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Upgrading Your Digital Camera Kit

by James Wiseman Friday, January 28th, 2005

In November 2004, I decided to switch camera systems from Nikon to Canon. Over the last few months, I have been selling and buying cameras, lenses, and underwater housings. Now that my switch-over is complete, I thought I would share my thoughts and experiences in case other photographers are considering doing the same thing I've done. In this article, I'll cover the

Thanks for taking the time to write this great article.
Posted by vortexted on 2006-07-23 23:29:09 James Wiseman is an engineer by trade and it shows in his rigorous analytical assessment of equipment. When almost every article in photography magazines is really an advertisement full of useless marketing fluff, I find James’ objective articles and technical detail especially useful. Do I make any attempt to keep up with James’ wheeling and dealing and camera trades? No way! Is he a bit of a gear head? Yes. Do I trust his advice when I am ready to upgrade – YOU BET!!! I am very glad James objectively tests new gear and takes the time to share his results with the rest of us. That has allowed me and many others to spend more time focusing on the art of underwater photography and less on the science/engineering/technical details. Cheers, Dr. James B. Wood Bermuda Biological Station
Posted by JamesWood on 2005-03-15 21:20:27 I'm on the same path. I bought TWO Canon 20Ds for my wife and I. We're currently waiting for our Ikelite 20D housings. I purchased a range of ULCS strobe arms and will use four Ikelite DS-125s. I purchased ports for the EF-S 10-22, EF-S 17-85, and EF 100 Macro. I also have an EF 28-105 and EF 17-40 that I may use - we'll see. The trick is for my wife and I to dive similar setups at the same time. If one of us dives macro and the other WA, I find we can't contribute to finding subjects for each other. BTW, I'm upgrading from a Sony F717 setup with Ikelite housing and dual DS-125 strobes. You can check-out some of my photos at http://www.mvpix.com/. LateR! js.
Posted by on 2005-02-06 10:04:38 Hi Andrej: I need to respond to your comment "By my oppinion the writer of the article seems to be more prone to switching cameras and/or housings every half a year than o
Posted by James Wiseman on 2005-02-03 13:01:37 I agree with 2Oceans. By my oppinion the writer of the article seems to be more prone to switching cameras and/or housings every half a year than on photography itself. ETTL2? who needs this underwater anyway? Did You know that in Nikons D-TTL mode You need a flash underexposure of 1,5 f-stops in order to get the shots correctly (underwater). It
Posted by on 2005-02-02 09:37:15

James,

I really enjoyed part I and look forward to part II. As a dedicated nature photographer with a Nikon legacy system and Aquatica housings at this time I don't feel limited by my Nikon underwater gear. I shoot with Nikonos an S2, F4s and N90s. The only lenses that I currently find a use for at times that I don't have are the two great Canon shorter focal length tilt shift lenses that Nikon has not tried to match. These are not lenses that I would try to use underwater. It was recently pointed out to me by a candid Nikon dealer that in the last 40 years Nikon has seldom been at the forefront of innovation but that they do make gear that lasts a long long time. So I have Nikonos IIIs that are older than many young photographers (god that is hard to swallow) and are not showing signs of giving out. The conversion to digital seems so expedient with constant changes and the Canon gear so tempting that I have twice in the past priced a kit with all the trimmings including a 600mm IS. The equivalent new Nikon system minus the tilt shift ran a few thousand less and clearly had fewer features and pixels. So when comparing feature for feature I have been really tempted. When it gets down to it am I going to be a better photographer and have a better understanding of light and composition if I move to Canon. The answer presently is no. At the beginning of this year I made a decision. I decided to worry less about the camera technical details and limitations and more about what I wanted to say with a camera through light and composition above and below the water. If push came to shove I have always preferred to have technically limited images that are interesting than technically perfect shots that are clich
Posted by on 2005-02-01 18:41:00

Hi James,

best wishes to you and Sarah. Finally we all made our way from the old Coolpix 990 to Canon SLR bodies. But I have to admit that I did not have the impression you were sure about switching to Canon when we visited you during DEMA :-) - Maybe all these CANONians around your house brainwashed you!
Posted by Andreas Voeltz on 2005-01-31 21:41:36 Hi Joe,

Wait for Part II when you see how much it actually cost or didn't cost me.

Cheers

James

Posted by James Wiseman on 2005-01-31 10:04:28 As long as you have the money to do it, the more power to you!

Joe
Posted by Joe Belanger on 2005-01-31 08:38:17