dhaas

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) davidhaas4596@gmail.com 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: davidhaas4596@gmail.com 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

For those contemplating a compact camera set up here's a thread I posted over on Scubaboard........Too many pics and such to duplicate so I thought this would be easier for anyone interested. https://scubaboard.com/community/threads/anyone-gone-from-an-apsc-advanced-compact-to-a-point-and-shoot.641886/page-2 And the text is here: Olympus TG6 /7 - Macro and microscope mode for macro is great even with the small sensor and basically two f-stop choices. Certain strobes like AOI Q1 RC and Backscatter MF-2 can do RC controlled flash which is super accurate automatically. Can capture decent WA shots in good light. Easy set up with several videos out there help minimize menu confusion. Sony RX100 V, VA, even VI / VII - 20 megapixel 1" sensor with great autofocus, all TTL flash (no manual flash choice to conserve battery power) but most small strobes pair well for very good flash control. Macro challenging even with diopters but good wide angle lens options make this choice a good one. Menus can be "challenging" but larger 1" sensor than Olympus TG-6-7 makes for better wide angle and medium fish shots in sharpness. Most models have great 4K video too. Canon G7X (original if shooting JPEG as first G7X had really slow RAW processing improved on G7X II and III.) All original G7X, G7X II and G7X III have a 20 megapixel 1" sensor and fast 24-100mm f 1.8 - 2.8 lens producing nice images in macro, fish and wide angle. Some folks complain AF (autofocus) being contrast versus Sony's dual pixel AF is a little slower. In real world shooting it's not as big a deal as some make it out to be. Flash control choice of AUTO (TTL) which pairs great with any S-TTL (Slave TTL automatic flash) plus can do manual flash at low power to conserve battery if one chooses to set flash units manually. Easiest menus to learn and use. Also has best white balance for ambient light shooting color balance. Most housings have 67mm threads for adding SUPER macro lenses or a variety of wide angle options from low cost to expensive depending on housing. I am biased as a lazy traveling warm water diver. I sold all my remaining SLR gear in 2016 and switched to compact shooting since then. Recently I even leave behind tray, arms, etc. and only shoot one strobe (currently Inon S220) mounted on my Fantasea housing's cold shoe. Coverage is fine for me and set up and diving with a small rig is a breeze but that's my taste after diving 55 years. David Haas Compact Camera User 🙂

Fabulous !!!!!

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

Sale on this one didn't happen so still available. Great shape Inon S2000 shown with a 1" Ball Mount, spare o-ring and grease - $265.00 shipped domestic US. Shipping in 2 business days from confirmed payment, no returns. Zelle payment preferred but could do PayPal Friends and Family to avoid extra % charges. Email directly: davidhaas4596@gmail.com or text call Eastern Time Zone, Ohio 330-329-5981

Have Spot and Flood Beam.......