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dmoss

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Posts posted by dmoss

  2. Posted

    Geggle,

    Sorry for you camera loss. I use a Trident coil lanyard setup. Pretty simple to hook up . Loop the short female end to the handle base in a slip knot fashion (no need to drill anything). The clip on the other end of the lanyard hooks to the BC. This setup allows me to fully extend my arms if necessary. I'm sure there are many other ways to add a little camera security to your dives, but this one is compact and works for me.

    David

  3. Posted

    Skipster,

    Not sure what kind of housing you have. Peter has some sample settings on his site for the 5050 in Ikelite and Oly housings.

    www.splashdowndivers.com

    Make sure the interior housing wire is put into the camera hotshoe correctly. This may sound like simplicity at its highest, but a friend of mine had the wire backwards on our last trip and of course the strobes wouldn't fire.

    Hope this helps.

    David

  4. Posted

    Hello everyone !

     

    My name is David, and I'm an addict. Scuba and more recently UW photography that is. :wink:

     

    I'm from southwest Missouri and am fortunate enough to have some nice clear lakes and quarries close by. I started diving 4 years ago and finished my SSI DiveCon certification last year. Currently studying to be an instructor. Sharing my love of scuba by teaching new students is so rewarding.

     

    My first ocean dive convinced me that I needed to take a camera underwater to capture all the beauty. I started with a Reefmaster and not long after that a friend told me about this neat website called Wetpixel. IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT ERIC & JAMES !!!

     

    I started reading every post I could (my wife is convinced I have read them all). I upgraded my equipment to an Oly 5060, Ikelite housing, strobes, dome port and anything else I could drag down there to give me the aerodynamics of a '54 Buick.

     

    I try to make 2 or 3 trips to the warm Caribbean each year. My favorite place thus far is Bloody Bay wall in Little Cayman. I had plans last fall for Grand Cayman and checking out Cathy Churchs' classes, but Ivan took care of that idea. My calender this year includes St. Lucia and Saba.

     

    I am grateful to all the talented photographers that share their knowledge on this site. No question is ever too dumb. The fine folks here will always offer genuine and helpful advice. I have picked up more information on this site than I could have on my own in several years. The learning curve is really improved, thanks to Wetpixel.

     

    Keep up the good work !

  5. Posted

    The Ike housing for my 5060 is disigned with a little rubber bumper dome glued to the front inside of the housing to just make contact with the handgrip on the 5060 to stabilize the whole thing a little. With the larger (thanks a lot Oly :evil: ) handgrip on the 7070, the housing wouldn't be able to close. In the event that all the controls line up with both cameras (fat chance) maybe Ike can come up with a replacement stabilizing dome. Call it the '5060/7070 rubber bumper retrofit'. With a great name like that, I'm sure Ike would sell a ton of them.

  6. Posted

    Steve's Digicam has a review posted on 1/8 for the 7070. This is a pre-production model review to be continued after the camera comes out. The overall dimensions are the same as the 5060. I don't have my 5060 in front of me, but it 'appears' the control buttons are the same. Don't know if Oly made some subtle change to the body. I would also like to get Ike's input on their housing. The new focus options on the 7070 sound interesting but will they actually improve performance U.W. ?

  8. Posted

    Geggle...

    My buddy Joel has some good points in his reply. He was not totally correct, however, on one of his comments :roll:

    I didn't actually 'sneak' the 2nd DS125 on the trip. He saw the outfit a few days prior to our departure (shame he didn't have time to order one himself :(:D )

    The dual strobes makes a big difference...improved overall lighting without shadows is the real plus. You just have to experiment with toning down the strobes for closeups.

    Whether to buy 2 DS50's or 1 DS125 is tough to answer. The dual stobes is the better settup, but the DS50 has a recycle time of 3.5 seconds while the DS125 has a blazing 1 second recycle time. I shoot a lot in sequential mode and the faster recycle time makes all the difference when trying to get the perfect shot of a darting trunkfish. You might want to get a single 125 to start with and then add a second one when your budget allows.

    The best advice I can give for your first UW photo trip....when you think you are close enough...get closer !!

  10. Posted

    I trust that your first scuba class went well. Welcome to an amazing new world !! :) Give yourself some time to take in everything you will see on your first ocean trip :shock: before you take a camera down with you. You will miss a lot of neat things if you are fumbling with a camera. As the others have said, you should feel very comfortable with your buoyancy as well before trying photography. Some divers pick this up quickly and some take a little longer. You will know when your comfort level is where it should be. You might even consider taking an underwater photography class your last day in Cozumel. You can learn the basics with a very simple camera while under an instructors watchful eye. Check around to find an operator that you feel has your safety in mind. Cozumel has a lot of dive operations...some good, some not so good.

