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Ocean Optics

Nexus Port System FisheyePort230

The versatility to successfully capture the subjects you find underwater is really down to having a choice of lenses available to you. The Nexus housing system is professional level and Toshi offers perhaps the most comprehensive port system of any housing designer. This ensures Nexus owners are not held back in their choice of subjects by limitations on the lenses and lens configurations that they can use.

Nexus Wide Angle Ports

Nexus offer five wide angle dome ports. These can be adapted to work with a range of lenses by adding extension rings and zoom gears or manual focus gears, in some cases, as needed.

Fisheye 230mm Nexusfisfeyeport

This is a specialist port developed to meet the requirements of split level or half and half shooting. The exceptionally large diameter provides three benefits. It creates a large waterline compared to smaller domes making composition easier. It yields slightly sharper edges in the submerged areas of the image. It shifts the point of virtual focus further in front of the camera than a smaller port, extending depth of field towards infinity and making it easier to keep distant subjects above the waterline crisp.

Several of our professional clients are using this port for their general underwater photography. If you plan to do this keep in mind that the port isn't hooded, making the acrylic vulnerable to scratches and that Nexus recommend this port should really only be used in the shallows.... We're aware of these ports being taken to 40 metres, but this is at your own risk! It was intended as a specialist item of equipment to make a specific type of image easier to achieve and not as a general purpose wide angle port: Toshi underscored his commitment to his clients by even producing such a unique optic.

Fisheye 170

The fisheye 170 dome port is an excellent choice for normal underwater photography with fisheye and wide angle prime lenses or zooms. It's officially rated to 40 metres. It can be used for split level photography and turns in extremely good results.

The port can be used by itself with fisheye lenses and most prime wide angle lenses. Zooms may require an extension ring. The port is acrylic.

The Nexus Fisheye 170 port is the one we most often recommend for wide angle work.

Fisheye 170 Lens Hood

We would always suggest you fit your Nexus Fisheye 170 port with it's matched lens hood. The lightweight alloy hood helps avoid flare that often mars wide angle images from sunlight bouncing around inside dome ports. It also provides a good level of protection for the port itself, helping to avoid it from becoming scratched. Finally the hood creates a stable base, allowing you to rest the housing on the port while you remove or install your camera body or change film or media cards.

Nexus Wide Port

The Nexus Wide Port is a compact port with built in lens hood designed

for lenses as wide as 100 degrees. It uses glass for the optic and is rated to 40 metres. The Nexus Wide Port is not suited for use with fisheye lenses, but can be used with some wide angle zooms by adding an extension ring.

Nexus 10.5mm Nikkor Fisheye Port

This is an exceptionally compact glass port with built in hood developedspecifically for the Nikkor 10.5mm digital fisheye lens. The ultra small dimensions are a benefit when working with fast moving subjects, like Whale sharks as they minimise drag from your camera. It's also useful around wrecks as the port is less vulnerable to knocks when working inside.

Nexus 12 - 24mm Nikkor Dome Port

The Nexus 12 -24mm Nikkor dome port was designed for the popular Nikkor digital wide angle zoom. The optic is glass.

Nexus 12-24mm Nikkor Dome Port Hood

This easily fitted hood will help reduce flare that can mar wide angle images and also provides additional protection for your glass port, helping to avoid scratches.

18 - 70mm Adapter kit

The Nikkor 18 -70mm lens is a popular zoom and makes a good fish lens for underwater photographers. It can be accommodated in the 12 - 24mm dome port by using this nexus two part kit comprising a zoom gear and a close up lens, required for focusing on the virtual image that dome optics create.

Nexus Macro Port System

Toshi's own specialist fields are marine animal behavioural shots and extreme macro photography. His macro port system reflects his passion. Examples of his work are to be found in the classic "Photo Guide to Fishes of the Maldives".

Auto Focus Macro Ports

Auto focus ports use either delrin or aluminium bodies for minimum weight and boast coated glass optics. As you'd expect, these ports assume you will rely on auto focus.

Nexus AF Nikkor 60 Port

A port designed for the popular Micro - Nikkor 60mm lens. In Delrin or aluminium.

AF Nikkor 105mm Adapter Kit

This kit allows you to adapt the Nexus AF Nikkor 60 port to also fit the tele micro 105mm Nikkor. It includes a 40mm extension ring to lengthen the port and a special lens cradle that's supports the longer and narrower 105mm lens to minimise camera shake. This is not suitable for the newer Nikkor 105VR model.

