Lens Housing

[gardy]

Hi all, I'm just starting to get into the reef scene, have a small 16 gallon for my kids with a Clown in it and a few small corals. just bought a 93 cube ill be setting up in a month or two. Now with my wife and i both being photographers I'm always trying to get good photos of the stuff in the tank, and I'm looking for some sort of housing that will slip over the lens and let me look from the top down into the aquarium. I've been thinking of several solutions for this, one being a pvc pipe with a 4x4 filter siliconed to the bottom, i however don't want to sacrifice an expensive filter for this. are there any pre made solutions out there that anyone knows of?

 

[Misled]

Look here

 

[Misled]

Also, tell us about what you shoot, and what with.

 

[MJSavage]

Do a search on Avast Marine Works Top Down Portal. If you are a pro and shoot pro lenses then this is the way to go.

Mike

 

[gardy]

That top down portal was exactly what i was looking for, right now im shooting with a D800E and 60mm 2.8d and 105mm macro, as well as a 24-70 when im wanting more of the fish. that looks perfect! and im loving the price!!!! Thanks

 

[Misled]

Be careful with the top down portal, (notice it even says that in it's description). First make sure the lenses you are using have internal focus. You also don't want to use it with a lens that changes position when you zoom. There have been quite a few mistakes that cost some people a lot of money.

 

[gardy]

the 24-70 does change position when you zoom but it wouldnt be the main one im using, 105 is Internal focus, and 60mm is just an odd length to work with anyway haha

 

[gardy]

the photobox you linked too i think could be made diy pretty easy, but i dont think the one pictured would fit my camera or lenses

 

[MJSavage]

the 24-70 does change position when you zoom but it wouldnt be the main one im using, 105 is Internal focus, and 60mm is just an odd length to work with anyway haha

I shoot the D800 and don't care for the 24-70 when shooting tanks. I use the 60mm and the Sigma 150 both with excellent results.

Mike

 

[gardy]

how do you like the 150? ive been considering picking up one, doubles as a nice tele portrait lens too.

 

[Misled]

the photobox you linked too i think could be made diy pretty easy, but i dont think the one pictured would fit my camera or lenses

There are a lot of people that talked about DIY'ing it when it first came out. It is pretty simple and all cuts are square. You could also make it any size you want, but the larger it is, the harder it is to keep it under water because of water displacement. The guy that makes those used a D90 with a 105 later. It fit fine. Remember, the whole camera body is not in the box, just the lens. There's also a slider that uses the tripod mount on the back of the box.

 

[MJSavage]

how do you like the 150? ive been considering picking up one, doubles as a nice tele portrait lens too.

I absolutely love it. It does hunt a little in low light but it is SHARP! I also like that is has a solid hood (not a tulip) so I can steady it against the tank and it is impossible to get glare into the lens from the front glass of the tank. Mine is the older version without stabilization and I have never felt like I was missing anything.