TimG

Lovely shots, Chris. I really like your lighting style and the shallow depth of field in the frogfish shot. 

1 hour ago, Tobyone said:

Travel with a companion that travels light. Let them carry some of the gear. This works with my girlfriend.

 

..... who, she tells us, is an avid reader of Waterpixels......🤣

1 hour ago, Tobyone said:

I have also traveled domestically with checked coolers, marked fish. Did not get opened

Briliant!!!!

21 minutes ago, Oskar - Retra UWT said:

While a significant part of TTL performance depends on the trigger boards,

.....not to mention how you cut the fibre optic cables..... (Lesson Learned: not scissors!)

@ChrisH

Chris, would you be prepared to reveal which triggers have failed on you? 
 

At the risk of tempting fate, thankfully not something I’ve ever had with a UWT trigger since I got one for a Subal housing in 2017. 

Wow, cracking image of that jellyfish. 

Hi Assist91!

Welcome to Waterpixels. It's great to have you with us. We hope you like the forum and look forward to seeing some of the work you've done.... do post some samples!

Best wishes

Wouldn't disagree at all, Diggy.

I thought my 1988 Land Rover was wonderful. Then I drove a 2018 Ford Ranger.....

Both got me from A to B. 🤣

10 minutes ago, CaolIla said:

Thanks but... I hope I'll not need your support 🙂 

Agreed!  I should report though that I needed it with a strobe some years ago that just would not do a firmware upgrade correctly.

Oskar and the guys were terrific. We had several WhatsApp calls (a couple on a Sunday) in response to my email outlining the issue.  Retra gave me a firmware workaround which kept me going temporarily and asked that I send the strobe back as it proved impossible to fix remotely. The repair was turned around very quickly and sent back to me - problem solved. 

I was genuinely impressed. 

Guys, this is all getting a little futile now.... can we just move on?

Great to have you with us, Sam. A warm welcome!

Hey monades! 

Great to have you with us. Welcome to Waterpixels. Even if you're not going to be diving much, I hope you enjoy the forum and find it helpful.

Best wishes

Here's the video I used to get started - hence the reference (forgive me, lord) to inches and the imperial system. (The Empire Strikes Back?)

I found this video quite good to follow and, as I said, his rule of thumb 1" = 12" of paracord was pretty accurate for the type of paracord I was using.

I must admit I didn't realise there were many options of paracord (thanks, Makar0n). I started making them in Sint Maarten and there was only one option available! Island life, eh?

43 minutes ago, makar0n said:

You are back in Europe now, and continental one at that. Time to stop with this silliness 😂

 

Ohhh, that metric system thing? It's like guitar bands and a tunnel under the Channel - it'll never catch on... 

What’s happened to all the Nigerian princes? I used to get so many endearing messages….. 

Great to have you with us, JMB. Congratulations on walking across the water….

Yay! Good man. I use 12x the length measured in inches. Sounds a lot, I know. But I’ve made a good number and that works well. 

I'd suggest you setup your equipment in the usual way that you would carry it on to a dive boat - or would want it handed down to you in the water.

Then tie a length of rope/line/string on a couple of points that you can use to attach it. Lift your gear by the string and decide whether the length of the line feels right or not. Adjust as necessary- then measure it. 

There's no scientific method. It's what feels right and then go with the nearest available commercial lanyard size. Or WAY better, make your own. Colour, style, length, fittings... all yours to choose.

I wondered that.

I've got the Photography Plan. £9.98/month, is, what, about $12.50? Maybe I'm missing something, but it seems a steal to me for both PS and LR and cloud storage (which I don't use)

I don't like the subscription model for software either but, as far as this one is concerned, I think it's an excellent deal.

I know lots of people are complaining about Adobe…… but I’m paying them £10 a month for the LR and PS package and am really happy with it. I’ve had that subscription for about 6-7 years. Updates are frequent and often game-changing. Happily I’ve felt no need at all to cancel. Maybe I’ve just been lucky. 

Hi LSD!

You've come to the right place to learn those creative techniques! Welcome! Great to have you with us.

Lanyards are really easy to make: we've been discussing it in the New Toys thread. A bit of paracord (actually quite a lot but its cheap), a couple of snap connectors - or whatever - and about 20-25 minutes of time. 

https://blog.paracord.eu/post/7-paracord-bracelet-for-beginners-cobra

37 minutes ago, Johno1530 said:

I have a couple of lanyards already, but not the nauticam one. I'm guessing they will be relitively the same. 

 

Lanyards are easy to make anyway - using a simple Cobra knot. The usual length of lanyard takes about 20-25 minutes to make using paracord. You can even choose whatever colour you want! 

For the paracord there's Mastercard. For the satisfaction, priceless.

Great to have you with us, canislupus. I'm sure you'll see lots of familiar names here. Welcome!

I'd agree with lots Andrej sets out. I had the Pro-Xs for about 2 years (about 400 dives) and loved them - and Primes before that.  I've done only one trip so far with the Pro Max but was very happy with them. The differences?

- Just a neater and more convenient arrangement with the Booster and 8 batteries rather than the Supercharger plus 8 batteries.

- less o-rings using the Booster as opposed to the Supercharger making battery changes easier (I did find care was needed inserting the Supercharger to avoid o-ring bulges. Not a problem with the Booster)

- more clickiness to the switches

- power output displayed on the OLED - though, I have to admit, I did like the coloured indicator around the pilot switch and maybe miss that.

- Mode display and power setting very clear on the OLED screen.

- Better fitting of the ball mounts

- The Boosters are WAY smaller/lighter than the Superchargers making them just that little bit easier to transport (and God knows every gram is starting to count!)

Yeah, the cost of switching was painful and sometimes, in those early waking hours, you do wonder what on earth you are doing spending such a ton of money. As Andrej sets out in a post a few back, a lot of these things are not quantifiable nor, in an analytical world, might there be a solid business case.  But, hey, I really like them, they are great to use and super for travelling.  I know I am never going to have Buyers Remorse with them ("Ohhhh I wish now I'd gone for the X+ model"). Been there, not doing that again.

Guys

Sad to say we have just had another serious attempt to scam a member. Luckily through natural wariness and quick actions, this was headed off. Many thanks to the member concerned for drawing it to our attention so quickly.

We've suggested some guidelines before and, given what just happened, it's worth repeating them:

- be wary if someone offering you equipment is a new member - especially a brand new member.

- be wary if you are offered equipment which has not previously been advertised for sale.

- be wary especially if they then pass you on to a third party - even a fourth party!

- be wary of claims a large purchase must be paid by PayPal Friends and Family and not the commercial route.

- be wary if photos sent claiming to illustrate the goods are generic and not specific to the item.

- be wary if there is some weird despatch route, payment system, avoidance of import rules.

- be wary if internal alarm bells sound - respect those spider-senses!

- look for Waterpixels forum membership history.

- look for clear knowledge of the item for sale.

- look for straight-forward, simple payment methods particularly ones that you know have safeguards.

If in doubt, delay and drop one of the Mods a PM. We will do what we can (yes, a bit limited admittedly) to take a look at the seller if they are a member and we'll reply as quickly as we can

So far the forum has an excellent record of fair and welcome sales and purchases taking place with a minimum of grief and satisfaction for both parties. Let's work on keeping that way!