Nexus AF Nikkor 105mm Port

A port designed for the Tele Micro Nikkor 105mm. Not suitable for the Nikkor 105VR model. Available with delrin or aluminium body.

Nexus AF Nikkor 105VR Port

A port specifically designed for the Micro Nikkor 105VR lens.

Nexus AF Nikkor 200mm Port

Ocean Optics can configure an auto focus only port for your 200mm lens.

Required components are a flat port, extension ring and a lens cradle. Please call us to discuss your options as we can often use ports that you already own or create a system that can take additional lenses. This can save you money and also reduce the amount of equipment you must carry and maintain.

Nexus AF 70 - 180mm Port

Nikkors 70 - 180mm Micro Zoom lens is an extremely versatile lens for macro and fish photography, essentially combining the 60, 105 and 200mm micro lenses into one. We can provide a flat port, extension ring, support cradle and zoom gear for the 70 - 180mm. Please call us to discuss possible options as we can often use a flat port that you might already own or create a port system that will also accept other lenses.

Nexus Manual/Auto Focus Multi Port System

Not all underwater photographers find that they can depend purely upon autofocus. Some creatures are spooked by vibration from the autofocus motors and in some conditions and with some subjects autofocus cannot lock on. Teleconverters, used principally for extremely high magnification work, also tend to interfere with autofocus systems.

The different control layout of Nikkor Micro lenses and the possibility that they may also be combined with teleconverters, adding to their length, provides the housing designer with a challenge. How to provide access to the manual focus ring and how to turn the lens between autofocus and manual focus?

Toshi's answer is to provide a port which is effectively a housing system in it's own right for macro lenses. The key to the system is the Multi

Port Base. The Multi Port Base is a lens housing with two controls built in. One allows you to change your lens from auto to manual focus and back again. The other allows you to focus it. Once you have the Multi Port Base you simply add adapter kits to suit your lenses.

Multi Port AF60 Nikkor Adapter Kit

Designed for the Nikkor Micro Nikkor lens, this kit includes three components to adapt your Multi Port Base. A flat port with a glass optic, screws into the front. A switching gear lets you change between auto and manual focus and a focus gear lets you focus your lens.

Multi Port AF105mm Nikkor Adapter Kit

This kit also includes three components. An extended flat port screws into the front of the Multi Port base. A switching gear and a focus gear are included for full lens control. Not suited to the 105VR.

Multi Port AF200mm Nikkor Adapter Kit

This five piece kit includes an extension ring for the back of the multi port, an optical glass front ring, switching and focus gears and a lens support cradle.

Multi Port AF70 - 180mm Nikkor Adapter Kit

This kit includes an extension ring for the back of the multi port base, an optical glass front ring, a zoom ring that links to your housing bod zoom wheel, switching and focus gears operated from the Multi Port Base and a choice of support cradle or close up lens.

The 70 - 180mm provides lifesize reproduction at 180mm with a film camera

(effectively higher with Nikon D -SLR's). To increase this and to provide high mag throughout the remaining zoom range, Toshi recommends using a close up lens. He has designed his adapter kit around a Nikon 1.5 dioptre two element close up filter. This provides excellent edge sharpness. When using the close up lens, the 70 - 180mm cannot focus on infinity. For most applications this isn't an issue and the increased magnification outweighs this disadvantage.If you prefer not to use a close up lens, then a support cradle must be installed in it's place. We can supply either or both to suit your requirements.

Nexus Grip Extender

When using long lenses, or when using negatively buoyant strobes set forward of your housing, any camera system can become front heavy. To counter this, Nexus have an adapter that lets you move your left grip forward. This helps to reduce wrist strain when you are waiting out your subject. The extended grip is also useful with the Multi Port to help you reach the manual focus wheel. The exact positioning is adjustable to suit your preference.

Extension Rings

Extension rings are vital to ensuring your underwater camera system can work with a range of lenses. Extension rings are used to lengthen existing ports. This can be simply to make a longer lens physically fit, such as when wanting to use a 105mm lens in a port originally designed for a 60 or to improve optical quality when using, say, a wide angle zoom. Extension rings also allow use of specialist accessories such as teleconverters, extension tubes or extreme lenses for which producing dedicated ports isn't financially justified.

