gregarius

Beyond all the publicity, this sale will certainly set some kind of precedence for the valuation for the rest of his images. This could end up being a huge, huge windfall for him and propel him and his work to an even higher level. Seems like most people on here are trying to value the image based on the image, but art collectors don't just buy pieces or art, they buy names and stories. Shoot, maybe Gurksy bought it. Maybe, in the long term, it's worth it. Or maybe Christie's is just rich people Ebay and someone got caught up in the bidding frenzy. Either way, it's an interesting story.

I like the focal lenght and range, so I tried the 24-70 in my Subal. But in the Subal, the lens is so wide that you can't use a zoom gear. The housing gear goes right on the rubber covering of the zoom area on the lens. And since it's a telescoping zoom, rather than an internal zoom, like the16-35, it's just too hard to turn to make an effective zoom in the Subal. At least, that was my experience. I'm interested to hear how it might work out for you.

Eight years ago, after some looking at a few different housings, I went with Subal. I preferred the controls and also how well everything works...every time. And then six years ago, when I updated to a 5D, I looked around a bit again and again went with the Subal. I've been very happy with it. My only gripe with it, like many people, is that you have to very careful with the port accidentally turning. That takes constant vigilance, especially when the dome port. Beyond that, it's been a solid system that has worked on every single dive. The main housing that I've seen people have problems with are Ikelites; a lot of people that I see with Ikelites seem to have some little trouble here and there, but then I am not sure what their care and maintenance is like either. If I were to update at this point, I'd look around again at all the housings, but that would mainly be for pricing, rather than performance. And I would be influenced both by my experiences and also by the fact that I already have all the Subal ports. I will add that I have seen the Nauticam in person, but not had it in my hands and played with it. Overall, I think there are so many great housings out there and, between the higher end housings, I think some of the decision is comfort and ergonomics. Best of luck to you.

I'm not a DEPP fan. In my experience, before I canceled my policy with them, they were often disorganized. They were, for example, unable to resolve billing inaccuracies and refund credit in a timely manner... to name the most recent. They only time DEPP ever responded in a timely way was when it was a matter that is going to make them money. I'm still waiting a credit that they owe me from at least six weeks ago. I'd steer clear of DEPP.

I carry a piece of chamois cloth in my BC pocket. When I come up out of the water for a shot, I wring it out and then wipe the glass dry.

I've done Bali twice. I love diving Tulamben. In such a small area, there's a number of different sites with a pretty good bit of variety and the black sand is a nice background for all those critters. Scuba Saraya is nice as well. Both Tulamamben and Saraya are so casual. You can pretty much go out any time you want. Although the entry on those rocks with the surf is a little tricky. I got really lucky and saw a Mola Mola being cleaned at The Liberty early one morning in May. Personally, I didn't think the marine life at Menjangan was nearly as good as Tulamben or Saraya. And the boat ride to the dive sites at Menjangan is more than a short, quick ride. Since the dives sites are far away, it's not just a spur of the moment option to just go out. However, if you do decide to go to Menjangan, the Bali Tower Restaurant at Menjangan Resort is a great experience, very romantic for couples. I stayed at Mimpi Menjangan. It's pretty nice. I've also been out to Nusa Penida/Nusa Lembongan once. When I was there, we saw about 3 mantas, but the visibility wasn't great. I'll second The Watergarden. It's nice. I will also second the vote for Aquamarine. In my experience with them they were very professional and on the ball. They're more expensive than doing it yourself, and in Bali doing it yourself is really easy IMHO, so I didn't end up using them my second trip. But for a first time trip, it's a great option. I hope you have a good trip. It's a great place. I love Ubud and the monkeys.

I had a problem with a Subal housing and the mail control dial once, when the retainer clip broke. But it doesn't sound like that's your problem. Another thing, where the control dial contacts the camera's control dial, there should be a rubber ring that's making contact---at least there is on the two Subal's I've owned-- that didn't fall out did it? I'm sure you'll figure out it. Subal housings are pretty darn sweet, except for the occasional little adjustments needed.

Thanks for posting, Alex. I have a Macromate. How would using the Macromate with the 150 macro differ from using the 500D on the 150 macro?

Thanks guys. Alex, do you know what the minimum focus distance is with the 150, using the 500D?

