pmooney

Mark, I too am going through the packing issue's. It looks like we are heading to the same place. I fly into Sorong May 7 - 7.15am Am packing for 6 weeks in the field. 1 x Titan & full ports 1 x subal D2X & full ports 1 x Gates HD housing & monitor 1 x greenforce squid HID lights 1 LMI Pro hid lights 6 strobes 3 mod lights lot's ot ULCS arms etc. Chargers and batteries for everything 2 x D100 bodies 2 x D2X bodies 1 x Z1 HDV Camera , assortment of lenses & filter's 1 laptop & 2 external drives assorted spares Have managed to get it all into 2 x pelican 1624 & a pretty full back pack. Business class through to Surabaya so weight should be an issue until then. I'll be the guy PLEADING at the baggage counter - see you there ! Peter

James, It sure sounds like your descibing that Titan you were using in Fiji last year. Peter

There have been many great suggestions as to what extra thing / button / doodad or paint scheme will make a good housing - all of them worthy of consideration. I believe that " great support goes along way towards making a housing great ". How is this housing / product supported is often not considered until after the emotion of the purchase has passed. The world's best waterproof box is no good if you can't get the service / repair agent on the phone or if when you do they don't have the spares / parts / info / knowledge that you need. just my 2 cents. Peter

i have used a combination of toothpaste , then Jiff ( cream cleanser ) and finished with brasso (metal polish ). Always a slow process - but what price can you put on saving a trip.......

Karl, Thanks - I'm like am expectant father. The camera left Japan yesterday and the housing and ports are due to ship from Backscatter tomorrow. All I have to do now is locate an English manual and I will be OK. Cheers Peter

John, "Fish & Models have a lot in common " - would you not agree ? I tend to agree with you as it being a SAFE lense. My best experience has been with it at around 20mm , rather than 12mm. ( see attached image ) I actually recall lot's of frustration with this lense before I wound it up a little. ( when I was shooting film 18-35 was my favourite ) I am wondering what combo's ( ports , domes , diopter's ) other user's are using to get their best results. Having just dropped my 16mm fisheye. ( it has very serious issues ! ) I only have one other option in my bag. I am about to go into the field with this lens as a major partner to my new D2X / Subal combo and welcome any pointer's. Like William Heaton I find W/A a lot more work than close up and macro. Any pointer's would be appreciated. Best Peter

William , It looks like you had less than ideal conditions. It is a real challenge to shoot wide angle in dirty water , still you gave it a good shot. Mike - Sam has taken the family with him ! He has got pretty good at the other ...... Best Peter

William, Great macro - you seem to have that sorted out. Lizard to Cairns should have included the dives at the Cod Hole , Pixie Pinnacle and Steves Bommie. I expect you would have had some fantastic wide angle opportunities on your trip, wondering if you could post a few ?? Mike, Sam Taylor ( the Krusty look alike ) has just gone to PNG to spend 3 months on Paradise Sport. Best Peter

I have had mixed success using Lexar 4 gig ( 80x ) cards in my D100. ( writing slow, buffer issues etc ). Wondering if this is likely to be the same in the D2X ?? Any suggestions ? Peter

You would be well advised to stick with Sony as this brand is well supported by all the housing manufacturer's. Most housings access the camera's control's via the LANC port ( sometimes known as the remote port ) - make sure that your camera is fitted with this feature. Sony have started to remove this feature from some of the lower end video camera's. On where to buy - support your local ( same country ) dealer, that way they will be able to afford to support you with service , local warranty , spares and advise. Check this link for a wide selection of housings. www.scubapix.com I know that they have supplied lot's of housings for exactly the purpose you describe. Happy Hunting Peter

Aquatica make a solid housing for the 20D. Check them out at www.aquatica.ca Cheers

Nick, I am yet to get them wet. As luck would have it - a full blown sinus / chest infection arrived the same day they did . still it's given me plenty of time to get familiar with the controls. I am taking them up to West Iran Jaya May 7 thru Jun 4 - not to bad for a first date. The Squids are the HID light system developed as a collaboration between Greenforce and Gates. They are just dandy and give out a very fine quality of light ( nice and white ) The burn times are excellent. Best Peter

Having just taken delivery of a number of Gates HDV housings ( I believe them to be the first shipped ) I feel uniquely qualified to refute this statement. Having average sized hands I am able to maintain my grip on the handles and manually white balance - simply use you thumb ) without letting go of the handles. The simple functionality of this unit is fantastic. It is possible to put the camera into full manual mode ( something not many video people do ) and access all controls without letting go of the grips. I do admit that I had reservations when I first unpacked them ( 3 units complete with squids and full sets of ports - fathoms are still to ship ) - but they all dissapeared as I took the time to become familiar with the new layout. There is no doubt that the Gates FX1 housing is sizable , ALL housings for this camera will be of similar proportions - simply an unfortunate result of the camera's actual dimensions. Cheers Peter PS I also have a number of electronic housings ( Amphibico - shipping 3rd week May & Light & Motion - guestimated as shipping September) on order - having learned that not all square pegs fit into square holes.

