The bearable lightness of the Nauticam and Nikon Z50

Pete Atkinson · Issue 125, Mar/Apr 2022 · pp. 33–36

Products mentioned: Nikon Z50, Nauticam housing, Nikon D800, Nikon D500, Nikon D200, Nikon D7000, FTZ adapter, Tokina 10-17, Nikkor 8-15 fisheye, Sigma 8-16, Nauticam WWL-C, Nauticam WACP, Nauticam WACP2, Aquatica 8" dome port, Nikkor 16-35, Nikkor 18mm, N100 port, N120 adapter, Nikon 16-50 kit lens, Lightroom, Adobe DNG Converter

For the last seven years I was shooting with a Nikon D800 in a Nauticam housing, with the 9” glass dome and either a 16-35 or a 15mm fisheye lens. This produced beautiful files but it was big and heavy and a pain for travel. I could reduce the travel footprint by carrying only a 6” dome, no enlarged viewfinder and the 18mm and fisheye lenses, neither of which required port extensions with my custom hemispherical 6” dome. Three heart operations, increasing age and the expense of travel convinced me that I needed the convenience of a smaller rig. I looked online at a lot of options and settled on the mirrorless Nikon Z50. It had menus I could understand, I could use Nikkor F mount lenses with an FTZ adapter and it was small, light and inexpensive. 20MP was less than I would have liked, but sufficient for anything I was likely to shoot and it had the same sensor as the professional Nikon D5…