I'll be headed to the Galapagos in a little over a year to do an 8 day liveaboard. In the lead up to the trip, Im looking for any general advice this group has to offer.

Gear I'll be taking:

Canon r5ii

Nauticam housing

RF 100mm macro

24-50mm + WACP-C

Strobes

A few specific questions I have:

1) Is it worth even taking a macro lens? I know there are some dives that will have nudibranchs, bat fish, etc but it seems risky to dedicate a dive to macro and miss some big animal encounter. Similarly, would the addition of an MFO-3 be useful here to allow some better fish portrait opportunities and more flexibility?

2) The dives with the marine iguanas sound like there will be a lot of surge. From people who have gone to the galapagos, do you recommend leaving the strobes on the boat and shooting available light? or is there value in adding the strobes despite the surge?

3) How do you handle the back-roll entry off the zodiacs, particularly in wolf/darwin with the heavy current? Do you backroll in holding the camera or are you able to have the boat tender hand it to you after entry?

Happy to hear any other helpful tips anyone has to offer. Im starting the planning early so that I'll have plenty of time to practice with any new gear I might need.

@umiami05

I leave for Galapagos at the beginning of November, and I have exactly the same questions ;)

I have seen some still images of marine iguanas where the photographer definitely used strobes. They graze with their head slightly down, so lighting their face would be challenging using ambient light. I'm thinking about trying one strobe on those dives... although there is a lot of particulate in the water where they are.

Some sites you will visit might not have stellar visibility, and smaller creatures will be available and photogenic. You will at least want to be able to take some Close Focus Wide Angle if not actually mid-macro (ex. 60mm). Seahorses 10cm, Red Lip Batfish, Iguanas, etc. A 100mm macro would not be my priority.

About back rolls - I lost my prescription mask doing a back roll with a camera on a high current site. That was a rough hour in the panga fretting about the ruined trip. Fortunately, someone came up at the end of the dive with my lost mask! I carabiner-ed my mask to my wet suit pull strap for the rest of the trip! Don't make my mistake.

@Dave_Hicks - rolling with your camera while also trying to hold your mask would be tough...

What's the best practice here?

20 minutes ago, OneYellowTang said:

@Dave_Hicks - rolling with your camera while also trying to hold your mask would be tough...

What's the best practice here?

Demand that they hand your camera down, don't do negative entries.

3 hours ago, Dave_Hicks said:

Demand that they hand your camera down, don't do negative entries.

So that would be hop in positive, get your rig, grab onto RIB and dump your BCD fully and let go when everyone else rolls?

I was taught not to make my Mask strap too tight to avoid leaks, I found rolling off boats in Lembeh and other spots the strap would neatly peel off my head, mask would stay suctioned as the water was calm and I'd have to refit it! Attaching your mask somehow is probably a must if you are rolling off. Less so if you don't roll.

I thought you had to have one hand on your mask for back rolls?

15 minutes ago, Mike Saunders said:

I thought you had to have one hand on your mask for back rolls?

You do if you want to avoid losing your mask at some stage……

my other half often seems to just land in the water on her back without rolling completely. I suppose you might be less likely to lose your mask this way

generally speaking I get someone to hand it to me from the boat

not directly relevant but in the Similan trip the guy on the left had brought along a lot of toys including a long selfie stick with his go pro. This made quite a good entry shot

my wife on the right

I also usually land on my back during a back roll entry. I find when diving with a hood the mask slips off easier as well. There is less friction against the neoprene.
But now I'll definitely have to add mask-to-wetsuit-pull-cord carabiner to may save-a-dive kit now. =)

Im new to Canon Mirrorless and FF. What are the best options for mid-macro (eg 60mm)?

I used to shoot the APS-C Canon 7Dii and had the EF-S 60mm macro, but there doesnt seem to be an equivalent native canon lens at the moment to fill that niche.
Pairing the 100mm with the Nauticam MFO-3 seems like a decent way to achieve mid-macro, and when comparing the price of buying a new lens + new port combo for mid-macro, the MFO-3 is actually the most economical option.

1 hour ago, umiami05 said:

Im new to Canon Mirrorless and FF. What are the best options for mid-macro (eg 60mm)?

I used to shoot the APS-C Canon 7Dii and had the EF-S 60mm macro, but there doesnt seem to be an equivalent native canon lens at the moment to fill that niche.
Pairing the 100mm with the Nauticam MFO-3 seems like a decent way to achieve mid-macro, and when comparing the price of buying a new lens + new port combo for mid-macro, the MFO-3 is actually the most economical option.

How close can the WACP-C focus? The WWL-C can focus to the glass, so it works great for this scenario.

A neoprene strap or cover is a guarantee it will slip off in a back-roll. A plain rubber or silicone strap is more dependable for sticking in place. Just position the strap lower on the back of the head than 'text book'

I have done many back roll entries with camera tucked into my chest and hand on mask. Never had a camera issue. My body makes a hole in the water and the camera follows me into it. On the right boat, it can also be practical to do a forward half-roll/slither/dive - start with the camera already danging in the water on lanyard and follow it in head first. Great for a seriously fast negative entry.

In general, I have found that even for a negative entry boats position sufficiently up-current to allow for some faff, with the consequence that completing a seriously fast negative entry can under-shoot the target.

For lenses, when I did a Galapagos trip a photo I took with a macro lens got a highly commended in the wildlife photographer of the year. The pic was more luck than judgement, but it wouldn't have happened without the macro lens.