Hello folks-

Wondering if anyone out there has experience shooting the Nikon 12-24mm f4 G lens with the Sea and Sea Fuji s2 pro housing???

Specifically, which port extension(s) yield best results when combined with the big fisheye dome? I might not have time to test everything before traveling...

Thanks-

Brandon Cole

Brandon,

I emailed Andy Sallmon a Sea and Sea rep who shoots the S2 in the Sea and Sea housing to get his advice.

Haven't heard back yet.

Cheers
James

Hey Brandon it's Todd.

I was wondering when I would hear that you had gone to a digital camera.

Hi Brandon,

I just got back from a trip to Socorro and used that lens a lot for sharks and dolphins. I shoot with the D100, not the S2 but have used it with both the S&S and L&M housings with the Sea & Sea ports, so I suspect there might not be too much difference. In both cases, I used the lens with a 77mm +2 close-up filter and the extension ring I typically used with the 105 lens flat port. This is what Berkley from Backscatter recommended and it worked like a charm.

I also did a lot of shooting with the 10.5 fisheye for the mantas and absolutely loved that lens too. No extension ring or diopers necessary for that lens.

I'll get some sample photos online as soon as I get unpacked.

Bonnie

Bonnie-
Thanks very much for your help. I trust you had a great time down at Socorro?

The extension ring you're talking about... was it the 40?

Did you have one of Backscatter's custom zoom gears for the 12-24, or something else? One from Sea and Sea?

Much appreciated-

brandon

The S&S extension ring I use is the 40 (part number 56111 in the S&S catalog).

I used the L&M zoom gear on this trip, but I rigged up my own when I used the S&S housing (carved and glued PVC, which worked pretty good). Andy used that lens on the Guadalupe trip in November with the S&S S2 housing, but I don't remember what he used for a zoom ring. The L&M zoom gear fits very nicely around the lens and worked flawlessly with the L&M housing, but I don't know if it would line up with the knobs of the S&S housing for the S2. Berkley might have the answer to that or have a better solution.

Yes, the trip on the Solmar V was fantastic. Some of the mantas were 20' across and I could barely fit them into the frame when they stopped directly above me to get their belly scratched. Berkley recommended the 10.5 lens and I'm really glad I bought it.

Thanks very much for this additional info!

I'll order the 40 extension ring, and then look into custom zoom gear options, or modifying the L and M gear, unless Sea and Sea releases one first.

Glad to hear you had a great time with the mantas!

brandon

I just learned that Underwater Photo Tech has a custom 12-24 zoom gear for Sea & Sea housings in stock for $250.00. The L&M gear won't work with the S&S housings. The 12-24 gear is approved and recommended by Sea & Sea. Underwater Photo Tech has re-machined an existing Sea & Sea gear to fabricate the 12-24 gear.