Architeuthis

Dear Robert, This is very well written and true, but I fear that our posts in several social media just serve the purpose of group therapy for ourselves... I decided now to go the legal route. Yesterday I filed a complaint at the local public prosecutors office here in Austria. It will take time, but they are obliged to make investigations.. Today I filed another complaint at this official U.K. site here: https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/reporting-fraud-and-cyber-crime => Everybody from any country of the world can file a complaint at this fraud department in U.K. and I think every victim should do so. If we are lucky they make a substantial case out of all the complaints and then I would not wish to be in Adam's skin... The mills of justice grind slowly, but steadily... I do not expect to get money back by these actions, but I also do not want that Adam gets away with it and in a couple of months he resumes normal activity as usual... Wolfgang

I fear an exact determination of the species, as you say, will not be possible at present. I do not have an image from the side as the fish was extremely shy and did not come out during my presence. In the meantime, I have an opinion from an expert on fish identification, Nico Michielis, an evolutionary biologist from Tübingen University, who studies the Mangrove Bay since > 20 years and whom I met by coincidence at the last stay there - he comes to the same conclusion as you: "Dear Wolfgang, attached my own picture of Eviota pictifacies from Indonesia. I don't know this species from Mangrove Bay (yet?). Your picture could actually be this species, but a side view would be required to be sure, especially since E. pictifacies is only known from Indonesia as far as I can find off the top of my head. Eviota often has endemic species in the Red Sea that have a sister species in the rest of the Indo-Pacific. Eviota is an extremely species-rich genus with well over a hundred species. New ones are constantly being added. I wouldn't be surprised if it's a species that has just been described, or is not yet described. LG, Nico" Maybe in 2024, when I will return to Mangrove Bay, I will be able to make a picture from the side (I remember the exact location very well), but who knows whether the fish will still be there... Wolfgang

You are right... On my recent trip to the Red Sea, when housereef diving, the shallow dives (5m - 10m average depth) typically lasted 90'-130'. Maximum two dives with Z330 containing white Eneloops was possible (only one dive with the battery of my A7R5, that lasts typically for 180' in my hands). When calculating the total Joules that fully charged white Eneloops (1.2V; 1900 mAh; 4 pieces) deliver, I end up with 32800 Joules (the black Pro ones deliver 43200 Joules) compared to 132000 for three 18650 (assuming 3400 mAh). This is four times the energy stored in the battery pack compared to white Eneloops, hence 8 dives should be possible - more than I can do. This is enough for an entire day, even when the average flash power would probably be higher with D-Pro, at least for WA, where every Joule is needed with FF, not so for macro... Wolfgang

Thank you - wow, this is interesting. In case it really is Eviota pictifacies, encountering in the Red Sea is very rare, if ever reported... Here is another image: the rather shy fish leans more out of its shelter and the thin in-focus area (Sony A7R5 + SMC-1 at f/20) is behind the eyes to allow to see a little more detail on the spots (the red dots around the mouth and on the cheeks would match Eviota pictifacies)...

On my last trip to the Red Sea (Mangrove Bay near El Quesier) I spotted this small fish. I was not able to identify it with the standard determination books (Lieske-Maier, Debelius, Baumeister). Does someone know which species it is? Thanls, Wolfgang

The Scupalamp D-Pro looks attractive, but as often, it is difficult to judge from reviews, whether a product performs as one hopefully expects: the reviews of Phil Rudin in UWP#134 and of Giacomo Rossi here (https://wetpixel.com/articles/review-scuba-lamp-d-pro-strobe-by-giacomo-rossi) suggest to me that the D-Pro plays in the same league as Retras or Seacam, but at a fraction of the price (the new Retra with booster costs almost 2k, because of 20% VAT within EU). For the money I would have to spend for one Retra with booster, I could get two D-Pros plus diffusers and one snoot. The only drawback seems to be no TTL and HSS, but I could easily waive these features without regret... Another review of Hannes Klostermann on the D-max, the precursor product, shows this to be an inferior product that performs just proportional to the price tag. One may be tempted to suspect that also in the case of D-Pro, for a similar price, one gets a strobe with similar performance as a Z330 (that is very good, but I am looking out for a stronger and better strobe). Even worse, the D-Pro weights 1 kg and needs a special battery back (>100 Euro; at least two/strobe are required for continuous operation) that requires to lug around another special charger (how long does it take to fully charge this battery pack?)... Are there more user experiences and/or thoughts on this dilemma? Thanks, Wolfgang

