jaykirk

Hi Everyone, I just updated my image galleries to a Wordpress solution and would appeciate some feedback on how things look. http://www.mileskirk.com/ Any comments or critiques on the site design or images is greatly appreciated! Thanks! -Jason

Sorry - keeping my Z240s.....

Hi All, I have recently upgraded to the D3X and have a like new Nikon D2X (only 7600 shutter actuations) along with the Aquatica D2X housing that I would like to part with. This has been a wonderful system for me and is in top condition. The unit was serviced last year by Backscatter and has been on exactly ONE single dive since (my wife and I recently had a baby so I have not had much chance to dive!) I am asking $3500US for both - and might consider selling them separate but I would like to sell both. Please PM me if are interested and I can send pictures and answer any other questions! Thanks! -Jason

My first and ONLY dive trip of the year came last month on the Big Island of Hawaii. I had done night dives with mantas before, but I have never seen so many at one time. We had upwards of 25 mantas on site!! While not the most technically perfect shot - this was my favorite for this trip. The symmetry of these two avoiding each other reminds me of the controlled chaos of this dive.

I am specifically looking for recommendations on Aquatica housings (since this is what I have) but I'm sure this would be an interesting discussion for everyone. Every bit of research I have done on this recommends a "once-a-year" overhaul for an Aquatica housing. My housing has been on 2 dive trips this year (though the second one doesn't really count because my D2X crapped out on the first day of diving). Considering that O-Rings are damaged more by use than age (comments on this would be great!), I'd really be interested to hear your opinions on the frequency of these overhauls. How do you decide? By usage, time, or something else? Thanks! -Jay

Hi James - Is your mounting plate from RRS an L bracket? I'm looking into doing something similar for my housing, but so far it's looking like I'll have to machine my own L bracket to integrate with the quick release. Just wondering how yours is set up. Thanks! Jay

masguy- You caught me in the middle of a post. Hate it when that happens!! When using flash as your primary light source, your camera shutter speed as little to do with stopping motion. This is all up to the flash duration. The shorter the duration the better the "freeze" effect. Since you typically get much shorter duration times with your flash at lower power, reducing power can help stop any motion. This is why you see so many great photographs taken at very slow shutter speeds (<1/10/s). You'd think "how can they hold that camera so still??". Here the photographer is just using the slow shutter to allow more background light into the frame but is still relying on the fast flash duration to stop subject motion. Even thought the shutter speed might be 1/10 of a second, your real flash speed might be 1/10000. -Jason

The sharper "focus" your author is referring to probably has more to do with flash duration than objective sharpness. Typically the larger the power setting of the flash, the longer the duration of the flash cycle. For example if your flash unit at full power has a duration of 1/1000 of a second, lowering it to 1/2 of full power would cut your duration to about 1/2000 of a second (theoretically........) The shorter the flash duration the more likely it will be that you stop any motion. This will be more apparent with high magnification macro than at wide angle. With most macro work, even the fastest shutter speeds that your camera will sync with cannot compensate for small movements within the depth of field. In these cases, a slightly slower shutter speed combined with lower power flash will better compensate for these artifacts. Hope this helps! -Jason

Hi juncker, If you're in the market for an SLR I think you'll be a bit disappointed to find that "one touch" custom white balancing doesn't exist. Most camera systems require that you navigate to the custom WB menu setting and photograph an area underwater as close to neutral as possible and then store that reference. Nikon's D2x has a white balance button on the rear of the housing that allows you to toggle between a number of saved WB images. I find this incredibly useful because of the different WB settings required for different depths. I use this tool to take WB images at a few different depths, toggle between them during a dive if I change depths dramatically and then use a RAW converter to fine tune any result. White balance is a pain to get right underwater because of the dramatic difference in spectral loss at depth. I find that as long as I don't overexpose any channels, most situations are easily corrected in a RAW converter. I believe the d200 also has this capability. Hope this helps! -Jason

Any idea when this bad boy is going to be available?..........realistically.........

Hi Chris, I think a good majority of the folks here don't have a "local" dealer. I bought an Aquatica rig for my D2X from Backscatter (1500 miles from my home ), and their response times and technical knowledge have been excellent. Even though I'll have to ship them my gear for annual servicing, I have no doubt they'll provide the same high level of service. I would imagine you can expect similar service from other high profile retailers that advertise on wetpixel. I guess the point is that if you can find a retail outfit you trust (local or not), you shouldn't have to deal with Aquatica directly. -Jason

Hi All, Justed wanted to say that I've been sucking up information like a sponge on this website. A fantastic resource. I just put my dSLR underwater for the first time in Bonaire last week...what an experience! I've been looking for a way to reinvigorate my photography and this is it! I'm hooked! The breadth of coverage on this site has been invaluable, and even though I still have a lot to learn I really think my first photographs could have been a LOT worse! Thanks! -Jason