26 replies to this topic

[Tjsnapper]

Hi Guys and girls I am going to the Red sea in a week or so for a fortnight and wanted to get your opinion if there is anything else I should get before heading out there.
Kit so far: 5D Aquatica housing,
8" dome, with 17-40mm extension,
100mm macro with flat port,
canon D500 Dipoter for 100mm canon lens.
Ike Ds160 (on the way) syncs etc

I am hoping to do the whole range of shots from macro to CFWA stuff as well. any advice / additions to my kit that might be useful would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks

Tristan

[davichin]

I see in your sign that you have a 15mm fisheye so I would surely take it (is small and you are already carrying the dome). And an spare sync cord...you never know...

Enjoy the trip!!

[Tjsnapper]

I see in your sign that you have a 15mm fisheye so I would surely take it (is small and you are already carrying the dome). And an spare sync cord...you never know...

Enjoy the trip!!

Yep, you are right, many thanks, forgot about the spare chord. I will check the 15mm FE when I get home to see how the thing fits into the housing etc. It is a steep learning curve with all the kit, but it's going to be fun learning how to use it all.

Thanks

Tristan

Edited by Tjsnapper, 30 September 2008 - 05:39 PM.

[JimG]

O-rings? I never go without spares for housing and flash. Dead easy to nip one. I reckon this is a minimum precautionary requirement.
I also take a second body and a spare bulkhead & hot shoe assembly - if you get water in the housing (unlikely but possible) you can dry the housing out but maybe your electonics will be knackered.

[Tjsnapper]

O-rings? I never go without spares for housing and flash. Dead easy to nip one. I reckon this is a minimum precautionary requirement.
I also take a second body and a spare bulkhead & hot shoe assembly - if you get water in the housing (unlikely but possible) you can dry the housing out but maybe your electonics will be knackered.

Thanks for the response.

O rings are definitely on the list, in fact already purchased , good point about the second body and bulkhead though. I have just bought a 5D and housing for the trip so might get a little flack if i go and buy another body, but when the prices drop in a few months I might avail myself with another one. I did some test shots with it yesterday and was surprised by the image quality it produced. As i am pretty new to the underwater side of things i was not going to chuck millions at is straight away, but it's not the cheapest hobby in the world is it looks?

Would anyone else recommend getting another diopter for the 17-40 behing the 8"dome?

Tristan

[TimG]

Hey Tristan

Its the perfect time to be leaving the UK - before you freeze to death. Summer, ha!
Have you got some sort of backup storage device? I always take my Epson P2000 to the Red Sea. Charging facilities on those Red Sea boats can be a bit iffy so I prefer to have something highly portable for image storage. I also always take a multi-way plug adaptor so I can plug 2-3 appliances (camera charger, AA charger, laptop/Epson charger) into one power socket.

Have a great time. Stock up on sunshine......

[james]

I would make sure that your 100mm lens + 500D diopter will fit in your port without scratching the inside of the port glass.

Cheers
James

[Viz'art]

I would make sure that your 100mm lens + 500D diopter will fit in your port without scratching the inside of the port glass.

the best way is to load the camera with the lens focused to its mimimum (longest physical lenght) if the lens is not internal focusing and the diopter in the housing, put a lens cap on the diopter, cover it with sufficient lens cleaning tissue, put the extension first, then gently and I mean gently deposit the macro port on top of the macro/diopter/lens cap/lens tissue, you should not have any contact with the tissue and the lens of the macro port AT ALL, you need to have a "breathing" space between the serrated edge of the diopter lens and the internal surface of you macro port.

Have a good trip and don't stress out on that stuff too much, just stay focused and pay attention on what you do while setting up and you'll be fine. keep an eye on your gear and who is handling it while entering the water, making sure they are holding it by the grips and not by the dome, strobe arm or accessory view finder, same goes for the rinse tank, these are the accident zones, so be extra cautious in those situations.

[Tjsnapper]

Tim G,
thanks for the heads up on the charging stuff, fortunately I am RTB every night so I can charge things at the hotel and clean/wash and dry all my kit properly. I'll be looking forward to some R&R as well out there as I only have 9 day of diving out of 14 so i will try and improve the "Farmers tan" I have at the moment

Viz'art
I will try this when I get home Sat night, if things don't fit is the solution another extension ring?


Tristan

[Viz'art]

I will try this when I get home Sat night, if things don't fit is the solution another extension ring?

