Dave_Hicks

You are talking like there is only one correct way to do lighting. This is not so. You can backlight from behind the port. You are able to create much more dramatic light and shadows with all of 3d space to position your strobes, which I do frequently. Pointing the strobe toward the lens is OK. However, with this WWL len/port it can catch an internal reflection perhaps more dramatically than other ports I've used. "also they are not red" Are you trying to tell us that this is a T-shaped bubble or sun flare? I assume the color is changed via some refraction in the glass as in chromatic aberration.

See below: This is flare caused by the strobe reflecting in the lens. The lens/port CAN see the strobe. I do a lot of shooting where the subject is backlit and/or the strobe is in front to the port aiming back toward the lens. Most ports don't show this sort of reflection, so I suspect it is a quirk of the WWL wet optics. In this case it's easily removed from the photo. I took another shot seconds after this one where I pulled the strobe back just a bit and the reflection went away. I was shooting an Inon strobe with a t-shaped pair of bulbs. It's clearly visible. null

It is flare in the WWL-C. I was shooting with it today after reading this thread. Confirmed. I released any bubbles at the start of the dive. In some particular strobe positions I can see the 2 parts of the "T-shaped" xenon bulbs of my Inon 330. In the very next shot I move the flash off the plane of the port and it is gone. I use a lot of inward lighting and if it is on the plane of the glass port it can reflect.

Looks like left right strobes positioned too close to the port. Get longer arms and get them up and out! Try two 16 inch segments per arm.

FYI - I shared a 3d printed design for the 24-50z Nauticam zoom gear. Save yourself a bundle with DIY. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6460615

That 9.99/1TB plan is for Lightroom only - Not Lightroom Classic.

I bought my first 3D printer about a year ago and have had a lot of fun learning how to print, design, and make useful tools. This is my latest project. One of my common UW Camera configurations is to have a macro lens/port with two heavy diopters on a dual flip mount. This makes the rig front heavy and adds over a full pound (450g) of weight. This had me contemplating a functional custom built Port Float Collar. Most of the Nauticam Wet Optics have built in float collars, so that is one inspiration. Making a float collar that would fit over the port seems like a nice solution that does not add bulk to the setup. I've seen foam floats sold for this purpose, but that seems clunky and also, where is the fun in buying something? Turn out that making a waterproof, pressure resistant object with 3D printed materials is not so easy. Even tight prints are full of microscopic holes. I made a number of block floats to experiment with, and they all leaked at depth under 2-3 atmospheres. After some trial and error and research I finally came up with an effective solution. Balancing weight of the object with desired buoyancy you can't use too much material, or the float won't add more buoyancy that it adds dry weight. I've got a solution now that provides about a 1.3 ratio of buoyancy/mass, but I expect I can improve this more over time. Nauticam ports have a plastic foot installed with two M3 bolts. I removed the plastic foot (does anyone use that?) and used the bolt holes to fix the float to the port. Yesterday I had the chance to test my first working solution and it worked great! No leaks or implosion and the balance of the camera rig seemed to be improved! I took it to about 90 feet and didn't see bubbles. I weighed the float before and after to be sure it did not take on any water. I haven't shared a design at this point as I want to test and evaluate for a while to see if it holds up with use or needs improvements. I'll next make another sample for the Port 60 as I sometimes use that with a Kraken KRL-09s wet wide lens + diopter on the dual flip adapter. Here are a few pictures of my first effort: Port Collar Float for Nauticam Port 87 (105mm): Dry Weight: 199g/7oz Buoyancy: 355g/12.5oz

That ship has sailed. Every underwater flashlight in use today is Li-ion, and a good chunk of the strobes are as well. I've been using other Backscatter strobes run on 18650's for 4 years now, and the MF-2 with 21700 for a while now. I'm careful with them and won't change unattended, but I don't have any major concerns. What I would like to see is for Li-on chargers to have better regulation / qualification and for the online retailers to put a moratorium to crap quality batteries. I've bought devices in the past that came with chargers that did not even have reverse polarity protection, which is pretty bad indeed.

Yes please!

Durability is of course a big question. However, I will say that at least in the US, Backscatter has been incredibly customer friendly in dealing with service issues. Low friction and fast turnaround in every case I had, and there were a few as the original MF-1 strobe had some early problems. The newer MF-2 has been rock solid for me and I've not heard from others about defects.

