Kristin

I don't use a snoot and do like a black background sometimes. Do not move the nudis or any other critter. You need to find the right subject to make it work and the biggest thing is finding one perched with nothing immediately behind it. Often I have better luck getting lower and shooting a bit uppish. I usually will use a single strobe instead of two. Sometimes there's too much light in the water and I end up with a blue of some sort instead of black. Maybe sometimes things don't end up totally black and isolated, but It takes patience, practice and luck - have fun!

Thanks, I have all the kit, I was just hoping to see examples and hear what people's experience was with it before I go out with it.

I have only really used this lens behind the 4" Zen dome and would love to see images and hear your thoughts about using it with a bigger dome (8"). crop sensor canon.

What an outstanding encounter! Thank you for sharing it - I'd still be buzzing!!

@Chris Ross yeah, I filtered for sold items and it was all over the map. Guess I'll just have to pick a number from the ether to start! I remember getting her in the sexiest black box - best "unboxing" of any bit of gear. She is a beast but I loved shooting with her, despite the size & weight! Not anymore, now I'm a poor weak delicate flower 😆

I have a lovely Canon 1Dmkiii that I adore but never use anymore so should move it on and put those funds toward more underwater related things! I had a look on ebay. There are quite a few and the prices are all over the map for both the recently sold and listed. I don't understand and have no clue what price is reasonable. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to try to sell it? Can be USA or Australia as "local", but of course, can ship anywhere. Thanks!

i have had the Tokina 11-17 forever, love it, but honestly had kind of forgotten about it, thanks!

thanks, @ColdDarkDiver . I should have made the crop sensor camera more clear 🙃

Thanks for the information, @Chris Ross !

I don't know that I'd actually enter as I'm a more for self-amusement photo taker, but who knows, maybe. But I'm definitely in the zero generative AI slop camp, for multiple reasons. And I think that most of us understand the difference between removing some specks in the water, a bit of crop and the type of AI slop we are talking about being against.

@PomInOz which housing are you using? I'm assuing these are all with the kit 18-45 lens? Thanks for sharing the lovely images and especially for showing such a great range. Super helpful to see more images!

I have always loved my Sigma 17-70 paired with a dome and the Canon 7Dmkii (and 20D, 40D before that!) I know a lot don't think it's wide enough, but it was great for going on a leisurely, "who knows what I'll see or what I'll be in the mood to shoot today" diving. I don't know how it will work with the newer cameras so wondering what you all like to shoot when you want to "have it all" on a dive? Please let me know what you think are good contenders and if you can share an example of its diversity, that would be double helpful! Yay for shopping season!

@Nemrod Thanks! The 18-45 has never really been interesting to me, just seems not enough of anything with too much compromise on everything. It seems that this setup, with wet lenses, gives almost the lovely compactness of the TG but with definitively better images across the range. I'm particularly thinking of mid to wider shots where the TGs background gets a little icky (this is my biggest frustration with my beloved TG setup). The R50 option seemingly would eliminate that. I also saw that SeaFrogs has a little housing complete with interchangeable ports for the R50 - even a setup for the mighty EFS60 macro. So intriguing! So many gear options.

@dhaas do you have examples of the widest scene and smallest creature with no add ons?

@dhaas thanks so much for the information. It definitely sounds like this will suit her and I'm very tempted to give it a whirl, too. At this price point, I wouldn't even stress if I find out it doesn't suit exactly and i need to "upgrade" in the future, unless I'm missing some huge issues.

