JohnD

Makes sense. One other thought is that perhaps lenses with high undesirable distortion when used in air could benefit from mitigation of the that distortion, or simply the lessened visual impact of it, when used in water. Maybe not? I shoot pictures and know very little about designing lenses.

I am suggesting this as a thought, not a position I am taking... Could it be that some lenses, due to their optical design, degrade less than others and some lenses that are "superior" on land may be more more degraded underwater and thus the "lesser" lens on land is superior underwater. (If that word salad makes sense) To me, shooting underwater is somewhat like shooting through a dirty-ish window on land. Even if we can correct for how light is transmitted underwater and deal with water-caused distortion, seawater is not clear, especially when we are more than inches away. But anyway, I wonder if a lesser lens might, in some cases hold up better underwater and thus be the better lens than alternatives, and the inherent detrimental effects of seawater also mask some of the lens' shortcomings?

In fairness, and unlike the sometimes silly airline carry-on weight and size limitations, lithium batteries are a risk and none of us has any way to know what kind of cheap or damaged or over-discharged batteries our fellow travelers might be carrying. I have done a fair bit of traveling recently and dive resorts and liveaboards are also imposing lots of restrictions. No charging batts in cabin or room unless you are present, no overnight charging anywhere, etc. I have mostly stopped taking power banks because of the limitations and have stopped leaving batteries in devices in checked bags, even AA batts,. Although technically legal, I beleive that was the cause of my bags being pulled and inspected twice and I don't want to increase the risk of bag delays, theft, etc. I have been a good boy and take lithium batteries in proper containers and if in devices, they are fully charged and blocked from being activated, but we are all subject to the consequences of others' carelessness or bad decisions. Unfortunately this is all happening at the same time light and strobe manufactures are using more lithium batteries in the equipment. I purchased a dive light online recently and was disappointed to see it came with an unprotected, no-name battery and protected batteries are too long to work in the light. I understand and appreciate the benefits of the lithium technology, and am fine with exercising proper precautions myself, but it may put us in a bit of a conflict with increasing airline, boat and resort rules, as fires and other issues ramp up, due in no small part to careless behavior by others. Of course there is nothing new in that.

I don't know the details because I have never used it, but I believe there are ways to use the 12-50 lens in a 65 port without the expensive gear. Also deepshots in the UK offers a gear for that lens under $100, although I am unsure what it can do. I suspect others here can explain all of this. I have always heard far more enthusiasm for the Panasonic 14-42 mega (not the collapsing PZ) with the wwl than any of the other lenses for this purpose, but I have not compared them. That lens requires the 35 flat port. That port, with either a 10mm or 30mm extension ring then works with the various 30, 45 and 60mm macro lenses for the M43 system. In other words, with just the 35 port and the 30mm ER, you could shoot with the WWL or the 45 macro or 60 macro, saving a bit of $ on ports and less to pack for travel. Just something to think about.

Thank you. I am going to book Crystal Blue. I agree on the house reef point. I often have some new technique or piece of gear I want to learn or experiment with or some photo skill I want to learn or practice and being able to go out and on a shore dive and take my time doing that is easier than on a boat dive while the guide is finding fascinating stuff and/or I don't want to hold back the other divers. Of course, despite what I just said, I then often suffer FOMO and cannot pass on the boat dive. Living in a landlocked area, I cannot really do that stuff except on dive trips, so I am conflicted.

Good points. Thank you. If Tim does not chime in, I may send him a message. I can see that both are solid choices. Do you feel the shore dives on the house reefs are more-or-less equal or is one of them "better." Not sure I wold spend much time there given the number of boat locations available, but curious.

Thank you. For some reason, when I search, your post that you linked does not come up, although the thread does, so I did not see your description of the two places. When I searched before I did see a variety of posts about Anilao and about Mike Bartick/Crystal Blue and Photo Academy doing blackwater dives, but did not find, and was hoping for, some additional comparisons between the resorts I am considering. I did not check the old site, although I should have, I guess. Being one of those who was booked on the infamous Red Sea trip to nowhere, the website reminds me of that whole mess and I try to stay away, despite the wealth of accumulated knowledge to be found in the forums.

Thanks for your response. I am actually surprised more people did not have opinions on this, considering the popularity of Anilao.

Yes, we did, but I had some additional info and a link to a much less expensive scratch brush than Backscatter is selling, so I thought that merited a direct response.

For travel, I have a fiberglass scratch pen https://www.amazon.com/TAURISH-Fiberglass-Electronic-Applications-Corrosion/dp/B0DT9P7C62/ref=sr_1_4?crid=2V0ITNPSAKKGQ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.iQBCYi28DSmpLll6MvLJFJKIJ6ZCCW_ZiI-0WBcvdVj9F68Cv_CDYmKPUaPg7nTs6TEp5oQqQ-ij72dMbUV6-ML96Met5HW1jH9Eqlg8yV0apjNrmnNMt3iEVkM1y3US49AdqT9YuQkg1N0qslVNv4SVQxiA6ljDEwSDJX48xlVTy3CxqZA_kDIfwuVAMq2T_mPKLK0lon0hVmo4D60CzPvCahNgLA-_1bm-FHkwLTU.l035Urp2_-K0k6uiyXU0mtBZkI873uouugTlQRRclCU&dib_tag=se&keywords=scratch+brush&qid=1770322388&sprefix=scratch+brush%2Caps%2C257&sr=8-4 and some 6" bamboo cotton swabs (like long Q tips) and small bottle of 99% isopropyl alcohol. They fit in a baggy and weigh very little, and I have started doing a quick alcohol wipe of contacts when changing batteries or if on a small boat, later when back in room or whatever. Maybe overkill to clean that often, but it only takes a minute. Scratch pen would get used for a problem instead of precautionary. If the compartment had leaked water or a battery leaked, cola or water and baking soda would probably be needed. Only recently did I learn that especially with lithium ion batteries we now use, frequent cleaning of contacts is prudent https://www.sealife-cameras.com/troubleshooting-and-product-updates/sea-dragon-lights-updates/ https://thebw-100.com/the-importance-of-cleaning-electrical-contacts-to-prevent-corrosion/

Planning a trip to Anilao and looking at Buceo Anilao or Crystal Blue. Never been to either place and looking for input, especially but not only anyone who can compare the two. Thank you

No longer seeking the N85 macro port 65

Do you use a viewfinder or back-of-camera lcd screen?

Purchased a port from @Grantmac and it was as described and delivered promptly. Would do business with him again. 👍

Having now used this for a while (but have not tested getting it wet) I have found it very useful. I have mostly been on little boats and bangkas so have not used it on a boat yet, but really handy for topping off battery between dives or over lunch without having to open housing and swap batteries.