We are headed to North Sulawesi to dive Bangka and Lembeh for the first time.

I guess the question is more suited to what do I take to dive Bangka? I am leaning towards the WWL-C setup as I am not sure I will have fish eye opportunities in Bangka?

I think taking the fish eye setup and wide angle setup may be a bit overkill for 3 full days in Bangka and 6 in Lembeh.

I also read Bangka has fantastic macro so may well be using the macro setup there too!

For Lembeh the plan is to have the macro lens with the MFO-3 on most of the time and switch to the SMC-1 if needed.

Any tips much appreciated, thanks!

Hummm difficult

If you have only one config... macro

But wide angle at Bangka is not a bad solution ... 3 days 8 dives?

I'll take WA and Macro otherwise i'll have some frustation

2 hours ago, Igor Ledo Lizarraga said:

We are headed to North Sulawesi to dive Bangka and Lembeh for the first time.

I guess the question is more suited to what do I take to dive Bangka? I am leaning towards the WWL-C setup as I am not sure I will have fish eye opportunities in Bangka?

I think taking the fish eye setup and wide angle setup may be a bit overkill for 3 full days in Bangka and 6 in Lembeh.

I also read Bangka has fantastic macro so may well be using the macro setup there too!

For Lembeh the plan is to have the macro lens with the MFO-3 on most of the time and switch to the SMC-1 if needed.

Any tips much appreciated, thanks!

I’ve done more than 300dives in bangka.. 80% was macro, but the other 20% was with my fisheye and was well deserved!!

Depends what you mean for fisheye opportunities… if you are thinking about big animals it’s a no.. but the reef around that island it’s so beautiful and for me fisheye sometimes is mandatory in dive sites like sahaung or others on the east side that have gorgeous topography!

But only three days it’s very little time… maybe the wwlC it’s enough.. 😅😅

32 minutes ago, FabioGal73 said:

Nice shot

3 hours ago, Igor Ledo Lizarraga said:

We are headed to North Sulawesi to dive Bangka and Lembeh for the first time.

I guess the question is more suited to what do I take to dive Bangka? I am leaning towards the WWL-C setup as I am not sure I will have fish eye opportunities in Bangka?

I think taking the fish eye setup and wide angle setup may be a bit overkill for 3 full days in Bangka and 6 in Lembeh.

I also read Bangka has fantastic macro so may well be using the macro setup there too!

For Lembeh the plan is to have the macro lens with the MFO-3 on most of the time and switch to the SMC-1 if needed.

Any tips much appreciated, thanks!

Fabio said it all.

A fisheye lens is great especially for Sahaung (try diving Sahaung as much as you can) or the big giant frogfishes you may see about everywhere in Bangka and try some CFWA. Macro is good too especially for pygmy seahorses (lots of pontohi pygmies) , you should dive wide in the morning and macro in the afternoon.

Here are some examples of what I shot in Bangka at the time with a Canon 7D + 10-17mm Tokina and Zen 4" minidome.

Sahaung

Batu Pendeta

And some other closer sites to Murex like Busa Bora or Demak

Thank you @FabioGal73 @Luko , great tips. I have read good things about Sahaung. I do like shooting CFWA so I will take all 3 setups and use what suits depending on the dive site. Those frogfish look massive!

We are staying at Bastianos....yes 3 days is not a lot but it is also our first time in Lembeh so I prioritised more time there over Bangka for this trip.

Would you recommend any other must do dive sites in or near Bangka?

When do you go , is it soon? I think the winds shift within a month or so. There is a possibility of diving the far side of Lembeh island, depending on which dive resort you are with when winds swing to the north. Some nice wide angle reefs there apparently.

As for lens choice I agree that a macro lens plus the MFO3 is indispensable in Lembeh, there are enough larger subjects to make good use of the MFO3. If you using the Olympus 60mm that for me was enough for most subjects I was shown.

11 hours ago, Igor Ledo Lizarraga said:

Would you recommend any other must do dive sites in or near Bangka?

For wide angle : Sahaung 1 & 2 of course, Batu Pendeta can be very currenty but the coral colors are amazing, Batu Gosoh is very mineral but beautiful with cliffs over the surface, Batu Mandi is a very pretty site, like a manucured coral garden, on the mainland side, giant frogfishes can be seen anywhere on Busa Bora, Tanjung Husi or even on Demak bommies.

Macro : pygmies were for the most on Demak, Busa Bora (closest sites to Bastianos/Murex) for pontohis, long ago there was a bommie where you could spot multiple pontohis and even a couple of the rare Rufus festucalex pink pipefish, bargibantis and denise pygmies on Batu Tiga. Paradise pier used to be a fantastic macro dive site for froggies, nudis, I don't know how it evolved, Sampiri coral rubble was good for cephalopods. You can also ask for the sites where they come across rarer nudis like Melibe colemani or Cyerce nigra (on the western side of Bangka IIRC).

One advice I would give you for a very short stay in Bangka is not to waste your time on the more sandy sites like Peter Sponge. It can be rewarding in the case you meet a dugong but that would be a very minor chance.

2 hours ago, Chris Ross said:

When do you go , is it soon? I think the winds shift within a month or so. There is a possibility of diving the far side of Lembeh island, depending on which dive resort you are with when winds swing to the north. Some nice wide angle reefs there apparently.

As for lens choice I agree that a macro lens plus the MFO3 is indispensable in Lembeh, there are enough larger subjects to make good use of the MFO3. If you using the Olympus 60mm that for me was enough for most subjects I was shown.