I came across the R50 with an AOI housing for what seems to be a bit of a steal deal as I was looking at some versatile & budget friendly choices for a friend. Backscatter's AOI R50 housing She currently uses a TG6 for snorkeling and diving, but has an older Canon dslr that she definitely does not want to house (she says it can be too slow to focus and doesn't like the video); the only lens she has that would uw suitable is an old canon 100mm macro. What are the downsides of the R50? She loves garden bugs, birds & horses on land but underwater likes a bit of everything, rarely dedicating a dive to something specific unless it's like on holiday with the manta night dive in Hawaii or similar. What are downsides of the AOI housing (other than being poly)? It looks like one can still pop on wet mounts for macro and wider if need be, so it should be a fairly flexible system? As i am still dithering over my own options as I contemplate a move from a Canon 7dmkii/Nauticam with a whole bunch of lenses, ports & bits, I am getting a bit more confused and trying not to project too much on her quest! heck, maybe I should consider this, too 🙃 Originally budget was "what's the best I can get to get started for about 4-5 grand USD" but coming in with the gear at a nice fraction of that would mean a whole 'nuther diving trip. Really appreciate any input.

I put my Insta360 X4 on a ball mount either on one of the arms of the housing or on the hot shoe, depending what I'm using on the day. Sometimes I will add a short ulcs arm when I put it on the arm so I can shoot from off to the side.

That looks like a great option for a lot of the dives I do! A bit of this and that rather than concentrating on one size. I never would have guessed. that ike housing is so tiny, too! The Nauticam seems huge compared to it?

thanks so much for all the excellent information! I always knew I would never get any serious cash for my uw rig, so I'm not disappointed at all - I've gotten many happy dives with it. @dhaas The EOL info definitely adds weight to the changing over sooner column; I didn't know that was happening. My plan was keeping my EFS 60mm and some of my other glass - at least for the short term - and switch to one of the new Canon Rs with nauticam since I have so much glass & bits for Nauticam, but you're saying to maybe sell it off and get new glass? I'll be back in the US in April so maybe could use some of the links you provided,thanks! I've never been a switch or chase the latest & greatest (clearly!), I just stick with what entertains me 'til it dies. I live in an area that lets me dive most days so thankfully if I do switch, it's not like I can only use it twice a year! @TimG I don't think I'd ever reach the limit of what the 7dmkii can do (except video) 🙃 But updated AF and better video and others bits would be nice, too. now it's so old and won't even be supported soon maybe it's time to step to a new system. but yeah, dropping 10 grand doesn't make me that excited either 🤣 not sure I'm any closer to making a real decision on what to do next, but I really appreciate the thoughts and suggestions for options!

I'm really hoping for some insight to if there is a market to sell the 7dmkii camera/housing or if that's just not something potentially on the table. Then it becomes is it worth it to bother with a grand or so for service or just wait it out til I buy something new. I'm happy with the baby set up until I'm not (backgrounds are so mushy/ugly if you don't make it stop down as much as it can) and battery life for video is dismal...so I do like to have a Big Rig option, too!

I've been to both and you can't go too wrong with either. I have plans to go back and I will head to Buceo Anilao. The staff were outstanding.

I'm at the stage where I'm trying to figure out what to do with my fabulous Canon 7dmkii/Nauticam system. I'm considering selling it but not sure if there's any market/value at all? I am not on FB so don't have access to things like the marketplace or specific uw photography sales pages. Both camera and housing are due for a service - a nice chunk of change. Maybe better to just forget it altogether and continue on my journey towards a more updated system? I'm currently using the baby Oly TG7 setup and enjoy it 90% of the time, but do find myself frustrated now and again so I need to bite the bullet and get my existing gear sorted (about a two month wait, I'm told) or buy something new (probably a longer wait because I still can't make a decision and obviously way more upfront expense). What's everyone's thoughts? Photo just because it's more interesting :)

yes, a photo please because I couldn't create the problem today and can't figure out why or how it's happening!

Turn it the other way? If it's really annoying you might need to change hoses (longer or shorter) or add a swivel? I shoot verticals in both the trigger up and trigger down positions and don't really think this is an issue for me, but now I'm going to pay more attention tomorrow 🤣

@Chris Ross it's pretty quick. Less than a couple minutes. yes it's the push button valve. I'll remove it and try again.