bghazzal

Yes, the major problem is that there is only one Richelieu Rock, and all the liveaboards include it on their itinerary. The worst I have seen was 14 liveaboards moored around the site, all planning three to four dives there. That meant 200+ divers in the water on a very small site. I learned to guide specifically to avoid people there. Liveaboard planning is extremely tight. Days are short in the tropics, and once you factor in meals and surface intervals, you only have about 20 minutes of leeway in the dive schedule. Meals and snacks have to be offered, tanks filled, dishes washed, cooking done, housekeeping handled, etc. All of this has to fit around the diving before nightfall. Which means everybody goes at roughly the same time. There is no way around it. The only way to manage this would be a booking system, like the one implemented at Batu Bolong in Komodo. I was working there at the time. It was not the greatest idea (carrying capacity restrictions), but it did reduce congestion. Unfortunately, Richelieu Rock is in the Surin area and handled by a different authority than the Similan Marine Park, and when I was there it was extraordinarily inefficient at enforcing even the few rules that existed. You had liveaboards mooring directly on the site, which is not allowed, in full view of rangers who were there to collect tickets. What you describe, basically a DSD situation, is also not allowed in the marine parks. Introductory and training dives are prohibited. Of course, this is not followed by all operators. There are many shady operations, but also some very good ones doing what they can. That base you mention has been around for a while. The platform boat was moored at Koh Bon when I was there, and they ran a hop-on hop-off service from Khao Lak or Phuket. I worked for Big Blue in Khao Lak, which had a speedboat going there four days a week. The other company running daytrips was Wetzone, also from Khao Lak, or more precisely Ban Nam Khen. We would alternate days. The good thing about the speedboat was that we would often hit the rock during the liveaboard lunch break, and sometimes had the site all to ourselves, which happened a few times a year. When the park ticketing system changed, with advance booking required, things became more complicated. Our go-to site on days when it was too rough for Richelieu was Koh Tachai, which is in the Similan National Park. That meant we could not reroute there with Surin NP tickets. So we started exploring the Surin more. Ao Tao, for example. Nice coral, but generally less life. The last season I worked there was 2020, the pandemic year. I have worked in quite a few great places, but some Richelieu dives, especially sunset dives, are still burned into my mind. It is good to hear that sharks are being spotted more often. I worked quite a few seasons there, and apart from whale sharks, reef sharks were very rare. You might see white tips on early morning dives, maybe the odd blacktip cruising by, and very, very rarely a grey reef at Tachai. That was about it. Carpet sharks such as shovelnose rays or guitar sharks, and leopard (zebra) sharks, were relatively common. The Surin did have a bit more shark activity. Juvenile tiger sharks were spotted a couple of times, but we were not doing night dives there at the time. Hopefully the shark population has had some kind of rebound.

Great shots. My old stomping grounds. I was diving Richelieu four days a week when I was working there. An incredible site with so much to offer 🥰 But yes, a little too popular unfortunately, or more precisely, badly managed. Where was the shark shot taken? Reef sharks are quite rare in the area.

As a follow-up, there's been some movement on the AOI side who has approved to the handle the service for the lens as an exceptional accomodation. So positive step from AOI, which is appreciated. However, the conditions are as follows: This will be a charged service, and you will be responsible for the shipping costs both to and from our facility. Since we do not currently have the unit, we are unable to provide a repair estimate upfront. Once received, our technical team will inspect the lens and provide you with a repair quotation. Our standard service timeline is 7–10 business days from receipt, depending on the complexity of the repair. So nice of them but concretely it's a bit of a gamble as it could end up costing more than the price of a new model of the same lens, the UCL-05N. If it's just a question of changing the o-rings and the lens isn't actually vaccum-sealed, it could be best to try to service it myself (using air from a scuba tank when sealing for instance. I need to give it some thought...

