synthetic

I've had no problems with the Inon O-ring ever since I started lubing the inside lip of the cap. Just put a light coating of lube on the inside of the cap where it rubs against the O-ring. So if theres a spot on the O-ring that doesn't have lube, it won't catch against the cap.

Everyone uses Eneloops in Inons. I have for at least 10 years. I just finished a trip and like five people had Eneloops in Inons. No underwater explosions reported.

So in "Manual" mode the power goes from 0-50% and "Full" the power goes up to 100%? The power setting didn't seem to be doing much for me in full mode besides broiling nudibranchs. Guess I should RTFM. [edit] I can't find the PDF manual online, but this review suggests that full mode is full dump with no power setting. Maybe if the switches were not so easy to turn it would be better. Perhaps this would improve with use as the switches get crusty. Though I also got the focus light stuck in the on position a few times. http://www.divephotoguide.com/underwater-photography-special-features/article/macro-underwater-photography-inon-z330-strobe/

Oooh, that's brilliant. I borrowed a set of Z330s from bvanant this week and I kept knocking them into Full mode. Why does that mode exist?? Just make an on/off switch and a power setting, and trigger whether you see an optical or wire trigger. This hack might sell me a set. (I'm coming from Z220s which don't have the Full mode. I guess Z240s do and people seem to get along with those. Still stupid.)

The Backscatter review: https://www.backscatter.com/reviews/post/Best-Underwater-Strobe-Flash Great study Bill. You should figure out a way to slave them all at once and see what all 8 measure to. You could light up the Yukon wreck.

I haven't replaced that on a Nauticam but I have on Ikelite which I assume is similar. The only tricky thing about it was that the thread was very fine, so be careful not to cross-thread that. You might need a pipe wrench to remove the ring from the port.

On my old Ikelite rig, I did the math and decided their suggested extension ring was not optimal for my 17-40mm. I swapped rings and noticed a difference in corner sharpness. Another must-have for zoom lenses IMO is the Sea & Sea Internal Correction lens. Game changer for me. Not WACP-quality but much better. http://www.seaandsea.jp/products/digital_slr/accessory/lenses/

The most distressing thing about this thread is that Bill didn't get NEARLY enough credit for his Ikelite joke.

Stuff breaks. "The space shuttle blew up ...twice." Best not to bring brand new gear on a trip, if you can manage it. I must have 900 dives on my Z220s. I've even flooded them twice but they keep on flashin'.

I hate to check my housing so I fit it in a carryon. I used a small cooler bag and padded it with a yoga mat. Nauticam 5D4 housing, macro port, SMC, two Inon Z220 strobes, and a spotter light = 15.0 lb. I just bought the Cinebags "Lens Smuggler" bag for my camera, lenses, laptop, batteries, and other misc electronics. That one is pushing 17 lb, but I'll put a lens in my pocket if they want to weigh it.

Sounds like a product opportunity for someone, a bayonet-mount stick with storage tube that mounts to a housing tray.

I forgot to mention that the iTorch battery lasts forever. Just don't put them backwards in the charger, our dive shop had a pretty serious fire after doing that. It exploded out of the charger and bounced around the room with fire. But I think the newer batteries may have fixed this bug? I drew a BIG plus symbol on mine. I've used the UV light maybe once in the water. Mostly I turn it on by accident, "oh yeah, it has UV."

This weekend I weighed my setup in a rinse tank. So it was fresh water but I think it's only 1-2% different in sea water(?) I put together my 5Dmk4 in Nauticam housing, 100mm macro lens, macro port, SMC on flip adapter, iTorch Pro6 spotter light, two Inon Z220 strobes, two ULCS clamps, 45 degree viewfinder. That weighed 1.4kg according to my luggage scale. I need to weigh it with the dome port. Todd Winner said he has a similar rig that is buoyant two of the Nauticam arms (72218 70x300mm x2 = 1340g buoyancy.) That's probably what I'll go with. I have the ULCS metal floaty arms now but they don't do much. The Inon SS arms with the floats that fit won't do much for me, either.

I have the iTorch Pro6. It has four power settings for white, two for red, one UV. If anything it is too bright even on the lowest setting. The replacement Pro 7 is even brighter (5000 vs 2800 lumens.) The battery is replaceable but explodes (!) if put in a charger the wrong way. The beam is very wide and soft which is nice as a focus light, and it's compact.

I have flooded my Z220 battery compartment twice over the years and they were fine once I threw out the batteries and cleaned out the compartment. The inner contacts are gold, I wish the outer ones were also. I found that the main cause was the O-ring getting pinched when screwing it down. Now I not only lube the O-ring, but I run a finger around the inside of the cap where it contacts. Since I started doing that a few years ago I haven't had a problem.

Reef Photo told me there was an 8-month wait based on orders vs supply. Here's hoping that they can ramp up production sooner than that.

Have you checked out the Sea & Sea Internal Correction Lens? There's a thread about that on here. It seems to really help with corner sharpness, I'm surprised there aren't more people talking about it. I'm hoping that a 16-35mm lens + S&S correction lens + 9" dome will get me pretty close to WACP sharpness. At least until they have the WACP 2 that's half the size/weight/price someday. Here's hoping.

The 230mm glass dome will work for the 8-15, the 15, and the 16-35. You just get an extension port for the 16-35. The larger domes have better optical quality than the small ones and allow you to take split shots. So I skipped the small dome.

I use three lenses underwater: fisheye, wide zoom, and macro. The wide zoom is useful for medium to large fish like sharks, wrasses, and turtles. You can get a mini dome (5") for fisheye use, but that port won't work for wide zoom. So I got a big dome (9") and extension tube for my wide zoom. That way I can use the dome by itself for fisheye or add the extension for wide zoom. I don't use the wide zoom as often but there are certain dives when I would miss it. If you do a dive and have the wrong lens/port for your subject? Well that's life as an underwater photographer. Take a macro shot of the whale's eye.

The photo of mine that people comment on the most was taken with a Canon Digital Rebel 300D using the 18-55mm kit lens. So never say never.

I like a fisheye lens for subjects that allow you to get close (like mantas.) A fisheye lens will often allow you to focus closer. If a fish doesn't get as close (like some sharks) then a zoom lens can be better. I bought a large port that will work for both. I just add an extension tube when shooting with the zoom lens. The only time I notice fisheye distortion is when there's a person in the corner of the frame or very close to the dome. Then they are not flattering.

I found some black felt with adhesive back at Michaels craft store. I wanted something reversable in case I ever sell the lens. https://www.dropbox.com/s/ly4yzau35uigxvs/Photo%20May%2027%2C%2012%2050%2059%20PM.jpg?dl=0

Huh, you made me realize I don't think I've ever taken a macro shot in portrait. Just automatically go landscape for macro. Food for thought. Yeah there was such great wide angle at Catalina last weekend that I never put the macro port on. We saw 3-7 giant sea bass on every dive.

I liked it. I heard many people say that it takes around 5 dives to get used to it, but I took to it right away. I didn't try macro, just shot wide for three days. It was nice to clearly see the camera settings at the bottom of the viewfinder. I just ordered one.

I saw it used on video but wondered if the technique could be applied to still shooting with strobes.