ornate_wrasse

I don't know any airline that flies from London to FLL or West Palm Beach. However, it's much too expensive to go by cab from MIA to West Palm Beach Airport. The cheapest way is probably by Tri-Rail. Tri Rail from MIA to West Palm Beach Airport Ellen

Hi Suzy, This may be more expensive than you wanted but Eric has a trip to Ambon, Indonesia this November. According to this post, he has three openings. Scroll down to the bottom of the post to read about the trip to Ambon: Eric Cheng's trip to Ambon Ellen

There is a Nikon 5T diopter (62mm) for sale at a photo shop in my area for $45. If you're interested, PM me and I'll give you information on how to contact the shop. Ellen

Although you don't state the brand of housing, I wouldn't think that 3 yr old o rings would be "too old". After all, they don't have Expiration Dates like food where they go bad after the Expiration Date. A lot depends, though, on how they were stored. For example, if they were stored underneath a pile of heavy books that might have flattened them, I would toss them in a heartbeat. But if they were stored under normal conditions, they are probably OK. I would definitely check them, however, for nicks and cracks and if they were present, I would not use them. I've had an extra o ring for my Subal for at least that amount of time and I wouldn't hesitate to use it. That being said, if you are still concerned about it, go ahead and purchase a new o ring. They are relatively inexpensive and would ensure peace of mind especially on an expensive dive trip. Hope that helps, Ellen

I love the part about the First Tripod. I got my first tripod not long ago so I guess I'm at 0% :-) Fer gosh sakes, who uses a tripod underwater anyway Ellen

J'aime beaucoup les photos. Je ne sais pas Thau mais [revert to English here] it certainly seems like a french lembeh. Merci beaucoup et bienvenue, Ellen

Have you considered the Sigma 17-70 Zoom lens? It's not as fast as the prime lenses you mentioned, however, it is quite useful underwater. Ellen

Very impressive Alex! Thanks for sharing. Ellen

Congratulations! I can hear the excitement in your post! I don't think anything can replicate the emotions felt when first starting out in uw photography and getting your first images. Keep up the good work and be sure to share with us images from Australia. Ellen

Diving in the Florida Keys is very different from diving in Cozumel. In the Keys, you generally don't have Divemasters go in the water with you. However, in Cozumel, virtually all of the diving is drift diving and the Divermasters go in the water with you. It's not so important to have a buddy as the entire group drops into the water at the same time, stays together drifting along the reef. The Divemaster looks out to make sure everyone is with the group. Then, at the end of the dive, he puts up a marker and the boat comes to get everyone at the conclusion of the safety stop. I heartily agree with Drew to always carry a whistle and especially a safety sausage. I've had to use mine several times when I came up far away from the boat. Once those in the boat see your safety sausage, they will come to pick you up even if you're far away. The currents vary quite a bit, some days there are ripping currents, other days the current isn't so fast. I've found it helpful when the current is really ripping to drop down and hang amongst the coral heads. Down there, the current isn't quite so fast. If you find that the current is ripping, you may have to give up the idea of using your camera to take images. Diving in Cozumel can hardly be considered difficult. I actually went there immediately after being certified with just 15 dives under my belt and I did fine. Later, when I was more experienced, I felt comfortable diving the Devil's Throat, but that's not a dive for the inexperienced. Speaking Spanish may be helpful but is hardly necessary. As others have said, there are many excellent restaurants in Cozumel and to me, that is one of the best parts of going there. The food is excellent and inexpensive. If you can, go to the Town Square on Sunday. The families all go there and it is a fun experience to hang out. Shopping, if you're into that, can be lots of fun. Just don't offer anything near what the merchants are asking. You can have a lot of fun bargaining and picking up things like jewelry very inexpensively. Have fun! Ellen

I don't know if I'd use the term "cover all" to describe this lens, but it's a lens that makes a lot of sense to use underwater. I was quite pleased with its performance on my last dive trip. One of the issues using this lens may be finding a zoom gear for it. They made several different versions of the lens and, depending on your housing, you may have difficulty finding one that works with your housing. Some (including myself) find that the old, non-HSM, version works best for uw photography due to the size of the lens. Ellen

I hope your injury didn't look like this: And the above shot was taken a couple of days after it happened to an unfortunate diver who happened to put her hand in the wrong place when diving in the Lembeh Straits. I was told it looked much worse than this. The reason I'm posting this image is so that folks realize that a sting from this creature is no small matter. Avoid it at all costs! Ellen

