The Nikon D850 and Nikon D500 are among the most capable cameras currently available for underwater photography. This article explores their use during a recent dive trip, focusing on wide-angle photography with the D850 and macro photography with the D500. Both cameras offer unique advantages that complement each other, enabling photographers to capture a wide range of marine life and underwater scenes with precision and clarity.
Equipment Setup for Wide Angle Photography
For wide-angle shots, the Nikon D850 was used with the 16-35mm F4 VR lens. This combination was housed in a Nauticam D850 housing with an 8-inch acrylic dome port. The D850’s 46-megapixel full-frame sensor delivers excellent image quality, while the lens provides fast and sharp focusing, even behind the dome port. This setup allows zooming in on skittish subjects like bull sharks, hammerhead sharks, mobula rays, and manta rays, making it ideal for capturing dramatic underwater landscapes and large marine animals.
Equipment Setup for Macro Photography
Macro photography was handled by the Nikon D500 paired with the Nikon 105mm VR F2.8 macro lens. The D500 was housed in a Nauticam D500 housing and equipped with Subsee +5 and +10 diopters and a Nauticam flip adapter for added magnification. Lighting was provided by a Sola 2500 flood light and a Bluewater 1000 focus light. The D500’s cropped sensor and autofocus system make it perfect for capturing close-up details of small creatures and textures underwater.
Benefits of Using Both Cameras on One Dive Trip
Using both the D850 and D500 during the same trip allows photographers to switch quickly between wide-angle and macro photography without changing ports or lenses underwater. This flexibility is invaluable when encountering a diverse range of subjects in rapid succession. Both lenses used are AF-S lenses with internal autofocus motors, ensuring fast and reliable focusing performance, which is critical when capturing unpredictable marine behavior.
Autofocus and Camera Performance
The D850 delivers straight-out-of-camera images that are noticeably better in terms of brightness and low-light performance compared to earlier models like the D500 or D810. For wide-angle photography, the 3D tracking autofocus mode was employed on the D850, while the D500 used spot focus in continuous focus mode for macro shots. These settings help maintain sharp focus on moving subjects in challenging underwater environments.
Trip Overview: Exploring the Sea of Cortez
The dive trip took place aboard the Rocio Del Mar in early October 2018, traveling from San Jose del Cabo to Puerto Peñasco, covering roughly 600 nautical miles over 12 days. The Sea of Cortez is known for its rich biodiversity and offers a variety of encounters with both large and small marine life. The trip was somewhat affected by a hurricane forecast, but with adjustments to the itinerary, the crew ensured ample diving opportunities and diverse marine encounters.
Dive Experience and Marine Life Encounters
The day often began with an early pre-breakfast dive, taking advantage of the peaceful, uncrowded waters of the Sea of Cortez. Night dives revealed spectacular scenes such as hundreds of mobula rays feeding on plankton attracted to lights in shallow water. Dusk dives captured the heightened activity of hunting and mating fish, accompanied by swirling flocks of sea birds. Throughout the trip, encounters with playful sea lions, dolphins, and giant Pacific mantas provided exceptional photographic opportunities.
Lighting Techniques and Strobes for Underwater Photography
Lighting is one of the most critical factors in underwater photography. Water absorbs light and colors, especially reds and yellows, resulting in images that can appear blue or green and lacking contrast. To counteract this, underwater photographers rely heavily on strobes and continuous lights to restore color, detail, and sharpness.
For this trip in the Sea of Cortez, the YS-D3 LIGHTNING strobes played a vital role in illuminating subjects both wide and close-up. Using strobes effectively requires understanding light placement, power settings, and how light interacts with particles in the water.
Properly positioned strobes help bring out the vibrant colors of marine life and prevent backscatter, which is the reflection of light off suspended particles that create distracting spots in photos. Positioning strobes slightly off-axis and using diffusers softens the light, producing more pleasing results and better texture.
Wide Angle Lighting Challenges and Solutions
When shooting wide-angle images with the Nikon D850 and 16-35mm lens, lighting large subjects like manta rays or sharks poses unique challenges. These animals can move quickly and unpredictably, and the wide field of view requires strobes to illuminate a broad scene evenly without harsh shadows.
To achieve this, strobes are usually mounted on flexible arms, allowing the photographer to adjust the light angle dynamically. Using two strobes at roughly 45-degree angles helps create balanced lighting and reduces flatness. It’s essential to consider the distance from the subject, as light intensity decreases exponentially with distance underwater.