Yes another extension would be the solution, to measure up, just do what you did (cap tissue etc...) and measure the gap between the port and the housing flange and refer to our web site for the closest extension.

[Tjsnapper]

Yes another extension would be the solution, to measure up, just do what you did (cap tissue etc...) and measure the gap between the port and the housing flange and refer to our web site for the closest extension.

I knew there was a reason I bought aquatica, 24 Hour support on WetPixel Just kidding, thanks very much for your help.

Tristan

[stever]

the canon 100m doesn't extend with focus

[Tjsnapper]

the canon 100m doesn't extend with focus

God point, well made it is an internal focusing lens, I got it last week and haven't even tried to use it yet the damn work thing keeps getting in the way!!

[Christian K]

Not sure of the layout of the trip (what type of service available to you). Are there rinse tanks on the boat? If you have long(ish) trips to the dive sites, you might want to bring your own 'rinse tank'. I've used a soft beer cooler with success, to keep the rig wet in surface intervals and return trips.
A few cans of compressed air is also good to have in your room for removing sand/dust/dirt/water drops from the equipment before assembling.

If it's a liveaboard, they most probably have the stuff you need.

good luck

Christian

[Tjsnapper]

Not sure of the layout of the trip (what type of service available to you). Are there rinse tanks on the boat? If you have long(ish) trips to the dive sites, you might want to bring your own 'rinse tank'. I've used a soft beer cooler with success, to keep the rig wet in surface intervals and return trips.
A few cans of compressed air is also good to have in your room for removing sand/dust/dirt/water drops from the equipment before assembling.

If it's a liveaboard, they most probably have the stuff you need.

good luck

Christian

Thanks Christian, they are just day trips on board so I am returning to base every evening. I have also read that some of you guys don't take the gear apart between dives to check photos etc, i can see your point but might have to get a bigger CF card.

[stever]

unless you are on a boat with dedicated camera facilities (have never seen such on a day boat) i definitely recommend not breaking open your housing - particularly true if rinse facilities are marginal

most decent day boats will provide a camera rinse if asked in advance - be sure to indicate how large your housing is otherwise you get the point and shoot bucket

[TimG]

Yeah, I agree with Steve. Day boats can be pretty crowded and not ideal places to start opening up housings. I'd plan on trying to go the whole day without needing to change anything. That said, Red Sea dive boats can be pretty sizeable. The first day will give you a pretty good idea! But having your own rinse tank - a soft cooler bag is ideal - can be very handy and much safer than the communal rinse tank which, by my experience of day boats, gets masks with attached snorkels dumped in. And watch those snorkels snag on camera housing catches...... And the "rinse tank" also gives you a nicely padded carrying bag.

[Alex_Mustard]

Would anyone else recommend getting another diopter for the 17-40 behing the 8"dome?

Yes. I think without one you are going to have some very naughty corners on your wide angle shots. Not that the dioptre will be the complete cure. Good dome port positioning is also cruicial.

Personally I would leave the 500D behind as the Red Sea isn't really a super macro destination (of course there are super macro subjects there, just I think the fish portrait photography is much better). The 100mm already focuses very close and as a relatively new underwater photographer I think that you will be happy with 1:1. The 500D will restrict your distant focus a bit, which could be frustrating at times.

I am sure you'll have a great trip and will amaze yourself with the shots you get.

Alex

[Tjsnapper]

Yes. I think without one you are going to have some very naughty corners on your wide angle shots. Not that the dioptre will be the complete cure. Good dome port positioning is also cruicial.

Personally I would leave the 500D behind as the Red Sea isn't really a super macro destination (of course there are super macro subjects there, just I think the fish portrait photography is much better). The 100mm already focuses very close and as a relatively new underwater photographer I think that you will be happy with 1:1. The 500D will restrict your distant focus a bit, which could be frustrating at times.

I am sure you'll have a great trip and will amaze yourself with the shots you get.

Alex

Thanks Alex, I am really looking forward to the trip and testing my skills underwater, having learnt so much theory from you guys on the forum .

What sort of diopter would you recommend for the 17-40?


Tristan

[Robin-D]

Hey Tristan,

dont know where u are heading in Egypt, when I was in Wadi Lahami (pretty far south) in 2006 there were alot of birds around the mangroves there. Had some nice encounters with fisheagles. Was happy that I had my 300 with me.

http://www.gaviiform...i...s=60&sort=0

Perhaps u have could bring your 400 2.8

have a good time,

greetzz Robin