Lovely images. # 5 looks like a magazine cover shot to me. When we were in Lembeh, a woman had unknowingly placed her hand in the wrong spot and got stung. I took a picture of her wound, which was quite nasty looking two days after it happened. I was told it was twice that size when it first happened but the swelling had gone down considerably in two days. Stew, I hope your sting was not painful and I hope it didn't swell up too much. And I hope that Simon didn't laugh even though he was amused I know from seeing this woman's wound and talking to her about it that it can be a very painful experience. Thanks for sharing these images. Ellen

I agree with Giles. It would make recommending where to stay and which dive op to use a lot easier if we knew more about what you're looking for. That being said, I'll add another positive recommendation for Ocean Frontiers. I stayed there in January and was very pleased with the staff, the diving operation and even the condominium I stayed in. Ellen

Hi, I don't know the answer but the folks at Reef Photo should be able to help. Reef Photo and Video Hope that helps, Ellen

What someone told you was good information. A fisheye lens is often far better than a wide angle rectilinear lens for uw. Wide angle rectilinear lenses behind dome ports often have issues in appearing sharp. Fisheye lenses typically don't have these issues. Either the Nikon 16mm or the Sigma 15 lens would be good for underwater use. Many prefer the Sigma because it focuses more closely than the Nikon. You should also consider buying the Tokina 10-17, a very highly regarded lens for uw use. Ellen

You might want to keep this place in mind for the future, or even have your Nik V serviced before you take it in the water: Southern Nikonos On the Southern Nikonos web site there are an excellent series of articles on o-rings, how to maintain the camera, the proper batteries, etc. You can gan much information about the camera using the online articles: Online Articles I would also recommend getting a copy of Jim Church's book: Essential Guide to Nikonos Systems Back in the heyday of the Nik V, it was "the" book to have and every underwater photographer had a copy. And, finally, if you really get into uw photography with this camera, see if you can get a copy of the legendary 15mm lens. For wide angle shots, it's the king. And, yes, two to three keepers per roll of 36 was about all most uw photographers got Ellen

I'll take a stab at helping you to get the answer to your question even though I admit I don't know the answer. I would imagine that you'd need the Sea & Sea TTL Converter but to be honest I don't know for sure since I've never used that housing. I do, however, have some suggestions to help you get the answer. Feel free to contact either Reef Photo and Video and/or Backscatter, two of the sponsors of this site. I have personally dealt with Reef Photo many times and their staff is extremely knowledgeable and helpful about all matters relating to underwater photography. It is my personal feeling that TTL is not needed for underwater photography. Some feel it is very important, I do not. I have generally used Manual mode, although I did use TTL when using my SB 105 and Nikonos V. In any event, it is only really useful for macro photography and shots where the subject fills most all of the frame. It is not very helpful when shooting wide angle. I know the TTL converters can be somewhat pricey. Don't feel you "need" one to do uw photography. My two cents Ellen

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Ikelite has always been one of the very best for customer service. I wish Ike was still here to hear all about it. But then again, he was very used to receiving highly complimentary feedback about his company and its customer service. Ellen

Here's what I do, which is the way I was taught when I first started using a dome port: Keep the cover on when it's being handed to me by the crew at the start of the dive and when I hand it to the crew at the end of the dive. It avoids the problem of scratches during the handover. I then put the neoprene cover on my arm where it sits nicely out of the way until I need it at the end of the dive. Ellen