Thank you both for the input... I have noticed that here is already a post on Scubalamp D-Pro and will continue to post there: Wolfgang

The Scubalamp D-Pro, with 160 Joule, strobe looks attractive. Some may be not very interested in TTL or HSS. How is the quality of light (color temperature, homogeneity of lighting, beam angle) in real life and UW compared to other, more expensive, strobes, e.g. Retra? Wolfgang

We returned yesterday (September 17th) from our substitute trip to Egypt... I think the time to deal with the case in social media is over and it is now the time for concrete actions. Today I filed a complaint with the public prosecutor's office in Leibnitz (Austria) for serious commercial fraud. I also asked them to open proceedings in which other injured parties can participate, in case this would be possible... I will keep the others updated, as soon as I have further information... It must not be that Adam gets away with the disaster, just by playing dead... Wolfgang

Adjust ISO, shutter and aperture to make natural light beams (if available) visible. Otherwise, when completely dark, standard configuration. Then carefully light with strobes, better at least one off-camera strobe for creative lighting (e.g. beams of artificial light) and avoiding image ruining backscatter. One also can use off-camera video lights to create similar lighting, advantage is that you see what you get while framing, but they are less powerfull (ISO, shutter and aperture adjustment accordingly.. Wolfgang

Hi Guavakal, I have the A7R5/Nauticam trigger combination. As Champers already said, syncronization is reliable at 1/200 and at 1/250 I see always a small dark region at the top of the image. In case you want 1/250 (and much more important. rear curtain sync) you need another trigger as e.g. turtle-trigger. I find the Nauticam trigger the best with respect of the "form-factor", but other triggers are, technically, more advanced... You can get the camera for much less here: https://www.e-infin.com/eu/item/11680/alpha_a7r_v_mirrorless_digital_camera_(body_only) Wolfgang

Hi Massimo, We returned just tonight from our trip to Egypt... You are completely right, I was wrong. A misunderstanding from my side - it does not matter, how the on-housing flash is triggered. This flash triggers the Anglerfish, no matter which camera trigger is used, but the Anglerfish is not able to trigger the remote Sea&Sea YS-D2 in my hands.. For remote triggering, I will use a remote Z330 in the future and work with one Z330 on the housing (maybe the Sea&Sea as second on-housing flash, but on-housing flash is not the important flash, when working with remote flash...). Wolfgang

I have the Tamron 17-28mm that works well behind the Zen DP170. The zoom range is a little restricted, othwerwise it is an excellent lens. In case you do not need the lens instantly, maybe it is better to wait for the Tamron 17-50mm that will become available in fall and see how this lens performs. In case it is performing well behind a domeport, this would be my choice... Wolfgang

Hi Fruehaufsteher, I do not know whether stainless or not, the description does not say. I hope I will not need stainless and this was the last leak... I will see soon, tomorrow is the next start to Egy... Wolfgang

An update to this issue: Today the spare screws that I ordered arrived (100 pieces for 23 Euro plus porto): metric M2x4 sunkhead with hexagon socket. They fit (almost) perfect. The hexagon socket is 1mm, while the original has 1.5. The smallest allen key supplied with the housing is 1.5, so I have to carry with me now an additional 1.0 key. Better to order hexagon socket 1.5 ... I prefer to attach the part with 4 screws and leave it it always on. Ryan from Nauticam said this part is required for older types of extensions/adapters/ports and I do not know exactly whether all my parts do not need it (still waiting for his response)... The small leak was a coincidence and had nothing to do with the screws (wow - my first leak ): I tested the vaccum now for 3d without the extension and for 3d with the extension (with the single screw loosely attached as I found the situation). No problem with vacuum loss in both situations... Wolfgang

Thank you both for input... It must then be the Nauticam flash trigger (Sony A7R5) that is too weak... I found the issue during Alex Mustards Red Sea workshop in June/July, changed cables and flashes, also with other participants (one said he has the same issue and there would be many more) and the problem was very reproducable... I will head tomorrow, September 1st for another Red Sea trip and try again. I have a second turtle trigger as spare, maybe this one will work... Wolfgang

