Nauticam officially released the new housing for the Nikon D600 today and as usual it looks great! Check out some of the great features….

Nauticam NA-D600

Nikon designed the D600 to appeal to every enthusiast or pro who longed for a compact, friendly and affordable full frame camera. Nauticam has engineered the NA-D600 housing so that it is equally friendly and compact, but has every ounce of rugged reliability and features that pros demand. Holding the nicely proportioned NA-D600 by the comfortable rubberized grips; it seems impossible that a 24mp full frame camera resides inside that is capable of out-resolving every camera in it’s class save its bigger brother: the D800.

Well Designed, Easy to Use Controls

The NA-D600 incorporates dual paddle assemblies for right and left thumb. These paddles instantly access key features: Video Record and AE-L/AF-L on the right and Playback and ISO on the left. Most photographers will quickly activate them by feel while never releasing grip or looking away from the viewfinder. The housing is also clearly designed to embrace both the still and video shooter and switching back and forth is intuitive and near seamless with the live view (LV) button and live view selector. Nauticam has pioneered a new release (drive) mode control utilizing the D600’s ability to lock shooting modes. This control functions independent of the exposure mode dial that it sits beneath on the camera body. Being able to shift into the D600’s quiet mode (much quieter than the D800/D4) and lock it could be a real boon for pelagic shooters close to shy subjects. Front and rear command dials are larger and easier to engage than ever before – even with gloves.

Change Ports and Lenses with Ease

Port changes have never been simpler than utilizing the Patented Nauticam Locking Port Release. No wrestling, no twisting, no misalignment – just seat and lock. Lens changes are also easily accomplished without removing the camera from the housing via the lens release button logically accessed on the housing front. The lightweight, rugged Nauticam handles are generously contoured with a durable over-mold process of comfortable non-slip soft touch rubber. Virtually any hand size can be accommodated with spacers available for cold-water glove use. All Nauticam housings are machined from a solid block of seawater resistant aluminum alloy and then hard anodized making them impervious to corrosion. Hardware is marine grade stainless steel. Clear acrylic windows are protected with a scratch resistant coating.

Fiber Optics or Sync Cord, its up to you.

Lighting control is key to any successful underwater photography system. The NA-D600 delivers professional diversity to meet every challenge. A single Nikonos sync port is included with each housing as standard equipment. S-6 or Ikelite style sync port bulkheads are available optionally, and can easily be installed or removed in the field. The Nauticam system fiber optic cables are compatible with Inon and Sea & Sea strobes and provide reliable triggering with no electrical connections to maintain or flood.

Options for the Professional Videographer

If the video capabilities of the D600 are of primary importance, Nauticam’s NA-DP4 housing for the SmallHD Monitor can take video performance to another level. The monitor housing easily mounts to the top of the NA-D4 and utilizes the optional HDMI Bulkhead for true HDMI connectivity. Utilizing DP4 features like Focus Peaking, Focus Assist, False Color, 1:1 Mapping and DSLR Scale, this larger monitor vastly improves composition, focus capability and exposure visibility.

Conclusion

All in all it looks like another well designed housing from Nauticam. With more features than you can imagine, and endless ways to make the system work perfectly for you, the NA-D600 housing will be the perfect companion to your Nikon D600 camera. Housings are now available for pre-order, and should be shipping within the next 2 weeks.

Pre-Order Now

Specifications

• Depth Rating: 100m
• Dimensions (with handles mounted): L 350mm x H 189.5mm x D 132mm
• Weight: 2.7kg

Standard Features

• Patented Locking Port Release Lever
• Sensitive Two Stage Shutter Release Lever
• Optical Strobe Connectors
• Rubberized Ergonomic Grips
• 1 Customizable Accessory Ports (allowing use of optional Nikonos, S6, or Ikelite Strobe Connectors, Hydrophone, Video Out, or Remote Control Connectors)
• Embossed Control Function Labels
• Quick Release Camera Mounting Shoe
• Lens Release Button
• Four Strobe & Accessory Base Mounting Locations
• Complete Access to All Key Camera Controls
• Stainless Steel Support Brackets for Handles
• .66x Optical Pickup Finder (Enhanced 180 deg and 45 deg Viewfinders with External Diopter Adjustment optional)
• Audible and Visual Leak Alarm

The post Nauticam Announces D600 Housing first appeared on In Focus Underwater Photography Blog.