From the website: The Hybrid Flash is significantly brighter at maximum power than what most people are used to shooting. At guide number 40 it generates a lot of light but also generates a significant amount of heat if shot in rapid succession at that power level. The Hybrid Flash manages this with an aluminum flash head, internal heat sink, and multiple temperature sensors. These protections allow the hybrid flash to keep shooting without interruption, so you'll never miss a shot. At least the front of the strobe in aluminum if not the whole body. But there is nothing at all wrong with plastic. It's durable and lightweight. My trusty Inon strobes are fully plastic with a metal heat sink. The Backscatter MF-2 strobes are fully aluminum by the way.

Wow, this sounds fantastic. HSS, 10 flashes/second, video light, great battery life, and that ambient blue filter looks interesting. Very tempted!

40deg -> 80deg? How does that happen, in either Celsius or Fahrenheit?

Always seal your housing in an air conditioned room if possible. Next best is outside. A non climate controlled room tends to be the highest possible humidity.

I would soak it in warmer water with a mild vinegar solution. Since it is a small dive computer a small bowl will work and need just a bit of vinegar. Soak for an hour and work all the buttons under water. If you have or can buy some silicone spray, follow up with some of that after the soak.

Yes, that may happen. Iteration and evaluation are part of 3d printing of custom fine tolerance parts like this.

BTW, I am very curious about the settings you are using to print your port. (Wall perimeters, layer height, material) I am working on some camera floats right now and balancing weight & bouyancy while remaining watertight. I'm willing to work closer to the edge of failure as it's not part of a housing, but still want it to be durable.

For sure there are going to be individual variations, but if you are using a print shop they likely have a fleet of identical printers. These would be likely to be consistent. Settings in the Slicer (Cura, Prusa, etc) have a big impact on the structure of the print. Printing with .1mm or .2mm layer height, or the line width can have an impact on sub-mm dimension. Most printers use a .4 mm wide nozzle, but .2 and .6 used in some situations. This and other slicer settings can create some variation if not carefully controlled. I suppose this is the downside of using a print shop, you don't have quite as much control. It may be better to aim your print at being snug, and then use sandpaper and blades to touch up any fine fit issues.

You need some experience with CAD software and lots of measurements. I designed and printed a replica of a gear i already had before I made a unique one. The gear part is always the same but the other dimensions will vary from lens to lens. Look at some other designs online (here for example) and work from there.

That is great. A dive buddy started using yhe 56mm version of this lens and i was able to print a focus ring for it as well.

Packing your camera inside your housing is a bad idea and can result in damage or alignment issues. I don't know about you, but I've seen a number of suitcases dropped from overhead bins, thunked off of curbs, and flung by baggage handlers. These impacts create a lot or stress and torsion on the camera mount and controls. You are much better off with the camera in a padded bag or backpack. I've done it in the past too, but learned to do better. Most Nauticam housings I've owned or seen have the back o-ring in a captured grove, so entirely static. If yours is different, adjust accordingly.

I'm just going to come out and say this is a bad idea. Just don't put a port on the housing when you pack it. Is that so hard? It's actually easier to pack this way. Many housing come with a non-sealed flat plastic cap to fit over the open port to keep it safe and clean. Removing orings and putting them in a bag risks loosing an oring you are going to need and contributes to overhandling and stretching. This leads to leaks. Many people also over lubricate them which again stretches them. The back oring does not need lubrication at all as it's static. Some manuals suggest lubing this, but it's not needed and makes it pick up more grit.

I have been to Hammerhead locations in Cocos and Socorro with CCR only groups of divers. They hate bubbles and come much closer when Open Circuit divers are not making a racket. I don't think that strobes have nearly as much influence.

A good fall back to multi core is a 2mm OD TosLink cable you can buy anywhere. It is nearly as good as multi-core at light transmission, but maybe not as robust. I tend to make my cables 1 meter long, sometimes 1.5 meter for extra-long arms. Find a Toslink with 2mm OD that is several meters long and you will be good. These are very inexpensive on Amazon. I posted a thread with 3d printed designs for connectors that work perfectly with 2mm cables.

I suggest bringing on every trip: Batteries for everything that uses batteries Major orings for housing and ports (usually comes with a housing/port) Spare strobe cables Extra arm clamp or two Tribolube in little tubes Several Microfiber towels Set of allan wrenches 6" cresent wrench Small strap wrench Nauticam spares including a few c-clips Vacuum pump I keep all of this and more in a larger ziplock bag that always travels with the camera housing.