John Bantin

Get a spare body but if you flood the first, I can tell you that you won't want to risk the second!

Jean, I know about that... I bought one for the safety of my cameras and lenses during tests. I was referring to 2 extension rings combined, which as far as I know, isn't possible with Aquatica.

 Fit a vacuum leak test, apply the pump and everything is locked on any housing. Rely of physics not mechanics!

I am well known for my with-camera rig entry. I put the camera into the water and follow it in head-first. Works for up to 2ft of free-board.

Well,

that is one reason to NOT open the housing on the boat.

Chris

 

After a few days, my camera battery needs charging. It's a bit expensive to ask the captain to put into land to do that! 

People who live in the UK are very familiar with low-pressure conditions and precipitation.

If you want to swim fast and maintain that speed, I recommend one of these:

Nothing to do with this thread, but looking at Mark's pictures makes me wonder at the fact that we all take the same pictures of the same things. I'm embarrassed to say I recognise that telegraph!!!

I know of someone who did forget to pull a vacuum and went in the water without the plug. This is essentially like diving with a hole in the bulkhead of your housing. Fortunately, he had a dome port on and caught it as the water started rushing in so he was able to turn the camera so the water began collecting in the dome as he was aborting the dive.

To Adam's point, having a vacuum system isn't completely fool proof. You still need to check your system before jumping in.

This doesn't add up. Surely, if water could get in, air would have got in first, before he hit the water. Sounds like someone ignoring the red light. Thank goodness he doesn't have a rebreather!

While I abhor anyone trashing the environment just as much as I abhorred tourists chipping away bricks from the 1000-year-old White Tower of the Tower of London as they did in the '50s, the fact of the matter is that these things are much more complex than a simple solution would suggest. For example, we in the West have fuelled the shark-finning industry by buying cheap goods from those countries that want the end-product, enriching them and pushing up the price, thereby making shark fins so much more valuable. We are ALL to blame. Modern industrial society in which we live and benefit brings with it many negatives.

Correct!

Part of the problem has always been the reluctance of Asian dive guides to remonstrate with Western guests. It is a cultural thing.

Stephen, It was a pilot trip put together by Stuart. I'm surprised you weren't there! He'll be doing more next season, I'm sure. In one month the feature will be archived on www.divernet.com but there is a (free?) Diver Mag app. for iPad and Android that allows you to see current mags although you have to pay a few dollars for each issue. This issue on the app includes some extra pictures pictures (I actually shot 2146 usable pics!) and Fraziers short-version video.

Thanks for all the info. I settled on the small Macbook Pro. It does everything I need and it fits in my back pocket of my photographer's jacket (for carry-on purposes!).

Ear clearing!

Over the years I have collected more photography gear for use underwater than any man would ever need. Recently I have been selling off all the kit I really no longer need. Apart from the film stuff that I actually gave away, I sold all that perfectly good equipment that I was no longer using. I am now down to one housing, a set of ports, two camera bodies and two lenses (for underwater use). I kept a range of lenses for surface and studio use. I recommend it. The feeling that comes with simplification is wonderful.