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In January of 2000, I started UW photography with a Nikon
N90s & 60mm AF-D f/2.8 micro lens housed in an Aquatica
90 with a pair of Ikelite 50 substrobes mounted on
Ultralight 5"-5" arms. I had been very actively diving in
California waters for fourteen and a half years before
picking up a camera.
My progression of equipment & training:
- 1997-1999 Mostly, I read books on UW photography, got tips from
UW photog friends, watched people doing UW photography on
many trips, researched what the different camera system
could do, and then I jumped in with both feet in late
1999. (Mainly to keep diving interesting.)
- 1999 Aquired a nikkor 20mm f/2.8 AF-D via ebay.(sold it
when I bought the 18mm f/2.8 AF-D)
- 1999-2000 Shot with the nikkor 60mm f/2.8 AF-D micro and a pair
of Ike 50 strobes exclusively until August 2000
- Started shooting a nikkor 105mm f/2.8 AF-D micro and
a pair of Ike 50 strobes during the Monterey Bay Shootout
(the lens paid for itself; see Monterey Bay Shootout
macro winner.)
- Attempted to do some close focus wide angle (CFWA)
with my nikkor 20mm in September using the same Ike 50
macro strobes set to TTL, some luck; but the ike 50
strobes don't have the coverage needed for the 20mm and
only have one manual setting "full" (most wide angle
strobes have full, half, quarter, eighth; some have full,
quarter, sixteenth)
- 2000 Bought a nikkor 24mm f/2.8 AF-D because the 20mm is
sometimes _too_ wide (you can't fill the frame with a
skiddish animal because they won't allow you to get close
enough. I shot this lens during the 2001 NCUPS beach comp
visibility was 3 to 8 feet and I got a few nice shots
with it. I've got to practice balancing strobe light with
natural light.)
- 2001 Took Monte
Smith's UW photo course through NCUPS
(Feb/Mar of 2001); learned alot about the art and science
of good UW photography. (wide angle, macro, tips and
techniques, lots of hands on and camera in hand
stuff)
- 2001 Bought a pair of Ikelite 200 sub strobes and built a
set of 16"-16" ultralight arms (wow, this is a handful in
the water _and_ the Ike 200s will fry your retinas.)
- April 2001 Went to Saba/Statia/St. Kitts and practiced wide
angle with my big strobes and long arms (but, I mostly
shot with the 105mm for macro and fish portraits; the
warm water was nice. Unfortunately, I had to work hard to
find good wide angle subjects.)
- 2001 Bought a nikkor 200mm f/4 AF-D micro via ebay
(Mainly for land use. Although, I will house it and see
what it can do UW soon.)
- 2002 Bought a nikkor 16mm f/2.8 AF-D fisheye via ebay.
(Thanks Ron B. for your inspiring 16mm presentation at
one of the NCUPS pre-meeting seminars. This lens' DOF, close focusing
ability, and forced perspective make some interesting UW
pictures. Shot a roll of sea
lions at Santa Barbara Island had a blast; just remember
you have to be close and the subject should be at least
diver sized.)
- 2002 Bought a nikkor 18mm f/2.8 AF-D via ebay
- 2002 Bought a nikkor 35mm f/2 AF-D via ebay. I'm thinking
of using this lens for closeups of large shy animals and
CFWA of small subjects.
- 2002 Bought a set of diopters +1,+2,+4 (52mm and 62mm).
The +4 on the 200mm allows me to shoot at a little better
than twice life size with 6" of working space. Although,
camera shake becomes very exaggerated. (shutter speed to
1/250 of a second, rear sync flash, and hope for zero
surge)
- 2002 Bought a nikkor 28mm f/2.8 AF-D via ebay.
- 2003 Bought a nikkor 17-35 f/2.8 AF-S zoom via ebay
- 2003 Bought the zoom gear and port extension for 17-35mm
- March 2006 Bought a Nikon d200 (finally, went digital)
- April 2006 Bought an Aquatica 200 housing (all my Aquatica ports
work with it)
- March 2007 Bought Tokina 10-17mm fisheye (and zoom gear, the
18mm's port extension is perfect for it)
- August 2007 sold Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 AFD macro
- August 2007 Bought Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 AF-S VR II macro lens
(and manual focus gear)
- September 2014 Bought Aquatica 4" glass dome and got my Aquatica A200 housing working with the 10-17's zoom gear. (housing's pinion gear was too big)
- Thinking about upgrading to Nikon D810 and Aquatica AD810 housing (steep $$$ to do that. But, I could shoot my wide angle lenses in their true format, FX; instead of cropped by DX)
Nikon D200 in an Aquatica A200
housing
- 8" Dome Port:
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Tokina
10-17mm
f/3.5-f/4.5
(f/22)
AF-D
digital DX |
180 to 100 degrees
1" minimum focal distance
1:2.5 max reproduction
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zoom digital fisheye
incredible depth of field, huge field of
view
This lens is one of the best underwater wide angle
lens ever made. (flexibility, sharpness, fun) Might have
to be careful about squashing things with your dome port.
