ce4jesus

I guess unauthorized reproductions of CNN video are fine though. Sorry for the misinformation, the photo I pulled off was off of Scubaboard and referenced the two guys. The photo came from here and its obvious that this is a different shark. http://www.merlospearguns.com/fishphotos.html

The Ducom Pier is a fabulous dive. One you'll want to do with both a macro and WA lens, so two trips if you're up for it. Scott - my entire flickr site is from Dauin..or Dumagette. You can check out the photos here. http://www.flickr.com/photos/25230308@N07/ I stayed at El Dorado resort and it was truly a mixed bag. The basic rooms were too small. The food was outstanding, but you had to compete with enough flies that it was a challenge. The dive shop was pretty good and Lito is the best guide there. The House Reef in front of the hotel was superb. I dived it about 15 times while there. Other notable sites - Car Wreck, Marsaplot Sanctuary, Apo Island are a few of the sites there. My favorite dive was the pier. My favorite shots were of the Ornate Ghost Pipefish and the sawblade shrimp.

There's a shot of the guys holding the mouth open on shore where you see 5 spears through the head. The gill shot, if that's it in the photo clearly missed the gills. Something that really doesn't add up after watching the interview on the link is the lack of footage. He claims he got them out of the area. The cameraman claims to have switched the camera on immediately...which appears to be true because you go right from the squid to the shark. But what you don't see the initial shot which would have had to have occurred while this "aggressive" shark were circling the pair. If there's a piece of footage that would exonerate him it would be that. That along with the angle of the supposed gill shot lead you to believe the shark was circling but likely just to investigate the pair and that the spearfisherman actually instigated the event.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/03122009/news/...ooth_159201.htm I'm always a little suspicious when I know something is being filmed because it has a staged feel but he does say the right things.

I've been shooting the 50mm for over a year now and have had some good results with the lens; however, in the quest for the perfect underwater microscope I'm looking to improve. The 50mm is a 1:2 for the 4/3 sensor which makes it a 1:1 equivalent in 35mm terms. I've been shooting the 50mm in a standard port not made for the lens so the only wet diopter I've used has been a woody's customed to the end of a flat port. The results My 50mm macro photos have been decent. The 35mm is a 1:1 on the 4/3 sensor which would make it 2:1 in 35mm terms. Here are my options, relative costs etc. If you have any of these lenses I would love to hear your feedback. 1. Buy a 35mm lens and port for about $450 2. Buy just a port designed for the 50mm for $500 3. Buy a 2.0 teleconverter for the 50mm, port extension for $600 Number 1 is obviously attractive because of its price. I feel like I must be missing something here because although the 50mm is a better, faster lens...I would think things would almost be the same with both lenses stopped down to F15 or higher...right? The only difference is the 35mm macro lens will give me closer, larger results. The port designed for either lens will allow me to add something like a subsee adapter. The only other lenses out there are a sigma 105mm (210mm seems long underwater) but would add 1:1 macro and working distance. Thoughts?

Well speaking from experience Olympus is a great starter DSLR that moves very gracefully into the underwater world. They just released an E610 and its very affordable. Throw in a very functional, affordable housing and you have a package that is hard to beat. The kit lenses come with a 40-150mm lens which is a 2x crop factor sensor. So from a 35mm perspective its an 80-300mm lens. For animals at 100yds or greater, Olympus has some of the finest glass available built for the 4/3 sensor. Here is a site dedicated to the 4/3 sensor and you can get all the information you need here. http://www.fourthirdsphoto.com Underwater, I've been very happy with the Olympus. The cost factor was a big reason for me buying the Olympus and it ended up a perfect match for my beginner skills.My Flickr Underwater Photos I've been using Olympus DSLR's for almost 2 years now underwater and enjoy the camera a great deal. I own the E520 for reference. The only limitation I've found using the camera is high ISO and since I don't shoot high ISO underwater its not been a big show stopper for me. IS0 800 is about as far as I like to push the camera due to noise. Topside I shoot my kids indoor sporting events and have to use a beefy flash for that purpose. The zoom glass gets pricey with a fixed aperture at 2.0 :?)

