BradDB

Just a follow-up on the Olypus 60mm macro fitment issue in case this comes up for anybody else: Nauticam sells/has sold two gear sets for the Olympus 60 mm Macro with the same part number. Either this or Nauticam revamped the part but retained the part number. The lip in front of the gear is changed just enough to effect fitment of the lens to the GH5. If you buy this manual focus gear for the GH5 make sure you request the thin-lipped version.

White balance looks great. I'm axious to get my GH5 into cold water this weekend (conditions permitting). The settings choices the GH5 are almost overwhelming relative to my Canon SLR so it's interesting to see what has worked for you, particularly given I dive in similar conditions (Monterey). I would not normally consider auto ISO as an option for example. Also, I had not encountered the shutter angle option (thanks stphnmartin). -Brad

It might be an issue with manufacturing tolerances of either Panasonic or Nauticam. Here is a photo of the Olympus 60mm focus gear contacting the nose on my GH5. I've worn off some GH5 paint attempting to turn the gear.

It's also a problem with the Olympus 60mm macro focus gear on the GH5. My dealer has contacted Nauticam.

I viewed this yesterday at the Blue Ocean Festival. It was riveting. I could not help but wonder though to what lengths people will go to film the next big undiscovered/undocumented/unphotographed thing. I joked with my wife afterward that we should go dive with hippos. -Brad

The heart LIKE symbol still shows in the upper right if you are viewing other peoples videos. If you view your own video while logged-in the heart is absent. I didn't noticed this until tried it just now. -Brad

There is a new Watch Later feature which allows you to add videos to a playlist for later viewing. I have not tried it yet so I can't comment on how useful it is. -Brad

I've been told that white duct tape on your fins works well. I picked some up at the local hardware store this past weekend. I was surprised to see several colors available. There were two brands of white. -Brad

Yes, the sharks will get close enough for strobes. Just hunker down behind a rock and be ready. You will get a few good, strobe-worthy passes (3-4 feet away) per dive if you choose your location well. Wolf Island is a good place to practice this technique. The 10-17 is the lens to use. I brought a 12-24 but soon realized it was the wrong lens for close subjects. -Brad

The Sola 600, though it claims 600 lumens output is supposedly underrated. I've been told it's closer to 650 lumens. Meanwhile the FIX LED 100DX's output is 777 lumens according the this test by Backscatter. These lights were evaluated in an Integrating Sphere (wikipedia) so spatial information (diffusion, beam angle) don't interfere with the intensity measurement. I plan on buying three Sola 600s. Zero-maintenance and small size make this light very appealing to me. The red light is just icing. -Brad

Good to hear you like it. I should have my Subal for 7D in a week or so. I'm just waiting for Backscatter switch out the type 4 to a type 3 port adapter. I am also having them transfer my GS180 viewfinder from my 20D housing to the 7D housing. -Brad

The prices were quick to rise when the dollar/euro value was low. Now that the equalibrium has shifted the other way, euro-housing prices are still high. Reminds me of the way gasoline prices trend with oil. Assuming an exchange rate of 1.50 US dollars/euro (Nov 2009) the $4500 I’d drop on a Subal housing would equate to 3000 euro. Assuming an exchange rate of 1.23 US dollars/euro (May 2010) the $4500 I’d drop on a Subal housing would equate to 3650 euro. Who profits? Depends on who sets the prices. Perhaps I should arrange a trip to Austria. Does Subal have one of those fly-out, use it in Europe, then transport it home programs like BMW? -Brad

I hope you went home and promptly recovered all of your deleted images from your memory card. Doing so would be trivially easy. -Brad

I've been on a number of dedicated photo liveaboard trips and I have yet to see someone intentionally enter the water with dome cover intact. The covers always come off in the skiff and stay there until the photographer or a member boat crew replaces them. Dealing with a buoyant cover underwater is more hassle than it's worth in my opinion. In addition, with the cover removed I am able to verify by the position of the shade that my port has not rotated. I'm a bit surprised with the number of responses stating that they intentionally leave the cover on. -Brad

The individual pre-moistened swabs have a reputation of arriving dry. This makes sense if Eclipse Solution is simply high-purity methanol or similar. It's very volatile. A small leak in the packaging would allow the contents to evaporate very quickly. I have a few pre-moistened swabs in my kit but I haven't needed to open them yet. The Rocket Blower + built in ultrasonic dust remover has been good enough since I bought my 7D in November last year. -Brad