Dave_Hicks

Thanks for the spec sheet analysis. However, you came to the wrong conclusion. They last plenty long enough to be easy to use and live with. About a year ago my vac sensor started eating 2032s for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It became unusable as it ate the battery after every dive day. Possibly caused by a minor moisture incident in the Philippines that triggered the alarm. In practice I tend to set the rig up and draw vacuum the night before diving and then open it at the end of the day or next morning. So, after 24-48 hours I had a dead cell. The rechargeable cells lasted at least that long and were not throw away. I since replaced my vac circuit but continue to use the rechargeable cells. They run much longer now, and I just recharge them after they die or after a several dive days. I have a six or ten pack of them so it's easy to rotate between them and recharge in a batch. In short, they are fine in real world use and much less wasteful. The vacuum circuits are real battery hogs even when they work properly and I always prefer to use a rechargeable cell whenever they are available.

Rechargeable 2032 batteries: https://a.co/d/07wLBk3T So you don't need to care if the battery runs down.

Looks like this is available on all the major FF lens mounts. Minimum focal distance is the same as Nikon's 8-15 at 16cm. Behind a dome the Nikon is effectively zero cm. Mount: Sony E / Nikon Z / Canon RF / L Mount / Fujifilm GFX / Hasselblad XCD Laowa 8-15mm f/2.8 FF Zoom Fisheye$699.00 In stock Laowa 8-15mm f/2.8 FF Zoom Fisheye is a full-frame lens designed for photographers and content creators seeking bold, creative perspectives. It delivers a dual fisheye effect with a versatile zoom range and an ultra-fast f/2.8 aperture, guaranteeing a jaw-dropping visual style for stunning imagery. An unparalleled flexibility is provided to vloggers, content creators, and photographers for capturing expansive landscapes, compact cities, action sports, and 360° panoramas. Mount: Sony E / Nikon Z / Canon RF / L Mount / Fujifilm GFX / Hasselblad XCD

Artisanal Warming Gel Filters I first made some custom warming filters last year to pair with my Retra strobe reduction rings. The Retra 4500k diffuser cannot be combined with their reduction ring, and in my PNW diving environment I really need both at the same time. My first take at this project was successful, but pretty crude and ugly. First, I found gel sheets and 3-inch acrylic disks on Amazon. I cut out a 3-inch round disk of the gel filter and then smeared one side of the acrylic with Superglue and stuck on the filter. It was quite messy, removing the bubbles was never fully successful, and I ruined at least 50% of the samples in the process. And I stuck my fingers together multiple time despite wearing gloves. I printed a TPU ring to enclose the filters and stuck them in the Retra reduction ring. I added a ridge in the reduction ring to hold the filter in place and made some vent holes to drain the bubble created. I've been using this solution for months now with good success. The bubbles and scratches didn't impact the strobe quality as best I could tell. Amazingly the superglue-acrylic sandwich survived the better part of 100 dives. Recently I decided to take another stab at a better and cleaner process to create the filter disks. I laid out a single sheet of gel filter and taped it down to a slab of cardboard. I set aside 8 acrylic disks and peeled the protective film from one side and put a bit of tape on the other, still protected side, so I didn't flip them accidentally. Then I painted the entire gel sheet with a 2-part clear epoxy resin. I placed 8 of the disks on the epoxy-gel surface and pressed hard to get out most of the bubbles. 24 hours later, they are fully set and dry. Using an X-Acto knife I cut out each disk and then had to "shave" the dried epoxy from the edge of the disk. This is more tedious part of the operation. Finally, I peel off the top layer's protective film and slip on the TPU ring. The filter can then be popped into the reduction rings as seen here: The disks are very durable, and this version is much cleaner that what I managed to make with superglue back in December. My custom Retra and Backscatter Atom reduction rings fully support the filters. My Backscatter HF-1 reduction rings were designed to sit on top of the Backscatter filters, but now I can redesign them to use the bayonet mount rather than the bulkier slip over design I currently have. That will be my next project in the next few days. Here is a close-up image of the HF-1 filter, the clear disks, and the final Artisanal filter. Many other filter gels are available if other color casts are desired, even Blue Floro gels. Links for the materials I used from Amazon: 3-inch acrylic disks: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B097D7Z51M?th=1 4500k gel filter sheets: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08814S8KM Two-part epoxy resin: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083SRX7TJ?th=1

It was offline for me as well after I saw your message. I checked and the domain registration expiration was May 14th, yesterday. Probably something to do with that boundary.

I have not seen one, but i have the lens and can knock out a gear for it tomorrow. I will post a link once i get the model uploaded. For Nauticam.

Ha! I went on a Amboseli Kenya Safari in the dry season and let me tell you it was DUSTY! I needed to clean off everything every night, and don't even think about changing a lens in the field.

That did it. Sent you a test message.

Mailbox is full, but i don't want to empty it. Can this limit be raised, or can you suggest a solution so o don't lose data? Export perhaps?

