Stig

Have you considered a dive safari? -I don't mean a live-aboard, it's a sort-of island-hopping tour on a large banka boat where your gear stays on the boat and you stop off for 1-3 days/nights at various spots but spend the day diving from the boat. I've been on two trips like this and really enjoyed them, both started from Cebu, one went anti-clockwise from the west coast, the other went clockwise from Malapascua.

I've wrapped a piece of old wetsuit around my home-made floats as the foam I've used can be a bit like sandpaper on the skin.

I'm looking at diving Komodo next year and it sounds like April - October is best so I'm thinking of September for a week's live-aboard followed by a week in Bali visiting friends. I've heard it can get windy in August (and that's peak season) and I'll likely be away for work in October hence September for the trip. Any recommendations for Komodo boats or dive centres (doesn't have to be a live-aboard) and whether September is a good time?

I had a very similar disaster with a Sony NEX5 in a Nauticam housing. The housing was fine after thorough rinsing (even the leak detector circuit), the camera and lens were not. 😞 The battery & memory card survived but beyond an immediate rinse with fresh water I didn't try to repair the camera or lens. I found a used camera & lens on Ebay which I'm still using today.

Recently back from Grenada and I'd recommend Aquanauts Grenada as a friendly and professional dive outfit. They're not that photography focussed (sorry!) but have rinse tanks for cameras only and keep to small guided groups so we sometimes had a guide for just 3 of us on a dive.

When my friend's son was learning to dive I told him to ignore what PADI said as the first rule of scuba diving was "Wear black, look cool".

I think the "newer Z240" is the D200, still 4xAA batteries though.

Happy to join the community. I'm in the UK though I don't dive cold water much any more, preferring more relaxed tropical diving. Still using a Sony NEX5 but fancy getting something a bit more up-to-date.