dhaas

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

I had cataract surgery and the "full monty" 3 distance Alcon AcrySof Vivity IOL lenses implanted about 2 years ago. Since then no RX mask needed. My close up reading and medium distance is great. Can dive and read gauges no problem. Farthest lens correction due to astigmatism OK enough I COULD pass driving test without corrective glasses. But I've always wanted super far crispness so have a super mild RX pair pf glasses I really only need for driving. Went with Transition lenses too so non need for separate sun glasses. That part soured me a bit on getting a "full monty" correction, PLUS, it wasn't cheap. In the US my Medicare covered cataract replacement except for co-pay of $375.00 per eye. The cataract part was fabulous as my left eye was getting dimmer quite a bit. Everything else is elective surgery for not small $$$$. Other than cost I've counseled others in my age group considering IOL when getting cataract surgery to maybe only due one corrective lens. With astigmatism like I have maybe get all distance or all close up. Then either contacts or glasses for the other range. To be honest I likely could have bought a lot of RX masks for my remaining days diving plus wearing nice trendy progressive bi-focals for a lot less $$$$. Especially since I'd been wearing glasses since age 11 or so :( Heavy sigh....... Just one old guy's opinion! David Haas

More thoughts........ Last night I re-watched the 19 year old movie Into the Blue. Paul Walker is no longer with us and back then actors including Scott Chan and Jessica Alba were all very good accomplished free divers. I think it was reported Caan, Walker and Alba could easily free dive to 100' / 33 meters. What I always loved about the movie was the incredible cinematography done by industry veteran Pete Zuccarini. A master of the craft a lot was shot of course in shallow bright water and it's stunning. I share this to somewhat promote shallow diving as another consideration for creating stunning images. It's easier to explore using ambient light with or without flash added. You can spend more time nd also incur less deco or no-decompression obligation. I realize many diving deeper wrecks, caves, etc. make for dramatic photos too and if that's your thing go for it! At my age I pretty much dive a max 33M / 100' and mostly shallower than 70'. There's plenty to see in the shallows and being closer to the surface I leave behind a lot of gear making diving simpler for me. I still feel I can capture interesting photos and enjoy myself! Just some more musings 🙂 David Haas

I only shared my musings as subject of discussion and not to dissuade anyone from buying or using whatever device they prefer! Davide's graph and information has been out there for quite awhile and those unaware how compact cameras (even the nice 1" sensor models) have virtually stopped development likely weren't considering downsizing to such a choice anyway. I still enjoy shooting my Canon G7X II (presently camera less) and currently shopping for a "new to me" clean used one. There's thousands out there and I'm of the mindset electronic devices either work or don't. I don't fret over a few cosmetic blemishes as long as the lens is clean and it records a decent file for me to edit a bit. My choices push me into "different shooting" with a compact camera or iPhone. As I've previously shared I am also extremely lazy in my approach these days LOL.......If it's not easy I'm not interested in participating in the process! I wish camera manufacturers would embed certain AI the smartphones have been doing for ages like dynamic range algorthims. David Haas

