Ajay

Love the report, love the photos. Just one note: when in HK, you should have taken a day to hike Maclehose Trail #2. :-) Kind regards, Ajay

Indeed. Couple of years ago when I upgraded, I was also comparing the A7C series with the A7 IV. Finally, a post here (it might have been Phil Rudin?) compared the weight of these systems rigged with Nauticams, and the difference was not significant. So I ended up with the A7 IV. My deciding factors were: A7C - lighter and easier for top side (like hiking), vs. A7 IV - better viewfinder. Kind regards, Ajay

I think there are projects for fish ID.. Google does a pretty decent job of it already, but one issue of UW is that we don't have a good way to connect to a remote server (EM waves don't travel well through water). We can run a pre-trained AI "in-mask". We'd would need a fairly powerful computer.. maybe Arduino will not cut it - perhaps need something like a Raspberry Pi. Plus you need to power it, I guess battery life would suck. I think it's a great project. It should come first to those UW rovers, which are larger and already have cameras.. Cheers Ajay

Good question, and I suppose the answer would have to consider the effect (short and long term) of Sulfamic acid on O-rings.. Perhaps someone from the housing makers will have done those tests? Personally, apart from the final rinse that I give at the resort, I dump my housing (and all other housing/torch/...) in hot water in a clean tank when I return home from a dive trip. Usually two rounds. Also, that little bit of whitish patina -- I don't think it's harmful, and is a visual cue about the experience for the housing. Kind regards, Ajay

Nice report. Too bad you didn't get better encounters with hammerheads -- that was one big reason I was thinking to make the arduous journey there sometime. That and (supposedly) the large numbers of snakes.. did you see those? Ajay

Just reporting a couple of mating shots form our summer trip to Lambeh. The full trip report and tons of photos are on my website. The web page is likely slow to load, since I am just running it off of my personal computer. And it's a record form my memory, so there are fair number of not-so-great photos. By the way, in this trip we stayed at Solitude Lambeh, managed by the friendly Germans (Patrick and Anna). And I got to reflect how much I appreciate these folks who, really, sacrifice so much to run operations under challenging conditions, just so we can enjoy these great trips. I could also recall several others, like Leeza English of Triton Bay, Patrick Schwarz who started Scuba Seraya, and so many others running liveaboards. Here's a gentle thank you to all of these folks! Kind regards, Ajay Images: mating flamboyant cuttlefish; goby with eggs on tunicate; the kiss.

I was there last week, and found these gobies cleaning out the rubbish (mostly sand) from their rubbish home.. But maybe that's not what the OP meant. 😬 Humming that old Police song, with kind regards, Ajay

Welcome Noel. That night shot of the Ragged tooth.. really nice! (others too.. ) Ajay

Hey! you can't talk about highlight without a photo or two :-)

Love the video.. sometimes felt like the music was a bit uptempo, compared to the nudis and critters that were rather chilled.. :-).

Google says these are the CIPA sales volumes for DSLRs; I'm sure the trend has carried past 2023. My guess would be that we shall see some consolidation in the manufacturing space.. some M&A. Ajay

Love the bobtails.. Ajay

I was planning to just use a tiny piece of 0.3mm steel strip, bend it to deflect the light up, and epoxy it to the front of the flash. It seems there is around 5mm of space at the front bottom below the strobe window, so it should be plenty to hold the strip. Once the flash arrives, I will post details. Ajay

All great advice above. I would add the following: 1. You can consider a liveaboard in Raja Ampat. I think even a relatively new diver, or one who wants to do fewer dives a day and/or skip some day can easily enjoy life on a boat away from wifi. Also, Misool area you can kayak around the nearby Islands where the mother ship anchors. 2. I love Malapascua diving, but note that every day you will do one hour out and one hour back in a possibly bumpy banka boat. 3. Love Bali. Has plenty of reef, macro, wall, wreck (or what remains of it). Also has other topside activities, if you do a safari. 4. If Philippines, I would say (despite the town being what it is), diving in Puerto Galera, Verde Island, and then moving across the channel to stay in Anilao few days can be rather nice. 5. Similar experience (combo of wall/reef and macro) could be to split few days each in Bunaken and Lambeh. Both places have nice resorts and good food. 6. Personally, I would wait for fresh divers to get a bit more experience before going to Sipadan: mainly because it opens the possibility of diving turtle cave. Kind regards, Ajay

