bvanant

The issue with making them yourself is the alignment of the fibers to the optical port. If you look at the Nauticam triggers they are monolithic and designed to put the led output at the right place. I have the turtle trigger for my Isotta and the wires holding the led are always moving slightly every time I take the hot shoe off to change camera batteries and cards. You get used to fiddling with them before closing up the housing but they are definitely NOT plug and play like the Nauticam ones. Bill

I use a pair of Converse instead of rock boots. Lots of fin choices that way Bill

The recycle time for highest power is pretty slow like 1.5 seconds depending on battery, so trying to get three shots fast is a no go. I always set my camera on manual strobe and so get only 1 flash. Bill

I think that regular cleaning is important but lubrication might be necessary as well. If you want to use an oil (not grease) that is universally applicable then you should try some perfluoropolyethers which are the base of things like Tribolube and Molykote and Christolube. Should be non-swelling for any o-ring composition. Bill

I think in Microscope mode you will have more magnification than even the 60 with cmc but not sure. In microscope mode you can get 5 mm full frame according to the OLY spec, hard to think a diopter can make it better Bill

Elias: We are in Indoesia right now, when we get back, I can send you a hotshoe adapter if you want. Bill

There are of course other options as well. Second hand metal housings from S&S, Aquatica, Subal, et al also show up from time to time. Also you need to figure out all the costs. Let's say you want a micro 4/3 system Used Olympus EM1 Mark II $500 60 macro lens $400 8 mm fisheye $800 Housing (used) Nauticam $800, AOI New($900), Nauticam new ($2800), Isotta new (2100) Ports macro and dome ($400/$800) AOI, others higher Strobes (2 x Inon 330/S&S D3) $1400-$1700 Arms and clamps ($400) Total $5K at the low end (used or AOI) and the housing is only 10% or so of the total. Of course you could go lower end everything but still you will be out some serious $. Call dmanfish here in the classifieds, he has a very nice EM1 system for sale. As others have said, Ike is fine, but if I were going to get a plastic housing it would most likely be from AOI

For wider stuff the MF-1 strobes really won't cut it unless you are doing CFWA. But for bigger things further away, not so much. Bill

I have shot the Iron Z330 and the Z240 with the dome diffuser and flat and mostly can't see a difference. Maybe for some specific shot it might matter. Bill

If it just the mode knob and you can live without the focus light, just buy a knob at McMaster with a set screw and you will be good to go. Bill

I understand (sort of) both the Maxwell Equations from the wave side and the photoelectric effect from the particle size (several classes in QM) and was mostly just teasing. My impression of Raleigh scattering though is that it is the oscillating electric field (waviness) of the light that leads to scattering. Same for some types of inelastic scattering. Cheers BVA

"Light is made of particles and so is water" , unless it is when light is made of waves Bill

Thanks Chris: Some of my friends in the EU got the camera but no flash in the box. I think the idea of the charger not being there is for some e-waste considerations. BVA

Is there a flash that comes with the OM-1. I was under the apparently wrong impression that it came without a flash. Bill

Seem ginormous to me, we tried it in Anilao. I would think that you could build an adjustable iris for the backscatter snoot without too much pain and that would be killer. Bill

If you want cables that have small bend radii then you will need the multi-core stuff as discussed above ad nauseam. But it depends on the bend radius, since you can make a 90 degree angle that is quite wide. The 613 fibers have bend radii about 1 mm for a half dB loss. The equivalent ESKA material has a minimum bend radius of 40 mm for the same loss. Getting the 613 fiber has also been discussed, I have bought some for folks and sent it to Europe and supposedly there was a group buy. If you need some let me know. Bill

It would be simple enough for the LED trigger boys to simply parylene coat the electronics board, we often use it for medical stuff that might get wet. Might cost $5 or so Bill

Depending on budget these guys http://www.renewedvision.com/propresenter.php do what I think you want. Bill

Gearbox seems to still be available on Amazon at least, but at $500 a cheap laptop might be better. One buddy has the RAV travel router that can download from a card to a HD but I haven't tried it. Cheers Bill

If I tried that often I suspect it would lead to significant blood (mine). Bill

I use this to cut cables both for underwater and lab use. We had a fancy one from Thorlabs that cost like $1200 but this one works fine. Bill

Not so much great thinking but painful observation. Bill

Actually in bright light, external light can trigger the strobe sensor. I have had strobes firing on board the dive boat when the optical fiber has been removed from the strobe sensor. Try putting a bit of tape over the optical port and see if that might be the issue. Bill

Mine are M10, but there might be more than one size BVA