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We seem to be having something of a Spam Attack going on at the moment. Many thanks to members who alerted us to the first intruders. Just to let you know that the team are monitoring the situation and are whacking moles as necessary.

You really need to read the fine print, used to be that a lot of policies specifically exclude water damage for cameras for example, including specialist camera gear insurance. Regular travel insurance includes riders limiting the maximum value for individual items in particular categories, so you end up needing to list items and it can get very expensive very quickly. For example you might have $10,000 cover for valuables but are limited to a maximum value for any one item of $1500 as an example.

Hello! Has anyone got any tips on whether it's better to get travel insurance with some kind of add-on to cover camera gear (normal theft/loss stuff and floods), or whether home insurance would be better? I'm assuming home insurance covers you if you go overseas too? The one DAN offer seems to be good but it's for US residents only and I'm in Australia Thanks!

After so many years with the same housing and a viewfinder attached to it I have purchased a new Isotta housing for my loved D500 and a Inon 45º viewfinder. The thing is that I never have mount or demount any viewfinder at all, I'm a little embarrassed to admit it, lol. Anyone could provide some info about changing the viewfinder, some youtube link maybe? The instructions are not very detailed in this regard. Also, I would like to ask if those who use viewfinders disassemble them before travelling? Or keep them in place? Thank you very much.

Hi. Wolfgang, in addition to what @jjmochi said: the Sigma MC11 and the Sony TC are not compatible. But as I already own a 2x TC I might upgrade to Metabones V, but then I need the long zoom gear also. So if you are back and add the 2xTC gear.. What company could be recommended for printing? Thanks a lot!

Hi, I have been playing around with my Samsung s24U and a divevolk housing these last few weeks to see what kind of footage I can get. By default I get washed out colours and I'm getting lost in the ocean of options available : People usually recommend the black magic app, although it seems more relevant for iPhones. It can't shoot in log and does not have access to all colos spaces. The standard Samsung app does offer log, but does not allow to switch off AI sharpening or separate shutter lock from ISO. I have been recommended to play around Motioncam pro, that shoots raw. This will require more post processing, and I have not found any feedback from divers. And in all those apps, tons of settings to play around with. Has anyone managed to get some quality video footage with an android phone ? I'd love to hear from you. @Maria Munn

Like many of us I mostly shoot in manual mode. Today it occurred to me that it isn't logical that my strobe control works in 1/2 EV steps and my camera is set at 1/3 EV steps. Both set at 1/2 steps would make it easier to make adjustments in aperture or ISO. Wonder what your thoughts are on this issue.

Now worries Tim. From the (lack of) reactions it appears that a 1/2 EV step setting on the camera has few. followers. I''ll try it on my next trip, to look if I find the 1/2 steps subtle enough.

Currently I don't have either 😁 It sounds like home insurance does cover gear when you're away though so I'll check that option out and maybe just get some standard travel cover for the normal stuff like non-diving medical stuff. I do like the idea of just having a pot of money just in case though - good motivation to take extra care with setting up too! Thanks!

Yeah, as Bill suggests, a lot depends on where you live. Home insurance can work and, for the UK, there is a specialist dive gear insurer - but rates are pricey. I'd suggest talking to your home insurer and get a clear steer on whether dive gear - and what elements of it - would be covered by a home policy or by an add-on policy or addition.

Depends a lot on your home insurance. Many folks have reported that their homeowner's insurance premiums have increased after they made a dive housing claim. We live in Los Angeles and it our homeowner's rates went up since the fires. We self insure by creating a small ($15K) investment account that we keep mostly liquid. Over the last 10 years and 1500+ dives with no major user errors, we are quite a bit ahead of the game but also recognize that we are quite lucky. Bill

It's really not a great deal different to changing a port except on a smaller scale, treat the o-rings the same way. As mentioned Isotta use a threaded ring to retain the viewfinder. The two holes they suggest using a small allen key in each one to get more leverage if required. If you have circlip pliers that's ideal, but the two small keys should be enough. It doesn't need to be super tight, just snug as the water pressure will hold the viewfinder in.