As an old guy who's been around the block for decades I thought about evolutions in underwater imaging especially in the last year or so. Below are categories and changes I see as "coming soon". These musings apply to any ILC camera from dSLR, new mirrorless both APS-C, Full Frame and compacts. Feel free to disagree!!!!! As long as people are having fun creating images and videos go for it! Category #1 - Lenses and Dome Ports and Wet Lenses for wide angle shooting. * While wet lenses and their optical ability have been the rage for awhile I think many shooters are considering going back to optically good rectilinear lenses paired with dome ports, extensions, etc. Witness the interest in the Laowa 10mm with a 140mm smaller dome. This simplifies amount of gear for traveling plus a lens you might use for above water shooting. Plus split shooting which is difficult (impossible?) with a wet lens or at least not easily achieved. * One well known shooter recently schooled me on choosing a rectilinear WA lens for UNDERWATER use. He recommended rectilinear lenses with a minimum focus distance of 22cm (7.48") or closer. This will allow smaller domes to rival large domes image sharpness. * Fisheye lens corner sharpness is an obsession for some. Others hate the "fisheye / sperm" look of fisheyes. Many do a simple crop of objectionable corners and I personally would die on the hill proclaiming every photo could and should be cropped to improve the look! In WA shooting things happen quickly. It's the rare shooter who will swear the image was composed exactly as they wanted! Category #2 - Strobes * Sizes keeps coming down. Flash tubes in many new offerings are back to more straight tubes whatever the configuration. Diffusers, filters, etc. are options in all shapes, colors and sizes. * Batteries will evolve to LION despite the 88+ replies in recent threads on battery packs versus individual batteries, cheap versus "good" or "Safe" battery brands etc. I never understood someone buying an expensive $$$$$ strobe then buying cheap batteries 😞 LION has been in video lights a couple decades or more? Whether it's an 18650 or 21700 or whatever LION will become a standard. My own small LED flashlights and a video light have used individual 18650 for over 7 years and no problems traveling, charging, etc. * I was shocked reading the new Backscatter HF-1 strobe, Marelux Apollo models and others INCLUDE some form of S-TTL or TTL after years of people dissing automatic but + / - adjustable output automatically! LOL....Variety of shooting modes (plus the 5,000 lumen HF-1 LED Video light) are all welcome developments. I wonder if Inon whenever their Z440 or whatever will stick with AA NiMH or maybe also go with LION (?????) * Cordless firing (yes, it requires line of sight for triggering, but it works!) Marelux has introduced is amazing and I'd expect others may follow. Category #3 - Post Production and Editing * The elephant in the room is of course AI. For better or worse it will be used more and more if only by those who DON'T enter contests with rule restrictions, are "purists", etc. * Editing in programs whether Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, or ???? will make "getting it right in camera" almost obsolete. I use the lowly Apple Photos which has 90%+ of Apple's previous PRO program Aperture contained. Thousands (millions?) are happy with finalized photos edited quickly to share with family and friends. * Evolving tools will automate backscatter removal, color correction whether a JPEG, RAW, DNG or whatever. I personally have used a FREE App on my iPhone called SeaReal (currently iPhone only) but might be available for Android platform soon. One simple color slider on my iPhone underwater photos or "old digital camera pictures" has me editing easily. For Apple users I AirDrop back and forth from my Mac computers (iMac desktop and M2 MacBook Air laptop) which is so easy it is obscene 🙂 You can then use either the native Apple Photos App or on my iPhone the SnapSeed App. Share any image immediately from the phone or pop it back to a computer and create whatever art you desire. *The SeaReal App developer may create a backscatter removal App. I told him color, backscatter then "effects" is all most UW shooters might ever need. The "effects" tools would eliminate Snooting, HSS (High Speed Synch) for brighter or darker backgrounds plus more. While such effects are available via Lightroom or other programs editing will be faster and easier. As I mentioned in opening these thoughts are mine and mine alone !!!! I still enjoying being underwater, marveling at the beauty after diving for 55 years. I may grab a shot to enhance my experience but the days of "working hard at it" for what the majority of UW image hobbyists are over...... I wouldn't be surprised if Apple (love it or hate Apple) comes up with an UW mode in coming years. Housings for smart phones are everywhere. On my trips more and more folks have ditched any type camera for a smartphone. Maybe they add a video light for nighttime / close up shooting. Let's hear your thoughts where YOU think UW imaging is going! The speed of evolving tech is increasing. It's still an exciting time to capture the underwater world! Just some old guy; David Haas 🙂

Great read and comments. I feel the same way as on any trip it takes me a couple days to get into basically semi-decent exposures then a few more dives to look, watch, wait, adjust and all to try and capture something I visualize. I also confess I read but quickly tire of all the "measurbating" on lines of resolution per millimeter, edge sharpness of this lens / dome port, blah blah blah......Please.....Or maybe I'm just bored after shooting perhaps conservatively 100,000 frames from film to digital since 2001 (????) We need more discussion like this how an image makes one feel looking at it. These days I discount color, grain and other factors many (most?) shooter require in a photo to feel they succeeded. I've long been a fan of grainy B&W and here's an example of one photographer I really like his imaging. His insights truly inspire me! Keep diving and shooting :) https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/winning-travel-photo-contest-changed-life https://parley.tv/journal/2016/5/16/the-underwater-realm-photography-by-anuar-patjane https://matadornetwork.com/notebook/photographer-racking-awards-check-uses-point-shoot/

SOLD...........

Pair of Inon Z240 Type 4 strobes. Includes diffusers, o-rings and Inon Silicone grease, aiming light fresnels (RED and CLEAR) and manuals for each. $450.00 domestic USPS shipping included in two business days from confirmed payment. PayPal Friends and Family or Zelle only. No returns. Email directly with full name, address and phone. David Haas Stow OH 44224 (Eastern Time Zone) [email protected] 330-329-5981

I"ll only say this......I follow for informational fun new strobes and realize there's lots of choices these days. RETRA, Sea and Sea D3, the new Backscatter HF-1, Ikelite DS230, SEACAM and many more..... But for long term reliability and simplicity I agree with DreiFish the Inon S220 is way underrated (and undervalued.) Small size and Envelop AAs batteries make them an easy traveling and diving unit. The simple clear battery door and YELLOW o-ring you can see is sealed are other advantages too. Just one old guy's opinion 🙂 DH

In Phil's photo I am the young guy on the far right underwater 🙂 I few month prior to that class I had torn my right Achilles tendon but was determined to be "dive ready" and I was 🙂 This was one of a very few (2?) "underwater photography courses" David Doubilet ever ran and he shared with us insights in image making that I still recall......I like to tell folks he taught to "see" or at least try LOL..... And Phil's right, I was a large system guy for many years! All in fun 🙂 DH PS - The Nurse shark and Manta shots were from Maldive's trips and only dropped in as I was babbling about my choice of compact systems....... Sorry for any confusion !!!!!