Nexus extension rings are available as

10mm

20mm

30mm

40mm

50mm

60mm

Ocean Optics tends to recommend the Nexus AE extension ring series. These are adjustable and this ensures that when a dome port is added or a manual focus macro port used, the hood or controls remain properly aligned, whether used directly on your Nexus housing body or fitted to your extension ring. Calibrating an extension ring or port is straightforward, but we will be happy to do this for you if you bring in your system.

Nexus Lens Gears

Nexus lens gears are needed if you wish to manually focus your prime lenses or use zooms. You cannot usually both manually focus and zoom most zoom lenses, so only zoom gears are produced for these. No housing manufacturer provides gears for all lenses, so it's important to check first on availabilility.

Nexus lens gears are normally produced from machined aluminium for strength and anodised black to prevent internal reflections that could mar your pictures. Nexus generally avoid using screws to attach gears to lenses, neatly avoiding the risk of damage caused by over tightening. They are precision matched to each lens instead and fit very securely by simple friction.

Nexus Port Accessories

Nexus produce a useful range of accessories for their ports ranging from simple protective caps to strobe mounting rings.

Nexus Rear Port Cap

This machined aluminium cap helps prevent dust entering your port, minimising how much cleaning you will need to do - something that can degrade acrylic port surfaces. An O ring sealed plug is included. This keeps your port water and airtight when installed. It should be removed for air or high altitude travel. Fits all Master series ports.

Nexus Front Port Protectors

Front port protectors are an important investment towards maintaining the final optics between your very expensive camera and your subject in pristine condition. They help prevent scratching and also avoid expensive port repairs and replacements.

Fisheye 230mm Port Protector

This is a nylon lined soft neoprene cover, essential to protecting the acrylic surfaces when the port is not in use.

Fisheye 170mm Port Protector - Soft

This is a nylon lined soft neoprene cover which slips over the fisheye port when it is used without the Nexus lens hood.

Fisheye 170mm Port Protector - Semi Rigid

This semi rigid polymer cover slips over the 170 lens hood, completely shrouding the port and providing a flat and stable base for placing your housing down on it's front.

Port Covers - Semi Rigid for all other ports

A selection of push fit semi rigid polymer caps to suit all flat ports and smaller dome ports. Offered in 90mm, 100mm, 120mm sizes.

Nexus CL Close Up Lenses

Nexus CL close up lenses are deservedly popular with many of Ocean Optics clients. Usually used with macro lenses, Nexus CL lenses increase the maximum magnification of the main lens by about 30%. They simply push fit onto your flat port when needed. Compared to mounting a close up lens inside your port, they are more versatile, as by taking them off your full focus range is restored. Unlike teleconverters they don't reduce the light reaching your camera causing problems with autofocus. These remarkably inexpensive lenses are an invaluable addition to any macro photographer's armoury. A lanyard is included to help you keep it!

Available in three sizes

90mm

100mm

120mm

Nexus Port Rings - Attach a Focusing Light or Strobe System To Your Port

Lighting close up and macro photographs well isn't always easy. Especially when trying to get in really close the last thing you need is big strobes on long arms that frighten your subject, can't be aimed into tight gaps and have to be constantly adjusted.

Toshi's solution is to provide Nexus owners with a selection of mounts that let you fit your strobes to your housings macro port. This keeps your system very compact, reducing drag, lets you get your camera into holes and crevices, is less intimidating for your subjects and is very simple to use.

One Touch Port Rings

These are the simplest and least expensive port rings. They should only be used with lightweight macro guns, like Inon's. Made from plastic, they secure around the port using Velcro. This makes it easy to rotate the strobe for top or side lighting.

It has a Sea and Sea type strobe mount and is easily adapted to other makes of strobe including the popular Inon Z- 240.

Metal Port Rings

Metal port rings are much more rugged than the one touch port ring. They are the hub of a small and useful system that allows you to mount two or more strobes and a modelling light onto your Nexus housing. They secure to your port using a bolt.

Port Ring Arms

Port ring arms screw to the metal port ring. These are the attachment point for your strobe or strobes. They have a Sea and Sea fitting. Many strobes, including Inons, can be fitted using a simple low cost adapter.

If you would like to discuss the Nexus Port Ring System, please call ordrop by and we'll be happy to talk you through options and solutions.

 

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