Patterns 0 Posted November 25, 2003 My sandwich photo isn't as nice as the last one posted. But I DO have a photo of the filling after it got away ... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Patterns 0 Posted November 25, 2003 It seems that the lizard fish didn't know what to do next. That long fin was sticking out at the side. The lizard fish made a few attempts to get a better angle. but in the end it obviously wasn't working. The lucky (!) prey was released and rejoined its friends. I watched it for a while, and it didn't seem to be particularly worried by its injuries. Not that I'm very good at reading fish expressions, so it's hard to be sure! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnJohnsonIII 0 Posted November 25, 2003 Nice shots! I would have done a followup on the victim myself, but I think it would have been a poop trail. Nice followup! And nice to see some more Oly's out there. I just picked up the Inon WA lens and dome unit in Japan but haven't taken it out yet. The weather in Hawaii is just frightful right now. I see you have the D180...how do you like that strobe? I am still floundering between the DS125 and the new Inon 220... --John Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yahsemtough 0 Posted November 25, 2003 Nice shots! I would have done a followup on the victim myself, but I think it would have been a poop trail. Nice followup! And nice to see some more Oly's out there. I just picked up the Inon WA lens and dome unit in Japan but haven't taken it out yet. The weather in Hawaii is just frightful right now. I see you have the D180...how do you like that strobe? I am still floundering between the DS125 and the new Inon 220... --John The weather in Hawaii is frightful. It was -20C last night with 4 cm of snow. Now that is frightful. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Patterns 0 Posted November 26, 2003 Nice shots! I would have done a followup on the victim myself, but I think it would have been a poop trail. Nice followup! And nice to see some more Oly's out there. I just picked up the Inon WA lens and dome unit in Japan but haven't taken it out yet. The weather in Hawaii is just frightful right now. I see you have the D180...how do you like that strobe? I am still floundering between the DS125 and the new Inon 220... --John Choice of strobe depends on your priorities... Personally I wouldn't buy a DS125 unless other considerations were overwhelming because of its proprietary battery pack. I like being able to use AAs for everything. It means I can achieve redundancy on the batteries and charging with much less additional weight across my whole setup, since the same spare batteries are spares for camera, strobe, and lights. Maybe I'm the wrong person to ask as right now I'm not too hot on Ikelite! But my experience is a sample of one person only so it's not statistically significant. And in any case my problems have been with a DS50. It always used to do a full dump, and I didn't know at first that I had a problem, I thought I was just using it wrong or the TTL wasn't working with my camera. That was fixed when eventually I realised I really did have a problem (which wasn't until I had splashed out extra for the manual controller and found that I still couldn't control the power), and I returned it to Ikelite for repair. Since then it has been unreliable (sometimes refuses to fire at all) but I haven't yet gotten around to sending it back a second time because I know now that I won't use it again. Ikelite did achieve a fast turnaround on the repair (or was it a replacement? there was no description of the problem or remedy in the paperwork they sent back with the strobe). But I would have been even more impressed with the Ikelite service if the strobe was working reliably after the repair! The unreliability was what forced me to use the D180 enough (on the Manado trip) to realise that I like it more than the DS50 in spite of the lack of power. I know that lots of people use Ikelite strobes and like them. I loved my DS50 when it was working properly (for a short while after it came back from repair!). I could put up with the minor inconveniences which I mentioned above because there was lots of controllable power in a small package. DS 125 should be even nicer (although quite a lot bigger!!) There's no reason to think a DS125 (or even another DS50) would have the same problems as I had with my DS50. My experience with the D180 has been very nice. Worked perfectly at all times, easy to control. The design of the attachment to the ULCS arm system means that the arm doesn't foul the fiber optic line, whereas with the DS50 the controller cord was sometimes in danger of being inadvertently bent in a very tight radius by the arm when I changed the strobe position. I like the feel of the unit, and the dimensions are great. And for me personally it's a relief to be free of the separate controller, which always seemed to be in the way. On the down side ... the D180 lacks power. It's nowhere near as powerful as the DS50 (at least at the centre; I haven't tested it carefully). Also, I'm not sure how I'd feel about having to reach for the strobes to control the power if I had 2 of them. And Ikelite were helpful when I sent the strobe back, and achieved a quick turnaround on the repair. Since Inon isn't supported in HK I'm not sure I would have the same experience if I had problems with the D180; it would have to go back to Japan for repairs and there might be a language problem! You can form your conclusions as to my overall personal preferences from the fact that right now I have a DS50 and a D180, and my plan is - sell the DS50 & TTL controller & manual controller (or discard if I can't get it fixed to the point where I'd feel comfortable about selling it to someone) - buy 2x Z220s - keep the D180 as a backup, or for my girlfriend to use -David Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnJohnsonIII 0 Posted November 26, 2003 Thanks a lot for the info! I really appreciate it. I hope your experience was an anomoly. I have heard many good things about Ikelite. Especially if there are problems, they are great with help and turnaround. The only thing I worry about honestly is the size of the DS-125. The reason I say that is that I spend a great deal of the time freediving vs. SCUBA diving. I worry that the DS-125 might be a bit bulky for me to handle out there while freediving whereas perhaps the Z220 would be better. The language barrier for the Inon would not be a problem. Japanese is my second language(technically third, I guess) and I shop regularly in Japan for most of my Oly stuff anyway. I like your point about the batteries and craig made a good point about the weight of the Z220 being very manageable. I guess I just need to get my hands on a pair of em...anyway, thanks muchly for your input! --John Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cybergoldfish 1 Posted November 26, 2003 I'll bet that stung for a while Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Patterns 0 Posted November 26, 2003 Yes, it did rather surprise me that the fish subsequently had no difficulty keeping up with the rest of them in spite of its injuries, although there did seem to be a moment of disorientation just after it was released. I can imagine it saying to the others, "Doesn't hurt! Just stings a bit!! Doesn't hurt! Ha ha, no problems here! ... ouch! Just stings!! ... Could you guys swim a little slower please?" I felt a bit guilty about the whole incident. I had accidentally disturbed the lizardfish by getting too close when I was trying to take a photo of something else. It darted away, and from its new position immediately saw this opportunity to grab some lunch. Had I not disturbed it, it would not have been there in the first place. On the other hand, fish eat each other all the time, so I can't worry about this particular case too much. -David Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cybergoldfish 1 Posted November 26, 2003 Last year on the cleaning station the lizards were at it all the time, even catching small puffer fish. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slippery-when-wet 0 Posted November 26, 2003 Awesomelah! Cannot these fish judge if something is too big? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ilanbt 7 Posted November 28, 2003 They are waiting for the prey to die before they swallow it. It only looks too big to us they are actualy a little bit like snakes in that matter. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest segal3 Posted December 13, 2003 Saw this slendertail eel grab this fish in Maui on a night dive...it didn't get a good grip, eventually had to let go completely (additionally, it couldn't breathe while it was holding the fish in its mouth)... Just a little too big for it ~Matt Segal Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
