New toys.

[Johno1530]

 

Hi All, 

 

My news toys arrived today and I'm very happy 😊.  Thank you to everyone who helped me choose, epicially Chip who was fantastic. 

 

Anything I should be aware of setting it up? 

 

Thanks

 

John

 

 

[Davide DB]

Did you already show the receipt to your wife? 😁

 

[Johno1530]

Definitely not lol, it cost more than my car. 

 

She just simply said 'That looks nice' 😊. 

[humu9679]

@Johno1530 That looks fantastic! Big money there. Now you only have @ChipBPhoto to blame if it all goes to shit. 😁

 

May need the Sea & Sea type fiber optic adapters if you didn't buy them already. I don't get why Nauticam couldn't bundle them with each housing. The flip diopter holder is great, but adds weight to the front end of the kit. Consider a ring float or something similar.

[Johno1530]

Yeah, I got a couple of the adapters. I'm not sure why they don't put a couple in given the price of the housing. 

 

Ha ha, chip was great with his advice and I appreciated it, although he did cost me an extra couple of thousand 😉

 

I need to work out what arms and 1" ball clamps now. I'm considering the wee fine adjustable ones, but might just stick with the stix floats. 

[ChipBPhoto]

Oooooooo, that’s purdy!!  Christmas came early this year, @Johno1530 !  Your wife’s comment was the best!  You def won the prize there. 
 

A tip that has served me well is to soak your rig, articulate the buttons/levers, and then dry it.  Don’t just let it drip-dry or you will find spots build up on the housing.  
 

I picked up an inexpensive electric keyboard blower that I use after then soak to blow water out from underneath the buttons, etc.  It’s amazing how much stays there which can reduce and eventually jam up the movement.  I know, it sounds like serious OCD, but I like to take care of my toys.  It actually takes longer to explain it than do it.

 

Congratulations and enjoy the new adventure!

 

[TimG]

Good tip from Chip on the soak and work the buttons and levers routine post-dive. I’d also add don’t let the port glass dry with water on it. That develops water marks in time. It pays to wipe dry port glass with a soft fibre-free cloth. 
 

Enjoy your new gear. And be prepared for the initial frustrations!

 

Anytime you need help emptying your bank account, we’re here for you….  😝

[Johno1530]

3 hours ago, ChipBPhoto said:

Oooooooo, that’s purdy!!  Christmas came early this year, @Johno1530 !  Your wife’s comment was the best!  You def won the prize there. 
 

A tip that has served me well is to soak your rig, articulate the buttons/levers, and then dry it.  Don’t just let it drip-dry or you will find spots build up on the housing.  
 

I picked up an inexpensive electric keyboard blower that I use after then soak to blow water out from underneath the buttons, etc.  It’s amazing how much stays there which can reduce and eventually jam up the movement.  I know, it sounds like serious OCD, but I like to take care of my toys.  It actually takes longer to explain it than do it.

 

Congratulations and enjoy the new adventure!

 

Thanks for the tips. I need to attach something to the hood so I can attach to my bcd. 

 

I'm pretty OCD anyway and have a couple of keyboard blowers anyway, so that's one expense I can avoid 😊

 

Thanks again for all your help. 

 

I'm looking forward to getting in the water and having a play. It's so much better than the sea frogs and far easier to use 😁

[fruehaufsteher2]

NICE!!

 

Nearly the same as mine, and you won't regret it. In contrary to Tim I think this is a setup with the lowest probability of initial frustrations... works out of the box. Sony has done an incredible work on the current AF-System, so if you miss it, it's your fault. 😁 You are not going for a Nauticam viewfinder? I don't miss it. I had one and sent it back.

 

What kind of Flash do you use?  

 

[waterpixel]

15 hours ago, humu9679 said:

@Johno1530 That looks fantastic! Big money there. Now you only have @ChipBPhoto to blame if it all goes to shit. 😁

 

May need the Sea & Sea type fiber optic adapters if you didn't buy them already. I don't get why Nauticam couldn't bundle them with each housing. The flip diopter holder is great, but adds weight to the front end of the kit. Consider a ring float or something similar.

 

What? Nauticam doesn't include them anymore? That's a tad ridiculous!

I remember they were included with my housing (back then last decade!)

 

Great setup!

[Johno1530]

Thanks. I did get the new viewfinder and love the view it gives, although the normal viewfinder is so much better that what I had before, so I may use both depending on the situation. 

 

I'm use 2 x Sea&Sea YS-D3 Mk 2 strobes. 

 

I just need to work out the weight and buy buoyancy arms. 

[RVBldr]

My supplier for experimental aviation avionics had their own branding which also seems applicable to the usual u/w photography suppliers:  🤔

 

[humu9679]

3 hours ago, Johno1530 said:

Thanks. I did get the new viewfinder and love the view it gives, although the normal viewfinder is so much better that what I had before, so I may use both depending on the situation. 

 

I'm use 2 x Sea&Sea YS-D3 Mk 2 strobes. 

 

I just need to work out the weight and buy buoyancy arms. 

My experience with DSLRs made using a viewfinder necessary because live view was so poor. I'd argue now that unless your framing needs to be very precise, you might not need a viewfinder.

 

The YS-D3s are pretty light underwater, like 20 g, so it seems buoyancy for the housing/camera/port/lens is what's necessary. Consider looking at StiX floats if you're using aluminium arms like Ultra Light or Nauticam. They're easily adjustable. They look cheap and unimpressive in photos but they're actually quite good. The "jumbos" displace 181 g each, "large" (which are not very large) displace 82 g, and the macro port float belt displaces 567 g (I have a hard time keeping this on the port, but zip ties are my best friend here).

