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dmoss

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Posts posted by dmoss

  4. Posted

    The salmon and bear shot is not only possible, it would be rather easy at the right time of the year. The sockeye salmon is obviously in his spawning colors. Several years back I was fishing on the Russian River in the Kenai peninsula. The sockeye come in to spawn by the hundreds. They are stacked in shoulder to shoulder (do fish have shoulders ?) Every bear in the area is aware of the spawning run and come in to feed. Wait for a bear to come to the river, pick any fish you want, and fire away. Then get out of the river before the grizzly thinks you look tastier than the fish !

  5. Posted

    I have an Ike 20D housing with the 90 degree sync cord bulkhead. The new bulkhead design is an improvement, but even with that I have had a sync cord fail due to cord stress at the bulkhead.

     

    The new D200 housing has the bulkhead angled up at a 45 degree angle, keeping the sync cord further out of harms way. I would like to modify my 20D housing to put the bulkhead in the 'UP' position. This would 'appear' to merely require drilling a small hole into the rear housing cover to accept the small stabilizer pin that sticks out of the base of the sync cord bulkhead, and rotating the bulkhead. I was all set to do this last night but had second thoughts. My history of attempting work bench modifications usually results in having to send things back to the manufacturer to have it done right. :D

     

    Has anyone done this 'simple' modification ?

  9. Posted

    Selling this for a good friend who is not a Wetpixel member (if you can believe that !! )

    Ikelite DS125 strobe, s/n 3166 with ITTL upgrade (no diffuser, he lost it)

    Rapid charger

    Single TTL sync cord 4103.51

    Ikelite arm package w/quick release 4086.61

     

    Retail for the lot is $1000. He will part with the complete package for $650

     

    PM me if interested and I will provide his contact information. Prefer paypal. US shipping only.

     

    ******Update---equipment SOLD******

  10. Posted

    Oh goodie....the "I kicked the TTL habit" vs the "I love TTL" thread is about to resurface.

     

    Something else to throw into the pot. Please correct me if I'm wrong. If you have the eTTL2 housing and stick an EV controller between it and the DS strobe...you have cancelled out the possibility of using TTL. You can't use it even if you want to.

     

    Personally, I use eTTL2 for macro and switch to manual on the housing back for WA if I have time to set up a shot and experiment with lighting. If not, I just leave it in TTL.

  12. Posted

    Obviously there are many different ways to attach your camera to your BC. I tried several and finally ended up with this setup. Rather than use a thin wrist type strap (just didn't seem strong enough) to loop around the tray base or drill into it I slip a 4" web strap over the handle and use a zip tie to keep it in place. It is the blue strap in the photo. I can quickly unsnap the plastic connector and hand the rig up to the boat crew. The rest of the assembly stays clipped to my BC the entire time. It is easy to see and reach the end of the long cord (with the green coil) to resnap the camera once in the water.

    Just my two cents worth

    post-2595-1144104343_thumb.jpg

  13. Posted

    This subject has been debated for years...are we the cause of global warming or not ? Change is indeed a natural process. I feel we are accelerating this natural process by belching out hydrocarbons at hideous rates and upsetting this very balance. Giles is right in stating that the scary part of this is that we don't totally understand it. Did we create the devastation ?...No. Are we contributing to it ? .. I think so.

  15. Posted

    I also believe that underwater photos aren't that important and if my camera failed and a trip yielded no images then it wouldn't be the end of the world.

     

     

    That's it !!!! I'm returning my magic filters tomorrow ;):o

     

    My backup 20D arrived this week. The thought of a dead camera at the beginning of a dive week convinced me. I only get to take a couple of trips a year so the pictures I take are very important. I guess it really depends on each individual's situation.

     

    Very interesting thread. Might make a good candidate for a 'member's poll'.

  16. Posted

    The leak occurred with a kinked port o-ring. The ikelite 100mm manual focus port for Canon fits extremely tightly over the lens. It takes a little force to get that port on......

     

    .....the switches are not visible which means that after installing that port, it must be tested and half the time I had to remove the port, reset the switches and reinstall the port.

     

     

    Will...The Mantis is my favorite. Many models don't pose that well !! Wonderful shot ! I'm going to have to dig up Karl's post for saving the TTL module.