I have an Isotta housing with Inon 45 degree viewfinder. It is the same process as Tim describes for Subal. Changing the viewfinder is easy... The backing ring on the Isotta viewfinder, on inside of the housing, has two small indent holes. I am not sure if there is a specific tool, but to change I use circlip pliers to interlock with the indent holes to simply loosen, then screw off the backing ring by hand. The standard Isotta viewfinder then pushes out once the backing ring is removed. It is sealed with double o rings. To install the Inon 45 degree viewfinder, simply align two small pins with corresponding indents on the housing clear window then push the viewfinder into place and do up the backing ring. (The Inon viewfinder has a single o ring.) The Inon viewfinder backing ring has four small indents and a tool that comes packed with the viewfinder to turn the backing ring. Best not to be too tight and obviously have silicon grease on the o ring. Like Tim I do not leave the viewfinder in place for travelling (it looks a bit vulnerable sticking out) and is easy to change over. By the way, the viewfinder was pretty much essential on my previous Olympus OMD EM 1 ii, but easy to manage without on a SonyA7R5, though still useful for macro.

Hi canislupus I use a Subal 45-degree viewfinder on a Subal housing with a D500. On that system there is a threaded ring which screws on to the viewfinder when it’s pushed into the housing. A pair of o-rings on the part of the viewfinder that pushes through the housing provides the water seal. It’s very simple but effective. I do remove the viewfinder for traveling as it’s otherwise an awkward shape in my Pelican case. It’s a 2-3 minute job to install or remove it using a very simple tool. Once you’ve done it once or twice, I’m sure you’ll be comfortable with the process.

Sure, it was the “automatic “ I was thinking of.

Filmed over hundreds of dives around Vancouver Island and the Salish Sea, this is a 1-minute teaser for my full 2-hour film featuring wild Pacific octopus and Ruby octopus. From babies the size of a pea to full-grown giants. No narration, no captions—just octopuses doing octopus things in the cold, emerald waters of British Columbia. You’ll see them hunt, change color, fight, crawl, vanish, and interact with their environment in ways that might leave you with a new appreciation for these incredible creatures. Great to play in the background—or just zone out and watch them move.

I believe that is what the EP is saying: moving 4 aperture clicks on a camera requires adjusting 4 strobe clicks if both of them are 1/2 EV each

I can't say I've heard of a camera adjusting aperture in coordination with a flash EV setting other than, I guess if you use TTL and Auto settings. But would you really want to do that? I would have thought it simpler and more controllable just to use the aperture setting as part of the Manual exposure to mange DOF and then the strobe setting dial to increase or decrease power.

Many cameras have the option to use 1/2 or 1/3 EV steps buried deep within the menus. But realistically it's probably not making a huge difference.

My take is that strobe EV control is aspirational, not real. But the difference as noted is tiny. On some cameras you can set the EV gaps. Bill

The difference is so small in real terms, does it really matter?

Google Sign in is now fixed. Apple Sign in works although on singing in you will get a can't find page error, if you hit the refresh button or go to the Waterpixels.net URL in your browser it will actually sign you in and load. Working on it.

Hello there, I've been diving for the last decades and started taking memories with a Canon A95 and no skills at all. Once amazed by gopros I skipped from hero 3 to 8, tried my luck with an insta X4 and ater months of phycological warfare managed to get a refund. My latest endeavour consists of using my Samsung s24U inside a Divevolk housing. As you guessed by now with my luck streak, this is not going well: the black magic app does not really do wonders, the standard Samsung video pro remains bland and I am having second thoughts before buying a motioncam pro licence. If one of you has reached some level of success with this setup ... I love you already.

Here's a couple more N120 examples; Canon 8-15 on the left and Sigma 17-70 macro on the right. The 8-15 zoom gear has two tightening screws because it is reversible so I can use it for the 8-15 with and without teleconverter. The rubber ring on the 8-15 is narrow and one central tightening screw doesn't work well with either configuration. I use one screw when shooting th 8-15 by itself, and the other screw with the 8-15 pluse teleconverter when the zoom ring is fitted in reverse.