ornate_wrasse

When I shoot in Raw with my D300, I almost always adjust the white balance to "cloudy" when doing post processing for underwater shots. So, if you prefer to set the white balance in advance, "cloudy" may indeed be a good option. I personally don't like to use Automatic as I'm often not very happy with the results and prefer to adjust the white balance myself. I am not familiar with your camera, but if you are able to shoot in Raw and adjust the white balance later, that is the best option. Ellen

As you look at the image, taken in Cozumel in August 2007, I'm the one on the left. On this trip, I used a digital camera underwater for the very first time. Bonnie Pelnar, with the drink and camera in front of her, taught me how to use the D70S with my Subal housing at her Underwater Photography workshop in Cozumel. Prior to that time, I'd used a Nikonos V. Ellen

I really like that fringed jacket! Dennis Hopper, too, surely would have liked it! I see that you've changed a bit over the years Ellen

I agree that the Tokina 10-17 (for wide angle) and the 60mm or 105mm for macro. If you become interested in mid-range shooting, you might also look at the Sigma 17-70. I've had good experiences with that lens. Ellen

That is one heck of an outstanding shot! Can you let us know what equipment you used? Thanks. Ellen

This Subal housing has been reduced in price. The new holiday special price is $695. Happy Holidays! Ellen

I've now added images for the Subal housing. I've also reduced the price to $695 for the holidays. Ellen

I am selling my Subal ND-70 Housing for the D70 and D70S cameras. The housing is in excellent condition. This housing has two Nikonos style bulkheads so you can shoot with two strobes. The handles are padded and are very comfortable to use. I would not sell this housing except for the fact that I upgraded to the D300 Subal housing. It would be a great DSLR for those starting out in underwater photography as Subal housings are highly regarded. Another reason is that the files produced by the D70/D70S cameras are small compared to other megapixel cameras. Your hard drive will have plenty of room for images from the camera for which this housing is made. This housing has been SOLD. FEEDBACK My name on Ebay is jasmineheights. I have over 125 positive feedback ratings and have been an Ebay member for over 10 years. CONTACT You may contact me by PM or by email at efquale AT gmail.com Happy Holidays to all! Ellen

If it was me personally, I would get the bulkheads on your new housing. If you sell the housing in the future, perhaps others buying your housing would want the bulkheads even if you do not plan on using them. I make that statement as long as it's not prohibitively expensive to put the bulkheads on the housing. My two cents, Ellen

I checked out the reviews for this lens since I was not familiar with it. The reviews I saw were very mixed, with reports of softness, flare and other problems. It's just my personal opinion, but I tend to stay away from lenses that can do everything at all focal lengths. And I think the Sigma 18-125 was designed as a "one lens fits all situations" type of lens. I would advise that you not spend money buying a port for this lens. Instead I recommend the Sigma 17-70 which is a very good underwater lens and one that I have used myself. That's my two cents, Ellen

Eric, Marvelous images! Thanks for sharing them with us. I captured an image of a Coleman Shrimp when I was in Bali, but mine pales in comparison to yours. Enjoy your diving in that fantastic region of the world. Ellen

I recommend that you pick up a copy of The Underwater Photographer, 4th Edition by Martin Edge. Although it won't have the absolutely latest models of cameras in the book, it's chock full of a lot of information that is helpful to uw photographers. On this site, it's often called the Bible of uw photography, it's that good. It just may help you form your own decisions about what you want to purchase. Ellen

Like you, I use a D300 in a Subal Housing. In my case I used a 1.4x Kenko TC to go with the non-VR version of the 105. It seems to me, and this was a while ago, that I used either a 15" or 18" extension for the 1.4x TC. At that time, though, I didn't own the 105 VR port. If you are using the 2x TC with the 105 VR port, I am not sure of the exact extension you'll need. I would give Reef Photo a call. They are one of Wetpixel's sponsors and you should be able to click on a link to their site. They are extremely helpful and should get you an answer reasonably quickly. Although I've never used the 2x TC myself, I have heard that it can be difficult to use due to the razor thin depth of field. Be prepared to be patient when using this combo. The super macro shots, though, can often be spectacular for the very patient uw photographer. Hope that helps, Ellen

I will shamelessly admit I know almost nothing about underwater video. However, The Real Drew, one of the Wetpixel moderators, is very knowledgeable about video. He has also won awards for his uw videos. Another plus is that he is an advanced Mac user. You might want to contact him with your questions. Hope that helps, Ellen

Indeed. My first few dives with the 10.5mm Fisheye, my strobes appeared in all of my images. I finally learned that, with that lens, you have to position the strobes way back, or else they will become part of the image. Ellen

I have two Inon Z-240s and I've been very happy with them, although I learned when I was at Alex Mustard's Workshop to be aware of the differences in the color temperature between the Inon and other strobes. The size of the Inon makes it great for traveling and you can't beat that it uses commonly available batteries. I use Eneloops in mine. Great idea to visit Reef. I went to the shop once when I was in Ft. Lauderdale and was very pleased to have met Ryan Canon while I was there. Ryan seems to have all the answers when it comes to underwater photography That lens does look like it does a great job. The stalactites in the cave are very sharp indeed! A lot of folks here like the Tokina 10-17 Fisheye lens which is normally for DX cameras. I use mine with my D300. Some folks using full frame cameras such as yours have managed to get good results with it. You might do a search here to see how they do it. All the best, Ellen

