vkire

After some googling I found out there is a microswitch on the right side of the hoe shoe. I looked in there and mine looks depressed. I tried using a toothpick to depress it but it's not working - looks like it's stuck. :-(

Hello--

Just wondering how often you do a lens change (dslr) on the boat--not a liveaboard but more like just a 2 tank dive situation.  This question really stems from my camera bag choice.  I love my pelican case becuase i can bring everything with me on the boat and i dont have to worry about extra lenses, ports, batteries, cords, etc getting wet from splash.  I am just moving into a dslr.  If a surface interval lens change is too hard/risky, then i can just bring the camera in a cooler and leave the extra lenses etc on shore.  what do you think?

Unless there is an air-conditioned cabin and a long surface interval to give you plenty of time to do things right, I wouldn't do it. The two times I did it I had two different problems - first time I forgot to remove the lens cap off the lens while I was rushing to switch lenses/ports (!) and discovered that when I was 50 ft under water. :-) The second time the port fogged up due to humidity.

Made my first run of the season up to Crystal River yesterday. Not the best day, with a south wind and an early low tide, but the fellas were there. Rules seem to be similar except NO submerging under the water. They have webcams up all around. Got some dirty looks coming in very quietly on my jetski; also starting up to leave I startled a couple and got some dirty looks again. (Next time I will start up with the jet towards the bank to dampen it) Strange that a jetski with no prop is a problem, when clearly every one of the pontoon boats with an outboard has probably nicked an animal or two.
Viz was awful for the reasons I mentioned, but my daughter and I spent a fun hour with this little guy who wanted to play. I turned off the strobes pretty early on as there was way too much junk in the water. I'm liking the Nikon 16-35 more and more. D700 ISO 800 1/60 f7.1

I am surprised you were able to use your strobes at all. I talked with an operator yesterday and he told me that the new rules include 1) no strobes and 2) no weight belts and that they are being aggressively enforced.

If you are in the area and fancy joining us - post below/PM me/email me.

I will be diving there this Saturday, so, would love to join you. Sent you a PM.

Cheers,
Kiril

I'm headed to the Kona Coast area on the big island in a few weeks and need to make some dive plans.  Does anyone have any recommendations in terms of good photographer friendly operators?

David

Jack's Diving Locker. Highly recommended. The divemaster on Jack's Diving Locker let me stay in the water alone long after everyone was back on board, so, as long as you are good on air consumption, you should be set.

In addition to the Dusk/Night Manta Dive combo, ask for the Black Water dive. I did it with Big Island Divers but Jack's Diving Locker has a superior boat (hot shower, etc.).

Kiril