depelos

here's one more

Here's a few pics from the 2nd week with Alex in Cayman. Amazing week with tons of great diving and photo opps. Thanks again Alex! Jonathan

I'm selling a brand new Light and Motion SR3 Sport Underwater Video Housing. Most compact camcorders fit in it. I won it in an underwater photography contest and I have never used it or put it anywhere near the water. Below are the specs from Light & Motion. Please email me for more info - depelos1@hotmail.com. I'm asking $400 obo. Retail is about $800. Buyer pays actual shipping costs - I will use USPS (with tracking) unless requested to use another method. Housing will ship from my parents' house in Virginia. Thanks! The Stingray III Sport is the perfect video housing for the first timer just getting his feet wet. The Sport supports a wide variety of the newer compact video cameras and simple design makes capturing underwater video images a breeze. While the Stingray III Sport is simple to use, it utilizes all the design benefits of the Stingray III including all aluminum construction, electro-magnetic controls, easy load camera tray and double O-ring seals. Housing also includes our rotating latches that give you the peace of mind to focus on your dive and the subjects you're after. As your interest and skill level grows, you can add a Monitor Back and a lighting system. The Stingray III Sport can be purchased as a solo housing or a complete Travel Package including one or two lights, charger and a custom case. Features: Ease of use . Fingertip electronic control over standby/record, zoom, auto-focus on/off, video/still mode, and manual focus . Light weight - only 5 pounds! . Integrates seamlessly with optional lighting systems Performance . Rugged aluminum construction throughout provides years of trouble free use . Optional Monitor Back docks into housing - add features as you need them Reliability . True electromagnetic controls do not penetrate the housing hull. . Redundant double O-ring radial bore seal system on camera loading door provides maximum protection and does not depend on clamping pressure for security. . Rotary Locking latches are more reliable and easier to use than clamps. . User swappable electronics (just in case). Construction • Pressure Hull: 6063-T6 aluminum • Rear Plates: 6061-T6 machined aluminum • Hardware: 316 Stainless Steel throughout • Ports: Acrylic flatport and viewfinder window • O-rings: Buna-70 • Other: Various injection molded ABS, Santoprene, & Polyethylene switches, latches, etc. • Finish: Clear anodize Controls • True non-penetrating electro-magnetic • Easily removed for cleaning Depth Rating • Each housing individually tested to 150 fsw PRODUCT Stingray III Sport 852-0087 Size 9.3 l x 7.2 w x 6” h Weight (air w/o camera) 7.25 lbs Weight (h2o w/camera) .25 lbs Port Flat Port Fingertip Controls record/stand-by, zoom, memory stick / video, auto focus override, momentary auto focus, manual focus O-ring kit yes

I use both 3x and 5x diopters to get closer focus and added magnification on my Nikon 105mm lens. I'm sure you can find diopters to fit your 60mm lens too. The diopters are quite thin so I've been able to use the normal Ikelite port for a 105mm lens without any problem. The diopters are quite cheap as well - from $20 to $30. Good luck.

Congrats Patrick. Great pics man. It's good to get some recognition for some of your many great shots. Keep it up mate. Jonathan

Just thought I'd say that I just traveled for 3 weeks from Cayman to USA to Bali and Sulawesi and to and fro in between and I carried all my camera gear in a big pelican case without any problems whatsoever. It is quite heavy though so it did limit what I could carry inside. I saw mattdiver's case in Singapore when I was there and it is definitely the way to go. Very light and with plenty of space - well done Mathieu.

I have been dreaming of going to dive Lembeh Strait for years and I've always heard such great things about Kungkungan Bay Resort ("KBR") there in Lembeh. So I saved up my pennies and went to Bali and then Lembeh in October. I was so looking forward to staying at KBR, enjoying their 24 hour kitchen with unlimited food, and experiencing some great macro/muck diving. KBR picked me up at the airport and the staff was very friendly. I check in and am dying to use the restroom after a 1.5 hr drive. I go to my room, which was fine but certainly not what I would consider nice (nor worth the price), I go into the bathroom and am immediately shocked at the pee smell and the dried pee all over the toilet and nearby. I was disgusted that such a "quality" (AND NOT CHEAP) resort would have overlooked this. I complained and it was cleaned 10 minutes later. My impression of KBR had started an immense descent down the drain. Over the next 2 days, I had some great diving, however, meal time was another story. I don't think I've had slower service many other places and the food was mediocre when it finally arrived. A chicken quesadilla consisted of two tortillas with onions, tomatoes, and other veggies put together. The cheese and chicken must have fallen off on the way to my table. Now, I did mainly try local dishes, which were better, but if you can't make a chicken quesadilla, don't put it on the menu! Everyone there complained about the slow service and ordering your breakfast 30 minutes before boat departure would give you about 1 minute to wolf down your food. To top it all off, my camera stopped working on the 2nd day, and I still don't know why, so I couldn't take any more pictures. But I kept diving still anxious to see all those pigmy frogfish, mimic octopus, etc., etc. but I got extremely frustrated real quick when the dive guides would continuously spend 5 minutes or more in one spot molesting a shrimp or crab so that it would be out in the open for a particular photographer who would snap 100's of photos of anything interesting. I was totally ignored by the guides and this went on for one whole day. Finally, I had had enough and I got a car to take me to the airport. I was losing half of my paid week at KBR and I had to buy a new plane ticket, but I didn't care. I felt so let down by KBR, I just had to flee. Maybe my biggest problem was that I had just come from Scuba Seraya in Tulamben, Bali where I paid half as much as KBR, I had an amazing room and bathroom, awesome diving, and wonderful food and service. So, I'm already planning my return trip to Scuba Seraya, but KBR, you won't see me again!

