I just ordered an Aquatica S2 from B&H. Same price as the D100, $1539 for the dual strobe connector model. They expect to have 10 units by the end of the month. Hopefully, it will arrive just about the same time as my 10.5 that I pre-ordered some time ago. I'll be joining in on the fun very soon!!

Good choice! You'll love the Aquatica. But the Fuji...

Just kidding! You'll love a housed DSLR.

Jim

If it wasn't for Wetpixel I probably would have gone with the D100. The many debates here, D100 vs S2, lead me to take a closer look at he Fuji. So far, I'm very happy with the S2 but I think the difference between the two DSLR's is small.

I am finding every day that the small differences are more major than they first seemed.

BTW, I have been enjoying my Aquatica S2 housing - very nice.

M

Paul,

Let's hear it! What do you find you ESPECIALLY like about the S2.

I've got both the S2 and the D100, but I haven't gotten to dive with the D100 yet.

Cheers
James

Quick disclaimer to start - I like the Nikon D100 and I think it is an excellent camera and a great choice for photographers. When I was ready to move to digital the final choice was between the D100 and the S2 and it wasn't an easy decision.

For those who don't know, a bit of background.

I have several photographers submit work which I market on my site / other methods. All ranges of digital and film cameras are represented, although funnily enough no Canons (although they are welcome and one of the contributors just bought the new Rebel ). I see a lot of images from a lot of cameras, and while 99.99% of the time it is the photographer who makes the difference small things can make a big difference.

From my experience the S2 consistantly produces better color out of the camera when compared to the D100.

Which means less work for those people who are not willing (or able) to spend a bunch of time in Photoshop. It also means a quicker path to acceptable color for publishing and a much easier time getting 'true color'. I know these sound somewhat subjective, but that is what I am seeing.

There is a secondary effect to all this as well - the more adjustments you make to an image in PS, the more likely it will be noticable, especially on other peoples monitors. I calibrate all my monitors, but I don't know how others do (or even if they do). One of my digital shooters has a BAD computer setup and that effects how his images appear and adds to my work when I need to submit his images to a client.

It is also interesting that the S2 produces much larger pixel files out of RAW files. While this is all again technically not much of a difference in real # of mega pixels, it does however seem to make an easier transition to larger enlarged prints.

The ASA100 vs ASA200 is all very minimal, but there is little doubt the S2 produces less noise (see various articles on noise in images from these two cameras)

Topside the #1 issue I have with the D100 is that the LCD screen is right where my nose goes when I am taking a shot. I hate that.

The whole AA battery deal is even better. 4 in the camera and a few in my land speedlight and light meter. More in various other devices and now I have to carry one recharger for a lot of what I need to take with me (now I just need strobes to run on these and I will only need one charger in total).

I am starting to realise that the TTL with older strobes is becoming more and more important. I am not a big user of TTL - in fact I rarely use it. However if I am having a hard time lighting a subject, or I am unsure whether I go the lighting right after a few shots on a subject, I like to take a few TTL images (TTL both strobes, TTL one strobe/half power one strobe, various other combos) if the subject is still there. I have got a few great images (including a few sales) with this technique so I have to consider this a valuable tool that is not readily available with the D100. Well not without buying more equipment and new strobes anyway.

As I said, this is a lot of small things and that in most instances it means absolutely nothing. However, sometimes it is the small things that do matter and make the final difference, and for that reason alone I want the tool I am most comfortable using and have the confidence wont interfere in my ability to take a shot I know I am taking. That is an old line from one of my mentors - "It is always your fault - if the equipment is at fault because it was not capable of taking the image you envisioned it is still your fault because you didn't buy the right equipment. So buy the right equipment to start with." For me, the S2 was the right choice.

Just my opinion. Your milage may vary.
M

I gave the TTL mode a good test on some standard macro and normal type shots as well as a few wide angle shots of divers. It worked quite well however I did use the flash compensation feature most of the time.

My only gripe regarding the S2 is having to replace the lithium batteries! Cost is not the issue, just inconvenient (really inconvenient on the outer islands of Micronesia) and wasteful.

If only someone would make a 3V CR123A rechargeable battery.

Chris

Chris,

NEVER use the CR123 batteries unless you are using the internal flash.

Treat the S2 as a camera takes 4 AA batteries and never put CR123 batteries in. They will just cause you headaches and they don't perform any really useful function except for powering the internal flash. Also if they run down, they shut the camerqa down even the AA's are still powered up - which is probably OK topside but a real ****** in the middle of a dive.

M

(P.S. The CR123's also 'help' autofocus, but the effect is so little you will never notice them missing. I don't even carry a set as topside I use my Speedlights rather than use the internal flash)

I give two thumbs up to the use of AA's. All my strobes below and top side use AA's. I know that the battery packs that other cameras use can be very expensiive.

