Just got my nikkor 19mm for my CP5000, but in the process of looking around for the lens got bitten by "Must get new camera soooon" bug

Currently I shoot Nikon Coolpix 5000/SS200 in manual mode and have to use 18W HID with video reflector as an aiming light or the autofocus just won't work. Also the shutter speed or more like lack of it is somewhat challenging when shooting fast moving objects like divers with scooters. With both strobe and aiming light arms folded open I can't ride my scooter while moving from location to another. Without the aiming light the camera rides quite nicely in the slipstream under my left arm while scootering, so I'd like to get rid of that

In Finland below 20 meters it is always like shooting during night. These photos were shot around 30 meters during day and represent very typical conditions in Finnish waters, nearly no ambient light and not so great visibility:

http://www.slps.net/slps/html/2003/dive_pi...es/dive577.html

Maybe once of twice per year conditions are like this:

http://www.slps.net/slps/html/gallery/park...tory/index.html


I was already set to buy and D300, but then Nikon announced D70

Two most important factors for me are noise and AF in low light. In that respect which is better D300 or D70?

Also the internal buffer of D70 seems better, making shooting in RAW mode more convienient. With CP5000 I rarely shoot in RAW mode because it takes so long to write the photo to memory card and process RAWs after the dive.

Both D300 and D70 have possibilty of storing RAW+JPEG at the same time, which is feature that I am really looking forward as I mostly use my pics on my web page. If using RAW+JPEG mode I could make my web page fast with JPEGs and should I need to print some photos, I could then take the time to process RAWs on my computer.

With DSLRs I would probably have to use smaller apertures that I am using with my CP5000 (normally 2.8-3.5) to achive enough DOF. Would the reduced noise level and ability to use higher ISO settings compencate this? Or am I going to need even more light with DSLR? Using strobes in silty finnish waters isn't easy eventhough I have my SS200 hanging at the end of 32 inc arm and use diffuser.

I mostly shoot wide angle, so I am looking to get either 12-24 zoom lens or 15 fish eye. 15 mm is faster lens, but with crop factor the lens would be equivalent of 22-24 mm which isn't very wide compared to my existing 19 mm nikkor? I use zoom rarely, so that is not an issue nor do I shoot any macro shots.

I do a fair amount of wreck diving in the Great Lakes in the USA which seems similar to what I see in your pictues. I use a small but very bright and highly focused light for focusing. Shooting wide angle you can generally get pretty close to your subject and this light works well for me, it is a UK SL6. and it should ride well on your scotter. Nikon recently introduced a 10.5 MM lens that should fit your wide angle needs.

All of that aside when can I come to Finland to dive with you?

See the following URL (Group 4) for pictures below taken with a C-5050 with a wide angle lens with a dome port and two external DS 125 strobes set to 1/2 power using manual focus set to 31".

The beauty of these settings is that there is virtually no shutter lag AND no focusing light is needed for night dives or dark engine room shots. .

http://www.splashdowndivers.com/photo_gall...ple_gallery.htm

The dome port is the key ingredient in that it creates a "virtual" image. i.e. a point at which "virtually" everything is in focus.

For more information, search google using "dome port virtual image" and "hyperfocal distance"

Nemo,

I dive every weekend, so feel free to come whenever you like. Right now there aren't many diveable sites, I mostly dive in Ojamo Mine. Later on during winter when ice gets thick enough, there are some nice wrecks where you can park your car right on top of the wreck:)

http://www.slps.net/slps/pictures/2003/fin...0/dscn0985.html

Best time to dive is early spring or late autumn when there is less algae in water. Be aware that water temperature below 60 ft is always 35-39 F.


Peter,

I tried setting focus manually to hyperfocal distance, but I wasn't very happy with the results :

http://www.slps.net/slps/html/2004/dive_pi...es/dive686.html

All but last two photos were taken with manual focus, maybe I did some miscalculations with my hyperfocal distances. I used 1 m with f/2.8 & 19 mm lens. There are some online calculators which have the actual focal lenghts for CP5000 (7.1 - 28 mm), I just multiplied those values with 0.68x for the calculations hyperfocal distance calculations.

I seem to remember JamesW saying in some thread that the Ikelite dome for 19mm nikkor isn't really a dome in that sense that it creates a "virtual" image, it is more like a curved lense.

Sami

Sami,

Truth be known, I do not get consistently good shots when shooting at the hyperfocal plane. Sometimes the focus is good, but a lot of times it is a little off. When it's off, sometimes I can pull it in using the unsharp mask and sometimes I can't. When I can't it's really frustrating to have an otherwise great pic that is out of focus. Makes me appreciate auto focus that much more.

Still the concept intrigues me. And shooting with zero shutter lag is really fun.

Perhaps I calculated the 31 inch hyperfocal distance wrong. But as long as the number is larger than the hyperfocal distance I should get everything in focus from 31 inches to infinity. At least that's the theory. Then again, the INON dome may not be a true dome.

Anyway, thinking about it makes me want to try it again. If I learn anything new I'll let you know.

Peter

P.S. Your pictures are awesome. And more to the point, anyone that can take pics in environments like you do deserves a lot a credit. My hat is off to you!

I think Sami's pix are incredible! Please post some of them in the Photo Display/Critique forum here!

Cheers
James

Regarding the noise question, we have to wait until there are production D70 reviews. The D70 has a revised sensor out of the D100 that is reputed to have better noise performance.

According to dpreview, the 300D has noise performance at ISO 200 and above very similar to the D100 and slightly worse than the 10D and S2. The D100 and D70 don't offer an ISO 100. I think that it would be reasonable to expect that the the 300D and D70 will have comparable noise at their base ISO's.

While it may be the case that the D70 offers a little better noise performance than the 300D at the same ISO, how long will it take to house it? For noise performance, the 10D and S2 would be better choices still.

Though a little smaller the D70 and D100 have virtually the same control layout. I would suspect there will be housings available sooner than expected. If reviews are as good as the released specs it will be an excellent choice for UW photography.