stphnmartin

I find VLOG helpful in preventing some purple fringing. This is the first time I've used it extensively.

Thanks dreifish. Appreciate you taking the time to watch and comment. I did apply default level (2.5) sharpening in FCPX to help counter the softness of vlog in some scenes. I'm wondering if you can point out a particular scene that demonstrates the overdone sharpness you're seeing.

Okay, you're talking about the barrel distortion. Thanks for the clarification. I agree not many will notice the shape of the turtles head for the second or two it's at the edge of the frame. I used the 8mm for the sharks. Not the best, but it's what I had with me. Sometimes I compromise between lenses and luggage space! I also have the 7-14 Olympus and would have preferred it should I had it along.

Thanks for the feedback Interceptor121. I'm curious about this statement: "...look for example at the turtle progression and how the 8mm really does not fit that situation." I'm wondering if you can expand upon this as I'm not clear on what you mean. Thanks!

I took a trip aboard the MSY Seahorse in the Banda Sea back in late September/early October. The primary goal of such a trip is to see schooling hammerhead sharks. This was my second attempt and managed to get some good footage of them. It's really quite a challenge to capture them well as you never know when they will show up and how close they'll be. The GH5 has a hard time focusing on such a subject in the water column at a distance. My strategy each dive was to swim off the wall, turn around and focus the lens on a contrasty area on the verge of visibility. Then, I would keep my fingers away from the focus lever for the rest of the dive! When we finally encountered the school, I had to make a few short fin kicks towards them till the focus peaking appeared around them on the monitor, then pressed record! Here is the video of the trip. Comments and critiques are welcomed.

Did three days of diving in the Graveyard of the Atlantic out of Beaufort, NC with Discovery Diving. Hit the wrecks of the Aeolus and Spar. Visibility wasn't the best, but managed to spend some quality time with the sand tiger sharks. In a day's dive there we usually do one offshore dive and one in shore dive. On the inshore dives I usually do macro as the viz is poorer. However, this year the viz was so bad in shore we didn't even try. So, it was all wide angle. The challenge with shooting sand tigers is they are so white on the bottom it's easy to overexpose as they get closer. Here's the video. Comments and critiques are welcomed.

If you're still looking, I have one to sell.

Thanks. 1. Mavic 2 Pro 2. Wide angle: 2 sola 3800s, 1 bigblue 6500, sola 500. Macro: 1 sola 3800, 1 sola 500, Scubalamp snoot light. 3. Yes, I color corrected in post.

No, I don't own a WWL.

All the wide angle shots underwater are with the 8mm Olympus. I don't use the WWL. I think I may have used the 12-50 only on the frogfishes as they are a bit larger. All other smaller critters were shot with the 60mm.

I used the 8mm and 60mm along with the 12-50mm. The 60 mm and 12-50mm can use the same port. You can see these lenses in action here getting wide and macro/super macro shots: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBGKdzHcaAY

I'm in Seattle and went Seattle > Taipei > Jakarta > Makassar > Luwuk. Yep, 4 flights, with 8 hours in the Jakarta Airport--got a room at the hotel to rest. At the end of all the flying is a 3 hour van ride. The upside to the distance is you will not see other dive operators in the area!

Thanks TaxiDiver14! Thanks Dave! I don't know why the anemone decided it was time to recall the harlequin crab, but I'm glad I had the camera rolling!

Back in March it took a dive trip to Central Sulawesi to Tompotika Dive lodge. One of the great things about this destination is it's the only dive operator in the area so it's just you and your friends on each dive site! Sites are varied from Raja Ampat-esque reefs to Anilao-like muck dives. The lodge is right on the beach and there's a muck house reef. Dive sites are usually around 10 - 30 minutes away on the boat. I shot the GH5 in a nauticam housing with an 8mm, 12-50mm and 60mm with a cmc-1. Comments and critiques are welcomed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBGKdzHcaAY

Thanks cjorca. Yes, deception pass is my favorite dive in the PNW. The colors are incredible due to the raging current through the pass. You definitely have to wait for good conditions to be able to pull off a dive there. But, it's worth it! Thanks SwiftFF5!