Jump to content

Oceanshutter

Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Content Count

    517

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    36

Everything posted by Oceanshutter

  1. Oceanshutter
    Max, That was very nice. Thanks for posting it! Dustin
  2. Oceanshutter
    Sorry I misunderstood what you were referring to with the zoom. I did feel I needed more magnification. After the trip I bought the +5 and +10 subsee's. That helped with the magnification when I was in Komodo. Unfortunately the critters weren't as plentiful there as lembeh. The problem I have most, I feel is when something like a mimic octopus comes along. I have the 100mm on and can get some close shots....if.....it holds still. If it moves and is swimming, I can't get a good shot of it swimming. Which is a cool shot to get of a mimic. So that is frustrating. With a cropped sensor, you could use the 60mm and it would be easier to get that kind of shot. But on full frame, I don't know of a good comparable with the 60mm on cropped. Dustin
  3. Oceanshutter
    Thanks for the recommendation Nick. This is just my taste of video, but I don't like when video zooms in on a subject. I think it looks unnatural. I'm sure having a camera with a zoom would be tempting to use it but ultimately I like that I don't have it. I don't know if that is weird for me to think like that. But that is how I feel. I do want to get close. And after the trip I promptly purchased a couple subsee's. As for small dof. It is a challenge. More so with faster moving subjects. It's very difficult to hand hold and get something useful. But with the tri pod and a subject that isn't moving too much, you can generally dial in a good focus. I just got back from Komodo, and on that trip I used a subsee, and that really made the dof tough. But when you nail a shot with it, it looks awesome! I found lembeh much easier to do macro than komodo. I think if you do it right the shallow dof, can really add to the film. Again, just my opinion. I can imagine a switch from a video camera to a dslr it would be frustrating. But since I have never used a proper video camera, this is just normal for me. The reason I went with this setup, is the quality is stunning. To get an equal quality from a video camera, it costs way more, and much tougher to travel with. Plus I have an identical setup as my wife who shoots pictures, so we have spares for everything. I really dig shooting macro with it. But the destination needs to be condusive to it. Rubble sand etc... Helps. Are you thinking of switching to dslr? Dustin
  4. Oceanshutter
    Simon, Thanks for watching it and giving me some recommendations. I do agree with you on the length of the video. It is hard to not do that!!! Deep down, I kept saying to myself it was too long..... As for the lighting. One of my two sola 4000's had the switch go bad after 3 days, so I was forced to only use one. I think this got me to be more creative with the lighting. When I used both, I was overlighting the subject. So I think it was a blessing in disguise. Thanks again, Dustin
  5. Oceanshutter
    If you get the xit404. Make sure to get the twist clamps. They are great, but a little expensive. Dustin
  6. Oceanshutter
    Nice job. I enjoyed it. Dustin
  7. Oceanshutter
    Thanks Eunjae.....Hadn't checked the post i a couple days...That is all correct. Dustin
  8. Oceanshutter
    thats awesome!!
  9. Oceanshutter
    Hello everyone, I finally got my video together from my April trip to Lembeh Strait. What a fantastic dive destination! We had the pleasure of staying at NAD Lembeh Resort and they were great. Macro with DSLR can be challenging! Please tell me the things you think I could improve on. I am always looking to improve, and only being able to do 2 dive trips a year, I try to learn as much as possible before I do a trip. Hope you enjoy it! Dustin [vimeohd]47703611[/vimeohd]
  10. Oceanshutter
    Thanks Drew. Do you do this shooting with your 5d? 3 stops might be too much....don't you think? Dustin
  11. Oceanshutter
    While trying to shoot video at night, I have come across a problem that hopefully someone has an answer to. I don't even know what it is technically called.....but I call it Sea lice (feel free to correct me if I am wrong). These seem to be very attracted to light. And when shooting Macro, it takes a little time to get setup for a shot, and by the time I am ready to press record, the camera is smothered with them. Rendering the footage almost useless. Is there a trick around this? My wife uses her sola red light to take photos, and that seems to help her quite a bit......Is there any solutions for video? Thanks in advance. Dustin
  12. Oceanshutter
    I don't have any pictures to post. This is just a general question. How can you tell between a Mobula Ray and Baby Manta Ray? I would assume the size could be the same, with a baby manta. But I don't know. This was brought up on a recent trip to Komodo, and nobody could seem to answer the question. thanks, Dustin
  13. Oceanshutter
    Yes it was out of DPS. As far as the service....Merparti was actually better than I thought. However, my expectations were extremely low. Most important....we arrived safely..Second most important...my bags made it. So they suceeded. Check in was a bit of a pain, with extra luggage. People with Surfboards were turned away to other locations. Hope that helps. Dustin
  14. Oceanshutter
    So you white balance on the reef instead of a white slate? Wouldn't this give an incorrect "white" to the camera?
  15. Oceanshutter
