johnvila

Hi all. Looking for some recommendations for land based dive package options in Raja Ampat. Looking at late September early October 2025 to celebrate a couple of 60th birthdays? Looking for some first hand experiences for something that is reasonably priced. Best areas for that time of year? Cheers John

Ok so I must learn to touch wood! Dived Saturday - both Inon Z330's perfect. Prepped for a dive this morning - my older Z330 not firing at all - tried everything I know - changed cable, batteries etc etc - the other strobe working fine on the same cable and flash trigger --- the red light is on, focus light works, clearly receiving a signal as the green flash comes on but no flash. Must be an electronics issue in the strobe - cannot see any sign of burnout in the flash tubes. Any ideas? Maybe time to get another mortgage and get the retras! Cheers

Ohh yes I think we all have days like that when something that works perfectly one minute does not the next! When strobes suddenly decide not to synch, or you spend a whole dive not realising you forgot to set the magnet on your z330, the focus pin n your 17-70mm quits mid dive but works fine the next day. And my favourite - my wife's RX100ii that decides it wants to read memory cards when it feels like it - set it up, vacuum set then will not read - 10 goes later it works! The question is which hammer will we hit it with? The joy of UWP!

Brilliant - looking forward to watching. Cheers

Following -- I used the #3 unit as recommended by Nauticam for use on cropped sensor (D500) with the nikon 60mm and a plus 4 diopter. This set up is not great as having the diopter means no standard 60mm when the emwl is removed. Having bought a D850 recently I was keen to try the EMWL with the nikon 105mm - the recommended focus unit is #1 - I have done one dive using the #3 unit and I did not notice much difference but in fairness have only tried once and will need to get into lightroom to compare. Will take a look tonight. I have been using the 100 degree optic. Anyone wanting to swap a unit 3 for a unit 1 I might be interested! Cheers John

This one from 2019, but I love those eyes!! Black Blotched Porcupine Fish - Diodon liturosus - Havannah Harbour, Vanuatu. D500, Nikon 105mm, F16, 1/125, ISO 100, dual Inon Z330

One of my favourite fish face shots from 2023. Avery common butterfly fish species here on our house reef, just snapped at the right moment. D500, Nikon 105mm, F13, 1/200, Iso 200, dual Inon Z330

Hi and wishing all a happy New Year. I do not do a lot of wide angle photography but was recently asked to do a photoshoot of some dive sites at Whitegrass Ocean Resort and Spa on Tanna Island, Vanuatu. There is a spot there called the blue caves which is accessed through a semi submergerd arch and opens into a spactacular cavern. On entering the cavern there was a school of goat fish inside. Shooting back out towards the entrance I was able to capture the impact of the cave entrance and the school of fish in frame. Whilst not technically the best shot for the year it is certainly a favourite for the mood it creates. Nikon D500, Tokina 10-17mm (at 10mm) plus Kenko 1.4 Teleconverter and 4.33 inch dome, F5, 1/250,ISO 160, Dual Inon Z330

Hi Chris - thanks for the info -- I think removing the element is the way to go. I can see there is an o-ring tucked in there. Just wondering on this site: https://www.uwcamerastore.com/nauticam-replacement-8-5-acrylic-dome-na90011 They state : *Keep in mind that you will need a special tool to install the new acrylic. special tool? Is it not a case of just plucking out the o-ring? Or am I missing something here? Cheers John

Well said, and sadly so true. Sandy and I have dived the same patch of reef pretty well every week for 8 years and the changes are horrendous, all documented though photography (albeit quite bad photography when we started) We have had one destructive event after the other - started with mass destruction by Cyclone Pam in 2015, then a crown of thorns invasion (COTS) , run off from cleared land, water temp rising and then a double cyclone in March 2023. Not to mention overzealous clamming using crow bars by some locals destroying so much coral in the process of extracting their prize. We have cried in our masks watching our reef disappear - once vast patches of staghorn corals are long gone, cabbage corals and acopora species totally eaten by COTS which moved in so quickly we could not cull them fast enough. What is left has been buried under inches of silt after cyclones, even the anemones are starting to disappear as algae takes over. The species loss is devastating and so noticeable to us. There was recovery for a while but sadly that was wiped out in the March 23 cyclones and the rebuilding journey starts again. For many diving on "our reef" for the first time we get told how wonderful it is - and yes it is - but if only they knew what is like just a few short years ago! We actually have someone coming into see us tomorrow that is working on a coral restoration project and has asked for some of the photographic story we have. We became grandparents last week for the first time and we just despair that she will not get to see the wonders we have experienced on or doorstep. BUT we hold out hope and try every day to create awareness through our photography. It becomes an obsession and our mission - despite the damage there is a lot of life to be discovered and documented, even amongst the rubble. Cheers John