  11. Posted

    I haven't got my hands on the 8080 and Oly housing yet, but I'm pretty sure it is capable of TTL flash using a sync cord. One consideration using a remote slave sensor is that a flash from another diver's strobe can set off your strobe since your remote sensor reads that as the signal to fire. I personally prefer the direct sync cord connection between strobe and housing. That way I know the strobe is direct wired to my housing and will only fire when I want it to.

  12. Posted

    What you may well find out is that the camera from Royal is a 'gray market' camera. Shipped from another country without the Olympus warranty. I have never purchased from Royal, but looking at feedback on other sites, it seems they don't have many happy customers. If you do a little searching, you will find these feedback forums. In electronics, if it seems too good to be true, it usually is.

     

    Here is what Royal Camera's fine print says...if you can find it on their site...

    "Everything that we sell is brand new and factory fresh. We reserve the right to limit quantities. We are not responsible for typographical errors. All prices are after the manufacturer's rebates. Items carry either overseas, USA or Royal warranty, USA warranty may vary in cost.Please allow 3-4 weeks for delivery of international items.some international products may not include english manuals.

    Pictures are for reference only. Some pictures don’t accurately depict the model."

     

    Of particular concern in 'gray market' items is the non-English manuals.

    If your Chinese is good....go for it.

  15. Posted

    Check your camera instructions.  Believe camera is not to be zoomed when the Olympus wide angle lens is installed on the Olympus CLA7 conversion lens adapter tube.  Same restriction applies to use in Ikelite port............
    Ike,

    Thanks for responding to my post. I am not moving the zoom lever. The 5060 lens runs out to a certain length on normal startup. This movement of the camera lens makes contact with the base of the WAL resting in the dome port. This contact causes the error message and camera shutdown. A friend has the same setup, i.e., 5060 in Ike housing. I tried the WAL and dome port on his housing today and the same problem occurred.

  16. Posted

    I recently added an Olympus WAL and Ikelite dome port to my Ike housed 5060. When starting up the camera, the lens runs out to the normal position but contacts the base of the WAL resting inside the dome port. This causes a 'zoom error' message to pop up on the LCD and the camera shuts down. I have tried turning the camera on, putting it inside the housing and then adding the WAL and port. This allows me to take pictures successfully. However, the camera goes into sleep mode after 3 minutes. Tapping the shutter will not 'wake' it up from sleep mode. I have to switch the camera off and then back on. By removing the WAL and just using the dome port, the camera functions fine, including waking the camera up by tapping the shutter. It appears that the tolerances are too tight with the WAL installed, putting the camera lens in a bind. Before I box everything up and send it to Ikelite to check out, I wanted to see if anyone else has experienced this problem. Maybe there is a simple fix. Thanks for your input.

  18. Posted

    Todd....

    First of all, I am no expert !! I have spent a lot of time reading these forums to try and learn as much about U.W. digital as possible....probably the same as you.

    I am offering my experiences since I am in the been there done that mode regarding the Reefmaster camera.

    I used a Reefmaster DC250 and strobe for about 2 years. I was fairly pleased with this setup and was able to take some decent pictures. After looking at some of the amazing images on wetpixel and some other sites, I decided I wanted better pictures and recently upgraded to an Ikelite housed Oly 5060 and DS125 strobe. I have been amazed at the difference.

    I have not used the 310, but it probably does a better job than the older 250. The fixed focal length of the Reefmaster can be a problem, and the 'all or nothing' strobe had a tendency to wash out a lot of pictures. A higher quality camera with autofocus makes a big difference, not to mention the ability to control all the other camera functions while underwater as well as the strobe intensity.

    Starting out, the Reefmaster would probably serve your needs. However, if you develop a passion for underwater photography, you WILL want to upgrade. Every time you press the shutter, you learn a little bit more.

    David

  20. Posted

    I just started using an Olympus C5060 in the PT020 housing. Will a red filter help restore some of the color absorbed underwater ? I presently do not have a strobe. Just returned from diving in St Thomas and the dive shop operator suggested a red filter would help. Is there a particular filter I should consider. Just wondering if anyone has had succes with this.

  21. Posted

    I just upgraded to an Ikelite housed Oly 5060 with the DS125 strobe.

    I used a lesser quality digital outfit for 2 years and decided I wanted better pictures.

    My question.....when shooting toward the surface on sunny days...should I switch the strobe to full power instead of TTL ?

    Also, what would the recommended camera settings be as far as shutter speed and F-stop for this type of shot ?

    I'm hoping I can reduce the learning curve a little by getting some good advise up front.

    Thanks much for your help.

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