First shots on the new camera body

[dphershman]

Just got a new camera body and housing-- the Nikon D800. I've thought about going from DX to FX format for several years now, in the end I decided I'm not getting any younger (or richer) so I might as well spring for it.

The DX format is still preferred by the majority of UW photographers. Much has been written about the D7000 as being among the 'best' DSLRs for underwater use in part due to the DX sensor's greater depth of field at a given aperture and an increase of the apparent focal length 1.5 times. A 60mm macro lens acts like a 90mm lens on a DX camera, giving you better subject magnification with the bonus of better depth of field. FX on the other hand allows for much greater ability to pull detail out of shadows and highlights, its like having every shot having built-in HDR adjustment capability. So there's obvious tradeoffs between sensor sizes.

No matter how fancy the camera body is there's always the issues of UW technique- avoiding backscatter, getting a good focus point and so on. The D800 gives amazing detail above water, provided one uses good shooting technique and has good glass. So we'll see how well I can do with this body underwater.

Here's some shots from Saltwater State Park taken last night, the first on the new camera body. All were done with the Nikon 60mm micro lens set to f22.


Frosted Nudibranch


Scalyhead Sculpin


Lion's Mane Jelly


Copper Rockfish

Dan

[LCF]

Nice work on the jelly! Those are so hard to get in good focus.

[Dusty2]

Looks like pretty awesome depth of field on the jelly. No way to tell on the others but nice clear focus.

f22! wow that's way more than any point and shoot will ever see. That's gotta take a lot of light!

[dphershman]

Looks like pretty awesome depth of field on the jelly. No way to tell on the others but nice clear focus.

f22! wow that's way more than any point and shoot will ever see. That's gotta take a lot of light!

Point and Shoot cameras only go to about f8 because their sensors are so small. With a small sensor diffraction limitations set in at lower apertures than they do on a larger sensor. Fortunately, there's naturally greater dof with a small sensor camera so you don't need anywhere near f22 to get good depth of field.

I normally shot at f22 with my D80, even though that was way past the diffraction limit for that DX sensor. This FX camera sensor should be sharper at f22 than my D80 although it will exhibit less dof for the same aperture. But its not super noticeable if I'm careful.

The sharpest image possible on any lens is at about 2 stops down from its largest aperture, so an f2.8 lens like the macro I use is actually sharpest around f5.6-6.3. But the dof would be really poor, especially in macro. Its all about trade-offs.

Dan

[Cameracrazy]

Nice shots. The D800 is a great camera, nice choice. The compacts are coming along. The new Sony RX100 has a sensor 4x bigger than any compact out there, goes to f/11. Nauticam and Ikelite are supporting it. Sony has made another version, the RX1 with basically the same sensor in the D800!

[dphershman]

Nice shots. The D800 is a great camera, nice choice. The compacts are coming along. The new Sony RX100 has a sensor 4x bigger than any compact out there, goes to f/11. Nauticam and Ikelite are supporting it. Sony has made another version, the RX1 with basically the same sensor in the D800!

its a really exciting time in digital photography these days with all these new cameras with incredibly high megpixels and HD video becoming standard even in compact cameras.

the Sony RX1 looks great... a rangefinder-type body with the 24 megpixel sensor equivalent to the new Nikon D600 for those who want a smaller camera with the punch of a full frame sensor. I'd love to have this stuffed into a bag on a hike or a bike ride.

The reason that I shoot a DSLR underwater however isnt just the pixel count, its the flexibility of lenses that an SLR system provides. From super closeups to the widest uw views, the SLR is still the camera that can do it all the best. Of course the price one pays for this is the fact that you have to plan your shots--- if you're set up for macro you're not going to be able to switch (underwater at least) to a wide angle when that six-gill swims by. Like the time when I was diving in Monterey Bay shooting with my 60mm micro lens and suddenly found a 6 foot long Mola Mola looking over my shoulder. :angry: Oh well!

[dlh]

I just received a D800 and new housing last Friday. Sadly I had to travel out of town all week, so I get to dive it for the first time Saturday morning. Very exciting! I'm all set for macro compatible FX lenses (60mm, 105mm), but need to get a new port that will allow my Sigma 15mm fisheye lens to work on an FX camera. DAN Equipment insurance updated, pool test completed, I'm ready to dive!

Anyone interested in a Nikon D300 & Ikelite housing, both in excellent condition?

[dphershman]

I just received a D800 and new housing last Friday. Sadly I had to travel out of town all week, so I get to dive it for the first time Saturday morning. Very exciting! I'm all set for macro compatible FX lenses (60mm, 105mm), but need to get a new port that will allow my Sigma 15mm fisheye lens to work on an FX camera. DAN Equipment insurance updated, pool test completed, I'm ready to dive!