Cool. If you get it, please update us on the performance. I will do so if I get the Zeniko one. I must say that I can only think of all this as a backup, since (a) already have the Nauticam trigger and carry spare battery, and (b) these small flash guys have mixed reviews. The amazon page for the Medalight F1S claims it is frequently returned; it also lists the re-cycle time as 6 sec, although the Aliexpress page seems to show 0.9s. Kind regards Ajay

This is a great find. A quick check on taobao (or aliexpress) shows the GoDox IM20 and similar other ones, e.g. Zeniko EF04. I already have the Nauticam trigger, but one of these would be a great backup. A quick comparison on sizes: Nauticam trigger for sony: 52 x 36 x 26.5 GoDox iM20: 39 x 38 x 29.5 Zeniko ZF04: 35 x 30 x 29 Not sure if any of these can do speed sync, but as a backup, should be fine. Kind regards, Ajay

For what it's worth, I don't see any change in prices of Sony lens or Nauticam here in Hong Kong. In the past, folks from India/Europe would often make a stop in HK and buy loads of electronics here on their way back to home.. Now maybe friends from US will also make a stopover here on their way to some dive destination.. The alternative, I expect would be Singapore. Kind regards, Ajay

Hope, despair, outrage, beauty, and nostalgia. All in 16 min of honesty.

I think my first video lamp was the L&M sola 800. It worked well until it didn't (which is how my wife describes me). I loved the design, and the compact size and the idea that it was all sealed - leaving less room for leaks. Ajay

Some other divers staying with us had taken the ferry route. One feedback from them was that the beds in the private cabin had very thin/hard mattresses: they were wishing they had carried air mattresses. 🙂 Ajay

Indeed - getting there was a mess. I am thinking a better approach would be to dive Anilao a few days. Then take the overnight Ferry from Batangas (I figure it's only a 40 min car ride from any resort in Anilao). Ajay

ohhh, it was just a bit cold, we didn't do any night dives at all. Missed the sashimi shrimp. But still was great diving. Couldn't agree with you more about the need for a dedicated (super)-macro setup. Ajay

In an earlier chat about Philippines, @scubadiggy had recommended Romblon, so we decided to make a brief trip to check out this little Island. It's been around, I learnt, for a fair number of years, but lately they are focusing more on super macro. The guides enjoy discovering rice-grain (or smaller) sized critters. But I suppose the two things that make the place special are the Phantom nudibranch (aka, the ghost melebi nudi), and the tiger butterfly nudibranch - whose shape reminds me a bit of the Sydney opera house - hence the title of the post. A trip report is on my blog, along with more photos. Frankly, I felt a bit handicapped with the Sony 28-60 lens and Subsea +10 plus an Inon 165 macro wet lens in tandem. I've been somewhat reluctant to add more travel weight, but Romblon pushed me to seriously consider getting a dedicated macro lens and the associated ports, sigh. Anyway, in keeping with the title, here are two photos as teasers. Kind regards, Ajay

Thanks @Davide DB. My new year resolution(s): (a) Take some time to really learn how to take better photos, instead of returning from each dive with 18 copies of essentially the same poor composition &/or exposure of each subject. ... failing that (b) Take 36 photos of each subject, hope for the miracle.. ... failing that (c) Buy more gear. 😑 Ajay

Interesting video, @TmxDiver, thanks. Indeed, in a closed environment with a 360 camera, it's not clear to me what lighting would be preferred (your setup definitely gives a "scuba" feel to it; floodlight the entire space, e.g. cave, could also be interesting). I also hear rumors that Apple is reconsidering the Vision pro, but I do think that this tech will carry on; last summer we had an immersive experience of the Barcelona cathedral (in the cathedral :-)).. I think they used the Meta quest, still very nice. Ajay