Newbie Must Read: What new system did you just buy?

[mschadephoto 0]

Hellooooo- New to this group!

 

I need major help. I am a surf photographer in Ventura from the land and need some advice about starting to shoot underwater. I want to be in the surf, in the waves, shooting. Problems are I have a family/child/newborn photography business with which I use my Nikon d700 and my Nikon d90. I use my d700 with a 80-400 lens to shoot surf photography from the shore and I really am hesistant to put one of them in a water housing. I have a 50 mm, 24-70 mm lens for family photography. I would love a light weight option that I can handle thru the surf. I am 5'3" and am good in the water but still don't want to heave 7 pounds of gear thru the waves. I want a DSLR and am willing to do sony or canon, but don't want a go pro or compact. I know in my field, Aquatech and SPL are big, but they are super expensive. Can anyone suggest a starter camera body and housing? I have to save lots of $$ I know....Brand new, don't even know how to make it leak proof!

[Liko 1]

Hello out there,

 

I hope a forum admin reads this and can help me. For some reasons, which I don't understand, I can't start a new topic anywhere in the forums. Neither can I PM another member. Did I do something wrong during sign-up?

 

Thanks for any help,

Liko

[TimG 62]

Hi Liko

 

Welcome aboard. Sorry to hear you are having problems.

 

When you go on to one of the forum pages can you see a black box in the top right hand side which says Start New Topic? If you can, and you click on it, what happens?

 

Similarly, if you click on the name of another Wetpixel member, do you get a drop down box with Send Message as an option? If you click that, what happens?

 

Best wishes

 

Tim

[Liko 1]

Hi Tim,

 

the solution was absurdly simple. On the top right it said I was signed in, when in fact the system had kicked me out some time before. Basically, I just logged out and back in. Problem solved.

 

Therefore sorry for the mess but thanks for the warm welcome. I'm still very impressed by this forum and hope to gain some insights. Any advise on what to read first... apart of the obligatory "READ FIRST BEFORE POSTING" topics?!

 

Thanks,

Liko

[TimG 62]

Hi Tim,

 

the solution was absurdly simple. On the top right it said I was signed in, when in fact the system had kicked me out some time before. Basically, I just logged out and back in. Problem solved.

 

Therefore sorry for the mess but thanks for the warm welcome. I'm still very impressed by this forum and hope to gain some insights. Any advise on what to read first... apart of the obligatory "READ FIRST BEFORE POSTING" topics?!

 

Thanks,

Liko

 

 

LOL, well done, Liko.... easily done....

 

I usually just click on View New Content - top right hand of screen - and fill many a happy hour reading

 

Yeah, people are really helpful on this forum. Glad you like it. Happy reading - and diving.

[katherineaw 0]

Hi there

 

New member (but have been lurking for a while).

 

I've just upgraded from a Fujifilm F30, which served me extremely well for 10+ years to an Olympus OM-D E-M5 MkII with PT-EP13 housing.

 

Currently using the 12-50mm kit lens and a borrowed strobe while I learn, and will no doubt be upgrading the accessories in time.

 

Cheers

[Cataman 0]

Hello all from a Greek newbie.

 

This forum is awesome and very informative.

I am a free diver who loves the underwater world and especially shipwrecks.

Greece has plenty of shipwrecks and I have start to film them with my custom made underwater platform that holds a Drift HD 1080p action camera.

I hope to buy very soon a 4K camera for that platform.

 

Thanks and Cheers.

Kosmas (the Cataman is nickname).

[LensTravels 1]

Hello. Classically trained documentary photojournalist and personal travel for 35+ years. Two years ago I re-certifed in PADI, after a 15 year hiatus, when my two teenagers wanted to learn how to scuba; so I thought, why the heck not. Shoot Canon for 25 years and Nikon 18 years but also Fuji 4 years and Olympus. My son is planning on going to college this Fall in digital media production, so while he's videoing underwater; I thought I give photography a try. I never had the opportunity to shoot underwater during my initial diving experience; too busy learning and mastering my underwater diving and buoyancy skills.

