TimG

Thanks John. These filters have potential eh? And Babylon is one cracking dive site! Lucky you being so close.

A round of applause? I think RAWshooter has a version for Mac. And its free. Check out Pixmantec.com.

M's advice sounds really good to me.

Hey Danny I'm a Nikon user so don't have exactly the same lenses but do have the broad equivalents: an 18-70mm and a 12-24mm. Of the two I much prefer the 12-24mm. The 18-70 is ok for fish portraits but I find the 12-24 produces more interesting photos and is certainly far more use for walls, wrecks and reef panoramas. And I find it just more fun to use. My advice would be to go with the wider lens.

Based on a couple of years experience, it seems to me that floods are a case of "when" not "if" - no matter how careful you are. I have managed to avoid total disaster twice by dunk-testing my system in fresh water before taking it into the ocean. The chances are that if something is preventing a perfect seal it will show up in a dunk-test: and if it is fresh water, and you are watching what is happening, you have a good chance of breaking into a panic-sweat and hauling the system out of the tank lens-down in time to save the situation. What has caused my leaks? Bits of unseen grit on the o-ring or o-ring groove; once it was forgetting to remove the rubber eye-piece surround (as advised by Subal). The housing back seemed to close just fine. But...... Insurance....... get it before you regret it.

Microsoft have a RAW viewer too now which I discovered the other day http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details...&displaylang=en The RAWShooter you suggested Arnon is working nicely - thanks!

Hey Clive Have a look too at http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showt...285entry60285

I bet that VW isn't open-top...... But you're right Duik. I've had some terrific weekends diving in the English Channel. But given a choice between t'Channel and Sipadan...... B)

Hmm, I do find the 10.5 VERY hard to use successfully as a top-side lens. I've heard that the curved distortion can be cleaned-up with Nikon Capture but I have not tried it. The 12-24 is ace for a top-side lens and is my main tool. Sorry, I can't help you with the Nikon/Sigma comparison - but doubtless someone on Wetpixel will help. Good luck with your choice! Tough one......

Hi Clive We had a similar discussion to this a few weeks ago so you might like to do a search - if you havn't already. I havn't used the Sigma but do have the Nikkors 12-24 and 10.5. The 12-24 is highly versatile, sharp and easy to use. I have been really pleased with the results. I bought a 10.5 after seeing some of Alex's amazing pics with this lens. It does indeed produce awesome results - well, Alex does! But it is not so easy to use as the 12-24 and composition has to be handled with much greater care. I suspect that the advice you will get will be similar to last time around: buy both - and sell a kidney

Yeah got mine too Thanks guys - great initiative. I just need a 5m deep puddle now to give them a go..... (if it carries on raining like it has so far today, this will not take long)

Hmmm, thanks Paul. This goes to remind me why I prefer warm-water diving....

Thanks guys. I'll check it out. Much though I would like to use Capture, I resent having to pay for it twice. Call me cheap....

I tip my hat to you, Alex. These are amazing especially given the cr*p conditions. Congrats!

I bought Nikon 3.5 a couple of years ago and am now keen to move to 4.x.x. As far as I can see there is no option other then to shell out yet another £100 (in the UK) for the program upgrade. Does anyone know of any other cheaper upgrade version? Presumably the product code for my 3.5 will not work on 4.x. Wishful thinking eh? Is it worth the upgrade cost?

With due deference to Starbuck, if the D200 (when it finally appears) fits in a housing designed for a D100, I will happily butter and eat my ex-Afghan Wars pith helmet - and photo the experience for Wetpixel readers.

A mate of mine did his PADI DM course with ProDive in Cairns and was very happy with it. I visited the store a few months ago and they looked good to me. The store manager follows Manchester City Football Club - so he must be a good guy. On taking pics on your first post-certification dives, a lot depends on how comfortable you are in the water and how good your skills are - and what kind of camera you are using. I'm a PADI Staff Instructor and often find that for the first post-Open Water dives, a lot of new divers have enough to deal with maintaining their buoyancy and the challenges that a new dive environment produces. But others are completely at home. I would suggest you keep it simple to start with. Perhaps rent/buy a fairly straight-forward prosumer-type camera. Leave it on the boat for the first dive or two until you are familiar with your (?rented) equipment and are comfortable with your buoyancy control and the boat entry/exit procedures. I would suggest too for the first with-camera dive that you wait until you are at a gentle depth, with a bottom visible beneath you, before you start taking pics. Beware of photographing wall dives early on in your diving career! It can be a very long way down........ You might also want to think about signing up for a PADI U/W photography specialty. I'm sure ProDive will do them and they are a very good way to learn a new scuba skill assisted and guided by an instructor. (Sorry if this sounds like a PADI sales plug!). The last thing you want to do at this stage in your diving is give yourself a real scuba-scare which is often brought about by too much task-loading when you are still unsure of it all. Have a wicked time - and get completely hooked on the underwater environment and photography. Then you can be a regular member of the bankrupt and happy gang.

Sympathies Al! You get that damn Jaws music in your ears and that's it. Might as well pack your dive bag. Steven Speilberg has much to answer for. I wonder if he dives?

Man, oh man, we are sad puppies. This could turn out to be the Longest Ever thread.

I dropped in on Scubapix to window-shop. Nice guys, neat shop -and worth the visit. Even if they are blatantly plugging

Hi Peter After some agonisng over costs and portability, I upgraded about a year ago from a prosumer Coolpix5000 to a DSLR. It was a terrific move. The increased flexibilty and quick-fire reaction of a DSLR was more than worth it. My photos have got better and, perhaps even more importantly, my enjoyment has grown. Sorry, I can't tell you anything about second-hand S2s but the concept of switching has proved well worth-while for me and I am glad I did not upgrade my prosumer camera.

Hi Forestfish - and welcome to Wetpixel! I was diving in Cairns about two months ago from the MV Taka - and would be surprised - actually, amazed - if you could not rent an underwater camera. Cairns is set-up to provide most (?any) tourist desire. But I would suggest you either email the dive operator or check out their website to see if they can provide one for you - and the cost; or you do a bit of web-surfing to find someone else in Cairns who can. There are other Wetpixlers who can advise you - and will no doubt chip-in, but you may be able to buy an inexpensive housing for your Olympus. Have a terrific trip!

He's gone maaad I tell you. Sniffing too much gel?

Brilliant! Congrats Eric. Can I borrow your turtle mask for a fancy dress party?

Wow! These are terrific Joe. Woody?! WOODY?!?! Where are you......