Marc Furth

Forum username: marc furth
Posts: 406
Active years: 2002–2024
Primary forums: Photography Gear and Technique, Lights/Strobes/Lighting
Specialization: Custom underwater housing builder, Nikon and Fuji DSLR systems

Community Role

Marc Furth was one of the earliest members of Wetpixel, joining in 2002 during the community’s founding era. He distinguished himself as a skilled custom housing builder who designed and fabricated his own underwater camera housings from acrylic tube construction. His housings accommodated cameras including the Fuji S2 Pro, Nikon D2X, and SB-800 strobe units. Underwater Photo Tech’s Dave Marsh praised one of Marc’s D2X housings as “some of the finest home craftsmanship I’ve seen” (^[1]). James Wiseman noted that Marc “used to make video housings professionally” and that his work offered a viable alternative for photographers who could not afford $5,000 commercial housings (^[2]).

Beyond housing construction, Marc was a hands-on Florida-based underwater photographer who did most of his diving shore-diving in Lauderdale by the Sea, walking his gear across the street from his motel to the beach. He reported doing two-hour dives at 15–20 foot depth, shooting 100+ images per dive (^[3]). Outside of photography, he mentioned owning a small 12-unit inn in Florida and serving as a City Commissioner in his home town (^[4]).

Notable Contributions

Custom Housing Building

Marc built housings using 8-inch acrylic tubes with Ikelite ports and his own 6-inch dome and flat ports. His housings were neutrally buoyant, offered nearly complete camera control access, and featured clear acrylic for internal visibility. He offered custom housings to community members, including builds for the Fuji S2 Pro and Nikon D1s, and could adapt his designs to accept different port systems (^[5]). He also built his own SB-800 strobe housing, successfully implementing iTTL connectivity using a Nikonos bulkhead connector sourced from Underwater Photo Tech (^[6]).

Nikon iTTL Strobe Integration

Marc was a pioneer in efforts to use Nikon SB-800 strobes in iTTL mode underwater with the Nikon D2X. His most-discussed thread (55 replies) documented his work connecting two SB-800s via fiber optic cords from Sea & Sea, collaborating with Dave Marsh at Underwater Photo Tech. The thread attracted detailed technical responses from Alex Mustard and other experienced shooters, ultimately establishing that while iTTL was achievable, manual strobe control worked well enough with the D2X that TTL was not strictly necessary (^[7]).

Early Digital Camera Discussions

Marc was an active voice in early-2000s gear debates, starting discussions on the Sony DSC-828 (2003), the Nikon D70 announcement (2003), and the Fuji S3 Pro arrival (2004). His Sony 828 thread (32 replies) revealed his interest in all-in-one zoom cameras that could switch between wide-angle and macro without changing ports, and his willingness to build custom housings for cameras that lacked commercial housing support (^[8]). He was also an early adopter of the Fuji S2 Pro with a Nikonos SB-105 strobe, seeking more powerful TTL-compatible strobe options (^[9]).

Activity Profile

• Peak years: 2003–2008 (most active in gear and technique discussions)
• Total threads started: 84
• Forum focus: Photography Gear and Technique, Lights/Strobes/Lighting
• Camera progression: Nikon 990 → Fuji S2 Pro → Nikon D2X → continued Nikon use through 2024
• Top threads:
  • “Using two SB 800 U/W with D2X” (55 replies) — iTTL strobe integration (^[10])
  • “Sony’s new 8 megapixel camera” (32 replies) — DSC-828 discussion (^[11])
  • “New Nikon DSLR D70” (24 replies) — D70 announcement (^[12])
  • “More Flash Power in TTL Mode?” (21 replies) — strobe selection (^[13])
  • “Fuji S3 Pro has landed” (20 replies) — Fuji S3 arrival (^[14])

Timeline

• 2002-05: Joined Wetpixel, one of the earliest community members
• 2003-01: Offered custom Fuji S2 housings to other members, mentioned building housings for two other companies previously (^[15])
• 2003-09: Discussed strobe power options for Fuji S2 Pro with SB-105, diving in Lauderdale by the Sea (^[16])
• 2003-11: Started Sony DSC-828 discussion, considered building custom housing for it (^[17])
• 2003-12: Posted Nikon D70 announcement from Steve’s DigiCams (^[18])
• 2004-12: Received Fuji S3 Pro, planned to build housing for it (^[19])
• 2005-05: Showcased custom D2X housing; Underwater Photo Tech praised its craftsmanship (^[20])
• 2005-08: Began iTTL dual SB-800 strobe project for D2X (^[21])
• 2024-04: Last recorded activity on Wetpixel