too much on that. As usual... a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Ed

ike, Thanks for your feedback. To confirm... if I buy the DS-50 and the EV Controller I can chose between TTL or full manual control but not during a single dive. Whichever configuration I choose must be set up topside. Am I understanding correctly? If I take this approach, I assume that I still get the advantage of the hard-wired connection even in manual mode. I don't need the Slave Sensor too - right? This might actually be the best choice for me as I'm not sure the 4 manual settings on the DS-125 will be flexible enough for real manual control when I want it. Can you list for me the appropriate sync cord part numbers I will need if I go with the Ike 5060 housing and the DS-50 strobe and I want to shoot sometimes using TTL and other times using full manual control with the EV controller? Thanks! I feel like I'm almost there Ed

Hi Again, Well, the more people I interact with the harder it is to chose between the PT-020 and the Ikelite housing. Probably because I'm new enough to UW photography that I don't know the most important focus areas. Anyway... I'd like some advice on what's really important in terms of strobe control and what options I have with the PT-020 housing. Here's what I think I know from a UW Digital class I took last August. Let the camera control the focus, but manually control the aperature and strobe intensity. That was learned with an Oly 3030, Tetra Housing and S&S YS90DX. Is this still sound with the 5060 or should I let the camera control the strobe via TTL Sync? If I to control the strobe manually, what are my options for the PT-020? Is there an alternative to the optical sync cord which I think relies on the internal flash to trigger the strobe? That seems like a waste of power & an unecessary heat source if I'm manually controlling the aperature and strobe intensity. Sorry for the long post. I really want to get this right the first time if possible. Thanks to all for your patience Ed

Hi, I'm in the process of selecting a new UW system as an upgrade from a Point & Shoot digital. I've decided on the Olympus C5060 for the camera and I'm almost sure I'll go with the Ikelite housing. At this point, I'm trying to figure out the best strobe configuration. I've read alot about the Ikelite's ability to use the Olympus TTL functionality. I've also been told (and experienced first hand with a rented C-3030) that having manual control of the strobe is critical to getting optimal results in some situations. Is there a configuration that will allow me to do both with the Ikelite housing and the DS 50 Strobe. I know Ike has a manual controller, it's just not clear to me if it will work with the TTL sync cord or if I need a slave sensor to be able to use the manual controller. Hopefully, this isn't a really stupid question. This is turning into quite a research project. I hope to have everything in hand in time for an early May trip to Turks & Caicos. Thanks for anything you can share! Ed McDonald