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BDSC

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Posts posted by BDSC

  1. Posted

    Thanks Ron.

     

    I was reading the other day about something called "Scarlet" I think it was. Seems like whatever that is, it's gonna be the next great thing. Some of that stuff gets a little to technical for me so I'm not sure what it was really all about.

     

    But I do remember reading on some forum that with some new technology coming out, MWB will be a thing of the past. Don't remember what that was though.

  2. Posted · Edited by BDSC

    So for all you professionals and others who really follow the latest and greatest technology, I have a question.

     

    Is there anything on the horizon that is really going to make a big difference in the consumer line of camcorders in the next couple of years?

     

    The reason I ask is this. I currently have a very basic uw video rig. (Top Dawg housing and Sony DCR-HC42 camcorder). I would like to step into the HD realm and upgrade my housing to have at least a flip color correction filter and maybe MWB but I could live without that. (It seems on the comsumer level camcorders, MWB may not be all that's its cracked up to be and I say this because of the reviews I read about camcorders like the HC7/HC9 and all the difficulties folks have with MWB) I'll add that I dive pretty much the warm clear waters of the caribbean. So I start looking around and see what's out there and could easily spend thousands on all new stuff. Or I could buy something used for a much smaller amount and see what comes out next. What I don't want to do is spend a lot only to have a real break through technology come out in another year or so and wish I had waited.

     

    Of course I fully realize that if you keep waiting for the latest and greatest technology to come out, you'll always be waiting and never buy! But I just thought it would be a good idea to ask a question like this to you folks out there who really know this business.

     

    Thanks in advance for any thoughts or insights you may have. It's appreciated.

     

    BDSC

  4. Posted · Edited by BDSC

    Going to Little Cayman next week.

     

    Have two questions.

     

    First I'm wondering about the flight from Grand Cayman to Little Cayman. Specifically how much problem am I going to have getting my camera gear to Little Cayman? I figure I will have to pay but I'm wondering about my second bag getting to Little Cayman. Will it make the plane on the same flight as me? Also on the return trip. If my second bag doesn't make the plane how do I get it on Delta airlines?

     

    Secondary question. What is the current water temperature in Little Cayman?

     

    Thanks.

     

    When I flew from GC to LC this past May, I carried my video rig with me as a carry-on. They will usually take it from you when you walk out to the twin otter and put it in the luggage compartment. But I will warn you, I have seen it where even though they take it from you and they sit it right by the plane, that is no guarantee that it will be put on that flight. I know of one guy who will stand there and watch to make sure it is put in the luggage hole. A few dollars tip to the guy out by the plane might not be a bad thing to make sure it gets on.

     

    Another piece of advice. If you are traveling with a spouse, you may want to pack part of your clothes in each others suitcase. When we arrived in LC, only one of 4 checked bags made it. My luggage and both sets of dive gear did not arrive until the next morning. My wifes luggage made it OK. We were on a later flight to LC with only one more flight after ours and like I said, the rest of our stuff didn't show up until the next day, but it did arrive on that first flight the next morning. The dive boat did wait for us and no one missed any diving so that was a good thing.

     

    If you are staying at LCBR, they ask that you pack at least a few pieces of luggage to send over to GC the afternoon before you leave. When we arrived at GC, it was all there waiting for us so we had no problem at that point getting it to our next flight.

  7. Posted

    Right now I have a Sony miniDV camcorder with the tapes. I edit with the Sony Vegas 8 software. So when I go to download the video to the computer, the software starts the camera and captures all the video from the tape. It recognizes each time you start and stop the tape and calls it a clip.

     

    My question is, when using a camcorder that records to a hard drive and not tapes, does the process work pretty much the same? Will each time you start and stop the recording process be downloaded as individual clips, etc.

     

    Thanks for any input.

     

    Ash

  9. Posted

    Hey Mike,

     

    If you get the chance, can you confirm that the Bluefin Pro housing for the S10 will not have the flip macro feature. I think that is a great addition for the housing for the Sony 520 but it was posted that that won't be possible with the Canon.

     

    Thanks!

     

    Ash

  12. Posted

    I was always under the impression that the "one touch" mwb was able to be achieved because you could configure the mwb button on the camcorders screen anywhere you wanted it. Thus by moving it right in front of the push button, you could like push it twice I think to achieve mwb. Or something like that.

  16. Posted

    I know the Bluefin comes standard with the 65 degree lens. Do you know if they allow you to upgrade to the 90 by allowing for what the 65 would cost and just charge you the difference? From what I have read, the 90 is a much better all around lens and would serve the purpose on most diving.

  20. Posted · Edited by BDSC

    I forgot to add that "Mr. T" was there last week and ate most of his meals with us. He talked about the huge amount of repeat business this resort had and now after being there for a week I see why. We will start being part of that group. Their sister resort at the Brac is also great and they hope to have it open by September. It will have undergone a $4,000,000 renovation after the storm.

     

    Have a great trip Andy!

  21. Posted

    A group of 22 of us traveled from the Raleigh/Durham, NC area to Little Cayman on May 2nd. Getting into Grand Cayman was easy and the Delta flights were on time. From Grand Cayman we took the twin otter over to Little Cayman. It holds about 19 people I think and a limited amount of luggage.