    It was my impression that you wb every ten feet when shooting wide angle..with no lights. With macro, auto wb with lights. I use a 100mm. That seems to work fine. I guess with wide it is more confusing to me. Because this last trip we would have a very early dive 6:30 am, and I would need to try to use the lights. Becuase the dive was dark. I never got any footage I felt was very good. The lights were on, no red filter, and I white balanced. It was pretty frustrating. So that was 8 wasted dives. The next dive, it was brighter conditions, and I mostly could use the available light without the lights. The next dive was the same, but the forth dive it was getting darker and starting having the same issues. Regarding hdvdiver idea of setting the wb to daylight. I have heard of that before.....but don't you have to do a lot of post work to get it to look good? I would think you do. I don't know a lot about post color correction, so I try to get in camera the best I can. This is an interesting discussion, I don't know that I am ready for the cyan filters, I have known about them. But since they are an extra purchase I have avoided it. Is there any video posted online from a dale using those filters? I would be curious to see how it looks. Dustin
  16. Oceanshutter
    Did I read that right? Stacked Subsee's? Plus a teleconverter! With that magnification, do you still want to keep your 7d? Dustin
  17. Oceanshutter
    For those shooting video with a DSLR, I have a question: When shooting wide angle with lights, should I be doing a manual white balance? Or leaving on Auto WB? I have 2 sola 4000's In the past I have always just used available light, and manually white balanced off of a slate or the sand. If I am using a magic filter, I am assuming, that I would not ever want to use lights. Thanks in advance, Dustin
  18. Oceanshutter
    Eunjae, Another great one! How did you do your white balance? White card, sand? I have tried using the Magic filter and had a rough time getting something that I liked. It seemed to me that the magic filter only worked well within a specific depth range. And then I struggled to get something I liked outside that range. But your results are fantastic. Also, did you do much post color correction? In past conversations, you have indicated that you use Landscape as the picture style. Is this the same now that you are using the mark III? thanks again for posting this video. Dustin
  19. Oceanshutter
    To update. We ended up being about 50 kg overweight based on their small allowance. Paid $106 usd. The chance to barter, didn't really work. Of course, I'm not one to push that very hard. As for carry ons. My wife and I had 2 think tank internalitionals and 2 shape shifter backpacks. Both fully loaded, and they did not weight them. They did put the rollers in the back of the plane...twin prop going to bima. And we had to put the backpacks under the seats in front of us, as the overheads wouldn't take the size of the backpacks....we load them up. Merpati was late on both flights, but everything ended up ok. Dustin
  20. Oceanshutter
    To update this post. China airlines did want to weigh my carry ons in lax going to tpe. She asked to weigh them and I smiled and said I was way over. Explained it was underwater camera equipment, and she let me through. No checking in tpe. Coming home from Bali, dps. They did not ask at all. It may have helped that I have elite plus status with skyteam. One other thing to note. The plane they used from dps to tpe. Was an interesting setup that I have not seen before. The front of the plane was not first class. And lacked overhead bins in the middle section...it was a 2x4x2 seating. So that made overhead rough. We paid a little extra going home to upgrade to the economy plus that had wider seats and a little more leg room. $70. And totally worth it. This section was in the middle of the plane, and did have overhead over the middle section. There was no first class on the plane. Hope this helps for anyone else in the future. Dustin
  21. Oceanshutter
    Never been to cocos, though everyone I seem to talk with that has been, it is their favorite place. However, given the circumstance that you are going to be half way there already, I would jump all over that. I'm big on maximizing travel time. Anytime I go somewhere for work I try to fit in some sightseeing, or something fun to do. For me, Palau has been my all around favorite dive destination. Which includes travel to Komodo, lembeh, anilao, dumaguete, fiji, red sea and numerous Carib destinations. My two cents Dustin
  22. Oceanshutter
    I was thinking that mucky water might be the culprit. The 3 previous places that I have had issues were lembeh, anilao, and Bonaire. Bonaire isn't mucky but the sand from the shore diving can do a number on it. Hopefully it continues to work. I figure with the holes for the buttons drilled a little larger, which was ikelites suggestion, it gives more room for the tiny particle to get out of the button easier. And with the stiffer spring if it does get caught has more resistance to bounce back out. Crossing my fingers.... Dustin
  23. Oceanshutter
    Well, to update this thread. I just got back from a 10 day trip to Komodo, and used the "modified" ikelite housing for the first time. I am happy to report that the larger buttons holes and stiffer springs worked great!. There was never even a hesitation from the buttons to become stuck. While the buttons are harder to press, it is still better than having to deal with them being stuck. If anything changes in the future I will make sure to update. Dustin
  24. Oceanshutter
    Fantastic as always! Very Nice. Dustin
  25. Oceanshutter
    Hello everyone, I was wondering if anyone has flown with China Airlines (not air china) recently? Do they weigh the carry on's? Trying to get a full set of DSLR gear thru flying from LAX to Bali-DPS. Thanks in advance. Dustin
×
×
  • Create New...