In environments like the Sea of Cortez, natural ambient light often supplements strobes during shallow dives. Early morning or late afternoon light provides a warm, directional quality that enhances the image depth. Combining natural light with strobes requires careful exposure balancing to avoid overexposing highlights or losing shadow detail.
Macro Lighting Techniques
Macro photography demands even more precise lighting control due to the proximity of the subject and the high level of detail captured. For macro shots with the Nikon D500 and 105mm lens, the use of a Sola 2500 flood light and Bluewater 1000 focus light provides constant illumination and assists autofocus in dim conditions.
The strobes are often used with diffusers and snoots to direct the beam narrowly onto the subject, highlighting textures and colors without illuminating unwanted areas. The proximity of the lights to the subject can create dramatic shadows, which can be creatively used to add depth but must be managed to avoid losing detail.
Using diopters (+5 and +10) extends the macro capability, allowing the capture of even smaller details. However, magnifying the subject also magnifies any lighting imperfections, so precise control over light direction and intensity becomes even more critical.
Camera Settings and Techniques for Underwater Shooting
Choosing the right camera settings is essential for achieving sharp, well-exposed underwater photos. Both the Nikon D850 and D500 offer full manual control, allowing photographers to adjust aperture, shutter speed, ISO, and focus modes according to conditions.
For wide-angle shots, aperture settings around f/7 to f/11 balance depth of field with sharpness. Shutter speeds between 1/125 to 1/250 seconds help freeze the motion of fast-moving subjects or water currents. ISO is kept low (ISO 200 to 640) to maintain image quality and reduce noise, especially in deeper or darker conditions.
In macro photography, apertures often range from f/16 to f/22 to maximize depth of field given the very close focusing distances. Faster shutter speeds are required to counteract camera shake or subject movement. ISO is similarly kept as low as possible while maintaining adequate exposure.
Autofocus mode is crucial underwater. For wide-angle, 3D tracking helps maintain focus on large, moving subjects. For macro, spot focus with continuous servo autofocus ensures sharp focus on small, precise points even when the subject moves slightly.
Handling and Buoyancy with Underwater Camera Equipment
Using large DSLR setups underwater requires mastering buoyancy and handling techniques to avoid disturbing marine life and to maintain stability for sharp images. The Nikon D850 and D500 setups, complete with housings, ports, and strobes, can be bulky and heavy.
Proper buoyancy control allows photographers to hover steadily without touching the reef or disturbing sediments, which can cloud the water. Using wrist straps or a camera tray system helps secure equipment and reduces fatigue.
Approaching subjects slowly and minimizing sudden movements increases the chances of capturing natural behavior and prevents scaring away shy creatures. For macro subjects, patience is key, as many animals will only reveal themselves after waiting quietly.
Environmental and Ethical Considerations in Underwater Photography
Respecting the underwater environment is paramount. The Sea of Cortez is a rich ecosystem, and photographers must take care not to damage fragile corals or disrupt animal behavior.
Avoid touching or chasing wildlife, and never remove anything from the environment. Using appropriate dive techniques to maintain distance and avoid contact with the substrate helps preserve the habitat.
Photographers also contribute to conservation by documenting marine life and sharing images that raise awareness of the ocean’s beauty and fragility.
Post-Processing Tips for Nikon D850 and D500 Images
After returning from a dive, post-processing is essential to bring out the best in underwater photos. Raw files from both the D850 and D500 retain rich detail and color information.
Basic adjustments include white balance correction to counteract the blue-green cast, exposure tweaking, and contrast enhancement. Noise reduction can help clean up higher ISO images without losing detail.
Sharpening and local contrast adjustments enhance texture, especially important for macro shots. Careful cropping can improve composition without losing resolution, given the high megapixel counts of both cameras.
Using software that supports tethered shooting and raw processing for Nikon files streamlines the workflow and allows fine control over image quality.
Advanced Underwater Photography Techniques with Nikon D850 and D500
Underwater photography presents unique challenges that demand not only technical skill but also creativity and adaptability. Utilizing the Nikon D850 and D500 to their full potential requires understanding advanced shooting techniques, mastering camera controls, and applying them in the dynamic environment of the Sea of Cortez.
Utilizing Manual Mode for Creative Control
Shooting in manual mode gives full control over exposure settings, which is critical underwater due to rapidly changing light conditions and subjects. The D850’s full-frame sensor offers an extensive dynamic range, allowing photographers to capture details in both shadows and highlights.
