Small Subal dome

[Hamish Morrison 0]

I've been on the look out for a small (4") dome for my Subal & have come across a DP64b that is for sale. As these are not produced anymore can anyone tell me if it would be suitable for wide angle macro work? I seem to remember some mention of the DP54B recently. Is it similar, earlier / later version of the same thing?

 

Hamish.

[Paul Kay 65]

I've been on the look out for a small (4") dome for my Subal & have come across a DP64b that is for sale. As these are not produced anymore can anyone tell me if it would be suitable for wide angle macro work? I seem to remember some mention of the DP54B recently. Is it similar, earlier / later version of the same thing?

 

Hamish.

 

Hamish

 

I remember that the DP54B was a small diameter glass port used for the 20mm lens with a +4 diopter on film cameras - I used it with an F100. The DP64B was 10mm longer but used the same glass and from memory was for 24 and 28mm fixed focal length prime lenses. I used the DP54B for a long time with he 20mm f/2.8 AF lens. Corners were not bad but not perfect from memory, and again from memory focus was possible fairly close but corners softened eventually. Very compact ports though!

[Hamish Morrison 0]

Paul,

 

So, by the sounds of things the extra 10mm extension might work in my favour if I was adding a teleconverter / tube to my FE?

 

Hamish.

[davephdv 0]

I have a Subal DP54 which I use with the Tokina 35 mm macro lens. It works well with this.

 

From previous attempts I believe this port will vignette with anything wider than 28 mm (35 mm slide film).

 

Personally I would look for the small Wide angle port SWB or SWC and determine the correct ext ring. I recently picked one up cheap from the UW photo list site.

[Hamish Morrison 0]

Hi Dave, thanks for the real world advice. Buying sight unseen is always a worry & its easy to make an expensive mistake!

[philsokol 1]

Here's another possibility:

 

http://reefphoto.com/index.php?main_page=p...roducts_id=4403

 

I haven't tried it, but it looks interesting...

 

Phil

[okuma 64]

Watch out for the change in port 'O' ring sizes!.

You could get a mixed set and have a flood!

[davephdv 0]

Talking with reef photo, the 100 mm port comes with the larger 3 mm o-rings. In the 3rd and 4th generation mounts.

 

If you keep the old, smaller 0-rings in the older ports they will still work fine with the 3 generation mounts. I do this all the time. Like you said, just don't mix them up.

[Walt Stearns 54]

I am currently working with this port now with the 4th generation Subal mount. With the Tokina 10-17, you will need the 15mm extension ring as the 10-17's lens shade will strike the inside the dome when zooming in to 15 to 17 mm. Still trying to rap my brain around the idea of using such a tiny dome port.

[Alex_Mustard 0]

I have just been testing the Zen dome on FX and DX Nikons, with Nikon 16mm, Tokina 10-17mm and Sigma 15mm FE. The best combo is definitely DX + 10-17mm. On a Mk3 port Subal you do not need a port extension ring with the 10-17mm - in fact if you use one you will see the sides of port.

 

Small domes have some positives and some negatives - mostly related to optics. Optical limitations of this dome are the same as others of similar specification.

 

I will write up a more detailed review soon, but I would like to make some real world photos in addition to the pool tests. It is a complex issue.

 

Alex

[WanderingBob 2]

I am currently working with this port now with the 4th generation Subal mount. With the Tokina 10-17, you will need the 15mm extension ring as the 10-17's lens shade will strike the inside the dome when zooming in to 15 to 17 mm. Still trying to rap my brain around the idea of using such a tiny dome port.

 

YOu use the lens shade inside the port? Never occurred to me. I've been shooting a Subal ND-30, D300, 10-17mm w/o the shade using a Zen Dome.

[Gudge 59]

.................. 10-17mm w/o the shade using a Zen Dome.

How is the shade removed? I just had a quick play with my 10-17 and I couldn't get it to budge when I tried to screw it off (I didn't use a lot of force though as I was afraid of damaging it).

[eyu 27]

Watch out for the change in port 'O' ring sizes!.

You could get a mixed set and have a flood!

 

Will the new larger O-rings work with the older ports like the DP54b?

