hedonist222

Thanks @atus! and most definitely likewise!

I found a few photos of me actually raising the camera so it doesn't bang around the dive site. It gets cumbersome after a while. And another of typical day of foraging. 😄

Just yesterday I was doing a shore dive at a sandy bottom site with no coral. The only life there was shrubs, grass, and seaweed. To actually be able to find anything meant getting as close as possible to the finger-high sea grass. With my rig dangling with the length of my lanyards meant I had to hold the camera away from my torso and outwards to my side. This is a photo I found on the internet that depicts what I'm talking about: My system would be dragging through the sand even at the distance from the sea bed in the below photo. Being able to raise it even 10 cm means I can get closer. Incidentally, yesterday's site resembled this one.

I suppose what I reveal now will explain the need to be hands-free. As blasphemous as this will sound on an underwater photography forum, I sometimes do a handful of dives without even turning my camera on. Yep. If the perfect scene does not present itself, I will not even bother taking a picture. I'm okay with finding cool stuff but not getting a photograph. Other reasons I'll not bother taking a picture : Too much backscatter, something I've photographed before, I'm indifferent to nudis and will only take pictures of ones I find appealing (that's usually 1 out of every 10 different species), or difficulty from current or surge. So being able to stow my rig while I hunt for little critters is important. Also, most times I'll be wielding a magnifying glass and a reef stick and therefore need my hands free of a rig. Not throughout the dive though, only in certain areas where I'm hunting for something.

A refreshed SMC-1. Wow. I wonder what they could have improved.

Davide, is the above ddressed to me? I hope not becausen i did not argue or get personal. I did neither but appear to be lumped into a Neanderthal grouping for sake of ease. Is your post in your personal capacity? on in your Super Moderator capacity? Please specify as you carry a responsibility. If the former, then I can disregard, if the latter, then I'm offended and expect an apology. I note in advance that you were catty with me earlier. When you said "while I saved physical and mental energy" in response to me saying these particular words earlier. Were you suggesting that because of your inability to multi-task, that it's better to reduce competency to protect a disposable camera? Shouldn't you be saying that integrity of dive safety trumps everything? Are you being catty in your personal presence or super moderator presence? Nether are accepted but the former is in more poor character. Quoted below for utmost clarity.

Dave, your post appears to be posted haphazardly. Mods, the above could harm current and future divers. There are many flaws and poor opinions passed off as sound advice that will harm others. I kindly request you exercise good judgment by moderating this post. Dave, for your own wellbeing, I urge you to consult with a dive professional. Out of transparency, I have reported this post to the moderators because it contains emotional and detrimental advice that may me harmful to the public.

Hi John I wasn't able to visualize what you expressed. In spite of your tether, you still hold your unit with your hands while diving?

Yes. Camera on the left. The symmetrical twin lanyard attach to my person during the dive. The third lateral/horizontal is for the sole purpose of carrying the unit. Why do you carry the rig during the entire dive if it's attached to you? In my opinion, it's unnecessary duress and you're better off getting a sturdy lanyard system to relieve your from needing to hold your camera the entire dive. I only manhandle the rig when I'm taking a photo. Otherwise it's secured to my person via the industrial-grade lanyards. In my instance, longer than required. The only issue is that my lanyard attachments are too long for muck diving when in close proximity to the sea bed or during tight quarters. My issue is easily resolved with my solution above or a shorter lanyard pair. My true reason for starting this thread was to raise this for divers unaware of this scenario and for fruitful discussions.

If you solve the reason you scratched your lens, you'll then be able to redirect that energy to other things. 🙂 Sorry to hear about your lens. I hear polish gets out most scratches.

Thanks Davide

This is what I have albeit longer. I'll keep an eye out for a shorter one. I still wanna know why one should always hold a camera while diving.. 😛 Teasing aside. I am on the other end of the spectrum. You should free yourself physically and mentally as much as possible when diving. The physical and mental effort you exert (waste) in unnecessarily holding a camera is effort/energy you could've used in garnering more situational awareness.

How to bookmark/save a thread or post?

Fair point! 😄

I found a fixaround. I've attached a shorter lanyard to the fixture poles. When "commuting", the shorter (blue) landyards are attached to my chest D rings. When I need to deploy/extend the primary lanyard to arm's length, I disconnect the shorter lanyard attachments. Its an added step till I find a shorter landyard.

Hi Dave, My trim and buoyancy are pretty okay. I am easily able to maintain a +/- 10-15 cm while holding a depth. Why should I be holding the camera nearly all the time? "Should" is a strong sentiment...But keen to understand your perspective. My issue is that the lanyards I have are, while very sturdy, are too long. It works for wide angle photographers. But when you are 10cm from the sea bed, I would appreciate shorter length lanyards. Also wondering how others go about this.

Hey everyone I really struggle when doing muck diving The tether that secures the housing to my chest D ring is too long. Sometimes I have to get very close to the seabed and then have to right my right or left hand to lift my dangling camera out of the way. Otherwise I'm just dragging the camera through sand, rocks, or coral. You can see how long the strap is in this photo. Thanks

Who's Aijex ? 😀

Hi Dave. Good point. On my end, it's primarily de-cluttering. Will soon be offering up my Aquatica 5dmkii housing and associated parts. I have access to two spares within an hour. Fortunate to have two friends who would loan me their units in a heartbeat. But thanks for the heads up. This is such a wonderful community 🙂

Selling the unit with two batteries. I don't need this anymore because I acquired an MF-2. $215 shipped via DHL.

I decided to test whether the brighter view finder caused this. I tested by viewing the same photos with my view finder brightness on maximum, like the day I took the pictures. They, as expected, appeared aptly exposed on the view finder. I then continued to turn down the (view finder) brightness till the exposure matched what I saw on my PC. I had to turn down brightness till -1 to get the view finder to match the output. I hope this helps others.

Hello Atus I have a recently serviced Aquatica housing and am assortment of ports and a dome for sale.

Why can't you repair your Sea&SEA? It's a case with buttons, o rings, and maybe some bolt-on electronics.

The CMC is made for crop sensor cameras. The SMC for full frame. Therefore your sensor will determine which one. What are you looking to accomplish? You've laid out three different elements. Getting close: this is related to the lens focal length. If anything, you're further away, than say a 60mm macro, because 90mm is s telephoto lens. You say infinity focus. Did you mean minimum focusing distance? Focus depth miniscule. Do you mean depth of field? The combination of macro photography, a tele lens, and distance from subject, means depth of field is sliver thin. This is physics. Adding a diopter (cmc or smc) will significantly reduce depth of field. What's your struggle?

That's a good point. Data (histogram) is unaffected by these type of variables.