dmoss

Greg, Welcome to Wetpixel.. I have been using the C5060 for about 2 years. I recently sold it and purchased a DSLR. Autofocus time and reduced shutter lag are the main reasons for making this switch. Lens flexibility is also a major plus. The 7070 and 5060 are very similar cameras. The 7070 is supposed to have better autofocus capabilities, but I have never used it. Some folks here like the Fuji or Nikon over the Olympus. The main complaint about the Olympus seems to be autofocus. Personally, I enjoyed the Olympus and got some good shots with it. The Olympus has some user programmable 'my modes' settings that were helpful for me underwater. I got used to the camera and how it responded and never really had any complaints. I would not recommend the Olympus housing. There have been numerous issues about this housing that people dislike. You can search the forum here to locate some of these. A quick search on B & H shows you can get the 7070, Ikelite housing and DS125 strobe and arm for around $1700.00\ One option I would recommend is the Inon macro screw-on wet lens. This can be taken off and screwed back on underwater. Runs about $150.00 You can also add the Ikelite dome port and the Olympus wide angle conversion lens which was probably the best add-on I did for my outfit. Around $400 for these. These can't be removed underwater. The total looks to be around $2250. You could save some money by getting the DS50 strobe instead of the DS125, but the 125 us a far superior strobe. Also, shop around, you may find better prices. Hope this helps. Pictured with the Inon macro lens...yeah, I know the scorpion fish is soft around the edges.

And here I was, thinking the moderators would pull this thread at anytime before the discussion got completely out of control....and what do they do ? Put it on the FRONT PAGE.

AL, No doubt you have already checked this, but the Ikelite site doesn't show that port compatible with any of the Canon lenses. I may be wrong on that though. It fits the Nikon 60mm macro lens...you might try listing it in the classified section here, as there are a lot of Nikon shooters and the 60mm is pretty popular. Maybe someone will swap you a 5503 port and you'll be set (for the 18-55 at least)

Hey Ike.. Look forward to seeing you guys at DEMA. I notice you're in booth 4029....any chance the bunnies are in 4028 ?

Our going price for helpful information is LOTS of pictures posted by the one receiving the information

PT-020 fits the 5060, but not the 7070 PT-027 fits the 7070 The cameras are similar, but not identical. The handgrip is larger on the 7070, therefore won't fit in housing for the 5060. The Ikelite housing will fit both cameras. There is a larger 'rubber bumper' stuck to the front of the Ike housing for the 5060. Ikelite will ship you a replacement bumper if you have the wrong one.

Eddy, Looks like you had a good trip. Cozumel offers so much diversity in the dive sites. Many of your pictures are good. You might try to get a little closer to eliminate some of the blue water between you and the subject. Getting lower and shooting on the same level as your subject works better in a lot of cases. It takes patience and waiting out the jawfish, as you did, can be rewarding. You asked for pointers and suggestions on the photography, but reading thru your blog site, a couple of things really got my attention. Even though seahorses are a great find and fun to photograph, your safety HAS to come first in all your diving. Preoccupation with the photography can be distracting and you have to be more aware of these issues when you take a camera underwater. You indicated you knowingly put yourself into deco and even ran out of air during your ascent as a result of staying too long to capture "the perfect" image of a seahorse. In another dive, you became low on air and were near an air sharing situation. Both situations are extremely dangerous. The DAN accident reports are full of incidents where people 'pushed the limits'. I'm sure you learned a lot from your trip and will be a safer diver in the future. Sorry to preach, but I couldn't help myself. Welcome to the world of underwater photography...be safe and have fun

The manager of my local dive shop reports that a few years ago, while she was on a dive trip to Grand Cayman, one of the DM's was taking down frozen peas to feed the fish. That is until one of the female divers in the group was wearing a white swim suit that had little green dots all over it She got a trip to the hospital...and a shopping trip to get a new swimsuit.

Sent you a PM....

Allison, Thanks for your inquiry, but I would prefer to sell it all as one package. If I don't sell it all, I will just hang on to it for a while and continue to shoot with the 5060. In that case, I will need the dual tray. David

I just returned from a week in Sint Maarten. Don't know if you have decided on the area you are going to stay at but I can give you a little information from my experience. I stayed in the Simpson Bay area on the Dutch side of the island. The diving I did was with Dive Safaris who I recommend for their staff and dive boats. They are located east of the airport on the main road into Simpson Bay. As far as I know, all the dive sites are reached by boat. There are several reef areas and wrecks to dive on, but they are out from shore. The seas around the island tend to be a little rough with a lot of boat traffic so shore diving would be difficult. If any of the resorts offer diving as part of an 'all inclusive' plan, it would probably be done by boat to the offshore sites. The reef system is making a comeback from years of no protection and a severe hurricane ten years ago. If you get a chance, take a one day trip to Saba. It is a 45 minute ferry ride or 15 minute flight from Sint Maarten. The diving there is excellent with better visibility. Hope this helps

The problem you are having is inherent with the type of camera you have. My 5060 is the same way. The autofocus is slower than a DSLR and in surge the camera is having difficulty locking focus because you are moving around. Pressing thru before you have focus lock will just result in out of focus images. You indicated you are using one hand on the camera. Assuming you are using the other hand to hold onto something to stabilize yourself, try to focus on an area of your subject that has contrast. That will help get a quicker lock. Don't know of any modifications to your housing that will eliminate the effects of surge...unless it was an anchor. Hope this helps.

