mike frens

Has anybody been to Manado (indonesia)? We are planning a trip there in august/ september. Is it ok for photography? Macro, WA ? Every bit of info is appreciated. Mike.

Thanks everybody for the reply. I think I stick with the 5502.41 to be able to AF. Mike Frens.

Hello everybody!, At the moment I have an ikelite housing, a D70 and a 8'dome port. I recently bought a 60 mm micro nikon lens. I understand that a flat port performs better with macro. When looking around, the shop told me the ikelite flat port for the 60 mm only supported manual focusing. Is this true and if so, does anybody has an alternative which also supports automatic focussing. Thanks, Mike.

Hello, some additional info. I have a D70 with the ikelite TTL housing. The camera is set on manual. And the TTL light is on on the back of the housing. Is this OK? Mike.

Hello Everybody, I follow an underwater photography course. One of our assignments was to shoot pictures at given distances and shutter speed. Flash in manual mode on 1/1, 1/2 and 1/4. For each mode we tried the different appertures. My problem: when shooting in TTL, 1/2, 1/4 the flash worked correctly. On 1/1 I see the flash go of, but the picture is dark (really dark, as in I cannot identify the subject). Am I doing something wrong or is the flash not ok? PLEASE HELP!!! Mike Frens.

Marsa Alam, Brakya Bay Resort. Good diving facilities, mulitple boat dives daily (incl. Elphinstone). Brayka bay has it's own superb house reef! Either walk in or do a drop of and swim back. Acomodations are good, food is good, price (I' m Dutch) is good. Besides the resort there is desert, desert and desert. So don't expect the wife to be able to shop. The diving is great!!! Mike Frens.

My wife and I want to go diving for whale sharks. In march last year we just missed them on ningaloo reef australia. This year we will go diving in october/ november. I have 2 questions: - what is the best destination for a week to search for whale sharks? - i understand that where there are whale sharks, the visibility is poor (plancton etc..). Are there destination where we can dive for whale sharks one day and have a clear reef dive the next? Mike Frens.

I really want to thank everybody for taking the time to comment on my pictures!!!! Mike Frens.

Todd, This might be a new leason to me. Do I understand correctly that if I take a picture: 1- measure the background light instead of the subject light 2- adjust the exposure and shutter to get the lightmeasure in the middle 3- adjust the strobe power according to the table (shouldn't the ittl adjust this correctly?!?) If this is correct, does it work for all situations? Mike.

CLoser ok, but how do your explain the third pic looks overexposed? The strobe should have enough strength, but it looks to me that it has too much strength. How can I estimate the strength when taking a pic up close. Second, what is meant by ambient light is overwhelming, and how do I anticipate on it. I realy appreciate you all taking the time and effort to answer questions. Mike.

Thanks everybody for the comments. Top answer a few questions. I shot the pics with ittl. I though this means that the strength of the strobe is automatically adapted to the right level. I have plenty of so called overexposed pics that all flashed and where in close range (like the third pic). Also a common problem to the pics is the white balance. I used the clouded setting. But every time the pics end up blueisch of greenisch (like the first pic). all the pics where shot in manual mode with approximately f8. The shutter time was set depending on the lightmeasurement scale in the camera. I am planning following a course to get the theory better, and besides this i have to practice, practice and practice. I hope that you can give me some more advise, for know I know that: - closer, closer and closer to the subject. - straight horizon

third...

second one....

I used my gear for the first time last month. (d70 ikelite housing with 18-70 lens and DS125 strobe and 8 inch dome). I would like some critism (in terms of distance, camera settings, stobe settings, composition etc...) on the picture I took, in order to improve my holiday pics. Everytime I surfaced and checked the pictures I wasn't very happy with the result, but I don't know what to change.

I read about trips to guadalupe islands and the white sharks. So far I only heard about guadaloupe in the caribean. So I was surprised to read about white sharks at guadaloupe (I think they are not very common in the caribean). Can anyone inform me about agencies going to the pacific guadalupe islands and apprximate prices going there? Mike Frens.

Hello everybody, I' m happy to be able to tell I received my housing and 8 inch dome port from ikelite. My next mission is to look for a case in which I can transport the equipment. I already perfromed a search over the forums, but didn't manage to find the correct answer. Can somebody advise me about a case minimum inside measures of 50cmx40cmx20 cm (this is what I minimaly need for the housing, dome port and strobe). It doesn't have to be fancy with all kinds of specific characteristics like waterproof, air presure resistant etc... Just a good (metal) case to protect. Thanks, Mike Frens.

Thanks Ike, This is the first time I get a reasonable answer. Also you don't have to be afraid to be honest to a client. This way he knows what will and will not be possible. Like they say " size doesn't matter". The fact that you are a small "insignificant" company has little to do with the way you inform your customers. Anyway thanks again, Mike.

Hello everybody, I hope to get some help. I ordered approximately 2-2,5 month ago the new ikelite D70 TTL housing with some extra's (8 inch port and 125 strobe). A few times the retailer and I mailed questions about approximate delievery dates to ikelite (perhaps like everybodyI want to know if we have to postpone our diving holiday or not). Besides the remark that " they will ship orders in the sequence they are placed", and "if I placed the order after the introduction date of 30 june it will take several weeks" we don't seem to get clear answers. In my experience (I have been importing and distributing products for the surf and kitesurfing industry) a manufacturer can approximately tell when an order is shipped, because he knows when production will be ready and which customers are first on the list. But the respons is that they told me everything they knew (which realy scares me as a mather of fact!). So if customer service fails (in my maybe twisted opinion) i'm now trying to find out when people ordered the housing and if they actually received it or not. In this way I can compare it to my outstanding order. Can you help me? Mike.

The ikelite site mentions no new orders before half july. Does anybody know when they expect to deliver the orders placed around 3 weeks ago?!? (Like many others I can' t wait !!!) Mike.

Thanks Peter for the information on the lense, but I prefer to have zoom lenses. I saw you also use the 18-70. I might consider this one. Ike, you say the housings are the same size. But how can I see the differences between the two housings? Thanks, I hope to get some more input on the lenses.... Mike Frens.

Hello Everybody, I'm a newby from the netherlands in unterwater photogrpahy. I recently ordered an ikelite housing for my d70 an the DS-125. As soon as I receive my new equipment I plan to follow a course unterwater photography. For the moment I have some (for most of you problably stupid) questions. I hope somebody can inform me: 1- I ordered a 6807.1, does anybody know if they are already shipped? 2- How can I actually see the fysical difference between the 6807 and the 6807.1? 3- I already have a 12-24 nikon lense. The ikelite site tells about an extra part that is neede for this lense. What happens if I don't use it? 4- How do you operate the zoom when the camera is in the housing? 5- What additional lense would you suggest beside the 12-24 (I don't want to commit to a specific area of photography). Also the lense has to be handy on land too (I only plan to do unterwater photograhy during the holidays) I hope to get some answers... Thanks, Mike Frens.