(this lens can focus very close)(the only thing I wish it had is a 9 curved blade aperture for better out of focus backgrounds)
On land, the macro mode is stellar. Talk about close
focus wide angle (1"[2.5cm] to front element).
film equiv. = 15-25.5mm |
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Nikkor 16mm
fisheye
f/2.8
(f/22)
AF-D
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180 degrees
10.2" minimum focal distance
1:10 max reproduction
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full frame fisheye
incredible depth of field, huge field of
view
I had a blast shooting sealions and divers
with this lens. Very, very cool!!
Tip: stay away from the bottom, it's
too hard to evenly light it when using this
ultra wide angle lens.
For digital: (24mm equiv. fisheye) much of the fish effect
goes away, shooting more in the sweet spot of the lens
so over all picture appears sharper
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Nikkor
17-35mm
Zoom
f/2.8
(f/22)
AF-S
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104 to 62 degrees
11.0" minimum focal distance
1:4.6 max reproduction
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Hmmm, this lens replaces all my fixed focal
length wide angle lenses, except the 16mm
fisheye. But, it's big and heavy compared to most of my
fixed focal length wide angle lenses. So, I'll keep the
fixed focal length lenses for land shooting and the 18mm
for shooting very wide angle subjects underwater. (I think,
it's sharper
and has more contrast than the zoom.)
This lens allows ultimate flexibility for wide angle
shooting when you're not sure what your subject will be.
Note: you cannot use a zoom underwater
to replace getting close to your subject unless
you like blue tinted low contrast photos. Your
strobes and camera must be within 4 feet of your
subject to get color/detail/contrast. Use the
zoom to crop or include things in your photos.
Don't fall into the trap of shooting 17mm or
35mm only. Use the entire zoom range.
For digital: (25.5-52.5mm equiv.) might not be wide enough
for some things. |
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Nikkor 18mm
f/2.8
(f/22)
AF-D
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100 degrees
10.2" minimum focal distance
1:9.1 max reproduction
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Wider (by 6 degrees) field of view than the
15mm nikonos
A very sharp lens, good for close focus wide
angle of subjects larger than 20" across
The 18mm is sharper edge to edge than the
20mm and has better correction for distortion
and aberation, it's also 3 times the price. You can do some
amazing close focus wide angle compositions with this
lens.
Tip: meter the blue water behind your
subject, place each of your strobes, adjust
their power to match the exposure of the
background.
For digital: (27mm equiv.) |
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Nikkor 20mm
f/2.8
(f/22)
AF-D
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94 degrees
10.2" minimum focal distance
1:8.3 max reproduction
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Same field of view as the 15mm nikonos
without the paralax view problem.
A very sharp lens, good for close focus wide
angle of subjects larger than 20" across
Much less likely to have lens flare than the
18mm. Also, smaller and it takes 62mm
filters.
For digital: (30mm equiv.) |
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Nikkor 24mm
f/2.8
(f/22)
AF-D
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84 degrees
12" minimum focal distance
1:8.9 max reproduction
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Same field of view as 20mm nikonos
For those times when a 18mm won't allow you
to fill the frame with the subject.
Tip: pay close attention to your
strobe placement when shooting close focus wide
angle, otherwise the center part of your photo
may not get illuminated.
For digital: (36mm equiv.) |
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Nikkor 28mm
f/2.8
(f/22)
AF-D
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74 degrees
10.2" minimum focal distance
1:5.6 max reproduction
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I haven't shot this lens UW yet.
It looks like a winner for close focus wide
angle.
For digital: (42mm equiv.) |
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Nikkor 35mm
f/2
(f/22)
AF-D
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62 degrees
10.2" minimum focal distance
1:4.2 max reproduction
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A little wider field of view than the 28mm
nikonos (59 degrees)
I haven't shot this lens UW yet. But, it
looks like a good candidate for close focus wide
angle photography.
Someone suggested using a +2 diopter with
this lens for UW work. That could allow for a
different perspective on fish closeups.
