TimG

Wow!! I hope you are going to show us some of these.

Hi Roger I don't have those bits of equipment so can't be certain. I know the DS125s are bigger than the Inons; and I don't know how the Aquatica compares in size to the Subal. But there is a good chance that all you list will fit. I would suggest you draw the internal size of the Pelican 1510 on a sheet of paper and then play around with your various bits of equipment to see if they will fit. Allow a little spare for the dividers - each velcro-fitted "arm" coming off the central divider is about 1/4" thick. I would suggest too especially checking the height of the housing carefully against the height the 1510 can handle. The Subal housing just fits. Your 8" dome should be ok. The Subal DP-FE2 fits comfortably into the cubed-foam 1400. And I pack 8 AA battteries in a batttery container in it as well. But drawing the internal dimensions of the case and seeing if the port will fit is the way to go.

Hi! If you don't like the cold, and I share that one with you, I wouldn't suggest either of them! I've dived Sharm in early March a couple of times and its chill-ee: reckon high 60s. That, for me, is a 6mm two-piece suit or even a dry suit (Ohh, I can hear the sounds of rolling eyeballs from all those toughies in BC) I doubt Hurghada is any warmer. I'm not sure about Marsa Alam temperatures or house reefs: but I bet some Wetpixler does. My suggestion would be to head out to the Maldives if your budget can take the strain: warm water, only about 4 hours from Dubai, hedonism, house reefs, hot sunshine and mantas.

Here's a wheely Pelican 1510 (which is airline cabin size approved) with a housing, marco port, two strobes and the usual bits and pieces.

Thanks Steve - any chance of a few test pics? But I'm sure you are right: not a practical uw lens

I doubt you'll get that all into a 1510 with padded dividers (which is what I use). The 8" dome would, I suspect, be a problem. I can fit into a 1510: a Subal D10 housing (with grips removed), a port for the 105mm lens, a 105mm lens, two Inon 220s, two sets of Ultralight arms, two sync cords, a 20 and 50mm extension rings and two zoom rings - plus the usual grease and bits and bobs. Picture attached I can't get the 8" dome into the 1510 and pack it in a Pelican 1400 which goes in my dive bag. I figure if my dive bag doesn't turn up, as actually happened a couple of weeks ago, I can at least rent gear and dive taking macro pics until my gear and dome port turn up. And, lo, so it came to pass....... Cameras and lenses go in a Tamrac Cyber6 on my back. The 1510 comes in the cabin with me...... we make a fine couple rolling down the aisle B)

Thanks again, Luiz! Pheweeeeeeee, NOW I can see the difference. I wasn't sure whether to blame age or my laptop screen if I couldn't tell this time around. But definitely noticeable. I do wonder about the $1000 difference in cost. I sell topside pics and use a fairly inexpensive Nikkor 28-200 for a lot of my shots (plus a 12-24). I was mulling over switching to a 17-55 and the 70-200. Huge cost aside, these are big lenses to lug around. But will I sell more pics as a result? I'm guessing not! I thought I'd take a look first at the new 18-200 VR before deciding.

Thanks Luiz! Sorry, I remember now you posting these and having a look. I'm a bit embarassed to say that I can't tell which IS the 17-55 on the cropped images! Looks like there is no point in me spending mega-cash on lenses..... so, errr, which one is it?

Have you ever been able to compare your 17-55 underwater with the 18-70? I sometimes use the 18-70 but, maybe its something to do with the way it feels (rather than its good review), I never feel too happy with it and generally switch to either a 12-24 or 60mm

I have to chip in with this: Woody (at Nexus USA) is one of the nicest people to do business with that I have ever had the pleasure. I ordered a URPro filter from him some years ago. I can't remember the exact reason now, but I wasn't able to pay with my credit card. Woody said not to worry, that he would send the goods and when I could work out how to pay him, to send the money over...... the goods arrived a few days later; and I got a money order to him. If you are reading this Woody, thanks. You are a star. (And I especially appreciated the Stay Safe messages you sent me when I was living in Afghanistan) Shop with Woody, guys. His customer service is amazing.

There was a similar discussion a few weeks ago with some good ideas. I'd suggest chosing from the 10.5, 12-24, 60 and 105. The 12-24 and 60 are less challenging lenses with the 60m good for fish portraits and the 12-24 for reef shots. The 10.5 and 105 are more challenging to use but can produce real wow shots. The 12-24 is a very good topside lens; 60mm would be ok; 10.5 and 105 less use as topside lenses.

Oh man, what a bummer, Bruce. I hope your 2006 starts much better than 2005 ends.

Can she cook?