 

As much as I want to use my Nikon D4s or Fujifilm XT-1; I just can't justify renting or acquiring housing for them just yet. With baggage restrictions on airlines now, and lugging my travel dive gear..... I decided to go as light as possible for now. For travel UW: I purchased an Olympus TG4 stylus with it's PT-056 housing, color balancing circular gels, tray and arms (interlocking socket joint which I hate, and will later change), Sea & Sea YS-D2 strobe, Olympus PTWC-01 UW wide conversion Lens, and set of Light & Motion Sola 1200 photo lamps. Unfortunately my trips to Turks & Caicos and Punta Cana weren't ideal for photography; T&C visibility was less than 40 feet and murky from off shore storms. Punta Cana we endured really strong and rough currents; despite having extra weights, we were all tossed around. One positive note: my kids did absolutely awesome on their first drift dive.

[phxazcraig 116]

Hellooooo- New to this group!

 

I need major help. I am a surf photographer in Ventura from the land and need some advice about starting to shoot underwater. I want to be in the surf, in the waves, shooting. Problems are I have a family/child/newborn photography business with which I use my Nikon d700 and my Nikon d90. I use my d700 with a 80-400 lens to shoot surf photography from the shore and I really am hesistant to put one of them in a water housing. I have a 50 mm, 24-70 mm lens for family photography. I would love a light weight option that I can handle thru the surf. I am 5'3" and am good in the water but still don't want to heave 7 pounds of gear thru the waves. I want a DSLR and am willing to do sony or canon, but don't want a go pro or compact. I know in my field, Aquatech and SPL are big, but they are super expensive. Can anyone suggest a starter camera body and housing? I have to save lots of $$ I know....Brand new, don't even know how to make it leak proof!

 

Sorry for the slow response. Haven't been getting on these forums enough lately.

 

I'm thinking your best best would be a used D90 housing. Put your D90 in it, and whatever lens/port seems right for the photography you intend to do. Sounds like it could be wide angle, and probably a Nikon 10-24 (or Sigma 10-20, or similar Tokina) would work ok behind a smallish dome.

[sadilauro 2]

Hey guys anyone know about NIMAR houses? I have found them cheaper then others but I can't found any review about them!

Any help?

Thanks

[Craneguy 0]

Have been shooting with a canon elph in an underwater housing for a couple of years, mostly wreck diving, reefs, etc. , going diving with sharks in June 2017 so I Just bought a used Aquatica housing for my Canon 5d Mkii and grabbed two used ikelite 125 lights for short money as well. Housing came with focus ring for 100 f 2.8, a 1.4 converter and a zoom gear for 17-40 f4 , need to get the arms, ttl cords as well as dome and port dependent on which wide angle I grab, between the 17-40 and the 16-35 f2.8 II any suggestions? Other than eBay and the forums here are there any other good used equipment sites ? Am hoping to finish out my build and take on a cruise in the Caribbean next month to "play" with it and learn what I can prior to June. Visibility where I live is 12 feet on a good day so not a great comparison to the carribean unless I tag along with the local dive shop while they do there open water pool time for new divers lol.

[Francesea 0]

Happy Newbie here! I can post pix, but really I am hoping to learn how to improve them.

[jacqueline.vandewalt 0]

Hi I am Jackie. I have been playing around with the DC1400 but I enjoy macro work. I bought a canon g1x mark 2 with a canon housing and use two canon strobes. Thanks to everyone sharing their experience and tips !

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[asthecrowflys 0]

Hi all,

 

i have just invested in an Olympus MD E M1 MII, a Nauticam housing with wide angle, macro and power zoom and Inon Z 240 strobe. I have the camera but wont get the housing and rest until mid February, really looking forward to getting it wet in Fort Lauderdale

[Jukkis 1]

Canon 6D with Sea & Sea

[Ninelinegoby 1]

Hello all, I'm new to the forum. I've been shooting with a TG4 and just made the jump to a mirrorless. My new rig is

EM1 Mark ii

Oly 60 mm macro

Nauticam housing and port

Oly UF L 3 strobes

Counting the days till I get to play with it. 2 weeks on bonaire in july

[StruttinWolf 0]

Just bought a Canon G7X in a Fantasea housing. Now I'm in the market for strobe(s) and a tray.

[rmeinicke1 0]

Hi, my initial upgrade from the gopro hero 3+ black was to the hero 5. Since then I have purchased a canon g7x mk2 , a nauticam housing and recently a secondhand sea and sea ys1 strobe . Hoping to get some decent pics in the future . Any tips tricks would be appreciated ! Just beginning the real underwater photography playground !

