Hi

I was asked to find a sutible housing for a Nikon D-80 with a 18-200mm lense,

so far I found that the Ikelite housing does not support this specific lense.

I do not know much about photography but I photograph underwater for 2 years now, and was asked to help

on this matter due to english skills and some knowledge in the field.

I need information about any housing that supports this lense, and recomendations for full systems with 2 basic external strobes.

Max depth is of no importance, time is more important than price.

Eli

It may be the range of the lens is something that is not supported (took a look at a couple of housings right now)

You may be better off purchasing a different lens for underwater use.  Some people are really down on lenses with a real long zoom length and the quality.  And as Ikelite pointed out on their site “Shape and “throw” of lens prevent proper operation” and Aquatica does not have a port listed for the lens either.  If those two do not have one listed I would be betting that it is for a good reason. 

I would take a look at some lenses that give a decent range, such as the 17-55mm or 18-70mm so you can do some wide angle, albeit not quite the 12mm, and also get close enough for some smaller things (though not real true macro) if just starting out to develop a feel of ranges and not miss something the first few times out.  In the grand scheme of things, especially since the budget is not a big concern, going for another lens is probably the better move.

As an aside I have become a fan of Aquatica and love my system.  I have used my Ikelite DS-125 with a Sea & Sea YS90DX as a slave on some dives, and will probably try a pair of YS-90DXs the next trip to see how that goes.

Hi Eli,

I don’t think you or your friend will get a housing/port that supports this lens. But even if you find one you wont get happy with it.
Long zoom lenses are totally useless underwater!

On drawback of UW-(D)SLR shooting is that you need to decide on land what you are going to shoot.
Therefore decide on a macro and on a wideangle lens. Later on yo will refine your choice by getting different macro
choicesand fisheyes for example.

Trust us: a 18-200mmm is no choice for underwater photography!

Hi Eli

Depending what you want to shoot I would get some of the following lenses to start with. I’m also sure will find nothing that works with the 18-200. The length and focal length changes too much to put behind a port.

For wide angle:
Tokina 11-16 cheaper and apperently better than Nikons 12-24 and 10-24. Check the net for reviews, but try kenrockwell.com
Nikon 10,5 fisheye or Tokina 10-17 fisheye

For Makro:
Nikon 60 or 105mm depending on what and how you want to shoot

In my opinion the 17-55 or 18-55 are a little special for UW use, where you want to get CLOSE. I think they will good for shooting BIG things toward the surface at distance.

I have not tried a lot of housings I use Hugyfot and is very happy with it. To safe money Ikelite is probably a good option there are a lot of discussions in different forums at the net about these. I made this decision a year ago - so good luck

Hey Morton,

thanks for the comprehensive answer, but I guess Eli already found her housing as the thread is already 3 years old. Any welcome on board and hope we get to know more about your UW photography knowledge..

ciao Lars

hahahaha - missed that one. I will look for the date in the future. Just got carried away by the topic