Yes I used it last week, and will again tonight. Works fine. I made it for someone who requested it for cold water use. It certainly helps.

I second your EVF + 45deg experience. Its amazing and the real mirrorless super power. I use a Nikon Z8 and can easily do 3 dives and 600 photos with about 25-50% charge remaining.

I have thought about this. For sure it could be done, and the total dry weight would be less than joining two separate components. Including an n### -> n*** adapter in the port ring would also be possible. Once the core parts are accurately modeled, remixing, mixing, matching are not super challenging. I have a lot of confidence in the distinct Float Rings with over a year and at least 100 dives on these parts. In the last month I've completed about 20-25 dives on a 40mm Extension Ring with zero problems. Combining should be safe, and even if the float part failed, the thicker walled Port part would remain intact. The downside would be cost of replacing the whole unit. Not a problem for a DIYer, but could be a concern for a consumer. Probably what would be more practical would be to make an entire printed Macro Port, glass inserted, and then integrating flotation into that single unit. I'll be attempting a Curved Glass macro port soon. Building in floatation might be a no-brainer if successful. On the other hand, if the extension ring is mounting a Dome port, then integrated flotation would be much more useful. It would be similar to how the WWL-1 ports have either integrated or foam floats added to the assembly. Lots of good ideas to kick around! I first want to get N100 models and possibly N85 parts designed and tested next. If there is any interest in people testing or eventually buying floats, port rings, or entire ports, I would consider candidate combinations that would be popular.

You see a dog bone, I am seeing something a little different! 🙄

The WWL-C is actually great, but would not work well for salmon as you are never deep enough to flood and remove all the bubbles from the wet mate optics. And 8-15mm in the 140mm dome is my choice for snorkeling or shallow work. I've been shooting it with a TC recently and it is very good.

Here is a video of one of the GPO's on this trip that was grooming and cleaning its suckers. It's pretty crazy! Nikon Z8 w/8-15mm Fisheye lens + 1.4TC, f8@1/30s iso800, Pair of Retra Maxi strobes with 4500k filters in 6000 lumen video mode

I will work on that, including the extension ring.

I have the Kenko 1.4x Teleplus DG Pro 300. Bought it in 2011 originally to use with the Tokina 11-17fe.

This one is a bit spookier: Kraken and Ghost DiverNikon Z8 w/8-15mm Fisheye lens + 1.4TC, f9@1/25s iso500, Pair of Retra Maxi strobes with 4500k filters

This Giant Pacific Octopus (Enteroctopus dolpheini) was one of about five GPO's we saw out in the open during four days of diving in Barkley Sound with Rendezvous Dive Adventures. Conditions were perfect deep on the reef, and our group found many GPO's hunting and resting on the rocky topology of Barkley Sound. A Giant Pacific Octopus (Enteroctopus dolpheini) strikes a pose on a colorful part of the reef surrounded by Giant Plumose Anemones (Metridium farcimen). Nikon Z8 w/8-15mm Fisheye lens + 1.4TC, f9@1/20s iso320, Pair of Retra Maxi strobes with 4500k filters

Very slick! About those original knobs. I shared with Retra the feedback about salt constantly forming around the knobs even after an overnight soak. That hollow cavity and tight fitting to the base means they just can't be rinsed out. I designed the replacement knobs to eliminate the cavity and provide a slightly bigger gap at the bottom to allow for drainage. The mode switch gets a different shape to make it easy to distinguish with gloves on.

I have a much more basic carry handle setup that has served me well. Paracord, mini bolt-snap, little D-ring, 1/2 inch tubing. About $10. Attached to the top of the ULCS arm. Zip tied a big oring at the bottom of the arm to stow it while diving.

That's a great set! Thanks for sharing.

After a current-heavy trip to Galapagos about a dozen years ago I came home with super floppy arms. I had cranked them down hard so many times in the current the o-rings were shot. Fresh o-rings made a word of difference. Then I ended up selling all of my ULCS clamps and bought all new ones for good measure. The old ones were still in good shape, but I cleaned them up and sold them for about half the cost of new ones. They were well over 10 years old. Sometimes it's just good to start fresh.

Huh? Which 8-15 is sharper than the other 8-15? With the Nauticam 140mm dome setup, 10mm is too far back already. The vignette is at 11 or lower. I was thinking about modifying the zoom ring to disallow it from going back any further than where it clips. It should just take some specific alignment to make it work.

Conclusion: To my eye the quality off all of these images is quite good. Even at fairly low shutter speed of 1/20th second an mid-range apertures of f9 the images are quite sharp and the corners look acceptable. The 8-15 + 1.4 outperforms the WWL-C setup in the corners by a small margin. I don't see any significant negatives to adding the 1.4tc to the 8-15. However, on occasion you will likely miss-zoom at the 11-12mm range and slightly clip the frame. A minor crop will take care of this.