[TimG]

Big vote for Stix. I’ve been using the same set since 2010 and they’re still good as new  and they’ve done well over 1000 dives. They’re very easy to adjust, add, or remove. You can even cut them with care. 

[insomniac]

Some stickers with your email / phone number on them!

[Johno1530]

I have just ordered some 😁

[ChipBPhoto]

For float arms I use a mix of Nauticam carbon arms at the base and then Stix for the upper arm.  This allows me to quickly adjust buoyancy as needed depending on the port, strobes, etc. I am using that day.

 

I also find the longer Nauticam clamps to be perfect for the middle joint.  The longer distance allows the top arm to fold flat against the bottom arm for carrying / handing up to the boat.  I resisted for a while, but am happy I did that upgrade. 

 

As far as clamps in general, Nauticam now has finer threads.  I have found this provides a tighter lock without having to over tighten as well as being able to be slightly loosen for movement without being sloppy.
 

If you haven’t already, also get the Nauticam lanyard.  Again, I resisted and finally broke down and got it.  Super easy and dependable solution!  And it’s a buy-it-once thing.  (Well, unless you drop it over the deep blue like I did.)
 

Edited July 13 by ChipBPhoto

[Johno1530]

Thanks insomnia, I have purchased some stickers 😊

On 7/13/2024 at 3:44 AM, insomniac said:

Some stickers with your email / phone number on them!

 

 

 

On 7/13/2024 at 5:43 PM, ChipBPhoto said:

For float arms I use a mix of Nauticam carbon arms at the base and then Stix for the upper arm.  This allows me to quickly adjust buoyancy as needed depending on the port, strobes, etc. I am using that day.

 

I also find the longer Nauticam clamps to be perfect for the middle joint.  The longer distance allows the top arm to fold flat against the bottom arm for carrying / handing up to the boat.  I resisted for a while, but am happy I did that upgrade. 

 

As far as clamps in general, Nauticam now has finer threads.  I have found this provides a tighter lock without having to over tighten as well as being able to be slightly loosen for movement without being sloppy.
 

If you haven’t already, also get the Nauticam lanyard.  Again, I resisted and finally broke down and got it.  Super easy and dependable solution!  And it’s a buy-it-once thing.  (Well, unless you drop it over the deep blue like I did.)
 

Thanks Chip, I have just seen your reply now. 

 

I like I am going to go with the Ultralight & nauticam mix, as well as some stix floats. Seems to be the way to go. 

 

I have a couple of lanyards already, but not the nauticam one. I'm guessing they will be relitively the same. 

 

I also have a couple of the longer clamps and love them. 

 

Just trying to decide if I get myself a backscatter MF-2 + snoot while I'm ordering from the US, as even with shipping + tax it will work out cheaper. 

 

Thanks 

 

John 

[TimG]

37 minutes ago, Johno1530 said:

I have a couple of lanyards already, but not the nauticam one. I'm guessing they will be relitively the same. 

 

 

Lanyards are easy to make anyway - using a simple Cobra knot. The usual length of lanyard takes about 20-25 minutes to make using paracord. You can even choose whatever colour you want! 

 

For the paracord there's Mastercard. For the satisfaction, priceless.

[Davide DB]

https://blog.paracord.eu/post/7-paracord-bracelet-for-beginners-cobra

 

 

[Dave_Hicks]

2 hours ago, TimG said:

 

Lanyards are easy to make anyway - using a simple Cobra knot. The usual length of lanyard takes about 20-25 minutes to make using paracord. You can even choose whatever colour you want! 

 

For the paracord there's Mastercard. For the satisfaction, priceless.

 

It's even easier than that. Just use a loop of paracord and slip a length of 1/2 inch clear plastic water line tubing over it for pennies. 

 

[ChipBPhoto]

5 hours ago, Johno1530 said:

Just trying to decide if I get myself a backscatter MF-2 + snoot while I'm ordering from the US, as even with shipping + tax it will work out cheaper. 

If you enjoy macro, I’ve been super happy with it!  The focus light of the MF-2 seems to be bright enough to use in most light conditions and is fairly accurate.  I attached a small clip on the snoot so I can clip it on my BC when I want to use the MF-2 as a strobe for a wider scene.  I’m just using 1 MF-2 when I dive macro and like the dramatic results I can achieve. 
 

[Johno1530]

3 hours ago, ChipBPhoto said:

If you enjoy macro, I’ve been super happy with it!  The focus light of the MF-2 seems to be bright enough to use in most light conditions and is fairly accurate.  I attached a small clip on the snoot so I can clip it on my BC when I want to use the MF-2 as a strobe for a wider scene.  I’m just using 1 MF-2 when I dive macro and like the dramatic results I can achieve. 
 

Thanks Chip, I do like the look you can get and it would certainly be lighter than a full rig and a Sea&Sea strobe 👍

[Mark H]

When do you get the rig wet for the first time Johno? Hope you are going somewhere nice.

[Johno1530]

On 7/23/2024 at 4:40 PM, Mark H said:

When do you get the rig wet for the first time Johno? Hope you are going somewhere nice.

Unfortunately, not for another 6 weeks, but I'm off to Borneo to dive Sipidan in Sept and then off to Socorro in January and I cannot wait 😊

 

I'm hoping to do Lembah and a few other places as well next year. So, I should get lots of use out of it.