Adjusting shutter speed, aperture, and ISO manually enables the photographer to balance ambient light with strobe illumination. For example, slower shutter speeds can be used creatively to convey motion blur in schooling fish or swaying corals, while faster shutter speeds freeze motion for sharp images of fast-moving subjects.
The Nikon D500’s cropped sensor magnifies the subject, making careful manual focusing and exposure control essential, especially when shooting macro with high magnification diopters.
Focus Bracketing and Focus Stacking
Focus bracketing is a technique where multiple images are taken at different focus distances to increase the overall depth of field. While underwater housings typically do not support automated focus stacking, photographers can manually bracket focus and later merge images during post-processing.
This method is particularly useful in macro photography, where depth of field is shallow even at small apertures. Capturing multiple shots, focusing from the front to the back of the subject, allows for a final image that is sharp throughout, revealing intricate details otherwise lost.
The D850’s high-resolution sensor makes it ideal for this technique, as cropping and merging can be done without significant loss of quality.
Exposure Compensation and Histograms
Underwater scenes often confuse camera metering systems due to backscatter, reflective surfaces, and strong contrast. Learning to use exposure compensation and reading histograms is essential.
Using the histogram on the D850 or D500 helps ensure the image is properly exposed. Avoiding clipped highlights preserves detail in bright areas such as sunlit surfaces or reflective fish scales. Similarly, keeping shadows from going completely black retains texture in darker areas.
Manual adjustments to exposure compensation allow the photographer to fine-tune the balance between ambient light and strobe output, maintaining natural color and contrast.
White Balance Adjustments for Accurate Color
Water absorbs red wavelengths quickly, making underwater images tend to have a blue-green cast. While strobes restore some color, custom white balance settings improve color accuracy.
Both Nikon cameras allow manual white balance adjustments. Setting white balance underwater by pointing the camera at a white slate or neutral subject before shooting calibrates colors to the environment. This reduces the need for heavy color correction in post-processing.
Shooting in RAW format provides the greatest flexibility to tweak white balance during editing, allowing restoration of vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows.
Composition Techniques Underwater
Good composition is as important underwater as it is on land. Techniques such as the rule of thirds, leading lines, and framing enhance the visual impact of photos.
Wide-angle shots benefit from including foreground interest like corals or sea fans to add depth. Positioning animals off-center creates dynamic balance. Utilizing negative space emphasizes the subject’s size and movement in the vast ocean.
In macro photography, filling the frame with the subject eliminates distractions and highlights details. Backgrounds should be clean and uncluttered to prevent visual noise. Using natural elements like bubbles or soft light rays creatively adds atmosphere.
Handling Challenging Conditions: Currents and Visibility
The Sea of Cortez can present varying conditions, including strong currents and variable visibility. Photographers must adapt quickly to maintain image quality.
In strong currents, using faster shutter speeds prevents motion blur, and stabilizing with a weighted tray or holding onto fixed objects helps maintain steadiness. Positioning yourself up-current of subjects minimizes stirring up sediment.
When visibility is limited, shooting close to subjects reduces the water column between the lens and the subject, improving clarity. Using strobes at lower power settings reduces backscatter by minimizing light reflection off particles.
Utilizing Video Capabilities for Dynamic Storytelling
Both the Nikon D850 and D500 have strong video capabilities that complement still photography. Underwater videography captures movement and behavior that still images cannot.
Shooting 4K or Full HD video with manual exposure control and focus tracking allows capturing vibrant underwater scenes. Adding continuous lights like the Sola 2500 flood light enhances video quality by providing consistent illumination.
Combining stills and video offers a richer storytelling approach, especially for documenting marine life interactions or dive experiences.
Dive Site Highlights in the Sea of Cortez
The Sea of Cortez is renowned for its exceptional biodiversity and unique dive sites, each offering different photographic opportunities.
San Jose del Cabo: Entry Point with Diverse Habitats
Beginning the trip near San Jose del Cabo, divers find a mix of rocky reefs, sandy bottoms, and kelp forests. These environments host a variety of fish, invertebrates, and macro subjects.
Photographers can practice macro techniques, capturing nudibranchs, tiny crabs, and colorful sponges. Wide-angle shots of kelp forests provide dramatic vertical elements with filtered sunlight.
