Pooley

Thanks for the replies everyone. The dive centre have come back with an estimate of a 30% success rate so I think I'll just look at going and enjoying the area as a regular tourist! cheers Mike

Hi everyone, In a few weeks I'll be in Bali, doing lots of diving around the Tulamben area. I'm sorted in that area, diving with Ajax Dharma. However, we will also have 3 nights in the Permuteran / Menjangen area, where the internet informs me there are mandarinfish sites. However, when I contacted one of the dive centres that advertises that specific dive they replied that they don't do it much due to a 'low chance' of seeing the mandarins. I'm awaiting further clarification, but wondered if anyone on here had any more experience of the area thanks Mike

Nice concise review, thanks for doing this Mike

I think I need to give you a shout next time I'm over there! Done 2 dives at that location and couldn't work out what all the fuss was about but that's a great collection of critters. In particular I love the striated frogfish, once work Mike

Ok, North should be good for you then, a few wrecks plus probably some sites at Ras Mohammed, and the Straits of Tiran plus a couple of local reefs. Don't be tempted to spend too long in Cairo, once you've seen the pyramids you're pretty much done and there are far nicer areas to go to. Air temps will be up in the low 80's probably with water being high 70's. I have a 5mm wetsuit, no hood or gloves and have never been cold in the water. There was a diver from Sacramento this year just in a t-shirt. Sounds lovely but there is a but, in that it can get windy that time of year so there is a chance of getting cold as soon as you get out of the water. Best bit of advice I'll probably ever give on these boards is get straight out of the water, put your camera down, and there will likely be showers on either side of the boat. Go straight into them with a spare pair of dry shorts, shower and dry off before anything else with your gear. You can thank me later! If you're going out of Hurghada a much nicer place to stay is El Gouna which is only 20 mins north of the airport. Give me a shout when you have some specifics Mike

thanks Chip, You are unlikely to get big shoals during November, they are normally early summer time. Are you going to be land based or Liveaboard? A lot of the Northern Liveaboard routes include a fair bit of wreck diving - great if that's your thing, but not my preference. For the North I prefer the reefs where there will still be small to mid-sized subjects to go for. No muck style diving, but plenty of gobies, blennies shrimp, a few nudis etc on the small side, going up to blue spot rays, Napoleon's, etc as the largest species. If you can get to Dolphin House at sha'ab el erg there is a resident dolphin population there, but 50/50 on if they want to play. If you were to consider the southern Red Sea you've got 2 main routes- Brothers, Daedalus and Elphonstone, that can be done from Hurghada or Port Ghalib, or even further south for St Johns type routes. The Brothers Daedalus Elphinstone itinerary has excellent chances of shark sightings, I hadOceanic white-tips, hammer and a thresher, but they kept their distance from me-others has the oceanic up close and personal. Good chances for turtles and the rest of the regular Red Sea residents. Going further south has more beautiful coral. Only available from Port Ghalib. let me know what you fancy most and I'll make a recommendation Mike

If its only a prototype then I think an offer of 50 euros is fair

I went the D500 -> Sony A1 path. I have the 90mm with SMC, 28-60 with the WWL-1B and EMWL. I also have the newer 45 degree viewfinder. I love the kit I have and for the first time in living memory have no intention to upgrade as I think I've got as much IQ as I can ever see me needing. Key point though - photographers love the detail I can now produce Non - photographers only look at the photo rather than asking why there is noise in the shadows in the background Over to you as to what's important.... Mike

Not Socorro this time sadly, but a whale shark trip in the sea of Cortez isn't a bad 2nd prize! If I do liveaboards with Mrs P there needs to be some snorkelling involved so we need to speak to the crew before we book for Socorro

Hi and welcome - I'll be in Cabo in September for a week before I go on a Liveaboard in the Sea of Cortez - you may get questioned nearer the time! Mike

Great stuff there Suzan, I love the blackwater stuff - not a hot spot but hoping to get a couple of dives in later this year in Bali. If not I may have to suggest a little trip to Florida! Mike

Cheers for that Ross - I really need to turn off my autocorrect 🤣

A couple from me. Fist is little Shaun the Sheep for no other reason than I was lucky enough to get what I think is an adult and a juvenile together on the same focus plane Then next I treated myself to an EMWL after a long time telling myself it was a ridiculous purchase!. This is my favourite with it so far Happy new year everyone Mike

Love these Ross - what was your listing for them please Mike

Cheers Ian

Me too

I'm due to fly into Cabo next September. Whilst it annoys the hell out of me I have put the 'tax' into the trip budget but would love to spend the cash another way! I've not booked the flights yet but likely I'll transfer in through Mexico City - as it's classed as a domestic flight does anyone know if I need to try and be sneaky or am I likely to stroll through with a smug grin? Mike

Sorry for the autocorrect spelling errors! I can only seem to edit the shots and not the text

Great colours Chris, I never knew they were so big. I'd love to have a go at these if I ever get back down under again ( I love Australia!) The eggs really add an extra point of interest, I just wish the head wasn't tilted downwards Mike

A nice set, and the reposts are definitely moving in the right direction. I'd try and keep a closer eye the white balance - I had a play with a couple and needed to do WB alterations each time. The ray shot is just a white balance adjustment, then moving the blacks slider further along. I don't mind the background losing details on this occasion, just make sure you don't block any details on the actual subject. With the following shot I did a WB adjustment but greens and cyans remained in the sand so I used a selective saturation adjustment to remove them. Set black and white points, used a dodge and burn technique to lighten the sand then boosted the colours a little (maybe too much) These are only pointers, not the be all and end all by any stretch, but maybe something to look at Mike

I don't think there will be a huge real world difference between the WWL-1 and the WWL-C when it comes to image quality. I have the WWL-1 and love it. It can be taken off underwater, but the size of it becomes a real pain if its taken off unless your buddy is willing to hold it for you. I think it all depends on how you want to dive. If you want to have a larger choice of subjects, and are willing and able to spend plenty of time with your subject, moving strobes around, maybe rebalancing the rig it you need to go vertical, then the MWL is your answer. If you prefer to dedicate a dive to one particular style, then I think you'll find one of the WWL variants better. Personally - and this isn't right for everyone - I prefer to go into the water with a particular mindset, be it macro or wide angle. Yes, I may miss some opportunities, but I'm usually set up pretty good from the start and I find I'm more tuned into looking for a particular shot if my lens choice is a little limited. Mike

That's some really nice work. I'm going back to Tulamben next year - is therenmuch difference between Tulamben diving and Amed? Mike

I have a pair of Retras and have zero plans to change them. Yes, they are expensive, but they give out great light for wide angle and the aiming light works really well with the retra snoot. My old YS-D1s served me well but I hear of too may problems with Sea and Sea these days, so I'd be tempted to look elsewhere if I were you The backscatter flash looks decent but seems limited to macro and snooting, so for me its a choice of Retra, Inon 330 (my old Z240s did me good) and the new Marelux which I know nothing about Mike

First up, that's a lovely photo, well balanced composition. Yes a little cooling down was needed. Nothing that's a problem shooting in RAW though Mike Cheers Rich - I wish I knew of somewhere that rented this gear, could have saved myself a small fortune! Mike

Thankyou. I have 2 retra pro's mounted near to the front element way out in front of the camera, just slightly behind the lens. I changed the angle they were pointing a couple of times. I bought 2 large inon float arms just before I went as the kit is very nose heavy and they were a very useful addition Mike