Fuji F50dd

[Markyg]

Last October at the dive show i bought a Fuji F50dd and underwater housing as i was going to Cape Verde 2 days later. I was very pleased with the photos i took seeing that this was my first underwater camera and also my first attempt at photography!! I've now booked on a Liveaboard for next February and want to get myself sorted with some additional kit!! Having read articles and various books i feel the next leap should be to a fisheye and strobe. Can anyone suggest which models are best to compliment my Fuji? I've read various threads on here from people buying from Japan and i'd be very tempted to do this due to what seems to be a massive saving!! With the fisheye what other items do i need? Does the fisheye fit directly onto my underwater housing or do i need some form of adapter kit? With the strobe am i best buying a Fuji one or should i look at one made by the same people as the fisheye as the brackets etc might clash!! All help and advice will be much appreciated. Thanks Mark

[Okeanos]

Using the Fuji housing you'll have to get the Inon AD adaptor, then only Inon lenses will fit.

Inon do a wide angle lens and a dome port to go on front of it, both work out expensive but the results are excellent.

Strobe, Sea & Sea YS 110 is an excellent strobe, you will also need an arm and tray to mount it. I use the ULCS bits.

If you intend to use the strobe with the WAL & dome you won't get a wide enough coverage from the strobe, you'll need 2. You then have to play silly buggers with the fibre optic cables & connectors to get 2 to fire. Using just the WAL the YS110 is just OK.

HTH

p.s. I have an F50 and F10 and multiple Inon lenses and strobes.

[Markyg]

Thanks for the reply. From further reading am i getting confused? I think i understand right that the fisheye is for wide angles shots and from what i've read on other threads the less water between you and the subject the better the photo, and with a trobe this is for lighting up items that are closer to you. should i be considering what i want to photo and then choose between them or should i go for both? what will be the most adventageous in the Red Sea? how are you finding your F50dd?
Thanks
Mark

[Cussy]

Mark,
If you take a strobe like the suggested YS-110, it has a guide number of about 15 in the water, so if your camera is set at f5.6, the light will only perfectly illuminate about 3m away (you divide the GN by the aperture). So really don't think of a strobe as being able to illuminate further than a couple of metres away. So in a wide-angle scene, you need something close to illuminate:



So don't think of the strobe as the answer to everything, it can't perform miracles. So what you find is your kit dictates what you take, not necessarily the other way around.
Rob

[ding]

Some pics she who must be obeyed took in Hurgada

[Markyg]

Thanks for the advice Rob and love the photos Ding. Hopefully i should be all ok for my Liveaboard next February, i'm going to invest in a fisheye first i think and see how i get on. Just need to find out which ones are available for this camera and where to purchase it from!! The Japanese option is looking quite attractive.

thanks

Mark

[Okeanos]

I'm really disappointed with the F50, it's macro ability is a lot worse than the F10 and the battery duration is also a lot less. I've done some comparison photos and the F10 can shoot closer and gives a much better contrast in the image. The F10 would also take a lot of photo's before it even dropped one bar, the F50 drops one bar after one dive.

When I'm talking of macro I am talking really close.

[Markyg]

I must admit it was not all i hoped it was going to be!! i have a 3 year old 5 million pixel Sony Cybershot which on land took superb photos but i couldn't seem to get an underwater housing for it so because i was going away and wanted to take photos whilst diving decided to get a complete new set up. I opted for the F50 as it had only just been released so i thought it would be the best available, especially after reading such good reviews on the F30 and F31. On land though the Fuji isn't a patch against the Sony!! Underwater it's good but not as good as i hoped it was going to be, but to be fair i think most of it has been down to user error and a lack of knowledge. For example i never manually adjusted the white balance, i never got too close to the subject etc. I've not used it whilst diving in the UK. Perhaps i should if only to get some practise in.

Mark