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Thanks for sharing the account and reminding about not being complacent about alarms and not worrying about possessions. Great that the operator did well in handling it. Lucky it was not in the middle of the night or out at sea in windy conditions.
- Today
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I use a little printed memory card wallet to store 10 numbered SD Cards. I put a big 500gb CFExpress card in my camera as primary and a 128 or 64gb SD Card as secondary. I swap in a new SD Card at the end of each day and download from that. The SD Cards act as a backup should the camera or laptop be lost. Many modern cameras have two slots, so this should be easy to do for most people. It would be smart to leave this in a dry-bag/go-bag on the deck or camera station of a liveaboard. I think I'll add this to my liveaboard routine!
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What a terrible experience, Tim. Thank you for sharing your story--it is one to learn from and live by. We were on the Philippines Siren last month, and during the very solid safety briefing, the CD offered to put passports in her jump bag, which stayed at the bridge, which on that boat is at the muster station. We didn't take her up on it, but should've done--and will if offered again. In fact, I might suggest it if the crew doesn't. Thinking about the loss of belongings, it occurred to me that on our next LOB--in July, as it happens--I hope to rotate one of the memory cards out of the camera every day or two, and keep it in my jump bag with passports, cash, meds, etc. The photographs are less than insignificant in the grand scheme, but having them might take on new meaning under the circumstances.
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Caroliineyy joined the community
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I recently (yesterday) put the original DSLR 45 degree viewfinder on my A7RIII and it definitely goes through more battery. But I prefer using it so far after just one wide angle dive. The older viewfinder doesn't show the edges where the settings are that well unless I adjust my angle of view. But for now it was worth getting the older unit at a major discount to see if it's what I want to use. I'm sure macro will be a different challenge.
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I recorded an interview with Peter for the UWP Show.
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Sometime in the early 80s I did a marine fire fighting course. Mock-up of a ship, two decks and two compartments on each deck. A small wood fire in one of the lower compartments. Using breathing apparatus and fireman’s suit we had to go in and search for a ‘body’. Couldn’t see a hand in front of your face and the deck was too hot to stand still on. We all ended up with minor burns even with all the kit. Without the BA sets you would have zero chance of getting out.
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Update... Got to play with my new MFO3 on a recent trip to Maldives. What a FUN way to get a fish "portrait" lens! And what a NEW headache = trying to photo male anthias with full fin extension in water column with nice bokeh or blue backgrounds! LOL And, I discovered that the single flip Nauticam holder I own that I thought had become "one" with a Nauticam 87 port actually was easily removed - DOH! Well - Now all geared up for bayonet OR single flip AND headed to that online ordering for a Nauticam dual flip! I really can see where having both an SMC1 and an MFO3 on in Lembeh would be advantageous.
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That whole setup was sold back in January.
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Hi @hellhole , You nailed it! Yes, the SMC and CMC significantly reduces both the working distance and depth of the actual focus window. In short, they allow you to fill the frame with a tiny nudibranch or similar by requiring the user to be incredibly close to the subject. Hence the term “Super Macro.” With that said, because the depth of the focal plane is so narrow, the slightest micro movement is the difference between an incredibly sharp awe-inspiring image and an out-of-focus miss. This is especially true with the SMC-2 on the 100 or 90, as an example. Add a TC and its an exponential level of difficulty. I know someone that has truly mastered macro and now uses the new 100, TC, and SMC-2. His work is outstanding! He also devoted countless dives over many years honing his skills to use such a precise setup. His suggestion is to master the macro lens. Then add a TC or SMC and master that. Lastly, experiment with them combined. Incremental steps reduces frustration, builds on experience, and delivers positive results. Hope this helps! ChipHello I am trying to understand ... What is the difference between using wet lens option with the 100mm... Vs using 1.4x /2x on the lens. F stop to me.. matter less.. as I want to shoot at high f stop anyway. Does the working distance change if I use wet lens vs using 1.4x/2x?As all have said, very glad you are safe. That still must have been traumatic. I appreciate the description of the process and the warnings. As a hospital-based physician, I have heard hundreds of fire alarms in my career. None have been real and serious, and I have become complacent. I cannot imagine the consequences of a major fire.First off, I am glad Tim and everyone else escaped. There must be an enormous temptation to "just nip inside" for passport, wallet and $X,000 of camera system. Every time I hear of a boat fire or sinking on a reef, I am shocked by how often I realise I have dived from the boat concerned. Is that a statistical thing, or just a bit of sub-conscious psychology and my mind kidding me? Same for how often we hear of boat fires, reef sinking and capsizes. Has the frequency increased, or is it just better reporting now we have the internet? I did a tour of a boatyard in Egypt where Red Sea dive boats of all sizes are built and repaired. Most are constructed of wood frames and planks, covered with thin sheets of ply and an epoxy based paint to achieve that polished hull look. By contrast, in 'pure' GRP construction the hull is usually moulded as one or more panels, then joined and strengthened with ply or composite frames. I would guess that there are many hybrid variations, especially once repairs are taken into account. The inside fit with both constructions will be predominantly wood. I doubt if there is much difference in flammability, toxicity or unstoppable progress once a fire gets established in the basic structure.I tend to stick to the viewfinder, even when shooting wide-angle (I'm not using an external monitor), and when reviewing pictures. But I do need to switch back to the main screen to change some settings, as it shows more information. One key setting - on the A1, I can select the EVF fps. I don't recall the exact fps on top of my head but it could be 60 / 120 / 240fps. While the highest setting is the nicest and smoothest... it also uses a LOT more battery. I'm typically reverting down to the lowest setting when diving, and can get 2 to 3 dives depending on bottom time and how many shots I took.Thanks Hugues.Hi Tim Happy you are ok and all other person on the boat also. Thanks for the warning NEVER go back to the cabin. HuguesNot just fibreglass, I guess. Cladding, all sorts of stuff. You sure do not want to breath this stuff in. It was truly noxious.So glad to hear you are ok Tim!!Glad you and everyone on board made it out ok. Material loss is terrible, but it clearly could have been much worse. And thanks for the experienced advice. I didn’t know that about fibreglass, even though I’ve worked on boats. Definitely something to keep in mind. Thanks again, and best of luck with everything ahead.Yes, thank you Dave. My bumpers and knobs are great. Used them in the dive pool today. Great! Cannot wait for my trip in a few weeks to use my new strobes with DH bumpers and knobs!
