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vkire

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Posts posted by vkire

  2. Posted

    I had my external flash (Speedlite) on my camera and after I removed it my camera refuses to engage the internal flash. When I press the flash button, nothing happens. When I go to full auto mode and I try to shoot in dark conditions, once again, the flash does not engage. If I try to go into the built it flash menu, I get a message that says that the menu is not available because I have an external flash attached.

     

    I tried reinstalling the external flash and removing it, reset the camera settings, power cycled multiple times, even replaced the battery. Any idea how I can get the camera to see that there is no longer an external flash attached? Things worked just fine just before I used my external flash (which I have used many times before).

  3. Posted

    Hello--

     

    Just wondering how often you do a lens change (dslr) on the boat--not a liveaboard but more like just a 2 tank dive situation. This question really stems from my camera bag choice. I love my pelican case becuase i can bring everything with me on the boat and i dont have to worry about extra lenses, ports, batteries, cords, etc getting wet from splash. I am just moving into a dslr. If a surface interval lens change is too hard/risky, then i can just bring the camera in a cooler and leave the extra lenses etc on shore. what do you think?

    Unless there is an air-conditioned cabin and a long surface interval to give you plenty of time to do things right, I wouldn't do it. The two times I did it I had two different problems - first time I forgot to remove the lens cap off the lens while I was rushing to switch lenses/ports (!) and discovered that when I was 50 ft under water. :-) The second time the port fogged up due to humidity.

  4. Posted

    Has anybody on this forum been to the Bahamas on JASA's Shear Water in January? I am considering a trip and I am curious as to what the diving conditions are usually during that part of the year. Since it would be winter, I imagine higher chance for rough seas? What about water temperature, visibility and shark sightings?

     

    Thanks!

    KV

  5. Posted

    Made my first run of the season up to Crystal River yesterday. Not the best day, with a south wind and an early low tide, but the fellas were there. Rules seem to be similar except NO submerging under the water. They have webcams up all around. Got some dirty looks coming in very quietly on my jetski; also starting up to leave I startled a couple and got some dirty looks again. (Next time I will start up with the jet towards the bank to dampen it) Strange that a jetski with no prop is a problem, when clearly every one of the pontoon boats with an outboard has probably nicked an animal or two.

    Viz was awful for the reasons I mentioned, but my daughter and I spent a fun hour with this little guy who wanted to play. I turned off the strobes pretty early on as there was way too much junk in the water. I'm liking the Nikon 16-35 more and more. D700 ISO 800 1/60 f7.1

    I am surprised you were able to use your strobes at all. I talked with an operator yesterday and he told me that the new rules include 1) no strobes and 2) no weight belts and that they are being aggressively enforced.

  7. Posted

    I'm headed to the Kona Coast area on the big island in a few weeks and need to make some dive plans. Does anyone have any recommendations in terms of good photographer friendly operators?

     

    David

     

    Jack's Diving Locker. Highly recommended. The divemaster on Jack's Diving Locker let me stay in the water alone long after everyone was back on board, so, as long as you are good on air consumption, you should be set.

     

    In addition to the Dusk/Night Manta Dive combo, ask for the Black Water dive. I did it with Big Island Divers but Jack's Diving Locker has a superior boat (hot shower, etc.).

     

    Kiril

  8. Posted

    So want to play around with snoots so went down to my local Hardware Store. Found these rubber sink and drain pcs. A little small to fit over the Inon D2000 so made 4 small cuts in the skirt. This is a 3"x 1.5" pc. So you can go to plumbing and get any 1.5 reducer you want down to .5". Just insert in end and off you go. Fits very firmly, probably hard to take on or off underwater. Yet to get it in the water but for $7 what the heck.

     

    Here is my version made of parts bought at Home Depot: a 4" to 3" rubber coupling, followed by a 3" to 3" one (just so that I can extend and then further tighten), a 3" to 2" coupling, a grey 2" to 1.25" and a white 6" long and 1.25" wide plastic pipe taped with black electrical tape. Worked decently for something I threw together literally on the way to the airport.

     

    post-8543-1277913679.jpg

  10. Posted

    Can't tell you the exact size but you would be well served to get a set of all of the metric wrenches. $7 from McMaster for a set that has 0.7 through 10 mm.

     

    Bill

     

    I have a bunch down to 1 mm but nothing smaller than that. Thanks for the pointer. Couldn't find anything at Home Depot or Lowe's.

