Nikon D300/Sea&Sea MDX-D300 Review
By Matt J. Weiss, April 9, 2008 @ 02:00 AM (EST)
Source: digifish.nl
Editor's Note-
For all those who are undoubtedly wondering, a review of the new Sea & Sea rig from digifish.nl
My name is Nuno Sanches e Silva and I have been exploring our underwater world for about 7 years. Apart from my passion for underwater photography, I also have great interest in technical diving and am currently a decompression procedures diver.
My underwater photography experience started with a Sea&Sea Motormarine III with one Sea&Sea YS-90 strobe until the moment I upgraded to my first SLR, a Canon EOS 350D housed with the Sea&Sea DX-350D.
With the release of the new Nikon D300 full with extraordinary features, I decided to switch to the other side and become a Nikon shooter.
The equipment
Camera
The Nikon D300 is equipped with a 12.3 effective megapixels 1.5 cropped CMOS sensor, a new 51-point autofocus system featuring 15 cross-type sensors and a viewfinder that provides 100% coverage.
ISO 200 to 3200 in steps of 1/3, 1/2 or 1 EV with additional settings of approx. 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 and 1 EV (ISO 100 equivalent) under ISO 200 and approx. 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 and 1 EV (ISO 6400 equivalent) over ISO 3200
The shutter speed performs very well with 6 fps continuous shooting using the standard Li-Ion battery.
One of the new features is the two liveview modes that enable shooting while confirming subjects in the LCD monitor. Also worth to mention is the extraordinary 3-inch LCD with 920,000-dot (VGA) resolution and a 170° ultra-wide viewing angle.
For full specs, please visit the Nikon website.
Housing
To take my Nikon D300 underwater I use the new Sea&Sea MDX-D300 housing.
The MDX-D300 is machined out of a solid block aluminum and designed to have the Nikon D300 fit snugly inside. Please note that this housing is actually slightly smaller than the Sea&Sea housing I had for the smaller Canon EOS 350D.
In order to use TTL with Sea&Sea strobes, an external TTL converter (Sea&Sea External Converter III) has to be purchased additionally. This converter has an adjustment knob that allows you to centrally adjust the strobe power or even switch the TTL on or off while underwater. Please note that the only converter that works is the version III. Previous versions do not work.
The housing brings as a standard a built-in leak detector and a .66x pick-up viewfinder (.8x optional). The housing has one 2-pin connector and one 5-pin connector. The latter is used to connect the external TTL converter. This housing is rated for a maximum depth of 60m / 200ft, weights 2.5 kg and measures (WxHxD): 330x163x136mm.
Wide-Angle Set-up
For wide-angle I use the Tokina 10-17 Fisheye lens together with the Sea&Sea Glass Dome Port.
Macro Set-up
I currently use two different lenses for macro shots: the old Nikon AF 60mm /f2.8 D and the Nikon AF-S VR 105mm/f2.8 IF-ED. In both cases I use the Sea&Sea compact flat port, just changing the extension rings.
My underwater photography experience started with a Sea&Sea Motormarine III with one Sea&Sea YS-90 strobe until the moment I upgraded to my first SLR, a Canon EOS 350D housed with the Sea&Sea DX-350D.
With the release of the new Nikon D300 full with extraordinary features, I decided to switch to the other side and become a Nikon shooter.
The equipment
Camera
The Nikon D300 is equipped with a 12.3 effective megapixels 1.5 cropped CMOS sensor, a new 51-point autofocus system featuring 15 cross-type sensors and a viewfinder that provides 100% coverage.
ISO 200 to 3200 in steps of 1/3, 1/2 or 1 EV with additional settings of approx. 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 and 1 EV (ISO 100 equivalent) under ISO 200 and approx. 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 and 1 EV (ISO 6400 equivalent) over ISO 3200
The shutter speed performs very well with 6 fps continuous shooting using the standard Li-Ion battery.
One of the new features is the two liveview modes that enable shooting while confirming subjects in the LCD monitor. Also worth to mention is the extraordinary 3-inch LCD with 920,000-dot (VGA) resolution and a 170° ultra-wide viewing angle.
For full specs, please visit the Nikon website.
Housing
To take my Nikon D300 underwater I use the new Sea&Sea MDX-D300 housing.
The MDX-D300 is machined out of a solid block aluminum and designed to have the Nikon D300 fit snugly inside. Please note that this housing is actually slightly smaller than the Sea&Sea housing I had for the smaller Canon EOS 350D.
In order to use TTL with Sea&Sea strobes, an external TTL converter (Sea&Sea External Converter III) has to be purchased additionally. This converter has an adjustment knob that allows you to centrally adjust the strobe power or even switch the TTL on or off while underwater. Please note that the only converter that works is the version III. Previous versions do not work.
The housing brings as a standard a built-in leak detector and a .66x pick-up viewfinder (.8x optional). The housing has one 2-pin connector and one 5-pin connector. The latter is used to connect the external TTL converter. This housing is rated for a maximum depth of 60m / 200ft, weights 2.5 kg and measures (WxHxD): 330x163x136mm.
Wide-Angle Set-up
For wide-angle I use the Tokina 10-17 Fisheye lens together with the Sea&Sea Glass Dome Port.
Macro Set-up
I currently use two different lenses for macro shots: the old Nikon AF 60mm /f2.8 D and the Nikon AF-S VR 105mm/f2.8 IF-ED. In both cases I use the Sea&Sea compact flat port, just changing the extension rings.
Comments
Be the first to add a comment to this article.
You must be logged in to comment.
Related Content
April 7, 2009, 1:00AM
The final episode of our Beneath The Sea 2009 video coverage more
March 24, 2009, 1:00AM
The Sea & Sea DX-2G Camera Set will be available in April more
February 18, 2009, 2:00AM
SEA&SEA's recently released RDX-D60 DSLR housing for the popular Nikon D60 has been tested and verified to be compatible with the more
February 15, 2009, 2:00AM
A first look at the Sea & Sea MDX-D700 For The Nikon D700 DSLR more
Sponsors
Dive Industry News
Participants in PADI Public Safety Diver workshop help recover stolen vehicleDAN Alert Diver magazine now available for Android usersFirst recipient of the Richard A. Hartley Scholarship AnnouncedAtlantis Azores announces new Philippines departures, itinerariesDive Pirates to stage DIVEAPALOOZA this weekend in Texas
What's New