Nauticam Optical Trigger – Check out this video about a much anticipated new product coming soon from Nauticam. This trigger will allow certain dSLR shooters (like all you 5DMKIII shooters) to shoot via fiber optic cable and others to shoot without using the internal flash, allowing high recycle rate on the strobes for quicker more accurate shooting.

Canon 1DX housing – a fantastic new housing for professional canon shooters. The best part about this housing aside from the weight and size, is that it works for both the Canon 1DX and 1Dc!

Nikon D600 housing – the slightly smaller, toned down brother to the D800 super camera has a beautiful housing from Nauticam coming out soon. A perfect pairing for the camera, all controls are placed for easy access, and everything functions smoothly within this housing.

180 degree viewfinder – Learn more about Nauticam’s great 180 degree external viewfinder, a perfect tool for wide angle photography, allowing 3x the magnification from the standard viewfinder. This addition will make composing, focusing and checking your shots much easier!

The post New Nauticam Product Videos first appeared on In Focus Underwater Photography Blog.

Colorful, beautiful, and devilishly quick.  Those are just some of the words I’ve heard people use to describe juvenile garibaldi.  These tiny versions of their parents, sporting their temporary iridescent blue spots, spend their days darting in and out of the shallow reefs.

Mirrored image? These two seem to be playing an optical illusion trick on us. 1/10, F22, ISO 100.

This past weekend I set out with the intent of capturing these speedy subjects, and portraying their elusive nature.  But how?  Certainly focusing, and then maintaining focus while they dart around would be near impossible, and frustrating to say the least.  My approach: let them come to me.

These little guys and gals seem to stay in a relatively small area of the reef (at least from my observations).  With that in mind, I set my dSLR to AF-C (release), utilizing the AE-L/AF-L button to focus.  This would allow me to set my focal plane at a specific distance, and leave it there.  By using the AE-L/AF-L button to focus, this freed up the shutter button to only release the shutter, so I could fire the trigger whenever my heart desired, whether or not the subject was in focus.  This allowed me to do two things:

1. By predetermining the focal distance, I could focus on another object at the same distance (a rock, for example), and then position my strobes for the ideal lighting and take test shots.
2. Once the focal plane and strobes were set, I could concentrate on timing and composition.

I decided on an aperture of F22 or higher to provide the depth of field I would need to get a majority of the fish in focus.

Anything but cryptic, this juvenile looks surprised as it peers from behind its algae hide-a-way. 1/10, F25, ISO 250.

You could do the same thing with any camera by determining the distance you want to compose the image, then keep the shutter pressed halfway down until the fish came into focus.  You would just have to repeat the pre-focus after each shot if you did not have a separate button for focusing.

For this shoot, I really wanted to capture and portray the speed and elusive nature of these colorful critters, so I decided to use really slow shutter speeds to show the movement (e.g. 1/1oth of a second).  By setting my camera to rear-curtain sync, the camera would expose the movements of the ambient light, before the strobes would fire at the end of the exposure, therefore freezing the motion and allowing for a colorful and sharp photo.

A pair of juvies chase each other around the reef. Their speed, combined with a shutter speed of 1/1o, shows the “streaks” of their movement and brings a sense of motion to the photograph.  1/10, F22, ISO 100.

All photographs were taken with a Nikon D7000, Sea&Sea Housing, Nikon 105mm macro lens, and dual Ikelite strobes.  Special thanks to Selky Charters for a great day on, and under, the water!

A young garibaldi, streaking across the frame, proudly showing off its gorgeous blue markings. 1/10, F22, ISO 100.

These two seemed to chase each other for most of the dive. It was great just to pull the camera from my eye and watch them hide behind my housing. 1/10, F22, ISO 100.

The post Capturing the Elusive first appeared on In Focus Underwater Photography Blog.