Bad luck with my new Tokina 12-24mm

[ATJ]

I was advised a professional underwater photographer a few months ago that the best selling underwater images are sharks, whales and dolphins and that for those sorts of images a lens in the range of 10-28mm will do the trick. Sharks are very common on my annual GBR and Coral Sea trip and whales are not that uncommon (at the right time) so I bought a Tokina 12-24mm and suitable dome port and have been looking for opportunities to test it out.

My first attempt was a month ago at Shelly Beach (near Manly). Conditions (for photography) were really poor due to the swell. While it was not at all rough at Shelly, it was rough around the corner and that was bringing dirty water around and there were just too many particles in the water. (The strobes light up any particles and you get awful back scatter.) I didn't even get one decent photo the whole dive.

My second (and third) attempt was last Saturday at Magic Point (off Maroubra). There's a cave with grey nurse sharks so this was going to be a perfect opportunity. I tested the rig before I left home (as I always do) and everything was working fine. After my first test shot in the water I discover that the strobes aren't going to fire - at least not with any consistency. So here I was in nice clean water with 6-7 sharks posing for photographs and unreliable strobes. Of the 93 shots I took (most of them testing the camera), the strobes only worked 19 times.

I did try a few shots with available light but the sharks were just too deep (14m) and there's no colour:



I have one semi-reasonable shot:



but it is more of a snapshot because I was trying to get the strobes working rather than concentrating on framing.


I tested the dual sync cord (drives 2 strobes) when I got home and it appears there's a break somewhere along it and it only contacts some times. I'm not sure if it can be repaired or I'll have to buy another one (@ US$152 plus shipping). I am fortunate in that I have a single unused sync cord so I can drive one strobe and I have a slave connector so I can drive the other one. At least I'll still be able to take photos while waiting to get things sorted.

[aim54x]

Dont worry you will get those shots. The ones you posted are really good, esp if you were not concerntrating on framing.

[sirhc55]

So ATJ, can we assume the lens is in fact OK I’m always impressed with any photo taken under water

[ATJ]

Chris,

No problems with the lens itself - at least not that I can see so far. No vignetting on the available light shot which is good although the shot doesn't really let me see if there is any distortion or unsharpness near the edges. There is some apparent vignetting on the strobe lit shot, but I think that is more a factor of the coverage of the strobes - I should have really used them with the diffusers to widen the coverage a bit.

[Pehpsi]

The shots are great, love the first! And you're one crazy man for even *wanting* to get near these things... But someone's gotta do it I guess