I did, and this is the answer I got today: We have checked the serial number UL30012889 printed on the lens, which corresponds to the model UCL-50LF. This was a co-branded product developed with Fantasea in 2019 and was sold exclusively through Fantasea’s distribution network. As such, Fantasea is solely responsible for sales and service support for this model. We recommend contacting Fantasea directly for further assistance regarding this lens. Fantasea doesn't seem to exist anymore Since the lens was produced by AOI, is co-branded AOI, and is identical to the AOI UCL-05L (the only difference being the extra branding...) I asked if they could not help out (give me info on the o-rings used for instance) but it really doesn't look like this is going anywhere unfortunately 😪

Yes thanks - it seems to be that - Fantasea was probably a US distributor - anyway they don't seem to exist anymore. The AOI branded lens I have seems to be identical to the AOI UCL-05L, which is the predecessor to the current AOI UCL-05N Here is the 2023 AOI website listing: which seems to be identical to my lens: Uploading Attachment...

The foggy mystery deepens... AOI responded We are unable to identify "UCL-05 LF +6 diopter" within the AOI product line. After further review, it appears this may be a product from another brand, Fantasea. Since we are not familiar with Fantasea’s products, we recommend contacting them directly for assistance: Fantasea 1124 Fir Ave., Blaine, WA 98230, United States Telephone: +1 (989) 785-0540 Email: [email protected] Which is a little odd since it is branded AOI, with a reference to their current website... On the otherhand, Fantasea.com does not exist, so I very much doubt my email will be going anywhere... Maybe this diopter is a ghost, and fogging its way back to the world of spirits, where the air waits 👻 Anyway, I think we're on our own here 😅

Thanks, it's a little odd - there are no traces I can see other than the ones I posted above, but yes, I agree that that condensation must be coming from somewhere. At the moment the lens is still useable - the traces are not yet visible on the footage, so I'll keep using it see how it evolves. I'm waiting to see what AOI has to say about this as well, maybe they'll know what's going on based on construction specs, and if anything can be done to save it.

I just tried warming it - interestingly enough the traces didn't change, but this did make a central condensation point appear (but seem to be more on the bottom of the lens?), which then disappeared when I cooled the lens. However the main traces didn't bulge... Not sure what to make of this... 🤔

Thanks for that - at the moment the traces do not seem to vary with temperature - we're currently around 22°C on land 23° in the water and humidity at around 50 to 60%. What I tried to do is leave the lens in a ziplock bag for 24hours with some powerful dessicants, to see if it might affect condensation but nothing happened. Traces are still visible unfortunately.

Thanks Chris - I haven't tried warming it up a little, but will to see if it evolves. Servicing might prove difficult for this model I think. Yes that's what I'm afraid of. Not sure if it's actually possible to fix such an issue. I wrote to AOI, we'll see what they say.

Hello all, I have a very nice AOI UCL-05 LF +6 diopter (the old model), which I use a lot as it's way sharper than the Inon UCL-165 I used before. However, some faint traces have appeared, and seem to be inside the unit. I first noticed them underwater. I'm guessing this means something is failing, maybe the retaining ring? Can anything be done in this situation? It's an old model, and I'm now in Japan so sending it back to a dealer seems to be difficult. Thanks! Ben

Cheers, glad you enjoyed it 😀 Thanks Evan, appreciate it 🙏

Thanks Craig. Yes, it’s still in Cinelike D. The main change I’ve made is lowering the Kelvin setting when shooting artificial light. The Backscatter MW4300 has a low CRI and adds a yellow cast to the footage when combined with the Hydras. I ran some tests recently, and lowering the Kelvin value gets rid of that, which is nice. Yes, this little guy was really cooperative! If you look closely, the gills have a pattern that looks a bit like the branches of a stinging hydroid!

Hello all, Well, I’ve been giving in to the times and working on vertical-format edits, even though I’m not really phone-oriented (I know, I know, O tempora, o mores! 😢). I thought I’d share this one here, as I’m happy with the shots - the pipefish itself is about as vertical as they come, and it was cooperative enough to let me get close for some nice details. I find the eyes, gills and tiny swimming fins rather fascinating. For the boomers and purists in the back row, a more traditional and civilised UHD edit - horizontal like nature intended - is also viewable here 😁: https://youtu.be/za96mthi8xE Gear-wise, this was shot on the ol' Lumix LX10 in 4K 30fps, with a Nauticam CMC-1 diopter, two Kraken Hydra 8000V2 lights and a Backscatter MW4300. This was filmed last week at Kin Bay, on the Pacific side of Okinawa’s main island. Cheers! Ben

Really looks like a juvenile painted frogfish (Antennarius pictus) to me. They usually have specific markings at the rear (but juveniles vary a lot) - would you have another shot showing the rest of the body?