Hi Tim, I have been once in Raja Ampat (2021) for three weeks, not an expert... It is certainly not a secret tip any more, well visited by tourists (state 2021, just before covid), I have been in two areas. It was one of the best dive trips I ever made: Dampier Street: this is the area with the strongest currents, that bring also this spectacular diversity and quantity of life. No chance to swim against, one drifts carefully (not to become swept away into the blue) along a route during a dive and at suited places fixes oneself with a "reef-hook" to stay there longer (the guides wear mostly apnoe fins; no chance to dive unguided and I would not dare it there). Taking photographs is a challenge. There are also sheltered places with e.g. mangrove. I think a liveaboard is not required in this area as also the resorts head for all the places in reasonable time. Misool area: more remote. Still places with current, but generally less. Spectacular diving as well. This area usually can be reached only by liveaboard, but there is also a single resort on the island (where Alex Mustard uses to organize his Raja Ampat workshops). I was not able to find what you are looking for (and watch here with interest), i.e. reasonable priced resorts/liveboards with good standards. I found only high-end (high-end from the price; what I saw at these places, when having a look, was rather 2*-3* standard compared to other regions) or budget (a real bargain but your friends have to be very adventureous and frugal to enjoy it; not a single * according to our standards (but nobody became sick from the food and it was an unforgettable experience))... I did the budget way and made two trip reports: https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/63998410 https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/64000536 Wolfgang

Lens and zoomgear are sold...

price reduction: #1.: 400 Euro #2.: 55 Euro #1.+#2.: 425 Euros

price reduction: #1.: 250 Euro #2.: 210 Euro #1.+#2.: 400 Euro

price reduction: 350 Euro

It all depends on whether the future 17-50 will perform well behind a domeport (hopefully 170/180). If yes, it will be a perfect lens to complement the Canon 8-15 & adapter... Similar coverage I have already now with Sony 20-70, but probably I will go for the new Tamron 17-50 in addition, in case it is suitable... FCP will be a strong competitor of Canon 8-15 & 1.4x TC: much better zoom range for sure and also better optical performance is expected. Indeeed little usage for WWL/WACP when one has FCP and Sony 20-70 (or even Tamron 17-50). For many FCP will also substitute the 8-15 fisheyes, as they do not like the circular fisheye look.. Wolfgang

Thanks Chris, very informative... This is now what I am doing (besides searching for the right screws): testing from where the leak came. Also Ryan from Nauticam suggested that searching for the leak has high priority... Wolfgang

I am not able to find M1.8x4 sunkhead and wonder whether M2x4 would also fit... In the meantime Ryan Canon from Nauticam replied (a similar message from backscatter came also). The "mechanical part" does not seem to be important for sealing: "Hi Wolfgang,I'm sorry to hear that! This plate is only used to adapt more recent extension rings to a very old extension ring locking design, and if this extension was mounted directly to the housing there isn't really any way this could have caused the leak.Was this mounted directly to 37305, and was the port mounted directly to the extension? If that's the case this screw wasn't the source of the issue, 37305 uses a different locking mechanism entirely.The most likely cause of the vacuum not alerting to this issue would be that the pressure was reduced a bit too far, and the leak occurred very slowly. Be careful when pulling the vacuum not to over do it - slow down toward the end of the process, and pause between pumps. The vacuum level is a set point, and if you decrease the vacuum well beyond the set point it can take quite a bit of time for a slow lake to drop below the threshold to alert." The "37305" is the 35.5mm N100/N120 extension and I used it for this dive. It is right that I did six extra pulls with the pump, after the LED turning green, a little bit overdone maybe, but i thought it is a FF housing, so more volume to evacuate... Also in the dive the day before I had a, likely related, problem: the 140 domeport was full of fog after immersion and I could not take photos. I had this only one time before so far and this was on a full rain day directly on the equator, in Raja Ampat (100% humidity). Maybe a very small leak, together with 7 °C water temperature was responsible for the fog this time? I wonder whether the shaky plate may have produced the very small leak that made problems in both dives, in an indirect way, e.g. by hindering proper alignment. I think I will have a better feeling, when the plate is firmly fixed by 4 screws, even if it is not part of the sealing mechanism... Wolfgang

Thank you all for the valuable input. I did not get yet the exact dimensions from Nauticam, but they asked for S/N - it seems to depend also on S/N... In the meantime I found batteries for my digital ruler and the dimensions of the remaining screw are: tread=1.81mm+/-0.01mm and Length=3.97mm+/-0.01mm (average and standard deviations from six independent measurements). I will order sunkhead screws M1.8/4mm and hope they will fit ... Wolfgang