dhaas

A few more from the past few days. Our dive day 6 got scrubbed due to port closure with wind and waves / currents. No worries, had a good time and didn't even use my flashlight the last two days working white balance in camera (a Canon G7X II feature with FISH Icon) plus shooting more wide open f-stops 🙂 David Haas

Hola' amigos! Spending a week on Cozumel and working on shooting with no strobes. Day 1 I did shoot a few photos with the little diffuser on my Canon G7X II Fantasea housing but today shot 90% with no strobe. I used a flashlight on our wreck dive (only 1000 lumen one with semi-narrow beam) and it was great fun 🙂 Stay tuned for more details and pics as I pare my set up down to almost nada' (Nothing :) David Haas

I'm glad these discussions are at least happening. Everything davide and bghazzal are observing is happening in real time these days and whether or not it replaces high end large systems remains to be seen. I've probably used a smartphone underwater more than many (most?) here. I started with my iPhone Xr then iPhone 13 PRO Max in DiveVolk housings plus use my iPhone all the time above water. When I pick up any camera I immediately have to "think more" whether it' exposure or whatever.....Computational capability built into any smartphone makes this process seem like the dark ages of imaging 😞 I still own a 1" sensor 20 MP Canon G7X II compact camera. Will take it to Cozumel next week ( thank goodness after the hurricane) and won't be using my iPhone underwater for the foreseeable future. I've probably posted the opposite here but for now it's the direction I'm going...... Another thought is despite taking the occasional video clip (my Canon G7X II has really good 1080P) I'm more a stills shooter. If video was my main interest I'd keep using my iPhone or the new DJI 5 (which I actually have a set up in a shopping cart as we speak.) Simpler, smaller, etc. Another diver in our small group is bringing his 24MP APS-C Canon R50, the same camera I posted photos shot in the beautiful Nauticam NA-50 housing with a WWL-B. It's great but he has a SeaFrogs housing with flat port for the Canon RF-S 18-45mm kit lens plus small dome port for the Canon RF-S 10-18mm rectilinear lens. We will be shooting all these set ups so stay tuned 🙂 David Haas Howard Hall with a Gates 6K (or ????) set up a few years back 🙂

Any M chip (M2, 3 and 4) MacBook including MacBook AIR models would be good if considering a laptop versus an iPad. Wife travels with an iPad but not doing any editing, barely emailing etc. I prefer a computer and my M2 MacBook AIR 13.6" bought as a refurb runs plenty fast no matter what I'm doing. Either choice as Chip says a M chip Apple product could be the ticket 🙂 David Haas

NO LONGER AVAILABLE...........

No lanyard except in situations too deep to go retrieve it 🙂 Isla Guadalupe, 200' deep below cage windows is one. Drop it and no one's going to go get it for you on a bounce dive...LOL...... Snorkeling or deep water where you drop it it's gone, yeah maybe..... Never used one even with large SLR set ups and dual Ikelite DS160 strobes. Always just got in the way for me.....When asked I'd reply: "My camera is either on the boat or in my hands.If need be to help my dive buddy (spouse) it's much less valuable! " Those coiled lanyards with plastic ends I've seen crushed, break and let go, etc. I give them away to small point and shoot housing users. I do like adding the bungie cord through the coils though..... Just one old guy's opinion! David Haas

If anyone is interested in only the Nauticam FlexiTray II with dual handles, ball mounts and trigger assembly message me directly. Happy to entertain offers. davidhaas4596@gmail.com USA Eastern time zone: 330-329-5981 talk / text / leave message

Virtually unused Nauticam G7XMKII housing for compact Canon G7X II. Includes vacuum system (I put in new battery and all works as shown) and has Flat N50 port with 67mm threads usable with Nauticam's 67mm adapter or bayonet adapter for WWL / CMC lenses. Also includes Nauticam's DRY dome port that maximizes the Canon G7X II camera's native 24mm widest focal length. Complete Nauticam Flexitray II with Handle Support plates, 1" ball mounts and pistol trigger assembly, spare o-rings and manual. Prefer US based sale only. This package was over $2,500.00 and for a compact shooter would provide bulletproof capability in a small package. $1300.00 plus actual shipping (approximately $35.00 USD with insurance via USPS Priority.) Payment via Zelle or PayPal Friends and Family gets shipping in 2 business days and sometimes next day 🙂 Email direct or call / text. I'm EST (Eastern Standard Time Zone) in the US. David Haas Stow OH 44224 330-329-5981 EST call / text davidhaas4596@gmail.com

Mark H, After many trips to Philippines 2010 - 2019 I had a few opportunities to do Mandarinfish dives. Most were over rubble areas after dark or dusk when the little lovers became more active. The smaller males flit in and out pursuing the females until one relents and they rise into the water column releasing eggs and sperm. I ended up with a few shots and have seen others where a very lucky photographer even captured the eggs and sperm and fish (!!!!!!) Here's one of my captures. I never owned a full frame SLR as my budget was always APS-C size 🙂 Photographed with a Canon T4i and 60mm APS-C macro lens. Over the years using several Canon APS-C dSLR cameras the SERVO focussing mode tracked pretty well once locked on . This is of course if the subject stays somewhere in the frame! I had better success with the dive guide using a low power light "pointing" to where a pair was likely to pop out of the rubble. Good luck and you'll find plenty of great photo ops in the Philippines! David Haas

A friend and good photographer uses his Nikon Z6 in his Ikelite housing and installed that manual fiber optic port. Easy to switch out and he says he gets long life from the pair of 2032 batteries. He uses Ikelite DS160 strobes with the optical cord "receivers" plugged in each DS160 strobe. He has used a manually set AOI Q1 strobe plus an Inon S2000 unit successfully. Perhaps order the manual optical cord bulkhead as an add on keeping the hot shoe / Ikelite's corded bulkhead if you ever sell the housing in the future. The fiber optic hot shoe is just a trigger and ground pins and works with other brand strobes but you'd need to set manual flash output. DH PS - I'm not sure if Ikelite is working on a TTL optical bulkhead like they developed for Canon. If so it will likely work with Ikelite strobes in TTL only as the Canon version does.