     

    We arrived at the airport after a 30 minute flight and the resort staff was there to pick us up. Five of us didn't get all of our luggage that day but it came in on the first flight the next morning. So while some of us were a little on edge until our luggage arrived, it all worked out just fine. Just remember that Cayman Air allows one 55 lb. bag and one 15 lb. carry-on for a total of 70 pounds each and they will weigh the luggage. They charge .50 per pound over the limit. But it depends on the agent you get because some of us were charged and some were not.

     

    We arrived at the resort and check-in went very smoothly and our luggage was delivered to our rooms within minutes. The resort is really nice and well designed. We had an oceanfront room and I think it was worth the difference in the price. The view was spectacular. They have just finished a renovation of the rooms and our room was not only the nicest room we have ever had at a dive resort, but it was as nice of a room as we have ever had anywhere. They really did it right when they renovated. There was plenty of hot water all week and the A/C would keep your room like an icebox if you wanted it to.

     

    The food at the restaurant was served buffet style and was excellent! There were always lots of choices at every meal. Lunch and dinner usually had soups, fresh salads, and at least 3 main entrees. Usually there was some type of chicken, fish, and either beef or pork. So I can guarantee you won't go hungry. There were a couple of desserts at lunch and maybe 4 or 5 different ones at night. You had your choice of eating in or out on the screened porch.

     

    Now for the diving. Ten of us were assigned to the Reef Fantasy dive boat with Alex and Sharon as our DM/captains for the week and they were awesome. I can't possibly say enough good things about them. They made the week a lot of fun for all of us but at the same time they had a focus on safety that they were serious about. One big rule is to go down with your buddy and come up with your buddy but that was easy enough to live by. All the dives had a time limit of 60 minutes and that was fine by all. I think that's pretty good when you realize they have to keep a reasonable schedule during the day. It really is valet diving. You just sit at the back of the boat when you are ready and they bring your BC to you. Slip it on and off you go. You could go and do your own thing or wait for one of them and get a tour. We did our own thing after an excellent briefing of the dive site.

     

    The conditions for the week were perfect. Calm seas and great visibility. As usual, the first dive allowed for a deeper profile (usually 110ft) while the second dive would have a profile of about 60ft or so. No one really policed that but most folks had no problem with those depths. We pretty much saw it all. Eagle Rays, stingrays, sharks, tons of turtles, lobsters, crabs, big green morays, all kinds of reef fish, groupers that liked to be petted, sponges, corals, and I even found a lionfish at the site called Mixing Bowl. I reported it to Alex and Sharon and I think they pass that on to the folks that come out and collect them. That same fish was spotted the next day at the same site. Our boat for the week found two Lionfish. I got some really great video which I hope to post a few clips soon.

     

    The staff at the resort as well as the staff of Reef Divers are excellent, helpful if you need them, and friendly. Some of us wanted to get together one night and watch a movie so they set up a conference room for us and let us tie in to the projector so we could all watch. One person in the group had a birthday that week and they made him a great birthday cake that evening. They are all really great people.

     

    They do like for you to pack at least one bag and have it ready by 3:00pm the day before you leave because of the limited amount of luggage carried by the twin otter. We did that and it was waiting for us at Grand Cayman when we arrived the next day.

     

    All in all it was a great week and we hated to leave but you can be sure we will return for more of the same. I can highly recommend Little Cayman Beach Resort and Reef Divers as a great vacation destination.

  23. Posted

    I am thinking of getting into video, but have a limited budget. Is the top dawg housing ok for entry level video?

     

    That's an excellent idea! Why? Because that's what I did last April of 2008 and it turned out to be a great decision I think. I have been diving for quite a few years and decided last year to do more with my diving and wanted to explore doing UW video. As it turns out, a lady at our local dive shop wanted to sell her Top Dawg unit with camera, HID lights, pelican case, monitor back, etc. The original cost was just a little over $4000 when she bought it in 2006. It was in great shape and I paid her $1000 for all of it. So far I have had it on two trips with a third coming up next week in Little Cayman.

     

    I couldn't be more pleased with this unit. I have a Sony DCR-HC32 camera with it and just purchased a new HC32 as a back-up for $159.00. The unit is easy to use. The two things that it doesn't have that would be nice is the flip filter for color correction (but I just screw that onto the camera before I put it in the housing) and manual white balance. I have the camera set on AWB and for the type of diving I do that works pretty well.

     

    Really, for an into unit into video I don't think it can be beat. I was able to get into video without spending a ton of money, it has allowed me to do some video to see if this is something I want to stick with and not a passing fad, and the results have been really good so far. I'm sure in the future I'll upgrade to HD and get a housing with all the bells and whistles.

     

    I do see some used ones come up for sale from time to time on here, e-bay, etc. I think you will be well pleased if you go this route.

  24. Posted

    I knew when I made the post that he would probably do that. I had hoped he would see that and think a minute about what he had said and implied about Robyn and her character and apologize to her. But he pretty much showed what an a total jerk he is by getting in the "last word". I would imagine when he was small he was like a little kid that when things didn't go his way, he would pick up his ball and go home.

     

    It amazes me how so many people called him out for what he said and yet I became his #1 enemy. But if making me out to be the bad guy to take the heat off him somehow made him feel better about himself, then more power to him. I don't really know how he ever expected anyone to believe that when he made his references to Robyn with terms like "bogus card" "wanting something for nothing" and "probably wouldn't have paid if she had not won" he was only stating facts and meant nothing more.

     

    In all honesty, he really is a very pathetic person.

     

    Ashley (BDSC)

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