TimG

Gave up on that one Dann-Oh. I bought Lego Technics to keep myself amused on those dark Amsterdam nights..... The Land Rover Defender is fabulous! Not tried it underwater. Yet.

We aim to please..... You should see this too - sterling work by Kraken de Mabini (take a bow, Elias!)

That's really odd. The first time I watched it there were subtitles for sure. Just checking it now in light of Chris' comments, and there are now no subs and, as Chris says, they are shown as unavailable.

I can imagine! I did think about a rebreather but then having studied the various guides and the like, I thought I'd couldn't pay enough attention to monitoring the system whilst taking pics. Super images though, Davide, and terrific production. Hats off to you.

Terrific Davide! I loved the pacing, editing and accompanying music. Great images and a story well told. Thanks! I just gasped at the amount of gear you guys need. Wow.....

Yep, you can't go far wrong with the Z330s

The SeaLife iPhone housings have become very popular with folks who use the dive operator I dive with in Sint Maarten. They are almost taking over from GoPros. With a relatively small light attached, they are easy to use and easy to travel with. Image quality is good. The big difference though is in their flexibility and control. With the Canon G systems there is a good level of control over aperture, ISO, shutter speed and strobe use. This is way more limited with an iPhone housing. I’d suggest herein lies the choice. If you’re looking just to take snaps of what you see underwater, the iPhones are amazing. But if you want a more creative approach with the ability to vary camera controls and lighting to produce specific effects and outcomes, the Canon type systems are clear winners.

Isn't it an Orang-utan Crab, Elias: Achaeus japonicus?

LOL, brilliant!

Hey Samir If it isn't I have one and could get it to the US for you. Drop me a PM if you'd like to pursue. Tim

Agreed. If you have the budget though, check out the Retra Pro X or Prime X too. I switched to them. They are terrific - more expensive than the Inons but really good with excellent coverage, a lovely quality of light and various tools to shape the light. I find them easier to use too than the Inons - the controls of which can be a bit fiddly.

Totally agree! (But then with u/w photography, does the moneypocket ever recover?)

Hi! Having a strobe or two will make a huge difference although there is a steep learning curve. Strobes are one of the few things that can move with you as you (possibly) change your system. For that reason I do think it's worth spending a bit of time and money on getting something that is not going to limit you. Both the Inon strobes you mention have a very good reputation. I had the predecessors to the Z330 (the Z240) for years and really liked them. Highly reliable, very portable, easy to run on AA rechargeable batteries, reasonable price. Folks on WP would generally agree I think that the D200 is ok for macro but not powerful enough to do wide-angle - bearing in mind that even the Z330 is only good to light an area 1-2m away. If you are using strobes in streams I suspect you need plenty of power to overcome and balance out ambient light. (a subject Tom Kline knows a lot about and may well chip-in). So I'd suggest that you went with the Z330. It would be pretty disappointing to get the D200s and then, after a few weeks, decided you should have got the more powerful one.

I agree with oneyellowtang on Lembeh and Anilao. Great places to drive and amazing for macro. I think Chris makes a good point though. Depending on your start point they are a long journey and, yeah, I'd agree, good to have reasonable photo skills before you get there. Ideally neither are places to learn the techniques.

Hey Jim Lembeh is indeed great. But if you are looking in the Caribbean both Bonaire and here in Sint Maarten are good for macro - here especially. Bonaire is very well known as a destination for US divers because of its shore diving. But I reckon Sint Maarten is better though it is boat diving. Great macro with tons of arrowcrabs, spotted cleaner shrimp, Pedersen cleaner shrimps, juvenile drums and trunkfish.... some images attached.

Yep. Build yourself a small construction with Lego and attach some weights. Infinitely variable, you can create scenes that allow you to test out depth of field variations and.... tons of fun! Relatively inexpensive too.

Have fun with it!

Brilliant! Well done, you guys.

Another advantage of using a small dome is that, usually, it allows you to get the strobes nearer to the dome and therefore nearer to the subject. CFWA lighting can be quite tricky - and the small dome does assist with this.

Many thanks indeed, Chris, Tinman and KdM. Really much appreciated. I'm talking to another WP member who has a treasure trove of Subal rings so with the info you've all sent, we should be able to work something out. So a big thanks. Yep, normally I would have bought one from Subal or the usual dealers. I've been in touch with 4 of them and no-one has one in stock and the various replies I've had indicated very long or vague delivery times. Anyway again, thanks. Have a great Christmas!

Agreed on Alex's book. It could be a big help to you, pby.

Thanks Elias Normally i'd get one from Subal or one of the dealers. But am drawing a blank there with no response from Subal and the usual dealers saying they either can't predict how long, or in one case, at least 10-12 weeks. I'll take a lookup at the Amazon ones. The problem is of course though that they cogs may not mesh with the Subal system of 88 teeth. But on another thread it does look as though maybe I can get a 12-24 ring to work.

Thanks, Chris - that's really helpful. I do think with a bit of playing around - a bit of bike inner tube here and there or an o-ring there - I can make it work.

Argh. Tinman also thought they were the same. Darn.

Adam, your D500 was in a Nauticam housing, right?