My wife and I will be headed to Socorro in December for the first time. I'm questioning what camera gear to bring with me and it I should shoot stills or video. I already don't like traveling through Los Cabos airport, having had issues with their Customs officers on past trips. I was planning on taking my E-M1 Mk III, with its AOI housing, a pair of Backscatter HF-1 strobes, a Nauticam WWL-1B wet lens, and my GoPro. I plan to use my Olympus 14-42 with the WWL-1B, and I was also going to take my Olympus 8mm with a 4" dome. Aside from Customs, my concern is diving with that setup once we reach Socorro. I've heard the currents can be daunting, and adding a camera rig can create a bit more drag. Plus, most of the videos I've seen seem to be done without strobes or video lights. I guess my question is, is it beneficial to bring strobes or can I still get good shots using ambient light? Will the currents make diving with the bigger rig less productive? Should I just do video and enjoy the diving (which is what my wife tells me.)

Thanks for any advice.

On my last visit I put dive gear in a big Pelican bag, and camera gear in a standard rolling suitcase. I took all the dive gear through the checkpoint, and my wife took the suitcases. The inspectors flocked to the Pelican bags and ignored the suitcases. So, a "Decoy strategy" might work for you too.

On 10/3/2025 at 6:59 AM, Dave_Hicks said:

On my last visit I put dive gear in a big Pelican bag, and camera gear in a standard rolling suitcase. I took all the dive gear through the checkpoint, and my wife took the suitcases. The inspectors flocked to the Pelican bags and ignored the suitcases. So, a "Decoy strategy" might work for you too.

”The Pelican Case”

2 hours ago, Christian K said:

”The Pelican Case”

It wasn't a mystery novel, and no one got murdered. At best it was some mild smuggling, and it never went to trial. :)