Hi Josh, I don't know of any that are in Cenral Jersey, however, Backscatter does have a store in Derry, New Hampshire (they call it Backscatter East as their main store is in California). I don't know what city you're in, but I found out that it's less than a five hour drive from Newark, NJ. If you go up for a weekend and visit the shop, you may find it to be productive, depending of course on what your reason is for visiting the shop. I'd also like to add to the excellent advice given to you about getting a gear to allow you to manually focus your 14mm lens. You might check with Reef Photo and Video. They are one of Wetpixel's sponsors. I'm betting that they'd either be able to get you a gear that would work with your lens and housing or they'd be able to jury-rig something that would work for you. They are very good at that. We're happy to help you here so don't hesitate to come back with more questions as they come up. Ellen PS Yes I am familiar with Xtol, even though that's not the developer I normally use

As recently as a few years ago, and before I bought the Inon Z240s, I used an SB105 with my D70S. It worked just fine in Manual mode. I am not familiar with the electronics on the SB101, but if they are similar to the SB105, I don't see why it wouldn't work on manual. Ellen

I'll address Question # 3. I have never heard of anyone doing a seal test without the camera inside the housing every time they get wet. However, when diving with a camera for the first time, I always do a dive with just the housing without a camera inside to make sure that it does not leak. I won't do any dives with the camera inside the housing until I can be assured that the housing does not leak. Since a frequent source of leaks is when your camera is inside the rinse tank after a dive, a lot of folks bring their own rinse bucket to use on the boat. For example, I know friends who buy a bucket when they go to Cozumel, use it for their rinse tank on the boat, and then leave the bucket behind when they go home. That way, their housing won't be bumping against all the other cameras in the rinse tank, which could cause a leak. Finally, while on the topic of leaks, I always take the DeoxIT pen with me when I go on dive trips. It's great at cleaning electrical connections if you've had a flood. It was recommended to me by the folks at Reef Photo. When I had a flood in Indonesia, I used this product to restore the electrical connections to useable condition and was back diving with the back up camera I'd brought with me. DeoxIT Pen Ellen

Hi Cody, My father was a Marine in WWII and I've been to Japan and dived in Okinawa in the Keramas Islands so I guess I'll answer your post RUN, DO NOT WALK to your nearest bookstore and buy a copy of a book by Martin Edge "The Underwater Photographer, 4th Edition". You may see the 3rd edition of his book, but the 4th edition is the one you want to buy. Read it and absorb all you can and then you'll be off to a great start, i.e. you'll have a good idea of what you need to get started and you'll probably be in much better shape than a lot of folks starting out in underwater photography. Of course, feel free to visit here and ask all of the questions that come to mind. We're here to help! Kind regards, Ellen Edited to add: I researched your camera on www.digideep.com and found that there currently is no housing available for the Nikon Coolpix P100.

I've decided to sell my Subal ND70 housing. Only reason for sale is I've moved up to a D300. The housing has two Nikonos bulkheads. The tray has the upgraded, and very comfortable, padded handles. There is a leak detector in the housing. Ports are not included. Asking $1500. Please send PM. Kind regards, Ellen

Hi Alice, Although I'm not familiar with this camera, I did google it and found out some information on it by looking at user reviews. It is marketed as being good to 10 feet underwater, which is not very deep. If you are going to use it for snorkeling, it will probably be OK, but I would be very hesitant to use it for diving. One review I looked at said there were water drops in the LCD at 13 feet underwater. Another user said he noticed a strong yellow tint on the images. I'm not sure if this means the auto white balance doesn't work, but you'll have to set it for the proper white balance for the colors to come out right. I wish I could provide more information about the image quality and how it performs underwater, but don't have any direct experience using the camera. Perhaps others can jump in. Hope that helps, Ellen

I'm guessing you have a glass dome port, as according to your profile, you are using a Subal housing with an 8" dome port. If that's the case, Rain-X will work very well. Like another poster said, though, don't use it on an acrylic port. I like the individual use packages of Rain-X that I get in any auto parts store. They are especially good if you're traveling and don't want to carry a bottle of the stuff in your luggage. Hope that helps, Ellen

I shoot film, both 35mm and Medium Format, and develop my black and white film myself, so I'm right there with you on using film. But I agree that the learning curve for film is so much longer than it is for digital. You will progress much faster using digital than film. If you are still interested in using film, I recommend you pick up a Nikonos V and the legendary 15mm lens for wide angle work. The Nikonos V costs less than $300 these days. Velvia 50 was what virtually all the uw photographers used to shoot and the very saturated chromes looked fabulous showing the colors of the reef. The Martin Edge book is a "must have" if you're an uw photographer. Lots of great information in there. I refer to the book again and again. Shooting uw is completely different from shooting on land (as we like to call it, shooting "topside"). Most of the time, the strobes used are ones that are dedicated for uw use. However, they do make housings for some topside strobes. I haven't used my SB 800 underwater, but I've heard that using topside strobes, although there are a few advantages, basically is not as good compared to using dedicated uw strobes such as the ones made by Ikelite, Sea & Sea and Inon. Another good resource is Reef Photo and Video, one of the sponsors of wetpixel. They are friendly and helpful and can often help you make descisions about the right gear to purchase, given your situation and the equipment you are using. Lastly, feel free to come back here again and again with your questions. We're all willing to help! Ellen

These are all great images. I especially love the black & white one. Everything in the image comes together to produce a stunning effect. Ellen