Pooley, I host a few trips now and then with my partner from Southern California, Evan of www.seasickproductions.com After many, MANY years of organizing trips and selling underwater photo gear (Aquatica, Ikelite and Fantasea) all I wanted to do in my "senior years" was take easy going fun people diving 🙂 I still host UW shooters with large systems, small rig shooters (Olympus TG6 /7 is super popular anywhere macro critters are) plus Smart Phones and GoPro folks. Everyone's welcome 🙂 Here's the trip and I was Group 2 of this 3rd group..... https://www.seasickproductions.com/bali-61824 Basically it was Tulamben for all my dives. Evan has an incredible ward winning video on the www.seasickproductions.com home page all shot right out front where we dived 🙂 We had access to a boat for 1/2 days and alternated between that and shore guided dives. All the sites we did were barely 5-10 minuted away via their little trucks. Guides haul everything for the shore dives including bringing your tank into and out of the water after you wade in with just your mask and fins. Big camera systems too (they're experienced with them.) Bali is bargain and you can find all manner of accommodations in Tulamben. DH

PS - I sold my Canon G7X II camera for an insane $$$$ as soon as I returned home. It seems "young Vloggers" think the Canon G7X II (debuted in 2017 for around $650 USD) and the Canon G7X III (debuted in 2019 around $749 USD) are simply the coolest thing going. They shoot what I think are totally unflattering full flash portraits of themselves and friends, but hey, whatever you like is fine with me! The G7X III added 4K video and couple other features but not Phase detection AF like Sony's RX100 V / VA / VII models. It seems these Vloggers WOWWED by these little cameras have driven prices up for cameras that are even discontinued. I don't have a trip coming up for a bit so can sit and wait until used prices come back down and have done so buying and selling several over the past 2-5 years. I still own two Fantasea FG7X II housings and Air Lenses so I'm set for whatever my next move is going forward. I also sold my Inon S220 strobe to a fellow compact shooter who wanted a 2nd Inon S220. So now I'm totally "strobeless". I may only shoot WA ambient light B&W (or color) in my remaining days diving. It's been 55 years blowing bubbles and I'm fine with my decision........ Being totally lazy on traveling light and obsessed with my "less is more" philosophy your choices should satisfy you and you alone. As long as you're enjoying the underwater world I hope all travel and shoot whatever you desire too. I plan on that approach 🙂 DH

To answer Chip here is all I hauled to Bali 🙂 The Fantasea wide angle "Air Lens" pops on and off my Fantasea FG7X II housing restoring my Canon G7X II cameras native widest 24mm focal length. As I've posted many times I know people say 24mm isn't wide enough LOL...... It has been for me since 2016 when I switched totally to compact shooting 🙂 DH

I wrote a long text which disappeared before posting (????) Here's a quick summary..... Basically be prepared to break it up as others said. Be open to selling strobes, cords, or whatever might be usable on various systems. Be realistic how much you've used an item. Clearly state it works NOW, but it's USED. Too many buyers want pristine new condition for dirt cheap. Not fair to the seller in my opinion. Selling is also emotional because of what you PAID for something. You have to factor how much use you got and many won't bring themselves to do that 😞 I've recently used www.mpb.com who sends you a quote and Fedex shipping label on their dime. Be realistic on the condition and you'll get quick fair wholesale $$$$ in your pocket for the next trip. Being in this game a long time I only want what I'll realistically use in my remaining days traveling and diving but that's me....... I've seen way too many folks always "getting ready, buying for an upgrade path, etc." and hardly go diving and shooting. Doesn't make much sense to me....... One favorite mantra is: "If I haven't worn it or used in a year (or sooner) I'm unlikely to, EVER...... Ditch it and put some $$$$ in your pocket and head out on the next adventure 🙂 Good luck! David Haas

NO LONGER AVAILABLE.......

I can't recall the exact site but you may be correct. Our cruise director mentioned those table corals coming back very well and the mantas loved them for cleaner fish popping up 🙂

Inon S220 Strobe(s) - 2 available with spare o-rings, Inon Silicone Grease New model with mount forward, cord attachment towards the rear making for easier configuration. GN 22 is understated and beam angle of 140 degrees horizontal by 100 degrees vertical provide great coverage with no diffuser. * One strobe - $325.00 shipped * BOTH strobes - $600.00 shipped. US shipping only in 2 business days from confirmed PayPal or Zelle payment. No returns. Contact Directly: [email protected] 330-329-5981 EST zip code 44224

Blue Force One has been our preferred choice for 3 trips now and they deliver! DH

Disembarked Blue Force One in Maldives Feb. 13th after 10 days diving. Fabulous dives with some deep plus currents but great fun 🙂 My simple camera rig continues to surprise me....... I did many dives with no wide angle "Air Lens". My simple Fantasea F Series Air Lens restores my Canon G7X II compact camera's 24mm focal length. Without it essentially 24mm X 1.25 flat port refraction = 30mm focal length. Being able to shoot moderate 30mm focal length was an advantage on drift dives or other challenging situations. Clear water helped and the Inon S220 with GN 22 provided plenty of power for my 1" sensor 20.1 Megapixel files. Next trip to Bali in May I may refine the simplicity even further!

Headed back to Maldives Feb. 3-13 🙂 Taking my easy traveling Canon G7X II compact, Fantasea housing and one Inon S220 mounted in the cold shoe. Best part is the whole thing floats so I won't lose it no matter what! DH