Hi Ryan, I would definitely scrap the idea of buying a point and shoot camera. You may find it OK at first, but I think you will soon regret buying a P&S instead of a DSLR. This is especially true as you are used to a DSLR topside. Shutter lag is more important underwater than you can imagine. Fish move quickly underwater and when you think you're getting a perfect shot of the eye of the fish, you wind up getting an awesome shot of its tail. This doesn't make for great uw photography I would advise against using the 20mm lens, but would recommend the very versatile and awesome underwater lens, the Tokina 10-17. There is a reason that this lens is the darling of underwater photographers. Because there are virtually no straight lines underwater, fisheye lenses excel. Then there is also the issue that wide rectilinear lenses (such as I believe the 20mm lens to be) often have problems when shooting uw behind a dome port. The specific problem I am referring to is corner sharpness. I personally have avoided using wide rectilinear lenses uw, going instead for lenses like the 10.5mm FE, the 16mm FE and the Tokina 10-17. There have been articles written that state a DX camera is often better for uw use than the D700. I would purchase a used D300 (which can be purchased for around $1000 or less) and a used housing like Subal, Aquatica, etc or other aluminum housing. You will not regret going this route. Check out Reef Photo, one of our sponsors to see what used housings they have. Also, used D300 housings pop up in Wetpixel's classifieds from time to time. The Inon Z240 is an awesome strobe. I wouldn't hesitate to buy this strobe. I would advise against going with a y cable for the strobes. As you will soon learn, if you haven't already, strobe cables are the weakest link in the system and are prone to failure. If you purchase two single strobe cables and one fails, you still have use of the one strobe. If you are using a y cable serving two strobes, if it stops functioning, you've lost the use of both of your strobes. Strobe cables are not too expensive. Always carry a spare. As an uw photographer friend of mine once said, "Two is one and one is none". UCLS arms will serve you well for many years as others have stated. One other thing, TTL is often overrated. I've never used TTL for my DSLR (although I did with my Nikonos V) and I've never felt I was at a disadvantage. Shooting in manual works fine underwater. Besides, TTL is only really useful for macro and subjects which completely fill the frame. TTL does not work very well for wide angle shots. You seem to be interested in wide angle since you mentioned buying WA lenses and I think you would be very disappointed with using TTL when shooting with those lenses. I also strongly advise purchasing Martin Edge's book The Underwater Photographer. His fourth edition of this book came out just a few months ago. It is THE BIBLE for underwater photographers and many of us here on Wetpixel consider it as an indispensable book to have. Those are my thoughts, FWIW. Welcome to uw photography! Please feel free to come back with additional questions you have. Ellen

I found a review of the Sea & Sea DX100 housing right here on Wetpixel. Here's the link: Review of Sea & Sea DX100 Housing Although I'm not familiar with this dome, I would imagine that it will work with your 17-35 lens. Be aware, though, that you will need a zoom gear for the lens to be able to use the zoom feature underwater. You may also need a diopter, someone else may know the answer to that. And, finally, you may need an extension with the 9" dome to be able to use the 17-35. As far as the 105lens you own, you will need a macro port. Normally, wide angle lenses use dome ports and macro lenses use a different kind of port that looks more like a long cylinder to accomodate the length of the lens when it racks out to its longest length. I am assuming you have the older 105, not the newer VR one, which may not be the case. Stores that deal in underwater camera items would be where I'd check first for the o-rings. You may, however, have to go directly to Sea & Sea. Definitely check first with Reef Photo and/or Backscatter, both are sponsors of this site. Others may want to jump in with more specific information about using your lenses with the Sea & Sea DX100 housing and Dome Port. Hope that helps, Ellen

Hi Robyn, I posted on Wetpixel a few years ago about a problem with my leak detector. Although my leak detector didn't go off for the same reason, it wouldn't stop blinking once it started. The replies to my post gave some good information on leak detectors and ways of dealing with them when they seem to be "on" all the time Link to Post about Leak Detectors Hope that helps, Ellen

Hi Jack, Welcome to Wetpixel! You were very lucky to hear about the person who was selling their A70 housing after they moved up to a D300. That worked out quite well for you I started out just like you. I bought a Nikon D70 and used it for a while topside until I found a used housing for it. I also had an SB105 and used it initially until I was able to to upgrade to a different strobe Welcome to using your D70 underwater! It's a lot better than using film with the N90s Ellen

I use the Sigma 17-70 with my D300 in a Subal housing and here's how I handled it: I checked out the typical places to buy used lenses (e.g. KEH, Adorama, Fred Miranda, etc) and finally got lucky when I found a NON-HSM Sigma 17-70 lens at Adorama for much less than the HSM version. I then was able to buy a zoom gear for it at Reef Photo which allowed me to change the focal length underwater. I think if you check out the places that sell used lenses (yes, even the big auction site as well as the ones I mentioned above) you will eventually find one that can be mounted on your D200. You might also give Reef Photo (right in your backyard), one of our sponsors, a call to see if they have the zoom gear for the lens. I would also check with Backscatter, another sponsor, to see if they have the zoom gear. It may take some effort on part, but it's effort that should eventually be successful in finding what you want. Ellen