It's practice - you used to get a little ruler with the lens to estimate distance and shot sharpness - but honestly, for macro video focus peaking is the way to go... I think it was introduced at some point on action cameras, not sure how that is going - peaking is difficult to use on a small screen, the expensive AOI housing+screen combo seemed promising in this regards, if you're really into fighting with a gopro for macro. A TG series camera is a more logical choice for that, really

As previously mentioned, Weefine lights are constant output - SUPE/Scubalamp/Fotocore/Divevolk are not, at least not previous models. Same goes for Big Blue lights for instance, not constant output until now. This means the amount of light drops constantly while the light is used, which is not a problem for a dive light but does have issues for video, as your light dims as it discharges (and you never get the lumens advertised, which are probably already pumped up for most of these product). In other words, go for constant output lights whenever possible. More on this here: https://waterpixels.net/forums/topic/1524-constant-output-video-lights In general, small cameras with a small sensor and a wide field of view, like action cams, require more light. But then it really depends what you are doing with artificial lighting... If you want to shoot night dives, low viz, close up shots or macro, then yes 2x 7000 lumen can cut it. If you want to light an actual wide angle scene from further away, then no, that won't be enough - get the strongest lights you can afford, 10,000 lumen or 15,000 lumen (or more). If you want to use ambient filters (there's a gorgeous GoPro + Kraken 10K Solar Flare Mini with ambient filters video here btw ), get the strongest lights you can afford, as filters will halve the output (unless you're using lights for highlights on closeups). If you're rich, get Keldans and keep them for the rest of your diving life and don't look back or regret anything. Otherwise as an alternative, look into Seafrog SF150 lights - if it is confirmed they are indeed constant output, they're hard to beat budget wise: https://www.seafrogs.com/npublic/opdfjs/web/viewer.html?file=https%3A%2F%2Fomo-oss-file110.thefastfile.com%2Fportal-saas%2Fpg2024061210334464153%2Fcms%2Ffile%2Fsf-150%20video%20light%20user%20manual.pdf Design is very similar to Kraken/Weefine models which are coming out of a Foshan plant near Shenzen. Kraken/Weefine lights are solid products, even if design could be refined. They also have a remote which is great for video (so do the Seafrog) cheers

Hi Rachid Unfortunately the weather's been really bad for diving the past 10 days, with strong northern winds making it very difficult to dive the west coast, and not many boats are running. Keramas will also be difficult to reach, though I saw on FB that English Empire divers did make it over a few days ago (very bumpy ride). Most operators will stick to Gorilla Chop in Motobu (north), which is a shore dive and flat and has a big school of sardines and juvenile frogfish at the moment. But it can get crowded (avoid the weekend if possible), and is almost 2 hours away from Naha. Operator-wise, maybe try Okinawa 39ers (Naha), English Empire Divers (Yomitan), Bubble Addicts (Nakijin) or Piranha Divers (Onna). The weather's really not on your side, but you'll have no issues squeezing a couple of dives at Gorilla Chop I think.

Thanks Rune - really striking pictures - the filamentous algae situation is dreadful in some areas of Okinawa main island as well. I've been diving on the Pacific coast a bit, and with constantly high water temperatures (29°C+), growth was really fast, and a lot of healthy hard coral colonies were quickly covered in algae, and there was a lot of silting as well which probably comes from industrial activity (dredging etc, and the Sesoko US military base expansion a little further north) Last week or so water temperatures are dropping (down to 27° now) and will continue to do so, so we will see how that evolves...

I see, thanks - but it's fine with a o-ring on the thread - the adapter almost works with the CMC-1 as it's intended do, the only issue is the it sticks a a little blocking the locking mechanism and creating a gap. The AOI adapter is just a few mm too shallow for the CMC-1. An o-ring on the mounting thread as posted solves the issue - you can screw the CMC-1 seecurely down to the o-ring, and no need for a spacer ring. This solution is better because it reduces vignetting. I vignette to 45mm with the CMC-1 with the big spacer ring onto the port, but am down to 36mm with the CMC-1 mounted direct to the adapter with the o-ring.