La Paz: Calm Bays and Abundant Wildlife
La Paz offers calm conditions ideal for macro photography, with many cleaning stations attracting fish and shrimps. The sandy bottoms and rocky crevices are home to jawfish, gobies, and seahorses.
Wide-angle shots here include schools of jacks and rays. The calm waters allow long hover times to capture natural behavior.
El Bajo: Famous for Hammerhead Sharks
El Bajo is a pinnacle site known for large schools of hammerhead sharks. While currents can be strong, the visibility is usually excellent.
Wide-angle photography with the D850 captures these majestic sharks in their natural environment. Using fast shutter speeds freezes their dynamic movement. Lighting with strobes emphasizes the shark’s silhouette and texture.
Macro opportunities include small reef critters found around the rocky base.
La Reina: Giant Pacific Manta Ray Habitat
La Reina is a protected area where giant Pacific manta rays congregate. Observing and photographing these gentle giants is a highlight of the Sea of Cortez.
Wide-angle shots capture manta rays’ graceful swimming and barrel rolls. Photographers often wait patiently for the perfect composition with natural light illuminating the scenes from above.
Night Dives: Mobula Rays Feeding on Plankton
Night dives in the Sea of Cortez reveal spectacular scenes of mobula rays feeding on plankton attracted by lights. Using strobes effectively captures their movement and detail without washing out the plankton glow.
Photographers must manage exposure carefully, balancing shutter speed and strobe power to capture both the rays and the ambient plankton.
Practical Tips for Maximizing Underwater Photography Success
Planning and Preparation
Researching dive sites, weather, and currents helps anticipate photographic conditions. Pre-dive checks of camera gear and strobes ensure smooth operation underwater.
Bringing backup batteries, memory cards, and O-ring kits reduces the risk of technical issues.
Communication with Dive Buddies and Guides
Discussing photographic plans with dive buddies and guides enhances safety and maximizes opportunities. Guides can point out hidden subjects and suggest compositions.
Signaling intentions underwater avoids disturbing other divers or marine life.
Patience and Observation
Many marine creatures behave naturally only when undisturbed. Approaching slowly, hovering quietly, and waiting patiently yields authentic shots.
Watching animal behavior helps anticipate action and capture decisive moments.
Experimenting with Angles and Perspectives
Changing shooting angles—low, eye-level, or overhead—adds variety and interest. Wide-angle shots benefit from getting close to subjects to reduce water distortion.
Macro shots reveal new details when photographed from different sides or when focusing on unique details.
Advanced Underwater Photography Techniques with the Nikon D850 and D500
Underwater photography pushes the boundaries of technical skill and creative vision. To get the most out of the Nikon D850 and D500, photographers need to master advanced camera controls and adapt techniques to the dynamic Sea of Cortez environment.
Manual Mode for Creative Exposure Control
Manual mode allows precise adjustment of shutter speed, aperture, and ISO to balance ambient light and strobe output. The D850’s full-frame sensor provides broad dynamic range, capturing details in both shadows and highlights. Photographers can use slower shutter speeds for motion blur effects in schooling fish or waving corals, or faster speeds to freeze swift movements.
The D500’s crop sensor magnifies subjects, requiring careful manual focusing and exposure, especially when using macro diopters that reduce depth of field.
Focus Bracketing and Focus Stacking
Underwater macro photography often suffers from shallow depth of field. Photographers can manually bracket focus, taking multiple shots at varying focus distances to later merge into a fully sharp composite. The D850’s high resolution supports cropping and detailed post-processing without quality loss.
While underwater housings rarely support automated stacking, manual bracketing is a powerful technique to extend depth of field in critical macro images.
Exposure Compensation and Histogram Use
Water conditions and backscatter can mislead camera meters. Exposure compensation and reviewing histograms help maintain proper exposure. Avoid clipping highlights that lose detail, such as sunlit water or reflective fish scales. Similarly, retain shadow detail to show texture in darker areas.
Adjusting exposure compensation fine-tunes the balance between ambient and artificial light, resulting in natural color and contrast.
White Balance for True Colors
Water absorbs red wavelengths, causing blue-green color casts. Custom white balance underwater, using a white slate or neutral reference, ensures accurate colors in-camera and reduces heavy correction in post-processing. Shooting RAW retains the flexibility to refine white balance later.
Composition Techniques
Underwater composition uses classic principles adapted to the environment. Wide-angle images benefit from foreground elements like corals or sea fans to add depth and lead the eye. Positioning subjects off-center creates dynamic balance. Negative space emphasizes scale and movement.
