Jim

YouTube.com has many instructional videos on aperture as well as Photoshop cs4. Also in iTunes, the podcast section, search for podcasts on Aperture and Photoshop, you'll be amazed at what you find. Also if there is an Apple store nearby, they offer One to One training for about $100 a year, one hour a week. And are a wonderful source of information/help. -Jim

Eric, My wife and I were in Alaska last month shooting in the rain , I used Think Tank's Modulus set. It worked really well traveling in boats, bush planes and helicopters. Here's the URL http://www.thinktankphoto.com/ttp_product_MdlrSet.php Cabela's rain gear was pretty nice as well -Jim

I too have had some really bad Light & Motion experiences. here is a correspondence that I had recently with Light & Motion... I wrote, "5 months ago I purchased a bluefin hc-3 housing. At that time I was unable to purchase a monitor, as the external monitor was discontinued. Russ said one would be available this past January for around $500, the company was waiting on parts to build monitor back. Yesterday I was called at home by Paul informing me that the monitor back that I had ordered has been available for the past month. Well at least somebody let me know about the monitor back. What concerns me the most is the flagrant price gouging. $1300 more for a monitor back that ships included with the newer housings. I realize that there is a $500 difference in price, that is understandable, not $1300. I also realize that there other housing manufacturers. I am saddened to think that I was once proud to own your company's equipment. I am curious to know how your company determined this as an acceptable price. I also wonder what others in the underwater imaging community think about this. I welcome your response. " here's their response... "Have you considered the Bluefin HC9 does not include the costing of a rear plate which contains CNC machined parts, an electronic board and custom optics? That part cost is not burdened in the Bluefin HC9 as it was in the Bluefin HC3. That means the Bluefin HC9 cost LESS prior to adding the monitor back. In addition, the Bluefin HC3 pricing was established in the fall of 2005. We also incur rising part cost just as in every part of the world. However, customers who purchased a Bluefin HC3 with a Compact Monitor paid $4,498. I feel pretty good to offer this generation housing with a larger and higher resolution monitor for $900 less at $3,599. I'll still honor our original price to you on December 12th, 2007, of $999. Let me know if this product is still of interest to you." I still feel like I'm being raped by Light & Motion.

Thank you for posting your experiences with monitor calibration. I just switched back to a mac and I need to calibrate too. I am looking forward to your insights on which hardware to use. -Jim

As dumb as this sounds... I'm just trying to log and capture tapes using HDMI. It thought that capturing through a HDMI cable would provide a higher quality (uncompressed) capture than capturing through FireWire. Looks like I'm making a mistake on this one. Perhaps I should just try using the FireWire cable instead. I'll just have to figure out a use for the Black Magic card now. Thanks again guys for all the help and support -Jim

The Black Magic software was installed and updated, version 1.8.4 it shows up in the menus FCP version is 6.0.2 If it helps, the computer is 2 x 3.2 quad core xeon, 16 gb of 800 mhz ram and 4 x 1 tb drives So "Device control preset: Sony HDV 1080/50 FireWire" is a PAL setting?? wow, I would have never thought that. When the Easy Setup window is open in FCP: format - HDV Use - Custom setup in the "use" pull down menu, should I select "Intensity HDTV 1080i 59.94"? or Am I better off selecting HDV 1080i60 or HDV 1080i60 FireWire Basic? The HC-3 settings are: rec format - HDV 1080i component - 1080i/480i i.Link conv - off thanks again for the help -Jim

Thanks for the help Drew The Intensity settings are: set output: HDMI & NTSC/PAL (Y out) set input: HDMI Video & HDMI Audio use video setup in NTSC: at 7.5 IRE for use in the USA select output processing: off select input processing: off East set-up settings are: Format: HDV rate: all rates Use: custom setup Sequence Preset: 1080i/60 Capture Preset: HDV Device control preset: Sony HDV 1080/50 FireWire Playback output video: none Playback Output Audio: Default Edit to tape/PTV output video: HDV 1440 x 1080) 50i Edit to tape/PTV output audio: Default System settings video capture, video render and audio render are selected, BUT audio capture is checked but not selectable. The scratch disk is drive 4 731 gb available are there any other settings that I've missed? thanks, -Jim