     

     

    I fretted over trying to slide the port on as well. I had to use so much force I was afraid of damaging the lens or camera. I found out if I rub the pads inside the port with my finger tips the port goes on much easier. I guess the little bit of oil from my fingers lubricates the pads. Doesn't seem to hinder the manual focus operation. I can be more careful this way when getting the port over the switches as well since I don't have to fight it going on.

     

    Sorry to drag your post even further off subject.

  17. Posted

    Hi Mark....and welcome to Wetpixel !!

     

    Two months in Malaysia !!! Lucky you !

     

    I figured some of the more knowledgable folks would reply to your question, but since they haven't I'll try to help with my comparatively limited experience.

     

    You have a good camera for underwater use. There are better lenses out there of course, but I have seen some excellent UW pictures taken with the 18-55.

     

    There is a seemingly endless selection of lenses and ports available and it gets confusing trying to decide what would work best. If your budget allows, I would recommend the 60mm macro lens. It will work behind the same flat port as your 18-55. The zoom lenses seem to work better behind dome ports, but if your budget is limited to one port, you can use both these lenses with the 5502.

     

    You will want to use the 4103.51 sync cord. The slave sensor can be used with this housing and camera, but it is triggered from a second strobe and you indicated you would only have one.

     

    As far as spare parts, perhaps a spare housing o-ring and strobe o-ring. If you plan on doing night dives, the DS125 has a good modeling light built in and a spare bulb for that might come in handy as they do burn out. Follow the Ikelite recommendations for maintenance of the housing and o-rings. Pretty simple actually, just rinse everything well in fresh water and make sure the o-rings are sealed and clean.

     

    Hope this helps.

  18. Posted

    James

     

    Stunning....You can add me to the Bruce and Sarah list.

     

    I noticed on one of your earlier posts that you used the 24-70L on some pics. Just curious...what is your impression of that one underwater ? I use it topside a lot and, as you know, it is a very nice lens for that.

     

    Thanks.

  19. Posted

    I have no problems with my Ike housing, but being one of the 'older' types, I do lust...long for...desire the improved viewfinders offered by some of the higher priced housings. Some time ago, there was some discussion of an optional Ikelite viewfinder in the works that would provide greater magnification and field of vew. Anyone know if that is on the horizon or was I just dreaming :P

  22. Posted

    There is a problem using flash in dim light with the C-7070 (and I suspect also the 5060) that you should be aware of too.  The camera firmware limits the flash to a very short duration when the exposure value is low, even if it should be a long flash.  This is probably a design decision,  to protect the internal flash from overheating, but should not apply if there is an external flash with lots of power.  Unfortunately, it does apply.  In dim light, the camera gives a brief flash, internal or external, sorry.  You get a black picture. 

     

     

    The 7070 has a problem in this regard....fortunately, the 5060 does not. Firmware was changed on the 7070.

  23. Posted

    Saad,

    I used a Lowepro Dryzone 200 for a while. It holds a lot of gear, but by the time I got it loaded up it was very heavy. I switched to a Lowepro Pro Roller 1 for my last trip and my shoulders thanked me !!

    It is airline carryon legal and the equipment you have now should fit nicely, with room to spare.

     

    Hope this helps.

  24. Posted

    Hello, and Welcome to Wetpixel

    You might try the settings that Peter from Splashdown Divers has listed...they helped me when I had my 5060. His settings are for the C5050, but they also apply to the C5060.

     

    http://splashdowndivers.com/photo_gallery/...up_settings.htm

     

    Shutter lag is an issue with most digicams. It's something you learn to live with and make adjustments for. I got some pretty good pictures with the Oly, but was frustrated with the shortcomings. Shutter lag is the main reason I switched to a DSLR.

     

    Hope the link helps.

  25. Posted

    I think that large scale formations like walls and pinnacles would be more important than prolific coral.

     

    A couple of my most memorable trips would have to include Bloody Bay Wall in Little Cayman. Truly a dramatic wall that starts in about 30 feet and drops straight down to several thousand feet.

     

    As far as pinnacles go, Saba has an area of dive sites that are actually called 'The Pinnacles'. The tops of these pinnacles are rather deep. Starting around 80 to 90 feet and dropping into the abyss. They are actually sea mounts coming up from the bottom.

     

    The viz can change depending on the time of year in both of these areas.

     

    Hope this helps.

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