Basically the CMC-1 and CMC-2 comes with a 67mm adapter (Nauticam), to use it directly on any 67mm port - you remove it to use the lens on a flip mount - this adapter doesn't fit on the AOI flip adapter (it's too big, so the adapter's locking mechanism gets in the way. Meaning you can only use the diopter without it (which is normal, this is the way you're supposed to mount it on the Nauticam flips), However, without it, the CMC1's lens end extends to far from the flip holder, as seen in the picture, meaning you can't close the flip and there is a gap. The solutions is not to screw it in fully, or rather to put an o-ring on the tread so you can screw it in but it doesn't extend as much, then you can close the flip and not have a gap. Other than this CMC-1 issue, the AOI is really nice. I use it with the same lens, Fantasea/AOI +6 and it's perfect. Vignetting is pretty much the same as without the flip adapter. But it is 300g or so, plus the weight of two lenses, so this is something to take into account for rig balance/trim

Basically the CMC-1 and CMC-2 comes with a 67mm adapter (Nauticam), to use it directly on any 67mm port - you remove it to use the lens on a flip mount - this adapter doesn't fit on the AOI flip adapter (it's too big, so the adapter's locking mechanism gets in the way (it hits the adapter's dented thing), and you can't screw it on the flip. Meaning you can only use the diopter without it (which is normal, this is the way you're supposed to mount it on the Nauticam flips), However, without it, the CMC1's lens end extends to far from the flip holder, as seen in the picture, meaning you can't close the flip and there is a gap. The solutions is not to screw it in fully, or rather to put an o-ring on the tread so you can screw it in but it doesn't extend as much, then you can close the flip and not have a gap.

If this helps anyone, I just received an AOI AD-M67-04 double flip. Well designed, but some things to be wary of: I use a Nauticam CMC-1, which is a fairly common diopter. The AOI's design means that the back-protuding part of the Nauticam lens sits too deep in the mount, it creates a gap and it is not possible to lock it. And it's not possible to use the Nauticam 67mm adapter, as it is too big to screw into the flip (doesn't fit because of the hinge.) CMC-1 protruding: Meaning you need to either not screw the CMC1 diopter in fully, which means it rattles and can unscrew (but then you can lock), or screw it in fully and not lock it (which leaves a gap) However, I found a workaround, by adding an o-ring around the CMC1's thread, which restricts how deep it goes in the mount - now I can screw it in fully (to the o-ring), and lock it. The other thing to look out for is the bright aluminium ring which holds the mount in place. This is fine when the diopters are in use, but could cause reflection issues if not using any diopters (so a little black pain or tape might be required). Otherwise as expected, adding 600g to the short port destroyed my camera's trim, making it super nose heavy, but I managed to make some adjustments which need to be tested in the field. Hope this helps

Thanks Craig, appreciate it - oh, and I just sacrifice a few chickens under a full moon, usually does the trick 🐔🌕🎎 😉 More seriously, the rig’s bulked up like a souped-up hot rod - almost neutral and nicely balanced, which helps a lot. It looks ridiculous and weighs about 10 kg on land, but underwater it’s a real pleasure to handle. I acquire focus manually and then follow the peaking with the elbows, which usually involves plenty of moaning and cursing… sometimes miracles happen, and critters actually stay on their Y-axis for more than a few seconds. I, for one, will welcome fast shallow-plane video autofocus 😅 Thanks! It’s all in the careful calibration of lunar cycles and chicken sacrifices. But not to worry, soon enough, AI will handle all the dirty work anyway - and probably hallucinate a few extra critters along the way 👾😅

Thanks Peter. One of the major issues I had was that they love their little overhang spaces, which were too tight to fit my camera rig - I couldn't close enough to focus with the diopters. Luckily this one went on a stroll all around the rock, stopping in a few spots around the way, and we spent a good hour and a half together! Yes, I was happy to get a bit of black negative space at the end, for a little blackwater feel.