Nikon D200/18-200 w/dual SB-800 underwater system

brianp@austin.rr.com wrote:
> Hi,
>
> II'm going to the Great Barrier Reef in January and need a professional
> level dual strobe underwater system for my D200.
>

Good start, where abouts on the reef are you going. The best sites, I
think, are in the far north.

> Current hardware:
> =============
> Nikon D200 camera
> Nikon 18-200 mm VR zoom lens
> Dual Nikon SB-800 strobes
> 8 GB Lexar 133x compact flash memory
>
> I have been told that the 18-200 is not a good underwater lens and the
> dome makers don't officially support it. However, they do support the
> venerable 17-35 F2.8 zoom. The 18-200 is almost the same size only
> smaller in both length with not quite as wide an angle. If I left it at
> 18mm, it should fit.

It might fit but you probably won't be making best use of the lens. I
had the same issues when I was looking for a housing for my F80 I had
the 28-105 lens but went for the 18-35 in this case. When I got the
housing for my D70 I just use the 18-70 which works quite well, a pretty
decent all rounder. If you are just going to leave it at 18mm wou might
as well just go out and get a 20mm prime lens which will give you much
better performance and will not be too much extra. For underwater work
you might want to consider something a bit wider even. Nikon's 12-24
and Sigma's 10-20 have good reps underwater.

> Is there some reason this lens would not work well? At 18mm, it is
> rated at F/3.5, just slightly slower than the F/2.8 of the 17-35. The
> Vibration Reduction, "VR" works amazingly well allowing a shutter
> speed up to 4 stops slower than without VR. It gives amazingly sharp
> pictures, even hand held at 200mm in dim light.

Shoothing wide and with that much light you shouldn't need the extra
stops. Also the inertia of the rig and just being underwater tends to
damp down any movement.


> Strobes:
> ========
> Fantasea makes a housing for the SB-800
> strobes:http://www.fantasea.com/product_details.asp?id=89
> It's rated to 80 M and supports iTTL balanced fill flash and accepts a
> 5 Pin Nikonos Style Sync Cord.
> I sure would like to use these superb flashes rather than buying 2,
> $800 dedicated underwater strobes which would be of little use above
> water.

This is probably the best way to get iTTL underwater as there aren't any
underwater strobes that handle iTTL themselves, as far as I know. There
are a few iTTL interfaces available, namely the Ikelite (but only with
Ikelite strobes) and the Mathias Heinrichs which is used either OEM in
the housing (Aquatica) or in a separate converter (Sea & Sea), which
will allow iTTL with current underwater strobes.

> Does anybody have any success/horror stories about the 18-200 with
> SB-800s and any of these housings?
>
> Sealux CD200. $2183.
> Sea&Sea DX-D200 $2496
> Ikelite 6812 iTTL $1379
>

You might also want to have a look at housings from:
Aquatica - reasonably priced for an aluminium housing
Subal - beautifully crafted housing
Light & Motion - uses a USB connection so the controls are more
ergonomically placed

I would say definitely use some different glass, keep the 18-200
topside. Strobes sound good. Housings - its a matter of what feels
good and what you can afford.

Have a look at http://www.digitaldiver.net there are a few regulars on
there that will be using some form of D200 rig

enjoy

jon

brianp@austin.rr.com wrote:
> Hi,
>
> II'm going to the Great Barrier Reef in January and need a professional
> level dual strobe underwater system for my D200.
>

Good start, where abouts on the reef are you going. The best sites, I
think, are in the far north.

> Current hardware:
> =============
> Nikon D200 camera
> Nikon 18-200 mm VR zoom lens
> Dual Nikon SB-800 strobes
> 8 GB Lexar 133x compact flash memory
>
> I have been told that the 18-200 is not a good underwater lens and the
> dome makers don't officially support it. However, they do support the
> venerable 17-35 F2.8 zoom. The 18-200 is almost the same size only
> smaller in both length with not quite as wide an angle. If I left it at
> 18mm, it should fit.

It might fit but you probably won't be making best use of the lens. I
had the same issues when I was looking for a housing for my F80 I had
the 28-105 lens but went for the 18-35 in this case. When I got the
housing for my D70 I just use the 18-70 which works quite well, a pretty
decent all rounder. If you are just going to leave it at 18mm wou might
as well just go out and get a 20mm prime lens which will give you much
better performance and will not be too much extra. For underwater work
you might want to consider something a bit wider even. Nikon's 12-24
and Sigma's 10-20 have good reps underwater.

> Is there some reason this lens would not work well? At 18mm, it is
> rated at F/3.5, just slightly slower than the F/2.8 of the 17-35. The
> Vibration Reduction, "VR" works amazingly well allowing a shutter
> speed up to 4 stops slower than without VR. It gives amazingly sharp
> pictures, even hand held at 200mm in dim light.

Shoothing wide and with that much light you shouldn't need the extra
stops. Also the inertia of the rig and just being underwater tends to
damp down any movement.


> Strobes:
> ========
> Fantasea makes a housing for the SB-800
> strobes:http://www.fantasea.com/product_details.asp?id=89
> It's rated to 80 M and supports iTTL balanced fill flash and accepts a
> 5 Pin Nikonos Style Sync Cord.
> I sure would like to use these superb flashes rather than buying 2,
> $800 dedicated underwater strobes which would be of little use above
> water.