Mike (Saudio), Welcome from a fellow 70-ish diver :) Check out my post trying my buddy's Nauticam NA-50 rig using the small but powerful Canon R50 in the Equipment and Techniques forum. I might lighten your travel / packing load but still produce fabulous pics plus 4K video! David Haas

Chip, Good thoughts and here's my take....... Some months back our Cleveland, Ohio 100+ year old downtown camera business Dodd Camera had a huge event with all manufacturers showing their latest models. The Canon R series were all there and I handled each. Not being in the FF budget group I looked at the R7, R10, R50 and even tiny but powerful R100. Each has advantages as you say but I think it depends how much you'll use the body out of the water. The Canon R7 at a higher price has some things folks want. It's a great birding camera and for other advanced shooting scenarios. I don't believe "weather sealing" will keep even a seriously splashed much less flooded camera from becoming a doorstop. Electronics are not salt water friendly 😞 IBIS while touted for most Canon shooters is a non-issue as 90%+ of Canon lenses have IS (Image Stabilization.) The guy people "loves or loves to hate"; Ken Rockwell coins it perfectly and I like his opinion on many photo topics and gear. He says something like: "Going to stand outside in pouring rain and shoot pictures? Get an umbrella......Going to wade near the shore for crashing wave shots? Cover the camera body with one of those tent like coverings available for any size camera like you see at sport events." For me a 1/3 or less $$$ camera body with DPAF, all the latest DigicX processor speed and enough MP to make almost any size print is fine. I could easily buy 2 or more bodies being light and small and have $$$ left over for a nice trip to go make photos! The lenses is where I tell folks to spend $$$$. For the Nauticam NA-R50 system it's a WWL-B or WWL-C. I think they would satisfy any shooter..... Could I house the even cheaper, less featured Canon R100 (it's a little rocket) and save more money ????? For sure......The camera and 18-45mm kit lens is like $320.00 USD at Canon's refurbished store ! The R100 has the same 24MP, almost same number of AF points but lacks a touch swivel screen, dedicated ISO button and a couple other things which are things I like on the R50. Ikelite makes a small DLM sized housing for the R100 but skipped the R50 and I think they made a good choice. Put a decent compact dome on the housing and use good UW lenses from the kit 18-45mm to a Tokina 10-17mm with EF-RF lens adapter and an extension. Or give up some edge corner sharpness and buy the super tiny RF-S 10-18mm IS STM lens. It's a great land lens on any RF-S body. Would it equal an R50 and WWL-B? Maybe not 100% but I'd bet pretty close for many folks. It's all still ISO choice, shutter speed and f-stop, strobe power and getting CLOSE to "get the water out" 🙂 Trying my buddy's Nauticam NA-R50 in the water was great. I have to say the Nauticam controls were incredible........Smooth, fast and right at my fingertips. I know for sure I wouldn't get the same overall experience with the Canon R100 in the Ikelite housing. But I'll bet I could make some darn good pictures with it too 🙂 So there you have it, my take! David Haas Here's my wife with a Humphead Napoleon Wrasse years ago in the Coral Sea above the SS Yongala wreck. Shot with a lowly Canon Digital Rebel (6.3MP) in an old Ikelite 4 port lock clear housing, likely a 15mm Sigma lens and one single Ikelite DS125 on TTL.

After shooting APS-C dSLRs for years and currently a 1" sensor camera I did always long for just a bit more sensor. So the Canon R series is a worthy upgrade while not breaking the bank or physical size too much. While I haven't tried it the Nauticam WWL-C lens is also usable on this set up. Gives a bit less focal coverage from the WWL-B range of 130-60mm to 116m - 52mm. Still darn impressive in front of a low cost Canon R50 18-45mm "kit" lens. My friend who owns this set up actually immediately bought a 2nd Canon R50 spare as it was sooooo cheap LOL..... Just a thought! DH

A friend purchased the almost compact sized Nauticam NA-R50D housing and WWL-B lens recently. He loaned it to me for some quick tests in our local quarry...... The fixed port housing requires you use a Nauticam wet lens and the WWL-B provides an astounding 130 - 60 degree coverage. It allows full zoom and will focus on the glass dome! The Canon R50 kit lens's 18-45mm focal length on the camera's 24MP APS-C sensor paired with the WWL-B blew me away as I'm a compact system shooter. Additionally we barely had 8' / 2.5M of hazy crappy visibility but being able to get close and frame my dive buddy made the visibility appear better than it really was.. Back in the film days many Japanese underwater photographers would opt for a less expensive body and spend $$$$ on lenses. I did the same into dSLRs using a lower priced body but decent lenses especially once the Tokina 10-17mm, Sigma 15mm, etc. came along. I think this set up for those wanting something simple with a DPAF focussing APS-C 24 MP camera might want to take a look! Just one old guy's opinion as usual 🙂 David Haas

Don't know if this is still the case but a friend a few year's back took out his GoPro o-ring to "clean it" (it's really a flat compression silicone gasket.) When he installed it back in he didn't pay attention to one detail and flooded his housing (!!!!!!) He was then told by another GoPro housing user the flat gasket has one side with a very thin almost imperceptible line running down the middle. Evidently this "racing stripe" should be facing OUT towards where the door flattens the gasket. Again, I'm not sure as I'm not a GoPro housing owner / user. Just thought I'd share that anecdote....... D