We are staying at NAD Lembeh between 6-13 Nov, was also hoping to do some Blackwater diving for the first time too.

8 minutes ago, Luko said:

For wide angle : Sahaung 1 & 2 of course, Batu Pendeta can be very currenty but the coral colors are amazing, Batu Gosoh is very mineral but beautiful with cliffs over the surface, Batu Mandi is a very pretty site, like a manucured coral garden, on the mainland side, giant frogfishes can be seen anywhere on Busa Bora, Tanjung Husi or even on Demak bommies.

Macro : pygmies were for the most on Demak, Busa Bora (closest sites to Bastianos/Murex) for pontohis, long ago there was a bommie where you could spot multiple pontohis and even a couple of the rare Rufus festucalex pink pipefish, bargibantis and denise pygmies on Batu Tiga. Paradise pier used to be a fantastic macro dive site for froggies, nudis, I don't know how it evolved, Sampiri coral rubble was good for cephalopods. You can also ask for the sites where they come across rarer nudis like Melibe colemani or Cyerce nigra (on the western side of Bangka IIRC).

One advice I would give you for a very short stay in Bangka is not to waste your time on the more sandy sites like Peter Sponge. It can be rewarding in the case you meet a dugong but that would be a very minor chance.

Top info! Cheers!

16 hours ago, CaolIla said:

Nice shot

Thanks… this was just in front of bastianos resort… the resort wasn’t already there, they were in the building process… the name of the dive site is busa bora… it take the name from the very small village between bastianos and coral eye resorts.. 😉

Those shots are from sahaung dive site.. there you can do some incredible reefscapes and as Luko said incredible CFWA..

I’m still in love with bangka island after 8 times… in 2015 i stayed there one month straight 🤣🤣😅 and i took there my best shot of all times in the mangroves(CFWA).. 😍

Ahaha I want to add some infos about dive sites but Luko said everything!! 👍👍👍

I was there in 2018 in august... windy, we had bad condition... and the Coral Eye at this time wasn't very "friendly"
I never returned there only in Bunaken & Lembeh... but next year we will stay for 5 days at the Sea Souls Dive Resort I hope the weather will be much better as the first time.

3 hours ago, CaolIla said:

I was there in 2018 in august... windy, we had bad condition... and the Coral Eye at this time wasn't very "friendly"
I never returned there only in Bunaken & Lembeh... but next year we will stay for 5 days at the Sea Souls Dive Resort I hope the weather will be much better as the first time.

I was there in August 2018 too… maybe we meet… 😅 that year we go to bangka-togean-Tompotika… when we were in bangka i didn’t remember to much wind… nothing like 2015… 😱

Coraleye now it’s a complete different place in every aspect.. 😅😅

9 minutes ago, FabioGal73 said:

Coraleye now it’s a complete different place in every aspect.. 😅😅

I know... ;) nothing for us

33 minutes ago, CaolIla said:

I know... ;) nothing for us

Ahah for us became “out of budget”… 😱😅😅

6 hours ago, FabioGal73 said:

Ahah for us became “out of budget”… 😱😅😅

Same... but after our first experience ... I didn't want to go back. it is really not what we are looking for.

11 hours ago, CaolIla said:

Same... but after our first experience ... I didn't want to go back. it is really not what we are looking for.

If isn’t a problem can I ask you about your negative experience? I’m just curious , What happened? 😬😢

1 hour ago, FabioGal73 said:

If isn’t a problem can I ask you about your negative experience? I’m just curious , What happened? 😬😢

For sure

1) the staff wasn't happy... no smile nothing.. but... as soon the boss apears... they was different... It was clear something was wrong (that's really the most negativ point, we like to feel the "happiness" )
2) Restaurant was not really good under average (for the price)
3) diving guides wasn't "good", it was an italian staff member not a local.

4) the weather.. but that's nobody fault, it's nature, but it helps to give a negativ feeling

And when you leave you have the feeling that you will never come back... then you didn't want...

It wasn't dramatic but ... I hope you undertand the feeling we had.

1 minute ago, CaolIla said:

For sure

1) the staff wasn't happy... no smile nothing.. but... as soon the boss apears... they was different... It was clear something was wrong (that's really the most negativ point, we like to feel the "happiness" )
2) Restaurant was not really good under average (for the price)
3) diving guides wasn't "good", it was an italian staff member not a local.

4) the weather.. but that's nobody fault, it's nature, but it helps to give a negativ feeling

And when you leave you have the feeling that you will never come back... then you didn't want...

It wasn't dramatic but ... I hope you undertand the feeling we had.

Thanks for the explanation.. and i understand your feelings 👍

Maybe it’s because they know me a lot I feel always the happiness… but maybe they hate me and it’s fake 😅😅😅

The restaurant thing it’s ok.. they had new managers at that time and wasn’t perfect at all… they improved al lot in 19.. in 22 was incredible and last year was astonishing(also the price😢).. but let me say that in 2018 in comparison with the first years was a ton better.. I remember in 14-15 the food was really difficult… always white rice 😬😬

I know you have Marco as a dive guide.. he was one of the two new managers.. I don’t know why they give you him as a dive guide… 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️ I’ve always had the same dive guide since 2014.. Ivan from gangga.. but I know also the others dive guides.. all locals… I really understand your disappointment.. the dive guide means a lot and can ruin everything… I remember one lob in Komodo with an idiot.. local but idiot! 😤

Thank you again!!

13 minutes ago, FabioGal73 said:

I know you have Marco as a dive guide..

Yes it was Marco... the person was ok... but as guide...