dhaas

To Dave Hicks and Gary R and others.... Absolutely global decline with water warming to previously unheard of levels is affecting coral worldwide. My only point was that posts basically telling people don't go here, there or anywhere may not be realistic. I doubt there's anywhere left on the planet untouched by global climate change both land and sea. I can look at my first digital photos (below) from 2001 shooting a lowly 3.3MP Nikon Coolpix 990 in Papua New Guinea and see the decline of reefs and all too. Doesn't make me happy either....... I'd say do what you want and share your thoughts, but me? I'm still going diving (and photographing) since I'm lucky to be able to at my age :) DH

I think the problem is people keep wanting to compare fabulous Pacific dive spots to the Caribbean.... They're two world apart destinations, different amount of population, infrastructure and more....Each will be different plus the time since someone visited last and other factors will influence one's opinion. I could dive the same island year after year and each trip will have different temperature, visibility, animal encounters, etc. Example: The Mantas at "Manta Point" won't necessarily get your memo of taking a week from work or life and you'll be arriving !!!!! LOL......Plus who knows WHEN a site got named that and by whom....... After 5 decades I just go underwater and LOOK AROUND......There's always something to see and enjoy :) Just get out there and photograph at any level of competence and desire....... You're sure to have fun with that approach !!! DH Some old guy still traveling and enjoying the ocean world :)

My dive buddy Nemrod and I dived Roatan in October and despite all of the Caribbean being "less lush and pristine" I still saw and photographed plenty of life...... This year I've been diving for 55 years and recall when the Caribbean was pristine. I think one has to be realistic on a planet trying to support 8 Billion people that it's not going to be the same as 10-20-30+ years ago. Many divers just starting the last couple decades may not have the means to go to Asia, the Red Sea, Maldives, Australia, Philippines, Indonesia or Maldives which all can be "less than people recall back in the day". My 11 year old grandson rolls his eyes telling me; "Grandpa, no one wants another story from back in the day!" LOL...... The Caribbean is still worth diving and fun to photograph underwater. :) Just one old guy's opinion! David Haas

I've seen lots of scuba and other tools confiscated if in your carry on bags. Some valid (cutting devices, Leatherman or Swiss Army / Victorinox tools that have some type of a blade and even 6" or so adjustable crescent wrench in Egypt from a fellow diver a few years ago. I never put tools in a carry on. Just pack any in your checked luggage and sort it out once at your destination would be my recommendation. YMMV...... David Haas Photo of me shot by my Roatan dive buddy Nemrod :)

Amigos, Here's a short take on Ikelite's newest small but powerful fiber optically triggered TTL flash. Enjoy! David Haas DivePhotoGuideShooting the Ikelite Ecko Fiber Strobes in Roatán

I think if shooting with strobe(s) which I do and don't do depending on my mood many shooters dismiss slower and less "PRO" labeled lenses without trying them. At f8 being a sweet spot and modern cameras being so much better at ISO400 and above lightweight mid-zoom or "kit lenses" should be given serious consideration IMHO. Lighter weight and lower cost make many a good choice and I've used many successfully over decades. If you're a full frame shooter the mentioned Canon 24-105mm slower lens might be worth picking up! David Haas Here's a couple over 20 year old shots. I used a Canon Digital Rebel XT or XTi, Canon 18-55mm IS lens in an Ikelite housing with 6" dome port and a single Ikelite DS125 strobe. First pic might have been with a Canon 10-22mm EF-S lens....That shark had likely been hooked via a long line and broke free. Bite marks might have made it prey to other sharks (just guessing???)

Depending on what tray you have (preferably a dual handle one) here's a couple low cost solutions. 1) Simply thread some long cable ties (like 6" regulator mouthpiece ones) through the base plate center and a 1-2 lb. weight underneath the housing when you get to your dive location. 2) If enough room buy one of the trim weight pockets for BCDs or weight belts and put that under your housing tray. That has the advantage of sliding various weights into it and cushions the underside a bit. https://www.scuba.com/p-xssqawp/xs-scuba-quick-attach-single-weight-pocket?msclkid=20ce4040d442165e847328f09f4aba2e&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Scuba.com%20-%20US%20-%20P-Max%20-%20Categories%20-%20Scuba%20Gear%20(All%20Visitors)%20700%25&utm_term=2329109226044619&utm_content=P-Max%20-%20Categories%20-%20Scuba%20Gear&gclid=20ce4040d442165e847328f09f4aba2e&gclsrc=3p.ds&gad_source=7&gad_campaignid=22673310953 Just a couple ideas! David Haas

