Dave_Hicks

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.

There have been a number of posts recently discussing the merits of an 8-15mm lens with a teleconverter. The 8-15mm fisheye lenses are great performers, but can feel limiting because they are either 8mm (circular) or 15mm (wide fisheye). If you are dealing with CFWA or a Wide subject just a bit out of reach like Sharks, then a bit more reach might be welcome. A 1.4x Teleconverter delivers just that sort of solution. With the 1.4tc the 8-15 fills the frame without clipping right between 11 and 12mm. This opens up a useful range from 11-15mm or the magnified equivalent of 16 - 21mm. I just completed a trip to the Pacific side of Vancouver Island in an area called Barkley Sound. There is a quaint dive lodge out there called Rendevzous Dive Adventures that runs a very nice operation. I mostly shot the Nikon 8-15mm AF-S lens with 1.4tc (kenko) under a Nauticam 140mm dome. I used my 3d printed 40mm port extension that continues to perform perfectly after about total 25 dives. I did a couple of dives with the WWL-C / 25-50mm combo and tried to take some comparison shots. Below are two similar images taken with both combos. The photos are uncropped and very lightly edited. Nikon 8-15mm with 1.4TC, @12mm, f10@1/25s iso400, Pair of Retra Maxi strobes with 4500k filters WWL-C with z24-50mm, @24mm, f14@1/50s iso400, Pair of Retra Maxi strobes with 4500k filters And a comparison image of the 8-15mm + 1.4tc @ 15mm. Nikon 8-15mm with 1.4TC, @15mm, f8@1/30s iso500, Pair of Retra Maxi strobes with 4500k filters This image needed a BSXT pass as there was a lot of fuzz stirred up by multiple divers nearby.

New product promotional image for the TPU Dome Port Covers: Turns out that the Giant Pacific Octopus is a fan of these too! A GPO climbed on my camera and tried to steal my dome cover. Sneaky little sucker almost tore it off and made a quick getaway! It also managed to turn the zoom knob and made the lens (Nikon 8-15 w/1.4tc) vignette a bit. :)

The truth is that 3d fabrication is iterative. Even with perfect measurements you get things too tight, too loose, half a millimeter out of alignment, etc. Different materials will expand or contact so even if you get the right dimension and you have to adjust it anyway. I have made zoom gears from measurements a few times. Once i got it right the first time, another required three or four iterations to get the right fit. So it's not worth the headache.