orionquest

I see the one made by Canon on Amazon. . I think I'll get that one!

Hi Simon. .thanks alot for your reply. . can you tell me where come up with this price bec. what I see costs alot more: this is the one i see: http://www.deep-six.com/page25.htm thanks in advance, JOHN

Hiya folks brief background: got certified last year . . . .15 dives under my belt. . .2 in Cozumel, and 13 in French polynesia, including Rangiroa. buying a bunch of gear now for a planned cayman trip in 2 months want to know what is a good starter camera. . . basic but but good enough to take decent pictures. . digital, of course. . .dont' want to break the bank. . .$500 max? i hear/see about Sea and Sea alot, as well as Sealife. .. . i have a Canon s200 digital elph. . should i just get housing for that?. . . hmmmm. . . . . .the housing for that costs alot already! maybe should get a separate digital camera. . want to make sure i take cool picts of Bloody Bay Wall. . .but not aspiring to be an amateur UW photog, submitting picts to mags or anything like that. . just want a basic good digital UW camera so I can "document" my dives. . for friends to see and whatnot. . . sorry for the rambling approach but if anybody can help me I would be most grateful! JOHN

for those interested in an French Polynesia trip report ! http://www.scubadiving.com/members/triprep...orts.php?s=1957 enjoy, JOHN

I'd suggest Tahiti and her sister islands. . . it's alot of $, but the service is top rate. . it's very much geared towards honeymooners. . . . try to squeeze in a side-trip to Rangiroa bec. the best diving is there. . the drift dive thru the passes are packed with big pelagics and the sensation is absolutely unforgetabble (!)

TedJ, my wife likes to shop and lay out on the beach quite a bit. . but I think a variety of excursions is always good, too. . . Tahiti was perfect in that sense, because we always could find a tour of the island we were on, or some sort of island picnic, etc. etc. I've been thinkin 'about Cayman quite a bit, but again, we were there just 2 years ago. . . that was when I first snorkeled, and decided to pursue scuba (which we did in Cozumel). Although i didn't "dive" at Cayman, I'm hesistant to go back only because we were there before. I would like to go back but would make Bloody Bay Wall a requirement next time around. Another reason why I hesistate is because from what I understand, Cayman is low on pelagics. I've only done about 14 dives in my lifetime, but after all that big fish action in Tahiti, I would really rather be diving with sharks, napoleons, mantas, etc. etc. . . maybe I'm already spoiled, who knows. . I don't mean to thumb my nose at the Carribean bec. I know it's great, but I just can't see it comparing to the Pacific. The biggest motivating factor for the Carribean, at least for my wife and me, would be proximity to NYC and cost. Both are important but certainly not overriding factors. I know there is a famous manta ray nite dive on the big island in Hawaii, which has piqued my interest as well. Although I had a great manta dive on Bora Bora, I still would like to see them again. . absolutely magnificent creatures. I would love to goto Fiji, but it's REALLLLLLY far. . it's farther than even Tahiti so that'd be a tough one. . . .for me to even consider Palau, I'd have to fold it in as part of a larger vacation, such as to Asia or something. is there a separate discussion in these forums on How to Get Your Spouse to Dive (and love it?) I feel my wife's first experience was ruined in Cozumel; as a result, she's been uninterested in diving since. (to make a long story short, the diving conditions that day in Cozumel were less than ideal, with the boat pitching back on forth on waves that were cresting white. The boat almost came down on her head as she tried to board the boat). . . been very scared since (!) It's so difficult to choose from so many options! and with so many different criteria. I guess that's part of the fun with planning a dive vacation, though. . .but I just want to make it WORTHWHILE! again, all your suggestions are greatly appreciated. . . great discussion so far. JOHN

thank you all for your great and informative responses (!) I obviously have alot of thinking to do but I knew that this was the place to ask for advice. TedJ, I fold. . you definitely win. Hawaii is quite far and expensive to go to from NYC, but it seems like a safe bet for gettin' some dives in while the wife does something else. I would rather spend that kind of money to goto Palau, though. The good news is there is a slight chance the wife's friend in Korea is getting married this Fall, for which we'll be required to go. . this means I can lay on a massive guilt trip about going across the world just for a friend's wedding, and see if I can finagle a Palau stopover. wish me luck! best regards, JOHN

Hi all, I'm trying to figure out where I should go next. . was hoping to solicit some opinions. I've been to Cozumel and French Polynesia (Bora Bora and Rangiroa). . . I want to go to a "serious" type of dive destination, hopefully with lots of pelagics, but one that isn't too far from the US East Coast (I'm from NYC). . . obviously the Carribean is still a consideration but I feel that after Rangiroa I would be bored there. . is this an unfair assumption? I also have a non-diving wife, which rather limits my choices . . (otherwise my instant choice would be Palau). . . . therefore, liveaboards are out of the question. . . from what I hear, Palau should be dived only via liveaboard.. and there are no top-side activities to speak of. I'm considering either: Cayman . .i've snorkeled here and loved it. . want to do Bloody Bay wall but it's a bit off the beaten path for person with a non-diving spouse. . plus we've been here before. . . can anybody comment on Cayman vs. Cozumel? Maui and possibly Molokini (based on Eric's very nice Maui picts) . question: is it true that Hawaii diving is inferior to the rest of the Pacific. . bec. the picts sure look nice enough. Bonaire or Belize or Roatan. . . .again it's the carribean but i'm worried about topside activities for the wife. otherwise, I stil want to do something in the Pacific. . any help that you can provide is greatly appreciated!! thanks . . great site Eric. . . JOHN TENG (jsyteng@hotmail.com)