Having snorkelled the waters around Oahu on several occasions I can tell you that you will get opportunities for nice shots. Turtles should be abundant and if you hit the right areas a monk seal wouldn't be unusual. I would keep your rig as small as possible and the Canon would work well. The Canon OEM housing isn't that expensive and would protect the camera a little better in surge. If you're going to add a strobe (I'd almost recommend not getting one) then you also have to consider the tray and arms. Free diving with a camera, tray and strobe would be a challenge. Furthermore, for the strobe to be effective you need to be within 6ft. If you're just going after fish pics, then maybe you add a strobe. If you're looking more at wide angle, maybe you just get a WA lens and use natural light while shooting RAW. Before you house a DSLR..you really should visit a shop and look at the housings. I found it quite a shock going from a P&S to a DSLR. The housings are just very large and bulky. I don't think I'd consider taking mine snorkelling.

I found the Inon's great for night diving. Certainly not to confuse them with a good handheld but adequate enough to light up the area and navigate.

Those are ULCS arms and are well liked and respected on this thread. I use TLC arms which are basically the same type of aluminum arms. If you're looking to lighten your rig a little you might check out the stixx arms ... do a search here. There are other types of buoyancy arms available as well.

Yert! From a fellow TN guy. I grew up on Sparta. Anyway, nice pics...like the morays and the wreck the best.

That is so cool...thanks for sharing

What beautiful caves...2200ft...that would've made me somewhat nervous.

Awesome makes me want to go back tomorrow

Well I've been around just long enough to realize that someone like Mr. Mustard can take better photos with a P&S that most others with far superior equipment. We can argue sensor noise, corner sharpness and lens/camera superiority but ultimately the artist behind the lens trumps all. Last years Scuba Diving Magazines best of show was taken with a canon G9. Olympus will continue to build on it's 4/3 system that provides an excellent balance between cost, weight and quality

What an awesome and deserving group of photos, congrats to everyone!!

Stay on B&H, or Helix, and look up the Bonica handle and tray. Its plastic, light, cheap and durable. I've had one for about 3 years now. Then go out and get yourself an Inon Z240, you'll never look back. In the meantime, here's a great site to compare strobes. http://www.digitaldiver.net/strobes.php

1. Wetpixel 2. Digitaldiver.net 3. Scubaboard Photography Forum 4. Flickr group called FINS 5. Underwaterphotography.com .... Guess I don't really have a life

Only the new moderators I'm sure....sort of a hazing ... if you will.

http://www.fun-in.com.tw/catalog/index.php?cPath=95_34 I've emailed the guy who runs this, I think its Joe Chang. In any case, great prices on Inon setups and delivery was very quick by mail.

Andy, No wrong side at all. There are some of us wetpixellers who are quite uneducated about these things and this little discussion certainly helps. Not that anyone would jump headon into this without thorough research, but I have never boned up on CCRs and no little about them. I'm not sure how many times I've exhaled and scared a critter from my view, so there is a desire out there for a steatlhy solution. Cheers, Gary

TIA, Well you can skip El Dorado. Although I thought the food was outstanding, I had to compete with more flies than I've ever seen to eat it. That part of Dauin, all resorts in that general area, is very rural and next to chicken farms. Although El Dorado was updating their rooms when I was their last May, it wasn't anything to write home about. I'm pretty easy though...if the diving is good all I need is a roof.

Dumagette is nice. The El Dorado beach resort is minutes from several nice muck dives. There's also a nice house reef right off the beach. The Ducom Pier, I personally could dive it everyday, was a fantastic dive with beautiful soft corals and a multitude of creatures in the muck. You also have trips to Apo Island usually once or twice a week. I've never been to Anilao but have heard it is the place for muck diving in the Philippines. I think someone hit it with the guide question. Lito, one of the guides at ED, was fantastic and new the place well. Maybe you can elaborate on what kind of things you're wanting to find.

http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/jan09/7081

That's great Jeff, you're happily scouting baitballs at 250ft up when your water pump sucks up a big jelly

Man am I here or what. New camera, so much larger than a P&S and anymore I'm concentrating more on get the image technically (lighting, focus, etc) rather than trying to take the best possible shot. That lobster example is great. I found a batfish on a dive 3 weeks ago...took about 6 photos and then swam off happy to look for something else "cool". Got home and all my batfish are great snapshots but not one great photo in the lot. As for finding something else cool...didn't happen. Looking back a batfish in hand is worth two cool subjects hidden in the muck.