     

    Never heard of these guys above but looks like they have some pretty exotic stuff on their web site. :-)

     

    Kiril

  11. Posted

    I just got my new Sea & Sea housing for my Canon 7D and it looks like one of the shafts (that's used to control the top dial button) needs adjusting. I need a small hex key to loosen the shaft so I can adjust it. Does anybody by any chance know what size hex key I need? It looks like it's submillimeter. Worst case I will lug my housing to the hardware store but would be nice to avoid that.

     

    Thanks,

    Kiril

  12. Posted

    Thanks Kiril,

     

    That doesn't seem to work on mine, 7D you are using, right? Which mode are you in?

     

    Yeah, 7D. When you say it doesn't work, do you mean the flash does not open or you can't find the option in the menus?

     

    I see it in both Av and P mode. Should be there in the other modes as well.

     

    Again, hit menu, first tab on the left, Flash Control (on the bottom of the screen in Av mode) -> Built-in flash func. setting -> Test flash firing (on the bottom; shows that you have to hit the Picture Style button for it.

     

    Kiril

  13. Posted

    If you forget to put your flash up before the dive, you can always turn the mode dial to full auto and then cover the port or point towards a dark area, it will then pop up automatically.

     

    Alex

     

    I used to do that but found that especially with a (fast) macro lens, it's pretty hard to get the flash to pop up. There is a better (easier) way to do it. Just go to the Flash Control menu (first tab in the menus) -> Built-in flash func. setting -> Hit the "Picture Style" button to "Test Flash"; this will automatically pop up the flash and do a test flash fire.

     

    Kiril

  14. Posted

    A friend of mine also recently got his 7D housing recently and on his first dive trip with it, said he likes it very much but complain that the handles are not stiff enough. He said that the housing tends to oscillate a bit in his hands due to the handles. Is that your experience?

    Finish on it is top notch and with my next housing for whatever camera, I am seriously switching to it from my current Subal setup.

     

    There is a bit of a wobble when carrying it on land and making sudden/strong motion, but I haven't noticed any "oscillations" underwater. They still feel very solid, though.

  18. Posted

    Hi Kiril,

     

    Yes, this is a (temporary) problem in the specific situation of a large dome with no extension ring (doesn't affect other setups). We are making a change to the fiber optic cables so that they have an immediate 90 degree bend on the housing side that will eliminate the problem. We'll fix or replace the cables for folks who have this problem. Sounds like you might have found a workaround for today. The Inon Optical Cable M (L Type) cables do have the 90º bend so those are another option.

     

    In regard to the users manual, the first few Nauticam 7D housings are shipping without the manual (all the other housings currently ship with manuals). The manual is nearly ready and will be shipping with new housings very soon. For those that do not get a manual with their NA-7D, email me and I will get you a PDF copy of the manual as soon as I get it.

     

    We'll either make it easy for you to do or just replace the whole cable, not sure which, yet, but we definitely won't make it a pain.

     

    Thanks,

     

    Chris

     

    Thanks Ryan and Chris for your responses. I do have the Inon L-shape connectors but the oval part of the (cable side) connector is hitting the port, so, unless Nauticam comes up with connectors that have a lower profile, I think the bulkhead itself would need to be modified. The workaround I have is ok for now, but I am worried that even with a single twist I can damage the grooves on the Inon connector, so, it would definitely help to get a real solution for this. Here are a couple of photos to illustrate the problem better:

     

    post-8543-1269292087.jpg

     

    post-8543-1269292093.jpg

     

    Thanks!

    KV

  19. Posted

    Could you post photo with FE-port and optical connectors installed together? Which part of connectors pushes FE-port?

     

    I have different housing - for Nikon D90 ...

     

    Will do after my dives. Meanwhile, I tried again and I definitely cannot push the port in once the connector are screwed in; if I apply too much pressure, I am pretty sure that either the port or the connectors will get damaged (most likely the port from my pushing it too hard; the connectors seem pretty sturdy).

     

    However, I realized that I can install the connectors after the port is in place simply by doing a single turn/twist into the bulkhead. It's not fully screwed in, but hey, it's fiber optics - it just needs to get a bit of light, and I tested it with one of the strobes and it fired just fine! So, it's not really fully screwed in (since it's at an angle), but it gets sufficient lighting from the flash and it's firing just fine.