[Gudge 59]

My 4" Zen dome arrived on Thursday and I got it wet for the first time today. I got it specifically to do "wide angle macro" with the 10-17 on a 1.4 teleconverter. I have tried WAM with my Subal 8" dome and really like the concept but the large diameter of the 8" dome creates problems with lighting subjects very close to the dome and makes it impossible to get a good angle on subjects on a flattish surface or on the bottom. The setup for today wasn't perfect, my 1.4X teleconverter is 20mm long and the only suitable extension I have is 18mm. As a result the lens was sitting too far forward in the dome and I could only zoom into 14mm before the lens hit the dome. Some of the shots look a little soft in the corners but I don't know if this is the nature of the beast or it is because the lens isn't sitting quite where it should in relation to the dome. Overall I'm very happy with the Zen dome (build quality and finish are excellent) and the results I got today and I can see it getting a lot of use in future.

[Walt Stearns 54]

The setup for today wasn't perfect, my 1.4X teleconverter is 20mm long and the only suitable extension I have is 18mm. As a result the lens was sitting too far forward in the dome and I could only zoom into 14mm before the lens hit the dome. Some of the shots look a little soft in the corners but I don't know if this is the nature of the beast or it is because the lens isn't sitting quite where it should in relation to the dome. Overall I'm very happy with the Zen dome (build quality and finish are excellent) and the results I got today and I can see it getting a lot of use in future.

 

While I am waiting on a zoom gear to use my 10-17 with a 1.4 teleconverter behind this port. Ryan recommends get the zen port as far out in front of the lens as possible before it starts vignette with the lens. I did some testing with a the lens/teleconverter combo with a 40mm extension ring and found no vignetting, athough I suspect a 33mm extension would work too.

[Gudge 59]

Ryan recommends get the zen port as far out in front of the lens as possible before it starts vignette with the lens.

Is that just for when using it with a teleconverter or is it applicable to when using the 10-17 by itself?

 

I did some testing with a the lens/teleconverter combo with a 40mm extension ring and found no vignetting, athough I suspect a 33mm extension would work too.

I have a 33mm extension and the day off tomorrow so I'll give it a run and report back in a day or two.

[Gudge 59]

I have a 33mm extension and the day off tomorrow so I'll give it a run and report back in a day or two.

I tried the 10-17 with 1.4X teleconverter and the 33mm extension today and was very happy with the results, everything seems to be much sharper all around. I don't know whether this due to lens sitting back further from the port, the fact that I was actually able to shoot at 17mm and had a narrower field of view or a combination of both but I like it. I wasn't able to take any shots at the 14mm I was limited to with the 18mm extension as I don't have a zoom gear for it (I'm not about to invest in the Subal version only a couple of weeks out from receiving my Nauticam 7D housing).

[fotoscubo714 0]

I tried the 10-17 with 1.4X teleconverter and the 33mm extension today and was very happy with the results,

 

Out of curiosity, what brand 1.4 TC are you guys using?

 

Kenko announced today an upgraded

MC4 AF 1.4X DGX converter with Gate Array IC (Integrated Circuitry).

 

Or should I instead consider the more expensive Tokina or Sigma 1.4 converters for my Tok1017 and Sigma 15?

 

Bo

[Hamish Morrison 0]

Gudge, thanks for the reporting on the results of your tests with the Zen. It certainly looks very promising. Did you ever get the shade off or was that not necessary in the end?

 

Hamish.

[Gudge 59]

Out of curiosity, what brand 1.4 TC are you guys using?

I'm using a Kenko 1.4X Teleplus Pro 300

 

Did you ever get the shade off or was that not necessary in the end?

It wasn't necessary to remove it once I used the longer extension (and I didn't get any advice on how it came off ) Edited January 26, 2010 by Gudge

[Walt Stearns 54]

Is that just for when using it with a teleconverter or is it applicable to when using the 10-17 by itself?

 

To reiterate with my Subal ND30 (Nikon D300) housing with 4th generation port mount, Zen 100 mini dome port and Tokina 10-17, I need the 15mm subal extension ring which really places the Zen dome in the right place. Without it, attempting to zoom out to 17mm will cause the lens to come in contact with the port, not mention preventing the from reaching its full zoom range.

 

With the Tokina 10-17 and Kenko 1.4X Pro 300 Teleconverter, Grudge found the 33mm extension ring seems work fine. I have the 40mm extension ring, but as mention earlier I have not had a chance to test the combo in the water till I receive delivery a zoom gear that will work with that combo. I have however bench tested it and found that the lens did not experience any vignette, so right now looks like a strong contender.

 

Results may vary with Subal housings still using 3rd generation port mounts as they are slightly smaller in diameter.