Which of these are "more major than they first seemed"?

Choosing the S2 in order to preserve an investment in two old Ike 50's makes no sense. Choosing the S2 on its true merits does. I rarely miss a shot due to the lack of TTL and the number of those decreases over time.

I like AA's because it reduces the number of chargers and batteries I have to carry. Cost is a big bonus. Nevertheless, there's a big penalty to having to change batteries on most housings. On mine I have to disassemble the port system first. A camera that can go days (like the D100 can) on a battery is a huge plus. The S2 may do that, too. I don't know, but I do know that a superior battery is worth the extra trouble in this instance.

The problem I have with the D100 is that the battery lasts so long on a charge that I forget to change batteries or recharge them. On a dive trip I have to write post-it notes to myself reminding me to change the battery!

No, but choosing the S2 to preserve my three Ike 200's does make sense. That is a lot of money I didn't have to shell out, especially when I was also buying the camera body and housing. Also I liove these strobes.

Color is probably the most major of issues. For two major reasons:

1. Anything that reduces the time and effort of getting an image into whatever the final format I am looking for is critical. By the nature of digital I take so many more shots that I did with film, so it is vitally important to be able to do this. Screwing about with finding the 'right' color is not my idea of fun.

2. Color out of the camera just feels richer. This is very subjective of course, but I am seeing a lot of anecdotal evidence to suggest it may be true. Probably needs someone to really test it

Lastly, as I said, I also rarely use TTL. However it is another tool in the toolbox if you do need it. Even though I rarely use it, it has come in handy on several occasions - and if I didn't have it I would have missed the shot. Any tool that saves even one shot is a useful one to have, no matter how rarely it is used.

M

The firmware and sensor in the S2 yield better JPEG's right out of the camera. This is subjective, but everyone I have talked with or everything I have read about this is in agreement.

I rarely shoot JPEG these days underwater, so this isn't as big of an issue. Remember, what you use underwater is a combination of camera/housing/lenses/strobes. The Nexus D100 with Multiport is an amazing system and as a combo, it is on the par w/ the S2/Aquatica. If Nexus would just make an S2 housing, argh!

When I do want to just "fire a few off" and use them in an article or for a product shot, I grab the S2. It works with the older SB28 my GF has which is nice too...

Cheers
James

I thought Ike 200's had manual power level control. Should work fine with the D100. They are 4x times heavier than Z220's and use custom batteries. For that you get a land guide number of 76 instead of 72. They do recycle in 2/3 the time, though. Z220's offer 1/2 stop power control and more cycles per charge.

Color is the least of my worries and I spend far less time with it than all the other things I do. I figure if a photo's worth showing it's worth getting right. My audience deserves that. The majority of my macro shots receive no color correction beyond the RAW converter and those settings are typically pulled from a default profile. Sure, I had to set up the default profile. Is that too much trouble?

Among the tools a digital photographer uses, I'd argue good color correction is far more consistently valuable than TTL strobes.

You'll have to try my SS200's sometime then Craig to truly appreciate them. When we were diving together, you were thinking that the Z220's were roughly the same power and coverage as my DS125's. I'd agree w/ you there.

Now that I use 200's for wideangle, I'd say they are roughly TWICE as powerful as my 125's with incredibly wide even coverage.

Cheers
James

Just going by Ike's published numbers. Land guide numbers are 64 and 76. Inon's is 72. The Ike 200 puts more of its power into wide coverage. That's good when you need wide but wasteful when you don't. I don't doubt it's a nice strobe but it's a bigger burden to travel with.

Has anyone found the dual media slots on the S2 to be useful. It has not been an option for me, using the Ike housing, since I can't switch underwater. I do use them for project documentation at work. When I first purchased the S2, I thought this would be huge advantage, like a second roll of film. That was before 1 and 2 MB cards were widely available and feasible.

Scotty:

Smart Media is dead. We will never see it go > 128 megs = 10 raw shots. AKA not much use...

Cheers
James

I do realize this James. However, as a film shooter, I missed several KodaK moments during safety stops or at other times after all my film was spent. I would have paid money for those 10 extra shots.

Kodak 14n has the same thing. It provides an SD card (currently 512MB). Thought I'd use it in a pinch.

The Z220 (or anything) recycle time is not an issue if you are using TTL anyway - I can shoot a string of 12 pictures @ 5.5 ps without the strobes missing a beat!

Anyway lets see some of these WA shots to see if they stand up to the constant babble associated with the this strobe or that strobe! So far i've seen nothing that has outdone a single YS120.

Hi Bob,

What do you want to see?

Any strobe(s) that can light up the full field of view from a 15mm fisheye or the 12-24 at 12mm has to have incredibly wide and even distribution.

