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if you are a DAN member, this months issue of Alert Diver has an article about diving Anilao - photgraphy and animals http://alertdiver.com/Anilao

Any people out there who are impulsive? Not long term planners? Looking for an early Christmas present? Got that winter time "wild hair" blues already? ;-) Come to the famous Cocos Island in Costa Rica Jan 20-30, 2017 and dive with hammerheads and other sharks! Rated the #2 shark dive in the world aboard one of the best live-aboards in the world, the SEA HUNTER!!! I will be down there to celebrate my retirement and there are 8 spots left. I was able to get a last minute, can't be beat, HUGE/YUGE discounted price! Need to act fast!! The price is $4045 room plus $490 park fee plus $100 transfer fees A total of $4645. The normal price is $5645 just for the room. A $1600 savings. This will be my sixth trip to Cocos and I have run 3 previous trips (2007, 2013, 2015). I also have one planned for 2018. (http://www.nc-wreckdiving.com/cocos.html) Pls email me (Paul) at bfdc@nc-wreckdiving.com if interested and for details!

I recently bought a Sea & Sea MDX-D7100 housing for my new Nikon d7200. The transaction was thru Amazon.com, but it was being sold for ShootingUnderwater.com. The housing had a special Amazon promotional no interest 12 month financing attached so it made it particularly attractive. As a certain serial number range of the S&S D7100 housings are not completely compatible with the D7200 and need a small tweak to make them compatible, I contacted ShootingUnderwater before my purchase to see if the "amazon sold" housing was within that serial number range. Justin at ShootingUnderwater was great in getting me the information, he contacted S&S, talked to Christian, the technician, and found out how long the fix would take. IOW helped smooth the transaction completely. I shipped the housing from Amazon directly to Sea and Sea where the customization was made and it was sent back to me via fed ex. A perfect transaction with a lot of high touch customer service from all parties! Excellent Job! thx so much

thx Alex LOL...as an avid follower of Thom Hogan, I have also seen that "the world will end on..." prediction for the D400 year after year. It could be someone at Nikon is "punking" Thom. LOL I have used a rental D7200 on the surface for wild life photography in Yellowstone and was very pleased with the focus speed and the image quality and improved hi ISO performance. It is lighter and smaller. Didn't fit my hands quite as nicely as my D300 and I missed some of the dedicated buttons.....only a few of those are issues once in a housing.

As my Nikon d300 grows longer in the tooth each year, I am contemplating upgrade to d7200. I am a sea and sea guy for housings as I have all the ports etc so that is where I will likely stay. It sounds like the S&S 7100 housing fits the 7200 as well Thx in advance

Thanks for the pics everyone Though far from my normal NC haunts, this is my favorite. At San Benedicto Island in the Revillagigedos Archipelago. At approximately 6:30 in the morning, first panga on site at "The Boiler", with only me, the dive master and another diver on board - the remainder of our team decided to sleep in. I watched as this group of 6 dolphins came together from their separate activities, gathered in the distance, and seemingly make a conscious decision to come see just what the heck I was. They approached, swimming tantalizingly slow, straight towards me. Heart pounding, I kept praying, "Please keep coming! Closer! Stay together! Closer! Keep coming!" I literally had to "bow up" to get out of their way, as they passed as it seemed they were going to swim right through my chest. I likely could have wrapped my arms around several of them. Made the trip. [D300; 1000 ISO f2.8; Nikon 10.5mm FE; Sea & Sea housing and dome]

HI Alex or anyone was wondering if the Nikon 10.5mm FE image quality holds up going from 12MP (my d300) to the 24MP of the d7100? thx in advance

do your research to best increase your odds, but the best thing you can realize about all these extremely beautiful places is that none of them are zoos and enjoy the experience. very hard for us photographers to do when hunting the iconic trophy shot and mother nature is not cooperating! ;-)

Welcome to our neck of the woods...I dive with a S&S setup and keep the neoprene cover on the dome except when on the bottom. don't know if a neoprene cover is an option for nauticam. Take it off on the bottom and put it back on when going up. Will leave it on except for those days when the swell and current allow or if something impossible to pass up comes along. After 30 yrs, it has been very successful in preventing dings and I haven't found the need for a "hard" cap. Most professional NC charter captains and mates are pretty sensitive to handling photo gear - talk to them before hand and it shouldn't be a problem. Don't expect live aboard style rinse tanks and accommodations though. I bring my own box to keep it in - tuck in a corner and don't worry about rinse until I get back to the dock -- actually hotel room. Hope you have a good time and weather gods are kind.

I would like to 2nd this....i just came back from Cocos Island. Used DSS Kydex backplate and 30lb wing...worked perfectly. Very light, very streamlined, packs and dives very small...no issues with 3mm suit and 15L steel tanks. Plus the backplates are available in different sizing for those divers out of the bell curve. Not cheap, but both shout "craftsmanship" when you see them.

thx for that heads up...I knew about the more "dangerous looking" tools - [though I am told by a buddy recently coming out of Cayman that they seem to pass on diving scissors for some reason (blunt edge?) but took his crescent wrench and others] -- , but I was about to put my single hex wrench in my think tank carryon, but I guess I will pass now. Sheesh....will they pull my plastic Sea and Sea tool to pull o-rings as well? only sort of ;-)

trying to distribute my packing and was wondering if the TSA folks would view ULCS double ball arms and clamps as an issue? thx in advance

thx for the response Mike. interesting....that cable does not fit my S&S MDX-D300 housing to Inon Strobe...is it because I have the Nikonos connector/bulkheads? attached is the cable that fits my housing....the "silver" end has a much deeper/longer and smaller tip that fits into the housing; it is a SS-17100 and specifically says nikons 5 pin. I wonder what model number the other one is.

I was looking for some help identifying this synch cord so I could re-sell it on ebay. It was labeled as S&S 17100 - nikon connector for S&S housing to inon strobe, but this is not what it is. both ends appear to be the same and there are 5 pins on each side. The ends fit in the strobe, but not the housing. I wanted to get it correctly ID'd before trying to sell it. thx Paul

I have the Sola 1200s (June 2011 vintage) and they have worked great...just wondering - any reason to upgrade to the 2000s? would there be a noticeable practical difference from that 50% increase in lumens? thx