Kamaros

The approach I've been using: - Do your best to pack your main rig in a camera backpack. Carry-on bags might still get checked at the gate for busy flights (and subsequently lost in transit), but the your "personal item" will always stay with you. For me, that'll usually be a D850, housing, 45 degree viewfinder, 2 Ikelite DS232 strobes, 28-70mm lens, a WACP-C, and some arm clamps for wide-angle destinations, or a 105mm + port + Saga Trio diopter for macro destinations. I can't fit float arms in the bag, but it's enough to do close-focus stuff in a pinch, though I do need to disassemble the viewfinder and arm mounting balls from the housing for everything to fit. - For other lenses, ports, and other gear, try to pack them in a carry-on with configurable divider panels. I've found them to be enough that I don't need to bring bulky padded bags for my ports. I personally like the Tenba Air Case for this role because it's very sturdy, but not as heavy or as obvious of a target for theft as something like a Pelican case. - Some airlines like Philippine Airlines weigh your carry-on bags as well, which you should keep in mind if that'll be a concern. If you're forced to fly with one, you may want to consider wearing a photo vest that lets you carry some of your lenses and accessories on your person instead of in your carry-on, though you should be warned that it might not be the most comfortable in a cramped airplane seat. - You can save space by putting your camera body in your (unsealed) housing. I've heard some people expressing worries about potentially causing the camera tray to get misaligned from too much jostling - it's not something I've personally run into, but if you're worried, you could also pack a lot of accessories in there instead. - Avoid leaving a lens attached to your camera body if possible, as you risk damaging the connecting thread if your packing job exerts force on the wrong spot

I haven't finished going through all of my photos from last year, but of the ones I've developed so far, it would probably be one of these sea lions. I've been diving with the Monterey sea lions on a regular basis for the last few years, but it was only last year that I was finally able to capture some photos of them that I actually liked, which I attribute mostly to investing in a copy of @Alex_Mustard's Masterclass book and picking up a WACP-C, which does a much better job of filling the frame for shots like these compared to the 8-15mm fisheye I was using previously. Honorable mention goes out to this shot of a flamingo tongue snail from my second ever attempt at using a snoot, and this jellyfish (some sort of turritopsis?) from the only blackwater dive I had a chance to do last year, which I like for being one of those rare examples of a photo where backscatter actually enhances the image. null

Any idea about the DS232 (formerly known as the DS230 with video light)? Ikelite changed the design of the head quite a bit to incorporate the video light: DS232 Original DS230 for comparison

@Phil Rudin Any insider knowledge about if Marelux is planning on releasing a SOFT dock for the new Ikelite DS232s anytime soon? While they're fantastic strobes, I haven't been able to find any compatible snoots for them.

I've been reasonably happy with my Kraken Hydra. It's very versatile, and it's the only focus light I've been able to find that's still available that can be configured to automatically turn off when a strobe flash is detected. Not something that's necessary in most situations, but it can be nice to ensure you the focus light isn't introducing any additional colour-cast when shooting with the red light. The downside to it is that the battery life isn't very long - it only lasts about one dive if you keep it on full power the whole time, and it takes some time to charge so I bought a second battery to swap between dives.

Hi, I'm Eric, a diver and aspiring underwater photographer currently living in the San Francisco Bay Area, though I plan on moving back home to Toronto in the summer. I started diving in 2018 and have logged around 260 dives since then (though I did pause for about a year and a half in the middle due to COVID). I got into underwater photography after my first year and have been hooked ever since. I'm currently shooting with a Nikon D850 with a pair of Ikelite DS232 strobes, as well as a Backscatter MF-1 for snoot photography, though I've been eyeing the Marelux snoots recently because I'm not a fan of dealing with the aperture cards needed for the MF-1 + OS-1 combo. Unfortunately, they don't seem to make a mount for my strobes... I'm happy to see that a new alternative to Wetpixel has been created. Thank you to UWP Magazine for sharing the news!