As Tim states Full Frame sensor cameras behind any dome will "challenge" sharpness out the edges. Larger 230mm domes at 15-30mm will be a bit sharper at f8-16 but still I wouldn't count on a huge difference. My advice with gear you have: Shoot with the dome and extension you have if that's what Seafrogs recommends for your particular lens. At 15mm for divers, wide scenics, etc. stop down to maybe f8 - 11...... You didn't say if those were shot only ambient light or with a strobe(s). For over / under shots a larger dome is preferred. You can "cheat" with your smaller dome port. Use f16-22 focussing on the underwater portion then bringing the dome up to get above and below in reasonable focus but all larger dome ports will work better..... Zoomed to 30mm I'd shoot only critters down to maybe 5" long or so. Macro tiny critters will be easier with a longer focal length preferably a dedicated macro lens and flat port. Or shoot what you have an crop and sharpen in post for online sharing. Here's a couple photos of the kiddos in a pool. Canon R100 APS-C sensor 24 MP camera and RF-S 10-18mm lens (equal to 16-28.8mm on my camera.) Used in the Ikelite DLM housing and compact dome port with pair of the new Ikelite Ecko strobes on TTL using the housing's Fiber Optic TT5 transmitter. Good luck! David Haas

Oh how bghazzal writes what I believe too! I look back at every path I RAN down for the next shiny toy I imagined would propel my images into the stratosphere :) Only to end up selling 90+% off after frustrating myself....... Once you find your magic formula of shooting (style or whatever you want to call it) just go spend more team diving and shooting. In 1990 when Phil Rudi, I and a few others got to spend 5 days with David Doubilet in West Palm Beach one evening at dinner I believe one thing he said stuck with me. He was talking about what National Geographic gave shooters once committed to a story. "Time in the water was more valuable than anything else." That idea has stuck with as I traveled, photographed, sold photos, used them to promote hosted trips and more. I"m lucky to been diving long enough through the go go years of scuba growth. Dive computers, BCDs, better thermal insulation and especially digital imaging.....I could go on and on all I've seen in 55 years of diving. It still thrills me keeping me enthusiastically "in the game". I won't fault anyone buying what they want, but when I see many continue to be "getting ready" and never using said equipment enough to get their desired images or videos it does sadden me a bit. So get out there more :) David Haas

Having always stayed at APS-C or under for my UW photographic pursuits I do find many in the tiny UW imaging world always waiting for the "next big thing". This despite current equipment having incredible AF and exposure, large file sizes and capability for any creativity....I see many miss just jumping in to go have fun shooting...... Scroll down on one of my favorite web sites read daily. Ken Rockwell's Aug. 7th post on getting what you want NOW rings true in my book...... https://kenrockwell.com/tech/00-new-today.htm I'm happy with my choices and continue to get outfitted and dive having fun shooting underwater as often as possible. I learn something new (and challenge myself) every time I get below the surface with a camera....... Just one old guy's opinion :) David Haas Here's one example: Diving our local quarry last Sunday the "hazy" 4' - 6' of visibility didn't stop me from trying various techniques. I'm a wide to medium shooter these days anyway meaning get close! Canon R100, RF-S 10-18mm IS lens, Ikelite DLM housing with compact 6" dome port. Shot with ambient light plus a few with a pair of 2,000 lumen Orcatorch video lights not effective past maybe 2' in daylight LOL...... I edited them after "pinging" some files to my iPhone directly from my Canon R100. The iPhone only SeaReal App for color with the one slider then 45 additional seconds per photo using Apple's Photos App included with every Apple / Mac product :)

Elie Masbanji is in California USA. He bought several Nikonos items from me over the years and a nice guy. He's also pretty adept at disassembling them and repairs. [email protected] 818) 309-7673‬

I've tried it with hard wired older Ikelite TTL and current sTTL (Inon) and a few other sTTL / TTL systems. Unless in a bright almost surface condition like Chip and Chris refer to better to pick a fixed ISO then sTTL / TTL will do it's thing better. Of course this is based on f-stop, strobe to subject distance, individual subject reflectivity, etc. It's also easier to change ISO on modern mirrorless cameras up or down a bit then continually changing shutter speed / f-stops once you've set up for depth of field, etc. DH Photo of me in Alexander Springs April, 2025 taken by my friend and PRO UW photographer Paul Rudin :)