I have a Sigma 150 Macro that I'd like to use in a Subal 5D. I have the FP-90/3 port but am not sure about which extension to use. I've asked Backscatter and a couple other places and they don't know. Anyone using this setup or something similar? Can I just measure the difference between the 100 macro and the 150 and use something close, something that doesn't see the outer area of the port? Help appreciated.

I've looked at scores of underwater photography workshops and gotten a lot of information on several, but I'd greatly appreciate hearing people's actual experiences (beyond the ones the companies post). Which ones have people had the best experienes with and why.

I just got word from Ken that my Galapagos trip is now officially canceled. I think that could possibly have been the problem. Now I have to scramble to find the best, last-minute liveaboard solution somewhere...that's a good deal. I have the 14th-29th of July off from work and can't change that because of scheduling problems. Any suggestions on a good, last-minute liveaboard? Any and all suggestions appreciated.

I'm booked on a Galapagos Adventures 10-day trip that starts on the 16th of July. This morning got an email from Ken from Galapagos Adventrues saying, "Yesterday the Galapagos National Park suspended ALL dive operations in Galapagos....The only yachts which apparently are not effected by this decision ˆ at least not immediately ˆ are the Sky Dancer and the Aggressor." I just got another email from Ken, saying, "Things are occurring at the speed of light. My head is spinning. I just got a call from Ecuador. The owners of the all the yachts have collectively hired a heavy hitting attorney who supposedly is going to be filing an emergency appeal with the supreme court of Ecuador later today. The local Galapagos politicians are now involved with this issue and they have requested an emergency meeting with the President of Ecuador for the yacht owners. If approved, all the yacht owners may be flying to Quito to meet with the president this afternoon. I don‚t want to get your hopes up but your trip might actually still be salvaged. I will let you know as soon as I know so sit tight. Ken" I haven't been able to find any info on this. The Explorer Ventures people, who also have a boat there, hadn't heard anything about it. Has anyone else heard anything about this?

I have the same Canon 5D/Subal setup that you have. I've shot quite a bit with the 16-35 MKI underwater (with the big FE-2 Subal Dome). A very noticable amount of the corners are, IMHO, unacceptably soft at most aperatures. I'll dig out some pictures and post them on Monday. I went for the 24-70. You can house it in the Subal. But it's a real pain in the butt to mount the port. I basically put the lens in the port and slide it down onto the camera, leaving the camera exposed. And it's very hard to get it in there. Usually takes me about 20 minutes or so. The real bummer is that there is no zoom gear on the lens. The zoom gear on the housing goes right onto the rubber of the lens. And since the lens telescopes, unlike the 16-35 which is easy to zoom because it's internal, it takes a great deal of force to zoom. It's better than shooting each dive with a fixed focal length, but zooming certainly isn't something you can quickly do to get a shot on the fly. So, in the end I still find myself shooting with the 16-35 more and working around the soft corners.

I'm using a Subal housing for the 5D. I like it a great deal. I have a 16-35 that I use behind the big Subal dome. I've been using a +2 diopter. For the record, I'm not sure how great a copy of the 16-35 I have. I've never compared it to another copy. But here's what I've found with mine. At 16mm there are signifcant areas in each corner that are soft...at all aperatures. At 20mm there is still, what I would call, terribly soft corners. How bad is it? Personally, I think it's quite distracting. Even my non-photographer friends who aren't very critical of photos quickly notice. Here's a shot at 20mm - 125th @ f/5.6. Slight USM. Even at 24mm @ f/8 on my lens there's clear softness in the corners. As a result I've gotten the extension port to use a 24-70. I love the 24-70 on the 5D above water. The problem with using the 24-70 underwater, and maybe this is only a Subal issue to some degree more than with another housing, but the problem is that it's a telescoping zoom and it's massive. Whereas the 16-35 zooms internally and you're really just moving elements inside the lens, the fact that the 24-70 telescopes means you have to mechanically move a big bulking lens up and down the zoom range. And on top of that the lens is so fat that the housing zoom gear is turning on the rubber of the lens and not a zoom gear on the lens means it's less efficient. The next option I see would be to use primes. I have the Canon 35L and that's a great lens. I guess it comes down to this: 1) would I rather accept the corner softness of the 16-35 to get that easy to zoom, very wide shots? 2) would I rather take all the effort to physically get the 24-70 into the housing and then struggle to zoom in and out, to get great edge to edge sharpness? 3) would I rather use primes for great IQ, but at a fixed focal length the whole dive? That's been my experience. Hope it helps.