Macro photography thrives on tight framing, isolating subjects against clean backgrounds to highlight details and avoid clutter. Creative use of bubbles or light rays adds atmosphere.
Adapting to Currents and Visibility
Currents and visibility in the Sea of Cortez vary. Fast shutter speeds freeze movement in currents; stable buoyancy and weighted trays aid steadiness. Staying up-current reduces sediment disturbance.
When visibility is poor, getting close to subjects improves clarity and reduces backscatter. Lower strobe power settings minimize reflection from suspended particles.
Video Capabilities for Storytelling
Both cameras shoot high-quality video. Manual exposure and focus tracking capture vibrant scenes. Continuous lights like the Sola 2500 provide consistent illumination. Combining video with stills enriches storytelling, showing behavior and interaction.
Dive Site Highlights in the Sea of Cortez
San Jose del Cabo
Rocky reefs, kelp forests, and sandy bottoms offer varied habitats. Macro subjects include nudibranchs and tiny crabs, while wide-angle captures kelp lit by filtered sunlight.
La Paz
Calm bays with cleaning stations host jawfish, seahorses, and gobies. Clear water allows long hover times for natural behavior shots. Schools of fish provide wide-angle opportunities.
El Bajo
Known for hammerhead shark aggregations. Excellent visibility and strong currents demand fast shutter speeds and steady positioning. Wide-angle shots capture the dramatic shark presence; macro subjects abound near the rocky base.
La Reina
Protected habitat for giant Pacific mantas. Patience is rewarded with graceful wide-angle images illuminated by natural light.
Night Dives
Spectacular mobula ray feeding on plankton under artificial lights. Strobes must be balanced to capture both rays and plankton glow without washing out the scene.
Practical Tips for Underwater Photography Success
Preparation and Planning
Research dive conditions and prepare equipment thoroughly. Bring spares for batteries, memory, and seals.
Communication
Coordinate with dive buddies and guides to maximize safety and opportunities.
Patience
Approach subjects slowly and wait quietly to capture natural behavior.
Experimentation
Vary angles and perspectives to add interest and reveal new details.
Maintaining and Caring for Your Underwater Camera Gear
Proper maintenance of your Nikon D850 and D500 underwater systems is crucial for consistent performance and longevity. After every dive, rinse housings, ports, and strobes thoroughly with fresh water to remove salt, sand, and debris. Dry them carefully and check all O-rings for signs of wear or damage. Regularly lubricate O-rings with manufacturer-approved grease to ensure watertight seals.
Avoid exposing your gear to direct sunlight for prolonged periods, as UV rays can degrade housing materials and seals. Store your equipment in a cool, dry place. Before each dive, perform a leak check by submerging the housing without the camera inside to ensure seals are intact.
Troubleshooting Common Issues
Common challenges underwater include autofocus hunting, fogging inside the housing, and strobe misfires. To prevent fogging, use silica gel packs inside the housing and ensure the interior is dry before sealing. If autofocus struggles, switch to manual focus or use focus lock techniques. Check batteries and sync cables regularly to avoid strobe failure.
Understanding these issues and quick troubleshooting techniques will keep your dives productive and your images sharp.
Building Your Underwater Photography Skills
Consistent practice is key to mastering underwater photography. Participate in workshops, review images critically, and seek feedback from peers. Study marine life behavior to anticipate subjects’ movements. Familiarize yourself with your camera’s settings and customize buttons for quick adjustments underwater.
Reviewing images daily during trips allows you to adjust techniques promptly, improving results over time. Always strive to learn and adapt to new challenges.
Conclusion
The Nikon D850 and D500 represent a powerful combination for underwater photographers, excelling in wide-angle and macro photography, respectively. Their advanced sensors, autofocus systems, and compatibility with high-quality lenses enable capturing the breathtaking biodiversity of the Sea of Cortez.
Success underwater hinges not only on equipment but also on understanding lighting, mastering camera controls, practicing buoyancy, and respecting the marine environment. By integrating technical knowledge with patience and creativity, photographers can document stunning underwater scenes and contribute to the appreciation and conservation of ocean life.
Exploring the Sea of Cortez with these cameras offers endless opportunities to capture remarkable images, from graceful manta rays and hammerhead sharks to tiny macro creatures. With careful preparation, thoughtful technique, and continuous learning, underwater photography becomes a deeply rewarding adventure.