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Nikon D80 Shark Photography Expedition Bahamas
Mark Peters : December 17th 2007 - 01:04 CET
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 Nikon D80 Shark Photography Expedition Bahamas : The Sea & Sea DX-D80 is a professional underwater housing, but because it is very easy to use the beginner underwater photographer can use it as well. It is quite robust; it can be taken down up to 60 meters. Without the digital SLR camera it weighs 2700 grams, which is still quite heavy. Luckily it is easy to handle, and because of the neutral weight underwater, you do not notice that it is heavy. The back of the underwater housing is made of polycarbonate and the front is made of corrosion-resistant aluminium alloy, for maximal stiffness and a solid grip. It is too bad that it is not made completely of aluminium, because this makes it more robust.
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Sea&Sea DX-D80 Underwater Housing Review
The underwater housing that I have the pleasure of working with is the Sea & Sea DX-D80 with an accompanying NX-fisheye dome port. The flashes are operated via an external TTL-converter, which is developed by Sea&Sea especially for Nikon cameras. The TTL-converter is equipped with a built-in TTL PCB which communicates between the Nikon digital SLRs and the Sea&Sea flashes from the YS-series. The underwater housing is comfortable to handle. An ergonomic hand grip ensures that even small hands can operate the camera easily.
Caribbean reef sharks
I use the first day to get used to the camera set, and to get used to all the Caribbean reef sharks that are circling around me. During the third dive I notice that I am the first one ready to go overboard, and I am even starting to enjoy myself. I see my first tiger shark. He is swimming by at about a 10 meter distance from us. I am so overwhelmed by this shark of five meters in length that I hide behind Jim for protection. The shark does not even pay attention to us and swims by beautifully. The next day we see more tiger sharks and I slowly start to get used to these enormous beasts.
Shark attacks camera
During a dive at sunset we are treated to four great tiger sharks. As a team we work together and take turns taking photos. At a given moment one of the sharks gets in too close to one of the divers and Jim intervenes. He gives the shark a push with the camera. The tiger shark is not impressed. He grabs hold of the camera and swims aggressively away with it. I am feeling uncomfortable and go through my oxygen quickly. Luckily the shark eventually lets go of the camera and swims away. Continue to read our Shark Expedition coverage at the Bahamas.
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