WOW.......WOW.......WOW.......You guys amaze me how you configure back ups for what many (most?) say you'll never access those files again. EVER...... LOL..... After years of photo agencies submissions and direct magazines, book publishers, etc. submissions (back in the slide days) I realized there's now hundreds to thousands of shooters with the same exact wonderful colorful images from everywhere, just like many of my photos........ So I stopped...... Stopped trying to duplicate what's been done. Stopped duplicating what I myself shot in oceans worldwide. Stopped doing what I call "SS" as in Shampoo Shooting". Lather, Rinse, Repeat....... Since then I challenge myself shooting and editing a few pics from any trip. All I've ever backed up with is a now discontinued Apple Time Capsule that backs up whatever automatically. Whether it's transferred from my iPhone to iCloud (I'm all Apple guy here) so any keepers are either on my newest MacBook Air M2 or 2017 ancient iMac 27" computer (soon to be replaced by a Mac Mini M4 and big beautiful monitor.) Both my machines have 1TB of storage and I'm nowhere near using the space. BUT......I'm a brutal "delete" shooter and critical of my own pictures. First pass on either machine I go through a full screen review. I've worn out the delete key's label on 2 keyboards of the old iMac.,,,,,,,,Granted they're only sent to the DELETE / TRASH file and I might go back but not likely....My initial reaction is usually a firm yes or no..... On my hosted trips I jokingly tell folks they should select 10-20 shots unless you want to include fun people pics, vacation pics or whatever as a slide show. Those stellar picks you proudly show your friends and family. They'll think you're David Doubilet, Brian Skerry or whomever!!!! LOL...... Like many I can search keepers quickly through year / month / trip, etc. I've never bought Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop although I did have Elements for awhile many moons ago. For decades I've use the included Apple Photos App included free with every iPhone, iPad, MacBook, iMac, Mac Mini, etc. The newest Photos version is maybe 95% Aperture which was Apple's PRO program before they threw in the towel to Adobe. Maybe I'm the outlier not keeping a super organized database, keyboarding, etc. I don't know....... As mentioned in many of my posts I'm the laziest but fun loving shooter out there.......Not trying to be a rebel or critic, it's just a choice at almost 72 years old, diving and shooting for 55 years now.... I do wrestle with myself from buying new gizmos and keep shooting the same old images.......Seeing great pics everywhere these days is in everyone's subconscious. We can't help but see a similar scene in front of us but then it will be OUR photo so it MUST be different :) Last year I said I'd never buy a larger sensor camera (MFT, APS-C or FF) but now am back using an APS-C camera. But still no strobes so far. The new Ikelite RC165 and Ecko are tempting me so we'll see.....MUST....RESIST....TEMPTATION..... My recent posted SS Thistlegorm and other Red Sea trip shots were captured using a pair of 2000 lumen video lights. Most images I shared were taken with ambient light and tweaked using the SeaReal App on my iPhone. I was tickled how many looked after some editing back in Photos. The SeaReal App which I've mentioned previously is only for iPhone and only to adjust color. Any additional editing of shadows, highlights, contrast, etc. I do in the Apple Photos App on a computer after Airdropping the SeaReal color adjusted file. Digital has given us the capability to save anything and everything but I contend we shouldn't...... Keep enjoying UW image making however you like and I fully enjoy hearing what others do to finalize their images :) I'll continue in the "less is more" camp whether shooting, saving, editing and sharing :) David Haas

Kristin, Between the lower end Canon R100 and R50 the R50 has Digic X processor and full sensor width 4K (downsampled from 6K.) It's pretty impressive in a low cost package and you can search out land reviews of the video features on YouTube. So I wouldn't rule out a R50 especially with the wonderful Nauticam NA-R50 housing for either stills or video. High end video shooters may need a bit more variables to control but still most of what video shooters require is built in. Plus what are you doing with your videos? I've shared many good looking 1080P clips online. Last thing is for the lower price of the R50 you can buy 2 bodies / 18-45mm IS STM lens that works in the Nauticam NA-R50 housing and have $$$$ left over for a WWL-C or WWL-B or whatever wide wet lens. Just one guy's thoughts :) DH

I agree 100% with Davide DB's assessment. All the things he mentions in today's modern mirrorless models from many manufacturers mean superior image quality whether in stills or video are achievable with APS-C. What Davide refers to as cynical I call practical thinking. I always was a budget shopper as in: "What do I really NEED to make images (or videos) that I'll actually edit, print, share in whatever format?" I read several photography web sites daily to keep up on tech details but don't get sucked down the rabbit hole of spending more $$$$. Previous APS-C cameras even waning dSLR models produced great images. New mirrorless models (I'm a Canon shooter) have much improved DPAF AF and other features. Those were improvements why I bought a Canon R50 plus even lower priced R100 I use underwater. I do think if you're going into a mirrorless R7 II when it comes out would be a good move. The cheap Canon EF-RF adapter means you could use your existing EF lenses seamlessly. I will say the RF lens versions are usually lighter, smaller and in many cases cheaper delivering great pictures. One underlooked macro is the RF85mm F2 versus the longer focal length RF100 especially on an APS-C sensor (Canon is a 1.6X crop factor.) While the 85mm F2 won't do 1:1 I'd ask potential macro shooters how much 1:1 or even more magnification shots do you REALLY take? Even your 60mm 1:1 APS-C designed macro lens with the EF-RF adapter would produce great macros to get started in a mirrorless camera set up. A lot to parse but think you'd be more than satisfied for years choosing a Canon APS-C mirrorless model. David Haas PS - Search under my name for photos taken with my Canon R50 in the Nauticam fixed port NA-R50 housing plus recently a Canon R100 in the Ikelite DLM housing.