Anyone interested in a Nikon D300 & Ikelite housing, both in excellent condition?

I'm finding that the 60mm macro lens works pretty well as both a macro lens and a fish portrait lens on the FX camera. I've got a 90mm macro as well and have used that once now too.

I love my 10-17mm Tokina fisheye on the DX body, I'm trying to decide whether I want to throw a 1.4x TC on it and keep using it or move over to the Sigma 15 you have for the FX format. The advantage of the Tokina is that it focuses closer (to an inch!) while the Sigma would allow for larger aperture focusing than the max aperture of 3.5 on the Tokina with the TC. I'll have to experiment!


Dan

[Scubie Doo]

I just went through that process, when I upgraded to my 5d. I can feel your excitement! Can't wait to see the results.

[lundysd]

Around here, I have found myself shooting the 10-17mm with the TC far more than without it. It's not that full on 10mm 180deg fisheye shots wouldn't look great around here at some spots, its that our viz is rarely good enough to pull it off. On the other hand, a 10mm with the TC seems to be much more manageable on good (but not epic) viz days. LIkewise, the 17mm with a TC becomes almost useable as a fish/wolfie portrait lens, although the working distance is pretty minimal. Without the TC, forget about taking pics of anything smaller than your hand imho.

Now tropically, the TC stays in the bag

[dphershman]

Around here, I have found myself shooting the 10-17mm with the TC far more than without it. It's not that full on 10mm 180deg fisheye shots wouldn't look great around here at some spots, its that our viz is rarely good enough to pull it off. On the other hand, a 10mm with the TC seems to be much more manageable on good (but not epic) viz days. LIkewise, the 17mm with a TC becomes almost useable as a fish/wolfie portrait lens, although the working distance is pretty minimal. Without the TC, forget about taking pics of anything smaller than your hand imho.

Now tropically, the TC stays in the bag

I've tried out the tokina 10-17 with my 1.4 TC and it looks good in the 14-17mm range, but there's vignetting at the 10-12mm range. I may have to go ahead and get the port extension for the Tokina and give it a try..... next time the viz is decent :-)

Dan

[Tangfish]

I'm in the same boat, just been getting my D800E in the water recently and finding my way with the switch from DX to FX (have had plenty of practice on land and loved the results).

I did add the Sigma 15 and TC but I sure do miss that bit of zoom I had with the Tokina 10-17, which I don't think I'll keep in the mix. I had switched to the 11-16 anyways, in recent years. Didn't like the barrel distortion of the 10-17 during a year where I shot tons of wrecks.

The lens to replace that 11-16 so far has been the 16-35, which I got wet last week with a new 230mm dome. I was pretty happy with the result so far but wow, with a 90mm extension ring the rig is a real beast. I still haven't figured out how I'm gonna pack this stuff yet, but I will be checking some of it in from now on, which scares me a bit.

Glad to see some others dealing with the same move. Let's share info!

[dphershman]

I'm in the same boat, just been getting my D800E in the water recently and finding my way with the switch from DX to FX (have had plenty of practice on land and loved the results).

I did add the Sigma 15 and TC but I sure do miss that bit of zoom I had with the Tokina 10-17, which I don't think I'll keep in the mix. I had switched to the 11-16 anyways, in recent years. Didn't like the barrel distortion of the 10-17 during a year where I shot tons of wrecks.

The lens to replace that 11-16 so far has been the 16-35, which I got wet last week with a new 230mm dome. I was pretty happy with the result so far but wow, with a 90mm extension ring the rig is a real beast. I still haven't figured out how I'm gonna pack this stuff yet, but I will be checking some of it in from now on, which scares me a bit.

Glad to see some others dealing with the same move. Let's share info!

thanks for the suggestions.... I'm still exploring. Did you try fixing the barrel distortion with software? (like the

Fisheye-Hemi from Image Trends).

Dan

[UnderwaterEncounters]

From test shots I have seen online, the Sigma 15 is much sharper than the Tokina 10-17. On a d800 you will have better resolved detail in your photo even after cropping with the Sigma than you will get with the Tokina/TC. So you get your zoom in post.

[dphershman]

From test shots I have seen online, the Sigma 15 is much sharper than the Tokina 10-17. On a d800 you will have better resolved detail in your photo even after cropping with the Sigma than you will get with the Tokina/TC. So you get your zoom in post.

after trying out the 10-17mm DX a few times on the FX body I'm inclined to agree. I'm also interested in checking out the Nikon 16mm.