I use 2 arms both made up of a housing mount + clamp + 8" + clamp + 5" + clamp + Inon stobe mount. It works well for macro and wide-angle and isn't too complicated to manipulate quickly; or to fold up and clip (using Fastex fasteners on the 8"arms) in a triangle for entries and exits. I also clip a Fastex on each 8" arm which connects to clips on my BC D-rings

Hi In the thread you found is my comment that I had travelled around the world dragging a Pelican 1510 in to airline cabins with me. Just to add that I flew Emirates, Malaysian, Virgin Blue, Air Tahiti Nui, Air Pacific and Continental without problems. I've just been from the UK to Sumatra and back using the 1510 again with a Tamrac rucksack. Again, no problems. This time I flew Emirates and Garuda. The 1510s seem fine in the Middle East, Gulf and Asia. They will fit in Airbus overhead lockers end-in. I find that in 737 overhead lockers they will only fit side-in so look as they take up more space.

Hi! I'm a former RAW-on-CP5000 user - and used to use Nikon Capture for RAW files. I'm struggling now to find RAW software that will handle a CP5. Neither version of RawShooter seems to (Premium or Essentials). I don't know about Bibble - but maybe worth checking. You might want to check the Adobe website too for Photoshop CS2. That probably does. Likewise Photoshop Essentials.

Interesting. Has anyone seen a review of this lens yet? I'm just slightly wary of the quality given its huge focal length range. It sounds too good to be true......

But its the size and even more weight of lugging a laptop around. The check-in staff are already looking at me askance as I stagger, nonchalantly, up to the counter with a Pelican roller box (18kgs) and a Tamrac camera rucksack (14kgs). Oh, and my dive bag too (31kgs). The Epson has to be the lightest bit of my gear!

Welcome aboard! Yeah, isn't it a shock when you find the housing costs more than the camera. As you have probably discovered through web searches, the words cheap and underwater housing are seldom in the same sentence. Have you had a look at the Classifieds? They sometimes have some good deals. I have always found Oceanoptics in (the Aldwych) London very helpful - and they carry a broad range of stuff; and there is Cameras Underwater (Northumberland Ave) who, interestingly, have just moved into the premises in London that Oceanoptics have just vacated. Neither are cheap but both know their stuff and that is worth something - especially when you are starting out. Good luck with it!

But drop the socks. Who needs them?

It was news to me too that they weren't open! I had a good holiday in the summer on Kefalonia in the Ionian Sea. People were diving there. I was trying to do the Family Holiday things and resisted the temptation.....

Tough one! There are a couple of ways I can suggest: - do a bit of online reserach into agencies who take and sell u/w pics (or any other pics for that matter!). The website will usually have a page giving details for those who want to submit pics. The usual deal is that you send a few of your best pics, if the agency like them they get you to sign a contract. Normally you pay 50% commission on anything sold. Fees for pics are highly negotiable - the agency does this - and can vary between £10 and £10,000. The former is the norm! It has taken me nearly two years to develop anything approaching regular sales and the agency has about 200 of my pics. And I cannot give up my day job. - or, try approaching magazines on spec after having researched the market. Organisations such as the Bureau of Freelance Photographers (a British organisation) are very helpful at providing help and guidance to their members. But it sure takes time and effort......

Yeah, I agree with Jack: try them and see. The problem with TIFF, as you have identified, is the sheer amount of memory space and time it takes. I notice that on their new D200, Nikon have dropped TIFF as an option. In some ways it depends on what you want the pics for. Charles Hood (of DIVE magazine) argues that for most uses - including commercial - high quality JPG is fine. As long as you don't save/re-save the file repeatedly you should be able to get perfectly acceptable results. But in another thread on this subject, some contibutors argued that JPG will not give you the range of eg, blues, which add so much to a wide-angle pic. I'm not sure I would want to wait for the time TIFF takes to write to disc after each photo. I found waiting for RAW-writes frustrating enough with a P+S. And there is no doubt you miss pics. I'd try high quality JPG and see how you get on. But once you have the file, I would suggest you do any post-capture work on a copy of the JPG leaving the orginal as an archival file.

I havn't seen the UPT cool bag, and would hate to do an UW retailer out of business, but camera-suitable collapsible coolboxes can be bought in almost any camping shop. I got a good one in Cairns last summer (err, their winter) for $20. It holds a Subal D10 housing with strobes and folds down to about 12"x8"x2" from its inflated size of roughly 12"x8"x8". Its acts both as a carrying bag and rinse tank. Just watch out for how the handle(s) are stiched/welded on to the bag...... I'd hate to be hoiking the bag happily down the jetty to see the handle detach because of the weight of the system. Handles that are fixed right around the bag seem preferable.

Hey Orlando I use two sets of Ultralight arms. Initially I tried a three-way adaptor to fit a dive light onto one of the arms. I have to say I didn't find this very satisfactory. Adjusting the arm and keeping the light and strobe on target seemed a herculean task usually requiring three hands. I later switched to Inon strobes which, happily have built-in focussing lights - which are much better. But I have now added a further focussing light - to help with a Nikkor 105mm - but have fitted this on top of my housing using an Ultralight ball adaptor with the dive light holder I bought to use with the three-way clamp. This works pretty well. So, my experience, fitting a light onto a strobe arm is more trouble than its worth. Hope this helps!