 

Sent from my GT-N8010 using Tapatalk

[jamaeolus 0]

Hi folks brand new to serious underwater photography. I am a moderately skilled amateur land camera photographer, mostly things (not people) and mostly using ambient light. I am going to the tropics to do some diving. I am the proud new owner of a Meikon housing for my A7ii (which I have had since shortly after Sony released it). I am using a Howshot tray and Howshot 2400LM light and Sea and Sea YS-D2 flash via Sync cable. I am new to serious flash equipment as my experince previously had been built in on camera flash. I am puzzled as to what settings to use on camera and on flash unit. When set to Auto (camera) and auto camera flash setting with YS-D2 set to TTL my tests are all way overexposed even at the lowest settings. Any help as to how to set up the camera and flash setting would be greatly appreciated.

[LAROUX 0]

Canon G7x Mark II - Inon S2000 strobe

[bwinner01 0]

Completely new to this website and forum. Think it would be helpful to have a community of like minded people to trade ideas with. Wish I came across this sooner. Been diving since 1992 and shooting for the last 15 years and have some pretty decent results to show for it. Will post some when I can figure it out. Started with Sea & Sea film with a lot of blue shots before the advent of decent digital options. Now there's so many it's hard to sort them out. Went to a Cannon Pro1 in an Ikelite housing with a Ikelite DS125 strobe. That lasted me 10 years. Then briefly to A Nikon D700 in an Aquatica housing with dual DS161 strobes. Found it a beast to travel with so recently switched to an Olympus OMD-EM1 with an Aquatica housing and dual Sea & Sea YS-D2 strobes which seems like a good compromise. Could never do TTL until now so that's a plus as I live in CT and only dive on trips so maybe 60 dives a year and don't get enough time underwater to hone my skills as much as I like.

 

Currently looking to get my daughter who's a divemaster with 1000's of dives her first kit and would appreciate any input. She wants something small and loves macro so I'm leaning toward a Cannon G7X II in a Recsea housing with Sea & Sea strobes. If anyone out there has this camera would love your opinion or suggestions on other ones to consider. Picked up a Sealife Micro 2.0 last year for her with the dragon light and we both hated the results. Appreciate the input

[nbdylan 0]

I have been diving since '96 and for many years had no use for a camera. What changed things for me was the incredible amount and variety of sea life in Indonesia. The camera would allow me to record the myriad of details necessary for critter ID. I am not an artist and a motor tremor in my hand brought me to the land of point and shoot. I currently am using an Olympus TG 5 with an Olympus housing and am wonderfully pleased with the low impact of the system in the water and at the airport. I guess it's all about your daughter's intended use of her new kit.

 

 

Good hunting!

Edited April 26, 2018 by nbdylan

[iritter 0]

When I transitioned from killing fish to photographing fish, I went with a used Nikon D80 with a sea&sea housing and Ikelite DS125. After using this for about a year, it slowly became time to upgrade. The Nikon D80 and I had a great time together, but I just upgraded to a Nikon D850 with a Nauticam Housing and Inon Z330 strobes. Overall, a pretty incredible camera. My first inclination was to buy a Sony A7RIII, (an amazing camera which I have shot above water quite a bit), but due to slow low light autofocus for macro shooting, I passed on it.

For newbies, unless you have tons of coin to drop, I would recommend just finding an older setup and buying that. Get really comfortable with it, and then take the plunge to a fancier set up. Unless you're already a photographer, it will take you a while to "outshoot" the camera.

Good luck!

[Fruitographer 3]

the first strobe I started out with was a Sea&Sea YSD2 and the electronics portion flooded just after a year of purchase. Sent it in and after 3 months wait they said they couldn't fix it and I was out over $700. Stay away from Sea&Sea they are horribly built strobes and not worth it no matter how good a deal. Plus they have some of the worst customer service I've ever seen. I started out with a TG4 and now I have a Nauticam housing showing up tomorrow for my D810. I'm a very experienced photographer and will finally be able to get some decent shots underwater. Now I'm trying to stock up on DS125's that I can use as remote strobes in the caves and I'm actually getting ready to purchase Iritter's old DS125's. I've also got a DS161 for on the camera. If I wasn't shooting with 4-8 remote strobes not including the ones on camera I'd be ore likely to go with an Z330. Even with the TG4 using a flashlight held from the side and the on camera flash as a fill, I was able to get some pretty decent shots. I'm pretty excited to see what comes next. Now I have to figure out what wide angle lens to get other than fisheye and which dome port to get.

[jdbaluch 0]

Hi guys! Just joined the forum and am looking to post in the classifieds. Do I have to have a certain number of replies before i'm entitled to post in the forum? It won't let me create a new thread.