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I sometimes put a ND on the front, so the threaded portion of the overpriced Nauticam piece is perfect for that.

David Newman shared this video Mission 1 is not out of focus, but at 8K this is all physics. A 1" Type Sensor with a F2.8 lens has a shallower depth of field than all other action cameras (as they have smaller sensors.) The best focus will be between 2' and 24'. Focus adjustment for distance can be achieved with negative diopters. Demo is using https://www.etsy.com/pt/listing/4548713883/aprimoramento-do-foco-distante-para-as

This a combination I borrowed from Nauticam and tested several years ago. When I did my first NA-WWL-1 review(issue #114 at uwpmag.com) this is the lens I used with Sony full frame. At the time the Sony 28-60 did not exist and this was by far the best lens for overall IQ well exceeding the 14-42 lenses I tested on M4/3 cameras. The big problem with this combo is first cost, new the 28mm F/2 lens is $498.00 and the 16mm fisheye converter is $348.00. Today you have options new that will give better results and about the same price or less total price. Second is minimum focus distance, the lens focuses to 29cm and with the converter it goes to 22cm. By today's standards this is not ideal when most newer fisheyes and fisheye zooms focus in the 15/16cm range. This may not seem like a big difference but it can cause focus issues behind small ports and as you have experienced vignetting. The F/2 number also changes to F/3.5 much like using a tele converter. Bottom line is if you already own the gear you can make it work but I would never recommend this combo or the or the 21mm W/A converter that only auto focuses to 24cm.

This seems like a bit of overkill to me unless you are paying $57.00US to actually use an 82mm filters like an ND or other. Just to add a cap to protect the glass can be done easily by adding a neoprene cover like a soda can cozy or like.

Shining the light in from outside and taking the LEDs out of the mounts are both excellent ideas--Thanks, Tim. I've found the most frustrating thing about the Turtles is the little bracket between the LED mounts, which isn't quite long enough to stay together (maybe not so on the newer model), nonetheless they're excellent devices, even without interchangeable batteries. And with the OM-1, you can take the mini-flash in case of an issue with the Turtle.

Yeah, good point. Not one I really want to think about too hard. Honestly, if it had been during the night, we would not have got out especially moored in the harbour. It has to be a false alarm, right? Turn over and go back to sleep....... Agreed on the Can't All Be Lithium fires. I know of several liveaboard fires which definitely were not started by batteries.

Shooting around or up towards the surface with a 45-degree finder can be a little tricky (it's what I had on my system) as aiming at the right place is a little deceiving. But, like many things, it's just practice.

I've been to Tonga to photograph humpbacks many times and have extensive experience with humpbacks and other whale species all over the world. My most used combinations in Tonga are 16-35mm on full frame, and fisheye on full frame, and tokina 10-17 on crop frame. Depending on your luck, the comfort level of the individual whales, your guide, your group size, the weather, visibility, etc... there are situations were one combo is "more ideal" than the other. You never quite know. So it's really difficult to narrow things down to just one lens. But if I had to, for Tonga, I would choose either 16-35 on FF, 15mm fisheye WITH 1.4TC on full frame, or Tokina 10-17 on crop... NOT a straight/fixed 15mm on full frame. With modern mirrorless and water contact lenses, I'd also suggest considering combos which give you ~130 degrees and a zoom range to narrower, provided they are "dry options", meaning the water contact optics such as Nauticam WACP, , or new Marelux equiv, etc., BUT NOT the "wet options" (such as WWLC, WWL1, etc.) which, as Dave Hicks pointed out, might end up with bubbles inside when you least want them... (But other than for the chance of bubbles, WWL-C and WWL-1 with a zoom lens behind are excellent for this kind of shooting...) Most of my best pictures from Tonga are actually with the 16-35. Yes, you do need a big dome for best optical performance. But when properly configured, the range is nice and quality good- Just try to shoot at f8 and smaller. Swimming like hell after whales (and having to deal with the drag of a big rig) is usually not the way the best pictures of humpbacks (and other whales) are made. Those (best pictures) are usually created with tolerant animals, and careful, quiet, calm approaches by the humans. Because of this, I think the large dome port needed for quality 16-35 work on FF is an acceptable, manageable configuration. That said, For folks who are very small and/or not very comfortable in the water and/or weak swimmers, probably best not to make things more challenging with a 16-35/200 or 230mm dome/long extension rig. Finally, the humpbacks are not in Tonga to feed. They are there to relax, mate, and most importantly give birth to babies. Feeding with this species occurs in cooler, more productive waters to the south (Antarctica, etc.). Water visibility in Tonga varies between milky and excellent depending on wind, location, temperature, current, depth, bottom substrate, etc.. But these waters are not full of the food (krill and other crustaceans, etc.) these humpbacks primarily eat elsewhere. Have a great time with the beautiful whales of Tonga!

When i first tried the Retra Maxis my rig was too buoyant. I didn't remove any float arms as their length is more about strobe positioning. But I did remove two Jumbo Stix float blocks to get things rebalanced. I then made the HF-1 and Atom floats because without those extra Stix floats the rig was too negative by far. Putting the floatation on the strobe enabled me to quickly move between Maxi, HF-1, and Atom strobes without the difficulty of moving Stix blocks around.

Been using my Sony A7C, 90mm/MFO-3 (on a flip) for a while now and it's now my go-to for most Puget Sound diving. This very small (<.24") slug larva was shot off Kona on Blackwater, but, it will also take a nice mid-wide shot like this medium-sized GPO taken from about 18" away (Octo has taken up residence in an old piling log). Overall, it's a pretty versatile diopter.

What if you had been asleep? That is what scares me. Everyone in their cabins asleep. They need Halon flood systems installed on these boats in the engine rooms and fuel handling areas. This cannot possibly be lithium ion batteries burning all these boats up! God bless.

I removed my strobes and arms but kept a single arm with stix floats configured as a cross-bar on top of the housing anchored at each side. Do a few buoyancy checks in a sink, pool, etc. Be sure to have a good lanyard and some place to attach it.

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. I guess I will go with the 8mm fisheye with 100mm zen dome. Taking the 7-14 zoom lens would mean schleping a big heavy dome. In any event I will go with a stripped down housing (no arms or strobes). I am used to shooting with 45deg view finder, my worry it might be a bit heavy, but easier than composing on back LCD in a sunny environment.

Dave, do you find with the floats on the HF-1 strobes you can dispense with one of the float arms? Just curious. The HF-1 were on my short list and the Atoms until I realized that they have no TTL with Canon or Sony (or Nikon etc.). I bet UW Technics will eventually reverse engineer a program for his triggers for the Backscatter protocols. Correct me if wrong but I do not think the HSS works but with OM Systems and with their proprietary Sony trigger?

Check this out "Lite" version of m82-holder-for-mfo-3 - Tutorials, How-Tos, DIY - WaterPixels I am sure Dave Hicks can easily pull it off and add it to his collection - just ordered a few gears from him!

The 7 kg limit is not uncommon, 8 kg more so on most international airlines unless you travel business. So one has to check things, depend on luck or pay up. . Nauticam housing, Z6iii+battery+charger, z240x2, macroport, z24-50, extension, cables in pelican 1485 air (2.4 kgs).