Rand, Fantastic selection of images. Not the usuall sunball WA that has become you signature.Congrats. Peter

The Line Loc arms on my video lights support the HID heads well in the water - but tend to be pushed back in a strong curren 2-3 knots . This is not to say they flopped arouind just pushed back by the water flow.

Mark, I am a keen user of the Titan, and have often considered the ringflash solution. Could you shoot me a few shots and perhaps a little advise / info about your setup. Best Peter Mooney Scubapix.com

Having iTTL built into the strobe would surely be winner. I'm sure that there would be enough support to produce a "trial or test sampling". How about it ???????? Peter

Wondering if any one has used or is using one of these marvels ?? I had a look at one of the Leica versions on the week end and was really impressed with the simple style. Apparantly the Hugy people have housings available for D70 , D100 , 300D with them to soon come for D2X and 20D - whos using them ???????????

Got our first batch of Aquatica 20D housings in last week - and they have just run out the door. Must have been the sexy silver colour that made them so popular. It was my intention to keep one for the store for a demo unit and it's gone too ! Well done Blake , on time . great colour , compact size - a winner.

Many people have a good deal of confusion on the PAL / NTSC issue. In simple terms it - if it is a PAL recording it must be converted with a standards converter to NTSC ( or vice versa ). Many camera's have a NTSC playback on PAL TV - this is not a conversion and is of no use to you other than allowing the viewing of your images. The news is not all bad. The friendly folk at Scubapix in Cairns can help you with a housing to suit your camera, or rent you one of our NTSC Digital 8 camera & housing units. Cheers Peter www.scubapix.com

Probally - not even if the shark shield is under full warranty !

Here is a link to some footage shot during the early testing stages of the Shark Pod research & development. http://www.scubapix.com/movies.htm Testing was conducted at Osprey Reef over 14 day period. The two divers are myself & Rodney Fox. You can best be the judge of how well it works....... Cheers Peter

Hello Walter - Welcome to wetpixel from the tropical north. I am looking forward to your workshops at Oztek, particularly your talk on the future of underwater digital imaging. Have you dived the revamped "Mistral " ? Do the serations on the hoses still rub your ears ? Peter Mooney A brief bio of Dr Stark Walter Starck is one of the pioneers in the scientific investigation of coral reefs. He grew up in the Florida Keys and received a PhD in marine science from the University of Miami in 1964. He has over 40 years worldwide experience in reef studies and his work has encompassed the discovery of much of the basic nature of reef biology. In this process over 100 species of fishes, which were new to science, were found as well as numerous, corals, shells, crustaceans and other new discoveries. In 1958, while still an undergraduate student Dr. Starck began what was to become a 10-year investigation of the fish fauna of Alligator reef in the Florida Keys. In 1964 he developed the optical dome port now used universally for wide-angle underwater photography. In 1968 he developed the Electrolung, the first electronically regulated, closed circuit, mixed gas scuba. This was a quantum jump in diving technology and was employed in a variety of advanced military, commercial, and research diving operations in the 1970’s. The U.S. Navy, Israeli Army Commandos, NASA, and the offshore oil industry were among its users. With the Electrolung Dr. Starck began exploring the deep reefs beyond the frontiers of compressed air diving. He has written over 50 articles and books. Among them are articles in Sea Frontiers, Skin Diver Magazine, Australian Natural History, Penthouse and three stories forNational Geographic Magazine. He is now the editor of www.goldendolphin.com. Dr. Starck has produced some 16 documentary films and videos. Most have involved marine exploration including extensive underwater photography.

I am keen to know who intends to go to Bonaire. From what I hear it's macro paradise ! The bars aren't too bad either. I for one will be there early with bells on PNG is my backyard, but I always wanted to go to Bonaire ! Peter

James are you coming to Bonaire ?????????? If you do come, how many megapixels are you going to bring with you ? Peter.