- Yesterday
Excellent overview and summary, @Davide DB . If Laowa is able to make quality native Sony FE mount and Nikon Z mount fisheye lenses with AF, that will be a true game changer in the underwater market. Sony is the most popular underwater brand and the Z8 seems to be the most popular single body today. They would basically match the total dominance the Tokina 10-17 held for APS-C bodies.In Nauticam land, the N100 to N120 adapter is designed to account for the width of the MC-11 or Metabones. Both are the same width. You would then add the appropriate extension ring (30mm in this case), zoom gear, and dome. Isotta would have something similar as this is a very common setup. If you add a TC, you need a new zoom gear that accounts for the longer overall lens length and the additional extension ring. In Nauticam the TC would add an additional 20mm of extension. Hope this helps explain the overall concept. Enjoy! ChipWow, glad you're Ok Tim. Great words of adviceA shocking experience! Thanks for sharing the cautionary tale to use all.
You may have read or seen pictures of the fire that broke out in the Maldives on the Emperor Explorer liveaboard on 9 May. My partner and I were on it as part of a group of 25. Like many members, we’ve been lucky enough to have been on lots of liveaboards. During the pre-departure safety briefing we were given the usual advice: under no circumstances, if fire broke out, were we to return to our cabins to collect stuff. Head immediately to the muster station by the dive platform; put together a grab bag in case of emergencies: passport, phone, medication. All sensible stuff. Heard it all before. After 6 days of diving, relaxed and happy, we returned to the harbour at Hulhumale around midday. Moored up, the usual ritual of gear washing and packing. We were to disembark at 7am next morning. At about 4.30pm we assembled on the sundeck for the classic group photo. A few of our group of 25 then left on the vessel's dhoni for a shore visit. A few minutes later, enjoying the view from the sundeck, we heard the fire alarm. False alarm obviously but we began to make our way slowly to the rear of the sundeck and down the stairs. Laughing and joking. There was a smell of smoke and burning. Odd. Down another flight of stairs to the muster station to see several of the crew with fire extinguishers. So there was a fire. It didn’t seem a big deal and the crew would soon have it under control, of course. Crew members running past us with more fire extinguishers, a kitchen hand went by with a bucket filled with kitchen scraps - so obviously the fire was not a major issue if the kitchen was still operating. The scraps went into the ocean, the bucket joined many others being filled with water..... then flames shot out across the dive platform. This was real. Shouts for pumps. Crew running. Guests and crew yelling for neighbouring boats to come and pick up passengers. One dhoni approached cautiously and nudged its bow into our starboard stern. The Cruise Director yelling everyone to get off the boat and on to the dhoni. It took seconds to vault, leap, jump on board. The dhoni pulled away quickly. Within 2-3 minutes the whole of Emperor Explorer was engulfed in flames. Some of the crew leaped off the bow of the boat into the ocean. Everyone survived the experience. Not one I’d recommend. So what is the point of recounting this tale? Firstly, if you hear the alarm on a liveaboard PLEASE do not be tempted to yawn and turn over. Move. Curse afterwards if it's a false alarm. And give thanks. Secondly, resist the temptation to nip back to your cabin to collect your valuables or that grab bag. I thought about it, saw a bit of smoke in the salon that led to our cabin and decided not to try. I would not have got out. Do not try and get your stuff. Get Out. Third, on a liveaboard with large amounts of fibreglass and combustibles, the speed that fire moves is breathtaking. The smoke generated is thick, black and choking. Do not try to go to your cabin to get your stuff. Yeah, I know, I’ve made that point already. From whiffs of smoke to utter conflagration was something like 8 minutes. Fire can rage in places you can’t see. We lost all our camera gear, all our underwater camera stuff, all our dive gear, passports, iPhones, iPads, chargers, clothes, bags, cash. Everything. If we had returned to our cabin we could have lost our lives. It took a week to get emergency travel documents and get everyone in the group heading home. The Emperor team in Male were terrific: shoes, clothes, money, food, accommodation, mobile phone and credit were all whistled up. Thanks Ana and Jordy. Impressive performance. Permit me to make one final point: do not go back to your cabin to get your stuff. Get Out. Don’t ever say you have not been warned.
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