This is probably the best way to get iTTL underwater as there aren't any
underwater strobes that handle iTTL themselves, as far as I know. There
are a few iTTL interfaces available, namely the Ikelite (but only with
Ikelite strobes) and the Mathias Heinrichs which is used either OEM in
the housing (Aquatica) or in a separate converter (Sea & Sea), which
will allow iTTL with current underwater strobes.

> Does anybody have any success/horror stories about the 18-200 with
> SB-800s and any of these housings?
>
> Sealux CD200. $2183.
> Sea&Sea DX-D200 $2496
> Ikelite 6812 iTTL $1379
>

You might also want to have a look at housings from:
Aquatica - reasonably priced for an aluminium housing
Subal - beautifully crafted housing
Light & Motion - uses a USB connection so the controls are more
ergonomically placed

I would say definitely use some different glass, keep the 18-200
topside. Strobes sound good. Housings - its a matter of what feels
good and what you can afford.

Have a look at http://www.digitaldiver.net there are a few regulars on
there that will be using some form of D200 rig

enjoy

jon

Hi,

II'm going to the Great Barrier Reef in January and need a professional
level dual strobe underwater system for my D200.

Current hardware:
=============
Nikon D200 camera
Nikon 18-200 mm VR zoom lens
Dual Nikon SB-800 strobes
8 GB Lexar 133x compact flash memory

I have been told that the 18-200 is not a good underwater lens and the
dome makers don't officially support it. However, they do support the
venerable 17-35 F2.8 zoom. The 18-200 is almost the same size only
smaller in both length with not quite as wide an angle. If I left it at
18mm, it should fit.

Is there some reason this lens would not work well? At 18mm, it is
rated at F/3.5, just slightly slower than the F/2.8 of the 17-35. The
Vibration Reduction, "VR" works amazingly well allowing a shutter
speed up to 4 stops slower than without VR. It gives amazingly sharp
pictures, even hand held at 200mm in dim light.


Strobes:
========
Fantasea makes a housing for the SB-800
strobes:http://www.fantasea.com/product_details.asp?id=89
It's rated to 80 M and supports iTTL balanced fill flash and accepts a
5 Pin Nikonos Style Sync Cord.
I sure would like to use these superb flashes rather than buying 2,
$800 dedicated underwater strobes which would be of little use above
water.

Does anybody have any success/horror stories about the 18-200 with
SB-800s and any of these housings?

Sealux CD200. $2183.
Sea&Sea DX-D200 $2496
Ikelite 6812 iTTL $1379

Thank you,

Brian.

brianp@austin.rr.com wrote:
> Hi,
>
> II'm going to the Great Barrier Reef in January and need a professional
> level dual strobe underwater system for my D200.
>

Good start, where abouts on the reef are you going. The best sites, I
think, are in the far north.

> Current hardware:
> =============
> Nikon D200 camera
> Nikon 18-200 mm VR zoom lens
> Dual Nikon SB-800 strobes
> 8 GB Lexar 133x compact flash memory
>
> I have been told that the 18-200 is not a good underwater lens and the
> dome makers don't officially support it. However, they do support the
> venerable 17-35 F2.8 zoom. The 18-200 is almost the same size only
> smaller in both length with not quite as wide an angle. If I left it at
> 18mm, it should fit.

It might fit but you probably won't be making best use of the lens. I
had the same issues when I was looking for a housing for my F80 I had
the 28-105 lens but went for the 18-35 in this case. When I got the
housing for my D70 I just use the 18-70 which works quite well, a pretty
decent all rounder. If you are just going to leave it at 18mm wou might
as well just go out and get a 20mm prime lens which will give you much
better performance and will not be too much extra. For underwater work
you might want to consider something a bit wider even. Nikon's 12-24
and Sigma's 10-20 have good reps underwater.

> Is there some reason this lens would not work well? At 18mm, it is
> rated at F/3.5, just slightly slower than the F/2.8 of the 17-35. The
> Vibration Reduction, "VR" works amazingly well allowing a shutter
> speed up to 4 stops slower than without VR. It gives amazingly sharp
> pictures, even hand held at 200mm in dim light.

Shoothing wide and with that much light you shouldn't need the extra
stops. Also the inertia of the rig and just being underwater tends to
damp down any movement.


> Strobes:
> ========
> Fantasea makes a housing for the SB-800
> strobes:http://www.fantasea.com/product_details.asp?id=89
> It's rated to 80 M and supports iTTL balanced fill flash and accepts a
> 5 Pin Nikonos Style Sync Cord.
> I sure would like to use these superb flashes rather than buying 2,
> $800 dedicated underwater strobes which would be of little use above
> water.

This is probably the best way to get iTTL underwater as there aren't any
underwater strobes that handle iTTL themselves, as far as I know. There
are a few iTTL interfaces available, namely the Ikelite (but only with
Ikelite strobes) and the Mathias Heinrichs which is used either OEM in
the housing (Aquatica) or in a separate converter (Sea & Sea), which
will allow iTTL with current underwater strobes.

> Does anybody have any success/horror stories about the 18-200 with
> SB-800s and any of these housings?
>
> Sealux CD200. $2183.
> Sea&Sea DX-D200 $2496
> Ikelite 6812 iTTL $1379
>

You might also want to have a look at housings from:
Aquatica - reasonably priced for an aluminium housing
Subal - beautifully crafted housing
Light & Motion - uses a USB connection so the controls are more
ergonomically placed

I would say definitely use some different glass, keep the 18-200
topside. Strobes sound good. Housings - its a matter of what feels
good and what you can afford.

Have a look at http://www.digitaldiver.net there are a few regulars on
there that will be using some form of D200 rig

enjoy

jon