50 Fathoms Below

Staff · Issue 21, Oct/Nov 2004 · pp. 44–47

Products mentioned: Nikonos V, Nikon D100, Ikelite Substrobe 200, Light & Motion Titan housing

a healthy dose of familiarity with your photo system, confidence in your knowledge of the basics of shooting, and a bit of luck. Obviously dive training, experience, and skills must also be up for the undertaking. Choice of photographic equipment is paramount to contributing to the success of shooting below recreational limits. Many manufacturers rate their products based not only on the engineering but also the degree of acceptable warranty risk. When you start asking around you find out that most of the depth specifications are very conservative, as the development testing is often considerably deeper than the recommended rating. Of course, as a consumer, one has to accept the risk that taking a piece of equipment substantially below its rated capacity could mean losing it. For example, I know of a fellow who takes a Nikonos V (rated to 165 feet) down well below 200 feet and “most of t…