Any of you guys/gals done some shooting with the Aquatica Superdome? How does it compare with the 8" acrylic dome in terms of corner sharpeness for the Nikon 12-24, any improvement? 1+ question: the dome shade that comes with it, is it removable [I would assume so but...]? Can the shade be used with the 10.5?
Thanks in advance for any feedback on this.

Cheers

Hello Jorge, yes the shade is removable and you do not need to remove it for use with the 10.5. as for result, we had a couple of folk field testing it for us, if any are lurking and want to comment the would be more than welcome.

Here is a quick snap !

Click to view attachment

Any idea when this bad boy is going to be available?..........realistically.........

man that's sharp!

I have also been considering getting one of these optical glass domes. I do have some questions, though.

Firstly, what sort of differences would I notice going from the 8" acrylic dome to the 9.25" optical glass dome. My setup is the Nikon D200 with 10.5mm fisheye in an Aquatica housing. I do have a 12-24mm zoom, but probably won't be using that lens quite as much.

Secondly, what coatings are used on the dome? As much as I try to be careful with my domes, there will be a time eventually where it may come in contact with something given the type of diving I do. I'm wondering about how scratch resistant the glass is, and if there is much recourse if it does happen to scratch. With the acrylic dome, I have a way of polishing out minor scratches.

Thirdly, what sort of change in buoyancy might I see with the larger dome? Will it orient itself in an even more dome-up position than with the 8"?

Hi Warren,

This is from the reefphotovideo.com site. It lists the differences between glass and plastic in very basic terms.

Phil Rudin

"Plastic v. Glass?
This one will be debated endlessly on dive boats and underwater photography forums just about as often as o-ring maintenence. There are varying opinions on which is best.
Glass domes cost more, but are far more resistant to scratching than their acrylic counterparts are. Glass sheds water more readily than does acrylic, making it the port material of choice for over/under imaging."

If you're going to be shooting with only the fisheye lens then you don't need a big dome. Why not get a small one for better handling, drag, and manuverability (spelling???). Nexus made a tiny 4" dome that worked great with the fisheye lens. Aquatica made a 6" dome at one time but I don't think it's compatible w/ their new housings.

I have a small dome that I use on my Seacam housing w/ the fisheye and w/ the 24mm lens. It works well.

Cheers
James

Why is that? I would have thought the larger dome would have been more of a benefit for the fisheye?

My primary reason for getting a large dome is that the virtual image from a large dome has less curvature. So it's easy to get all of the virtual image within the DOF limits of your lens. That means sharper corners (still not perfect).

Since a fisheye has a curved virtual image, all the dome really needs to do is put that image within the close focus limits of the lens. It also helps if the dome is a compete hemisphere. Since the 10.5 can literally focus on its own front element (lol) the dome can be very small.

Cheers
James

OK here goes, i'm behind armoured glass, I have my teflon coated 3 piece suit, Crash helmet is on, Pills are all taken, vacinne's are done and I am going to answer this query and say that by the end of august we will be delivering at least a good part of the pre ordered domes, theses baby's will be scarces and hard to get for a while, so a word of advice, call your dealer sooner than later if you need one, at the rate the order are coming in it will be hard for us to keep up.

There I said it, now I have to stand up and face the music, gawd, august is coming fast all of a sudden better start shopping for fake passport if I don't deliver !