Thanks for all your replies. I actually used a blue sky background to find the initial problem as I was finding consistent spots in every photo. The streaking has certainly been a Heart in Mouth experience. Can I ask please – using pec pads wrapped around the old swabs – I read somewhere not to use pec pads on sensor, but it seems to be commonly done. How many drops of fluid would I put on the pad once attached to swab? The photosol article I found recommended up to 8 drops of the eclipse fluid on the swab for the a 24mm size and oddly said the more the merrier for getting rid of streaks from first clean! I think this will be too much. I have some pec pads available and could give this ago. I have swapped to my D500 until I get it sorted. Dave re dome maintenance – I can get the micromesh set from Australia within a month (the joy of living in the South Pacific – have to wait for everything). I have watched a few videos this afternoon and it all looks ok for me to try. Is it one micromesh set per dome? I get the impression that the sheets can be halved? My 8.5 inch acrylic dome needs some TLC . We have another dome that needs some work on the inside – it is an N85 (short story – my wife’s new kit was shipped made up with camera / lens in housing and port on – lens cap came off during shipping and had a party on the inside of the dome – nothing deep but lots of fine scratches and the base is so small I cannot get my hand in it - but Sandy can! It may be a a case of trying the Novus on this one) Cheers and thanks all.

May as well get a topic up and running! I guess now that we have a new forum it is appropriate to start topics anew! I recently acquired a second hand D850 and found the sensor had a few marks that were noticeable in photos. After contacting the seller I was told that he had used photo solutions products and recommended the Eclipse fluid. Due to freight restrictions I have only been able to get a photosol digital survival kit which includes the less flammable Aeroclipse solution. I have used the correct size ultra swab (No. 3 - 24mm) for full frame. The kit I bought had 4 swabs So yesterday I took the plunge, watched several you tube clips and followed the directions to the letter. Now -- after the first go -- some improvement but horrendous streaks --- after 4 tries I have had to give up as no more swabs left in the kit but the darn streaks are still noticeable. I can source some to be here in 3 weeks. I have attached 3 photos - a start, second clean and now - noticeable dirt in the first, second clean heavy streaks and by the 4th go less streaking but still noticeable. It is as if sensor "dirt" has smeared - pretty sure not scratches. A photosol article I found suggested using more fluid which seemed counterintuitive. Camera now unusable and I am debating: 1. try again once I can get some more swabs, 2 pack it up and send to Australia for cleaning Anyone had a similar experience, is it just my technique that was wrong or have I stuffed the sensor!! Bit worrying! This afternoon I am cleaning a scratched acrylic dome using novus cleaning kit and now worried I will stuff that up too (mental note to self when asked to do spilt shots for a resort to show their new paddle boards - don't let the staff paddle them into you and hit yoour dome!) Cheers John

Mine has never let me down on D500 or D850

Here here !!

Hi - John from Vanuatu, a fairly regular user and certainly daily observer moving across from Wetpixel. I have been based in Vanuatu for 23 years and lucky enough to have a house reef as our front yard. My wife Sandy and I dive every week here and my passion is macro, Sandy's is video. Currently shooting a D500 and D850, Sandy now learning the GH5ii. We have just started a boutique dive operation for small groups, called Critter Spotter (can be found on both IG and FB) - as the name implies our aim is to take divers to see (and photograph) the small stuff! We also have a FB group dedicated to Vanuatu UWP and diving called ,surprise surprise ,"Underwater Vanuatu". These forums have been a fantastic source of information for me over the years and much of hat I have learned has been through the terrific community of UW Photographers that contribute so willingly. Hats off to all the admin team for getting this going! Cheers to you all