Underwater with 120, is it possible?

[Galah]

I

I have Pentax 67 and Mamiya 7, but if the underwater housing is cheap enough, I could buy a camera to match. Otherwise, it looks like a Nikonos might be my best bet.

The Pentax 6x7 has a factory built accessory housing for underwater photography.

You should be able to find one somewhere rather than changing systems.

 

[PaulMD]

Good luck. As mentioned already, P67 housings were custom-made to order and there's somewhere around a dozen in the world. I've done a bit of window shopping and they seem quite tough to find. That could probably be overcome by slapping a $5k offer on a board somewhere, but who knows? Again, unless you are willing to commit some pretty serious cash for a housing that will limit your number of shots, the P67 marine housing is a fantasy. You could try it in one of those plastic bags, but they just give me the shivers. I love my P67, but underwater's not the right place for it.

One way you could get around the limited number of shots would be a 70mm back with a Hasselblad, if it fit in the housing. It takes a bulk roll of film that's like 50 or 100 feet long, so you could get a lot more shots before having to surface and reload.

Not just to you (the OP actually said he was pool diving), but in general: give really serious consideration to whether you want to shoot film underwater. The Nikonos-V is a great tool and has amazing ultrawides, but instant feedback is king. You won't be doing that many dives, and underwater strobing does take some getting used to. What would take a few dives to get used to with digital can take a couple trips if you only get feedback once a day. If you're just that good, go hog wild, but underwater is an extremely demanding environment for photography. The Nikonos-V will help with this, because it can meter TTL during a strobe exposure. But, If I had $5k to blow on a housing, I would blow it on an Ikelite housing and a Canon 5d2, plus a good strobe.

If nothing else, consider taking along a second rig with a digital P+S and a housing, along with a small optically-slaved strobe. This won't set you back too far if you have the money for diving with medium format, and it will let you get some instant results for practice.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

There are housings for Hasselblad Superwides, and I'm pretty sure most of them will take the 70mm long-roll backs. They're far more common than the housings for other medium format cameras, with the possible exception of the Rolleimarin, which was a factory accessory (granted, they didn't sell that many of those either). But everything else that has been said about medium format underwater is true - I'd get used to shooting underwater with a digital, and only after you're sure you want to keep doing this and you've gotten better at it would I invest in a medium format housing. After digital, get a Nikonos V with a strobe to get used to the film+strobe bit - while the Nikonos V does have TTL strobe, it's still not as automated and idiot-proof as underwater digital is. When you're finally getting good, consistent results with the Nikonos, then upgrade to the medium format. IMHO, the way to go if/when you get to that point is to get the Hassy Superwide with the 70mm back. The 38mm lens is like a 20mm for 35mm/digital, so it'll be plenty wide, and if you couple it to a flash and reasonably fast film, you'll have the depth of field to be able to set the thing at hyperfocal and forget it. There are strobe setups that will work with those cameras too, but I'm not sure of the details on them. The whole medium format underwater thing is a bit of a mystery because it's so unusual.

 

[vpwphoto]

I think everyone has overlooked that there are digital cameras on the market that go underwater without any additional mods... and sad to say they can do a super job no housing needed... AF works.
I kinda wonder why I got the Nik V earlier this year other than I am an APUG nut.

 

[BetterSense]

Don't forget that you can get underwater single-use 35mm cameras. Quality is probably not amazing but you might be surprised. You could just carry more of them for extra shots. It could work for some purposes.

 

[PaulMD]

I don't think most of the underwater single-use cameras dive deeper than 15 feet or so.

I actually really like the idea of a SWC in housing with a 70mm roll back. That would be pretty cool once you got the hang of it. Of course, I can't afford diving let alone the camera.

 

[MDR]

How about the Nemrod Metzeler S.A. Siluro-S a 6x6 underwater camera made of Novodur plastic in the 1960s, the Leicashop in Vienna has one for sale https://www.leicashop.com/vintage/nemrod-metzeler-siluros-p-5105.html
the camera looks pretty simple according to camerapedia one shutterspeed and a fixed focus lens and requires a flash Dead Link Removed
A 35mm UW camera is a better choice and the older Nikonos or Sea & Sea cameras can be bought quiet cheap.

Dominik

 

[smcclarin]

We all Just missed the deal of the decade...an aquatica 67 housing just sold on ebay for 407.00 us. One of 50 made globally, the only other for sale housing is from Mauricio Handler is 4K. Only works with Mamiya Pro II and winder motor or digital back. What a special item to even get to see.

 

[EASmithV]

Keep in mind you can't reload your film until you finish your dive.

 

[Muihlinn]

Rolleimarine if you can find one

 

[DREW WILEY]

Pentax made a complete underwater housing system for their 6x7 camera and certain lenses. But they were never common, and the seals on
old ones might be difficult to replace. Still, it was an ergonomic camera which handled like a giant 35mm SLR, and you might stumble onto one.