Well done Patrick. That is indeed a great shot. That'd be sweet if it gets shown in a museum in D.C.! Maybe you'll be flown up to present your photo to George W. !

Here's a self-portrait I took at Stingray City. It was in my portfolio of 6 pictures which won 2nd place in the Cayman Digital Madness. Glad you like it Alex! Jonathan

UPDATE: I just received a replacement Fuji S2, Nikon 60mm lens and port from Ikelite. I am truly impressed at their responsiveness and genuine concern for my situation. I'm leaving for some diving in Asia on Wednesday and Ikelite rushed to get me all the replacements before I left. Ikelite still has no idea how the port came apart like it did and they have never seen another one like it. Well, a big thanks to Ikelite for their great customer service. You guys are awesome!

Yep, the last pic is definitely a sea hare. Just a week ago I saw a sea hare that was about 5'' long, quite a big meaty guy. Weird how they get so big after starting out so small. Leslie - thanks for your input. I knew you'd come up with something! You're awesome!! The yellow and red guy does look very similar to your pics except for the tail as you say.

I found these cool tiny guys last night on a rope sponge. They were both on the on the same rope sponge at about 40' on Sunset House reef in Grand Cayman. The yellow and red creature looks like some kind of slug or larvae of something and the nudibranch looks like it might be some type of sea hare due to the shell looking thing on it's back. Any suggestions?

Great looking sunbursts Paul! I've been trying all sorts of things with my Fuji S2 to get sunsburts with the rays/streaks of light like yours. Looks like the D200 does that quite well. Glad to see digital can do it after all. Thanks for posting.

Cheers Patrick. Well done Martyn and Alex. You guys definitely have a great eye for composition so keep it up and you'll get many more great shots I'm sure. And a big thanks to Alex for all his time and tips/pointers during the week. Jonathan

I found this nudibranch on Thursday night diving Sunset reef in East End, Grand Cayman. Looks like a type of Leech Headshield slug but isn't in the Reef Creature ID book and I couldn't find in on the Sea Slug Forum. It was about 1/2'' or 1.5cm long, so quite small. I had to look very closely to see what it was and luckily had my 3x diopter on top of my 105mm lens, which I decided to put on at the very last minute. It's always cool to find something not in the book!

I went for a dusk dive yesterday at Sunset House, Grand Cayman. I took my Fuji S2 in my beloved Ikelite housing with a brand new Nikon 60mm lens and brand new Ikelite port. (I'm going to Lembeh in Oct. so I really need to practice with the 60mm.) I climb down the ladder with my camera into the water and start putting my fins on etc. I start to see a bunch of large bubbles coming from my camera port and I immediately yank it out of the water and hand it to my dive buddy who is still on shore. A few choice words then followed, I'm sure. Anyways, I come to see that my ONE WEEK OLD Ikelite port had just come apart! And of course everthing inside the housing had now been baptized by sea water. Apparently the port is made from two main parts that had been glued together and the glue had come unglued. Really makes me question the quality of the port but my other Ikelite ports have been fine for over 2 years. So I cleaned up what I could and then we went ahead and started/finished our dive. After the dive, I sulkily drag my dive gear to the rinse tank. I see a very good looking guy come up just after me with a nice big Ikelite housing and strobe and as he puts it in the rinse tank I ask him what he's shooting. He said he was using a 100mm. I told him I was using a 60mm and then proceeded to ask him if he wanted to see what happened to my camera and my brand new Ikelite port. He immediately put on a very grim face and said, "Wow, I work for Ikelite and I don't like that." A bit dumfounded, I said, "You mean, you work for an Ikelite dealer?". He responded, "No, I work for Ikelite in the repair department." I just stood there with my mouth wide open in disbelief. He continued to examine the failed port and kept expressing his amazement at how the port could have come apart like that. He even called over another very nice lady who also works in the Ikelite repair department so she could have a look at it. After much discussion, he apologized profusely, gave me his contact details and told me to ship the flooded equipment to Ikelite and the would make it right. I have never ever met anyone who works for Ikelite, but last night was definitely a good time to have a few Ikelite people around. I mean, really, what are the chances?!! I slept quite good last night considering what happened, and I know that it was due to the assurances from the genuinely concerned Ikelite folks I had met. So today I will be sending off the damaged good to Ikelite and will wait and see what happens.

You guys have been a great help. Obviously the 60mm is the lens of choice so I went out yesterday and bought a Nikon 60mm lens. I already have a 105mm and diopters that I use with my Fuji S2. Maybe when I'm rich I'll buy one of those 180mm zoom lenses! Sounds sweet though! I'm really looking forward to this trip - I'll be staying at KBR which I've heard is great. Thanks again.

What lenses would you experienced folks say are a must for Lembeh Strait? I'll be there in Oct. and want to be sure to be prepared. Thanks.

I saw this tiny little thing over the weekend on a purple gargonia in Grand Cayman. The only thing it looks somewhat similar to that I could find was an isopod. Any ideas? thanks.