     

    KV

  20. Posted

    1) Just push slightly harder - you don't damage connectors - trust me. It's abnormal usage but you can do it without of any fear

     

    Erm... I'll try again. :-)

     

    2) I'm talking about housing-side connectors - Nauticam will replace it in next version of cables soon.

     

    Interesting. Are they easily user-replacable/installable? Will I be able to replace them by myself?

     

    Thanks!

    Kiril

  21. Posted

    Kiril,

     

    I think you have two options:

     

    a) use your current cables - install cables first then FE-port. Cables will slightly curved by port but works well

    b) wait for a new optical cables with L-shaped connectors - Nauticam now working on them

     

    One week ago I faced with same issue

     

    Hmm... two things:

     

    1) I tried that, but the port would not go all the way in and I could not lock it. And in fact the connectors started getting a bit bent, so, I immediately removed the port so that they don't get damaged.

     

    2) My (Inon) connectors are already L-shaped.

  22. Posted · Edited by Alex_Mustard

    Howdy,

     

    My Nauticam housing for my Canon 7D arrived on Friday and tomorrow morning I am doing my first dive with it. I am new to DSLR housings, so, it took me a while to figure out how to put everything together (arms, fiber optics, strobes, etc.). Despite the lack of (some) manuals, I've found the process pretty straightforward and the Nauticam + Inon Z-240 combo is looking stellar (more on my impressions after I actually go diving with it :-).

     

    However, I am finally stumped. When I install my compact port (+base) for my Canon EF-S 60 mm macro, I have no problem attaching the Inon Z240 strobes. When I install the dome port for my Tokina 10-17 mm, though, the port is hitting the fiber optics jacks that are plugged into the bullkheads. I can have either the dome port or the fiber optics connectors, but not both.

     

    Do I need an extension ring? The Nauticam port chart (http://nauticamusa.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Nauticam-Canon-port-system.pdf) says "Port base = not required" for the Tokina 10-17 mm, so, I am confused what's going on.

     

    post-8543-1269166576.jpg

     

    I know that there are only a handful of people with Nauticam housings, but I am hoping someone can give me an advice. My dive is in 6 hours!

     

    Thanks!

    Kiril

  23. Posted

    I just used a pre-production Nauticam d90 housing on ~150 dives, and I've got nothing but praise for it. The massive viewfinder makes framing easy, the controls are all smooth as butter and at your fingertips, optical bulkheads come standard... for a new housing manufacturer, they seem to really know what they're doing. I'll be writing another review of the housing very soon.

     

    But don't get me wrong - Aquatica has really stepped up their game and are making top notch housings as well... my father just bought an Aquatica housing for his d300, and he's over the moon about it.

     

     

    Keri

     

    Thanks everybody for your responses.

     

    Keri, have you had any issues with the ports or leaks, or anything like that? Do they have all the accessories that you need?

     

    KV

  24. Posted

    I'm with Alex - I'd like to see more of the production models out so I can actually handle them. I'm looking to upgrade to the Canon 7D at some point, but I'm waiting for now. I love my Subal and would like to stay with them merely because I've invested in various ports and rings, but they are likely to be much more $$ than many of the others. If some of these other manufacturers have working adapters to address that concern, I'm open to any player. Does that make me cheap and easy? ^_^

    Phil

     

    Nauticam says they have adapters for most major brands including Subal. They claim that everything works: ports/domes, zoom gears, etc.

  25. Posted

    After many years of using P&S, I am about to make the jump into the dSLR housing world and I am in the process of putting together a Canon 7D based rig.

     

    I was planning on getting the Aquatica housing, but the more I read about the Nauticam housings and look at the photos of their housings, the more I feel they may have dramatically better ergonomics. I am especially impressed that their video controls and playback controls are fingertip accessible; even though my emphasis is on still, I am increasingly shooting more video underwater, so, the video controls are important to me.

     

    I spent quite a bit of time searching for articles/reviews/opinions on Nauticam housings and there aren't that many to be found. Are there any Nauticam housing users here that can maybe post more information about how they like their housings, the ergonomics, if there any drawbacks to using their housings, any experience with their customer support, etc.?

     

    Given how much $$$ would go into this setup, I really want to make sure I get the best possible setup.

     

    Thanks for any feedback!

    KV

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