Fantasea FD-50N Operator's Manual

Fantasea Line FD-50N Waterproof Housing

for the Nikon D-50N

1

Introduction

pg.2

Included With Housing

pg.2

Camera Model

pg.3

A Variety of Uses

pg.3

Specifications

pg.3

Controls Orientation

pg.4

Control Details

pg.5

Preparation of Housing before the dive

pg.8

Basic Shooting Techniques

pg.13

Fantasea FD-50N Warranty

pg.16

Camera Lenses and Ports

pg.16

Table of Contents

Fantasea FD-50N Housing

Instruction Manual

Table of Contents

pg.1

Using External Strobes

pg.11

Care & Maintenance

pg.12

Flood Insurance

pg.17

2

Introduction

Fantasea has upgraded the housing for the Nikon D-50 and the FD-50N is the
result. Improved features include, embedded optical view finder, enhanced
trigger/shutter control system, new port mounting system, zoom lens capability
and separate button for On-Off control.

Included with housing:

Welcome to the exciting world of underwater digital SLR photography. Your
purchase of the FD-50N housing for the Nikon D-50 digital camera will set
you apart from other photographers. With this system, you will enjoy the best
chance of capturing the widest variety of superior underwater images. The FD­50N offers you the opportunity to use the exact Nikon lenses for the best
circumstances, including a choice of macro, wide angle, fisheye, and zoom
lenses. You will find the housing to be easy and instinctive to use and handle
and will have countless dives in which to experiment with the D-50's advanced
imaging capabilities. Fantasea Line Photo is pleased to offer our help with any
of your photographic needs.

The purpose of this manual to is to provide you with the basic introduction to
your FD-50N, which should get you comfortable with the housing and allow
you to get started taking great underwater images right away. We strongly urge
you to thoroughly read the Nikon D-50 instruction manual as well, to familiarize
yourself with the most common controls and settings that you will use for your
underwater photography. The FD-50N housing will permit access to most of
the important controls on the camera. To take full advantage of these features,
it is best to have a good command of what each option can do for you, so you
will know when you should use each specific control.

The FD-50N housing consists of a front and back shell that latch together
to form the housing body.
A screw in standard flat port is included. This port will accommodate the
18-55mm lens. Other optional ports are available for different lenses ( 5
inch super wide angle Dome Port, 60 mm macro/close up port and 105
mm super macro port)
Two housing handles are attached to the camera body and the base plate.
These handles are made with the standard Fantasea strobe arm mounting
shoe on the top of each one for attaching a Fantasea (or other company)
Flex arm or Ball and Joint arm for the accessory flash and/or underwater
light.
Base plate for mounting other tray and arm systems.
Zoom Control Guide Band that is attached to the camera lens.
Optical viewfinder eyepiece built into the back cover of the housing to
assist the photographer in viewing and focusing.
A five-pin TTL flash sync port to connect with the D-50's hot shoe.

3

Camera model

The FD-50N is dedicated exclusively to the Nikon D-50 camera. The size and
shape of the camera, plus the location of controls for alignment with housing
controls requires this precision design. Together, the D-50 camera and FD­50N housing offer the best combination of advanced digital photography at
an affordable price. No other camera may be used in the FD-50N housing.

A Variety of Uses:

Specifications:

Removable camera mounting tray that slides into position with the D-50
attached, positioning the camera in the exact location for perfect control
alignment.
Spare gasket
Adjustment tools
Wrist lanyard
Warranty and other documents
Instruction Manual
Silicon Grease
Port Cover
Cloth

The FD-50N is an injection molded polycarbonate housing
The main seal between front and back halves is a compression gasket
The ports are sealed when mounted by a radial O-ring
Controls use stainless steel shafts and springs
Controls are sealed by double O-rings
Control knobs and buttons are made of molded polycarbonate
Latches are stainless steel
Handles are made of molded polycarbonate
Flash sync port is a standard five-pin Nikonos type TTL connector
The Fantasea FD-50N has a maximum working depth rating of 200' (60m)

The Fantasea FD-50N housing is more than just an underwater camera
system. It protects the D-50 against damage from such environmental
conditions as rain, snow, dust, sand, and dirt. It is perfect protection for
active outdoor sports, where these elements would normally not allow an
advanced camera like the D-50 to be used without danger of damage. The
lightweight, compact housing and handles make it easy to hold and use
while sailing, fishing, kayaking, backpacking, or just for fun at the beach
or around the pool. It will also provide a valuable tool for many commercial,
industrial, and medical applications, because it is impervious to most liquids,
and sprays.

4

Controls Orientation

Top and Front of Housing:

Back & Right Side of Housing:

Delete Control

ISO Sensitivity/Menu Control

Auto Bracketing/
Advance E-mode Control

Latching Buckles

9

Playback Control

Command Dial

AE-L/AF-L Control
Four W ay Multi-Control

10

11

White Balance/Image Control

12

13

14

15

18

16

Viewfinder

19

4

Main Shutter Release Control
[Trigger]

1

Flash Sync Port

LCD Control
Panel Illuminator

On-Off Control

7

5

8

Exposure Mode
Control Dial

Zoom Port
Control

2

Handles

3

5

Control Details:

The following is a partial list of the most common uses of housing and camera
controls. For the full list of camera functions and settings accessed by each
control, you should consult your D-50 camera instruction manual.

Please note that some of the FD-50N housing controls are designed to operate
more than one camera control. The command dial and sub-command dial will
perform multiple functions when operated in conjunction with other
camera/housing controls.

1. Flash Sync Port:

3. Handles:

Ergonomically located for easy gripping and access to controls. Strobe
arms can be mounted on the base shoe on top of each handle.

Connect any standard five-pin Nikonos type sync cord to this bulkhead
connector.
Align the index dots to correctly position cord to seat in flash port.
Push down on cord to seat the O-ring seal, and make connection with the
five pins.
Tighten collar on sync cord to insure cord does not come loose or separates
while underwater or during use.

This button activates the zoom lens of the camera.

2. Zoom Port Control:

Attach the Zoom Control Guide Ring to the lens. This is attached using the
Velcro strip. Insure that the projected nub is directly on the bottom.
The camera and tray are inserted in such a way that the nub of the Zoom
Control Guide Ring is sandwiched between the two projections found on
the lens port. All are pointed a downward direction. The Zoom Control is
operated when camera is installed in housing is this manner using button #2

4. Main Shutter Release Control [Trigger] :

The camera has a two stage shutter-release button. The camera sets focus
and exposure when the button is pressed halfway. Focus and exposure will
remain locked while the shutter-release button is kept in this position. To
take the picture, press the shutter-release trigger [of the housing] the rest
of the way down.