For digital: (52.5mm equiv.) |
- Flat Port w/required port extensions:
Working distances (from front of port to subject,
estimates based on lens length measurements and the
distance from the front element of lens to the subject at
the given reproduction ratio; note: the 60mm and 105mm
elongate to reach 1:1 so the port has to be long enough
to allow that; the measurements take fixed port length
into account.)(Note: I need to add stats for 105mm AF-S VR.)
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ratio
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60mm
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105mm
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200mm
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1 to 1
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57mm
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2.24 in
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122mm
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4.80 in
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234mm
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9.21 in
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1 to 1.5
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70mm
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2.76 in
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152mm
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5.98 in
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344mm
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13.54 in
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1 to 2
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91mm
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3.58 in
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191mm
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7.52 in
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469mm
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18.46 in
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1 to 2.5
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112mm
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4.41 in
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225mm
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8.86 in
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554mm
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21.81 in
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1 to 3
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135mm
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5.31 in
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283mm
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11.14 in
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639mm
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25.16 in
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1 to 4
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194mm
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7.64 in
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385mm
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15.16 in
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1 to 5
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263mm
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10.35 in
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438mm
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17.24 in
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1 to 6
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308mm
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12.11 in
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547mm
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21.54 in
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Nikkor 60mm
f/2.8 to
(f/32)
AF-D micro
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Very flexible lens, tack sharp flat field
focusing, good at macro, great for taking fish
portraits in dirty water; can shoot anything
from 1-to-1 to diver head and shoulders shots.
Can be tough to light the subject when shooting
1-to-1 and some critters don't like the camera
that close (57mm/2.24in) to them.
For digital: (90mm equiv.) feels very similar to shooting
the 105mm on a film camera. |
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Nikkor 105mm f/2.8
(f/32)
AF-D micro
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Great general purpose macro lens, the extra
working distance allows more lighting options at
1-to-1 than the 60mm and lets you take pictures
of shy animals while staying out of their sphere
of fear. The 105 hunts more in auto focus than
the 60mm.
For digital: (157.5mm equiv.) haven't shot the 105mm
with my digital camera yet. |
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Nikkor 105mm f/2.8
(f/32)
AF-S VR II micro
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Haven't received this lens yet (shipping from NYC).
Highlights = Fast
and quiet AF (less chance of spooking tiny critters), internal
focusing (shorter port, more working room), 62mm front
element (more light), switching from AF to manual without
flipping any switches/dials on camera or lens.
Don't know if VR is practical for underwater.
For digital: (157.5mm equiv.) haven't shot the 105mm
with my digital camera yet. |
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nikkor 200mm f/4.0 to 32 AF-D IF micro
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I haven't tried the 200mm UW; but, I saw the
need for it when shooting the yellow-headed
jawfish in Saba and I missed a very cool mantis
shrimp. The 105mm was inside its sphere of
fear.
Note: it might be tough keeping track of the
subject with this lens. AF should be set to
"limit" on the macro side (1:1 to 1:1.9). I
don't see any reason to shoot through more than
18 inches (45cm) of water with the 200mm.
I might try super macro with the 200mm and
diopters. (with a +4 diopter I was able to get a
little better than 2:1 with about 6" of working
room. Lots of possiblities there. I could have
some real fun as long as the surge was almost
zero.
For digital: (300mm equiv.) practical for underwater?
(maybe, super macro). |
- one pair of Ikelite 50 sub strobes on 5"-5"
UltraLight arms for macro, fish portraits, and some close
focus wide angle.
- one pair of Ikelite 200 sub strobes on 12"-12"
Ultralight arms for wide angle (inboard segments are 2" float arms to neutralize negative buoyancy)
- a set of 12"-12" arms for the Ike 200 strobes with my
200mm micro, the same setup also works well for fish
portraits with the 105mm and 60mm. Using the Ike 200
strobes with my macro lenses allows me to stop down to
f/32 even at 1-to-1 which is effectively f/64 because of
the bellows effect.
- Two sets of diffusers for each strobe pair. (-2/3 of
a stop, -1 2/3 stop according to my flash meter; I use the -2/3 stop pair)
TIP:
Taming those long strobe arms out of the water:
- 8 C-cell spotting light for macro (spotting lights
built in to Ike 200 strobes for wide angle).
For some subjects, it's
a good idea to either diffuse the spotting light with a thin piece
of translucent white plastic, use the edge of the beam, or change
the color of the light to red with a piece of red plastic wrap.
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