Two Z220's are certainly up to the task, especially with the D100 where the base ISO is 200.

The Kodak 14n at ISO 80 might be a different story...:-)

Cheers
James

Thanks for the Battery heads up! I actually thought that the lithium cells played a role in the camera operation.

Re TTL, I also seldom use it, but it is a nice option to have up your sleeve in some macro situations where your subject is constantly on the move.

I also have a couple of SS 200 strobes, excellent wide angle flame-throwers.

CB

Bob

Just what type of pills are you taking

Using a single strobe regardless of power and coverage of anything that is available will not do justice to cover a 90 degree + field of view if the subject is more than 3 ft away and fills the frame.

The fan in shot I posted on the DPforum site is about 8 ft wide. I used two 100 degree strobes to fully light it. Long ago I tried using one SB-104 on the same fan (in every position imaginable) but the light falloff on the outside of the frame was unacceptable

Chris

Having had a limited number of dives with my Aquatica S2, I am having trouble with one thing. It has been noted elsewhere and I have had the same proble with viewing the top pannel display on the S2. I use the camera's display light and I am using guage reader lenses on my mask, but I still cannot see the display (too dark). I know most of the information is also in the viewfinder but I have trouble reading it as well and have to move my viewpoint to see all of it. I have became accustomed to using the top display since I use the camera a lot topside and previously in an Ikelite housing.

Has anyone figured out a way to overcome this obstacle?

I can't see it on mine either. After quite a bit of eye strain I finally gave up and just view the info in the viewfinder. The only thing not viewable in the viewfinder is ASA and that can be read on the back panel. Obviously a design flaw.

Hey, all you Aquatica S2 guys, if you install the accessory cold water grip on the housing (James, theses are the one on your Kodak Housing) it allows the battery tray to clear the grip since they are smaller and don't recedes as much as the cast grips normally furnished with the housing, theses are machined and have a knurled patern they can also be supplied with a quick disconect for hand held flash situation. Well wearing 7mm of neoprene on most dive make's you discover theses little details. The batteries on the S2pro are it's weakness and are high maintenance, so I got three batterry tray and can swap card and batteries in a jiffy since I've done that switch.

I have both the S2pro and D100 and their associated housings, still find the out of the box file better on the Fuji, still prefer the ergo and mentallity of the Nikon, BTW if you can get the new Hyper utillity for the S3pro get it, it makes the older version for the S2 look like crayon base technollogy, much easier and way improved. Now if I can only find a way to get an S3 under in something else than a Ziplock bag

I think the angle may have a lot to do with it as well, instead of looking straight down onto the display. I was hoping that someone had discovered some small LED light or some way to see the top pannel. An enhancement of the viewfinder would also be nice.



I cam get the battery tray out with the grip handles but it is pretty tight. It may put it in a little bind and would probably be better to have the skinnier grips. Besides, my fat fingers don't fit the grips all that well anyway. The quick connect handles sound great.

Hi Scott,

Check out my review of the Kodak housing. Aquatica has changed the LCD panel so that you can look straight down onto it. I don't know if it's a retrofit option for your housing (you too Larry) but you might want to ask them, if it's important for you.

I second Jean - I really like the gnurled TLC handles.

Cheers
James

I don't want to give the impression that I'm bashing the Aquatica S2, I think it is an overall very good housing and an excellent value, but I hate the design of the handles. I much prefer the molded handles on my Aquatica A80 and live with the knowledge that someday one of those grips is going to slip off the bracket. I just hope it doesn't damage a dome port or worse when it happens.

The cold water grips look like an improvement. If I can get some of these I would probably go with the standard grip on the right side and one of the cold water grips on the left. I like the ergonomics of the standard grip but the ability to change the battery tray without unscrewing the camera from the base is a major plus.

I don' plan on trading out of the S2 for underwater use anytime soon. I recently purchased a Nikon D2h for my topside photography and it's a superb camera but it can't match the Fuji for out of the camera color. I think the S2 is a camera that is going to have a loyal following for some time to come.

My thoughts, exactly.



I think that I f I had started with the Aquatica S2 when I first got mine, I would not have grown so comfortable with the Top Pannel Display. However, in 2002, there wasn't a choice. I am going to try to re-train myself while using the camera topside.

The top display is a real disaster on this camera, although I am not using the Aquatica housing as I built my own housing, the top display
is important to me when compensation is needed. I found it impossible to see the -ve or +ve signs even when the illumination was on.
I tried a very small magnifier silicone glued to the inside of the housing on the left side of the display, this still was difficult to see under ambient light.
I found a small keyring (Cyber-lite) containing a LED and battery which I stripped down and mounted with a miniature microswitch next to one of the controls. This is much brighter than the internal green camera illumination and helps greatly.

fisheyedave