I have decided to join the DSLR ranks and am parting with my trusty OLY 5060 housing and accessories. I'm keeping the camera to use on occasion with the PT20 housing. You can get a 5060 pretty cheap or the new 7070. Both will work in the housing (the 7070 requires a free bumper upgrade from Ikelite). Included: 6130.61 Ikelite housing with standard port Olympus WCON07C wide angle lens 9306.37 Ikelite dome port Dual Ikelite strobe arms and clamps Single TTL cord Dual handle tray and single handle tray (both quick release) All this equipment is a year and a half old and in excellent condition. Housing has never had a leak. I am a neat freak when it comes to my toys so you are getting near mint condition items. All items in original boxes and include any manuals U.S. shipping only Asking usd $1000.00 for the lot. Post here or e-mail me with any questions or if you want to see photos taken with this setup. dmossmo at cableone.net Thanks David Moss ALL ITEMS SOLD

Andy, Welcome to Wetpixel. As far as your question on processing. As you know, Photoshop CS is rather pricey. You might want to look at Photoshop Elements instead. Much more reasonably priced and offers a lot of tools for processing. Granted, you can't do as much in Elements as the full blown CS version, but just starting out, I think Elements will suit your needs. The manual that comes with Elements can be a little overwhelming at first. Look at the tutorial books by Scott Kelby. He has a series of books out on the subject that are at most book stores. He gives practical and easy to understand steps for a number of common processing tasks. Obviously, there are other books as well, but I found his to be a big help to me when just starting out. Hope this helps.

Hello Kirsten and welcome to Wetpixel By chance, are you using the Ikelite dome port with your housing ? I had a similar problem and it turned out the front shade for the dome wasn't aligned correctly. I had vignetting in the bottom right corner. Realigning the dome shade corrected the problem. If you aren't using the dome port, check to make sure your camera is positioned inside the housing with the lens in the center of the port opening. Not sure what type of dark corners you are getting, but if it looks like this, it's mechanical vignetting and you should be able to correct it without much of a problem.

Hmmmmm, wonder if flipping off a Garibaldi constitutes 'harassing the marine life' ? I will definitely give that technique a try. Great images...wish I had your eye for composition.

As a follow up to James's excellent advise....I sure wouldn't want to push my 5060 battery to 5 hours without changing it. It's a good idea to have a spare to put in after a couple of dives. You might get away with three dives on a single charge if you don't shoot much or do a lot of reviewing in the LCD. Missing a shot of a hammerhead right in front of me because of a dead battery would sure ruin MY day.

It took me a few extra clicks as well to find it. Go to Community Galleries on the main page, then Member's Galleries. Zorrr2 's gallery is the last post.

Very nice Luiz I particularly like the Belize album. The over/under shot and the Eagle Rays are my favorites. Adding the music while viewing is a nice touch. David

Personally, I miss the previous format for POTW. As a relative newbie to underwater photography, I found the images fascinating. The ability to view multiple pictures and the settings data that people were using to obtain different effects helped me tremendously. I was able to improve my own images by experimenting with this information and shortened the learning curve. Seeing the best entries each week made me really critique my own pictures. Just my 2 cents worth.

Welcome to the world of Underwater Photography.....

lardo 5150 The trial and error part is the big advantage of digital. You can see the results instantly. Sealife makes a little 3x macro cap that snaps on and off the lens of the housing. You might want to get that if it isn't in your kit. The manual that comes with the camera gives some useful beginner information as far as distance to subject with and without the macro cap. Keep in mind the actual and perceived distance underwater are two different things. Good luck.

lardo5150 Welcome to Wetpixel and underwater photography. I used a DC250 up until a year ago when I upgraded. The strobe is the same as you would have on the DC310. Basically the strobe is a slave strope that fires when it detects the camera flash firing. The external strobe for this camera is really basic. Three settings...an on, an off and a test. There are no other settings to deal with. Problem with no power settings is that you get all or nothing in regards to strobe intensity. It has a tendency of overexposing shots due to dumping too much light on the target. I believe the 310 has some upgrades to previous models that lets you adjust the EV (light sensitivity) in the camera. That may help some when shooting light colored fish or closeups with a sand background. At any rate, take a lot of pictures and get as close as possible. The more pictures you take...the better the results will be. And did I mention, get close ?

anthp Thanks for setting the record (and me) straight. I am always skeptical about e-mails I receive claiming certain facts that inevitably turn out to be false. At any rate, facinating creatures and I will read up on the links you provided.

A friend sent me these images which I found very interesting. Since they are already identified species, I didn't feel this post belonged on the Critter Identification section. The story is (and I have no way of confirming the authenticity of the claim) : 'AS EVERYONE KNOWS, THE TSUNAMI IN SOUTHEAST ASIA WAS DEVASTATING BOTH IN THE LOSS OF LIFE AND ECONOMICALLY TO THE REGION. HOWEVER, NOW THAT THE CLEAN UP IS UNDERWAY IN THE REGION, DEEP SEA CREATURES THAT LIVE TOO DEEP TO BE STUDIED ARE BEING FOUND SCATTERED THROUGHOUT THE WRECKAGE. THESE CREATURES WERE WASHED UP ON SHORE WHEN THE WAVES HIT.' Even if this claim isn't legitimate, there are some strange looking critters living down there !!