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Yes - doing over 2 hours deco each day - day after day... sucks...

Hi, I do not know the size of your F-stop backpack. But if you do not extend size for international carry on luggage (55 x 40 x 23 cm) it should not be a problem. May be some discussions on check-in. If they refuse, let them know about the value and the fragility. This usually works. Br Markus

Did you take all that photos with similar settings? What was the white balance?

If you are in the UK then it is well worth talking to Easy Composites - their knowledge and customer service is absolutely top notch.

We coated it in an epoxy coating and it was incredibly durable - we beat the absolute crap out of the ROV's doing inspection work that would have had ROV lovers screaming - e.g. running a ROV at full speed down a partly flooded culvert so that it had enough speed to launch itself over the gravel bar part way through and keep going with the inspection - and then get dragged backwards by its tether back over the gravel bar to get it back out - and the foam was never dented - from memory it was a two part swimming pool epoxy that we coated the foam in - it was just what we had lying around.

I ordered stix floats, but they delivery seriously delayed. I need to find some solution for an upcoming trip. I definitely give that material a try. I found that material may have compressive strength from 0.15 to 0.5 MPa (1.5-5 bar), but I don't know what kind of material I have. So wish me luck.

I changed my plan a bit. I'll bring a roller bag and my F-Stop backpack. If they don't allow the roller as carry-on, I can take out the housing and strobes and carry those separately. My only concern is that my F-Stop backpack is quite large, so they might be strict about that too. Funny enough, I thought the WACP-C would be more compact than a dome, but for travel the shape of a dome is actually much easier to pack.

I have used this stuff for a few years: https://www.easycomposites.co.uk/easycell75-closed-cell-pvc-foam It distorts a bit below 80m but is still useable

The main advantage of foam is price plus the ability to fine tune buoyancy.. How durable is the blue robotics foam? I'm thinking I'd like to use some to balance out my wide angle rig placing it under the housing to counter the float arms above. But sitting the housings on the rocks around shore dive entry sites I'm guessing may cause problems?

Hehe good one!😅 When considering options some may advise "get Ninja, you can record and it is future proof". But no. Ninja has much greater energy consumption so it won't last nearly that long and besides with newer cameras external recording is a thing of the past.Although I did get weefine which works good for my main use case which is 4x a day 1 hour liveaboards I still keep my shinobi in case there is going to be R5C successor and housing with extended battery for it. Whole day diving without the need to open the case is really appealing thought :-)

Hi, I flew the same route (Tahiti, Moorea, Rangiroa and Fakarava) with Air Tahiti, though it was a few years ago. Even back then, the limit for hand luggage was 5 kg. I had two Lowepro camera backpacks. You simply have to pay excess baggage fees. At check-in, you just need to explain or show that it is camera equipment. Back then, you were allowed to take it onto the plane as hand luggage. Since it wouldn't fit in the overhead bins, it was stowed at the back of the cabin and handed back to you when you disembarked. Do not know current situation. But this is how my equipment was handled in other countries travelling with small planes over the last years. Br Markus

In my previous life I have used the buoyancy foam from Blue Robotics when making ROV's neutral and it works quite well, but fishing floats will be a lot cheaper if you can get them! https://bluerobotics.com/product-category/watertight-enclosures/buoyancy/ Is there any real advantage to foam floats compared to using buoyancy arms?

I will see what I can find later tonight.

I came across their high-powered strobe late last night - it certainly looks very interesting and a real possibility for the sort of performance that I want.

Cheers Chris, that will make my life easier!

Exactly the same reason why they will recycle more slowly than eneloops. Internal resistance is everything for getting a good recycle time on your strobes. Eneloops still remain your best option I think.

Vapcell 14500 F15 - Rated at 1500mah, tests (according to some internet sites) around 1400+. I am currently using these in Shearwater Perdix and to power the HUD bus as well, these do work great so far. https://www.vapcelltech.com/h-pd-251.html As for the 1.5V ones, one area that might prove problematic could be heat dissipation. If I am not mistaken these do get much more toasty in use than Eneloops.

Does Backscatter have a data set? They say they test every strobe they sell with a standard set of metrics.

Last year, I managed to get samples of 80 kg/m³ and 100 kg/m³ density PVC foam, rated to reliably withstand pressures of 0.6 MPa. They work great, but sourcing this type of material in Japan was a nightmare (mine eventually came from Chinese manufacturers instead, and that was not easy). I gave up on fishing floats, as it was impossible to find proper technical specifications locally. I spent a lot of time searching on AliExpress and Alibaba, but without success. I tried shipyards and marine supplies, no luck. Given the value of this kind of material for underwater imaging applications, it would be great to share supplier information, especially from companies willing to ship non-industrial quantities internationally. Given the links above, it seems to be easier to source in the EU somehow.

It Depends, the float collars for WWL are polystyrene but are high density version of foam. Some average polystyrene you find in a craft store likely would not be as strong.

Since its been covered extensively in the links above and various threads, no need to repeat the process description. Probably quickest to spell out the particular lens / camera / housing / dome combo you are interested in, and ask if anyone is using / can advise on how it goes. There are many possible 'off piste' (off port chart) rigs, some of which work very well... and some which don't!

Whoops. You're a step ahead. Just saw the latest table

I'd add AOI strobes. They have a growing range

Above and under water.