Does anyone have any experience with Black Magic Designs Intensity Pro PCI card? This card seemed like the perfect fit for a Mac Pro using FCP. I was hoping to be able to capture through the HDMI output on the Sony HC-3 into the HDMI input on this card. However only the video transfers, no audio, no deck control. I've also tried using a firewire cable as well. Black Magic Designs suggested using the 2 lane PCI slot instead of the 16 lane, supposedly it works better. No luck so far. There is probable a setting that I've overlooked as I am new to FCP. I was really hoping that someone could bail me out on this one thanks, -Jim

I'll give my vote for St. Maarten. I had a very good experience with Dive Safaris in 2002 and 2005. Remember to be careful if travelling through Puerto Rico on American Airlines. There is a long standing unresloved problem with theft on checked baggage. Other than that, I found it to be a fun island. The shopping was decent. Perhalps the most reasonable in the Caribbean with prices getting even better when the cruise ships leave port in the late afternoon. I found St. Thomas a bit pricey although it's a pretty island. I didn't have a chance to dive there because of a (my) wedding. Have a great time.

As of February this year I can say that the "theft problem" is alive and well. My wife and I had 2 bags broken into. One bag was a non-descript black roller duffle bag (containing dive gear), the other was a pelican case. We were flying on American Airlines through San Juan to Bonaire. Neither American Airlines or TSA were of any help when confronted with this problem. We've since boycotted both American Airlines and Puerto Rico. I would pay extra to fly Continental out of Houston for Bonaire, and avoid any destination only served by American Airlines. That being said, for your situation, I would carry anything you don't want stolen on board with you. Insure your photo and dive gear. Roller bags are targeted by the gate agents for valet checking. That is, your roller bag is taken from you and put in the hold of the aircraft before you are allowed on. I had a conversation with American Airlines about this before we left and this was their response... "As I'm sure you observed once you boarded, the overhead bin and storage space on a regional jet isn't as expansive as it is on our larger jets. Accordingly, our gate agents and flight attendants must carefully monitor the available space during the boarding process. Just as you mention, if the space fills up, we must then ask all remaining customers to "valet" check their carry on items. In addition, certain baggage types (i.e. bags with wheels) are simply not conducive to the overhead bin space on regional jets and must always be checked." I think that the best strategy for getting your gear there and back safely is not to let it leave your sight. That limits you to underseat storage. The overhead bins might be able to hold a light jacket as they are very short and thin. Here's what American Airlines had to say about about cabin storage... "On the ATR 72 aircraft, the dimensions under the 1 seat side are 11.5 wide, 13.5 high, and 9.5 deep. On the 2 seat side, the underneath width is 23.0, 13.5 high, and 9.5 deep. The overhead bins are 45.5 inches wide, 9 inches high and 15 inches deep." Translation: the window seat has the smaller space and the aisle seat has the larger space. I wish you the best of luck and hope that you have a great time on your trip. I hear that November is a great time to visit. -Jim

I can't believe that there is anything associated with underwater photography that ONLY costs $4. This is great! I can't wait to see it. -Jim

My wife and I were on a liveaboard, the Big Blue Explorer. It was great! 5 dives a day that were within a 10 minute boat ride.

I've always had great service at backscatter.com. Although it's been over a year since my last service.

I got an Aquatica housing last year for my 30D. It is in my opinion a fantastic product. Very well built and designed. I haven't had any problems with flooding after 5 weeks of diving.

My wife and I have had great experiences diving with Dive Safaris in St. Maarten, both cruise and land based. They have 2 shops, one in downtown Phillipsburg that's convienent for cruise ships and another in Simpson Bay. The shopping is pretty good downtown too, I found Boolchands' to be one of the more reputable electronic stores. Know the prices (grey market) of whatever you're interested in before you go to ensure you get a good deal Have a great trip.