vkalia

The TT is 2.5kg with all the inserts, so yeah, not much of a savings to be had compared to your bag. The Supes do indeed add a massive amount of weight. But the massive battery life and the need to charge only once a week make them worth it (I am not a high volume shooter but even then, the Inons would last a day, tops). What I am thinking of is moving either the strobes or the main housing to something else (a smaller "personal item" bag for the latter, or a couple of lens cases for the former) and sticking the batteries, etc into a pair of cargo pockets. Or do the full Dress of Shame and wear a photographer's vest and stick lenses, etc into it. If I can get the main bag down to 9-10kg, and have the rest go in a small inconspicuous bag, that solves the issue. Need to drag my carcass over to a shop with a lot of camera bags and check out some options, I guess. Weight, mainly - and also distribution across multiple bags

Thanks! My previous MFT system was super compact - Nautical housing, 2x Inon Z240s and a 4.33" fisheye port. I used to fit that into a very small Lowepro backpack that no one ever bothered to check. For the APS-C rig, I am using the same bag I use to carry my wildlife gear - a Think Tank Airport Accelerator, which weighed in at 14kg as shown below. Just camera gear and batteries, and nothing else - and that too, a single port. While it is quite small and I casually sling it on one shoulder while checking in (while wincing on the inside), i am trying to find a way to shave a couple of kg off it, along with separating some of the items into 2 bags.

Does anyone use an Osprey or similar backpack with a camera insert added in, for carrying their underwater rig? If so, what size are you using, and can you share some photos?

Oh lovely! I sold my TG6 system a while back but am thinking of adding a housing for the G7X III to have a secondary camera system. Looking forward to being inspired by what can be done by compact cameras.

Thank you for the info, everyone. Picked up a couple of Sea&Sea 613-core cables and the strobes are firing jes fine. Had an interesting week in Tubbataha - no megafauna sightings but lovely hard coral, lots of reef sharks and generally, very enjoyable diving. Really enjoying shooting with the Marelux and R7 combo!

Thanks, folks. Stride&Stroke has Sea&Sea cables (thanks @Barmaglot for that name) and as per S&S’s website, those are 613 cables. Those should work, right? Someone I know is coming to Malapascua tomorrow and bring it for me, if it does.

awesome - thank you. I have someone coming into Cebu City day after tomorrow. Will see if they can pick this up for me. Or failing that, I will collect on the way back, before I head to Tubbataha. Thanks a ton!

Hi - that is exactly correct. I quite likely have single core cables, as they are generic ones that cost a lot less. What should I be looking for in a cable that works? Any multi-core or specifically 613? I am in Malapascua and then going directly to Tubbataha next weekend - so DIY isn’t an option, but hopefully, can find a shop that does have something.

Folks, I just picked up a Marelux housing for my Canon R7 a couple of days ago. For a bunch of reasons, I only got it a few hours before my flight to Philippines, and didn’t have a chance to test everything before I headed out. Now I find my fibre optic cables aren’t conducting the light needed to fire the strobe -looking into the housing port with the cable removed, I see that the trigger is indeed producing an optical burst - but it isn’t triggering the strobes (Supe D Pro). The same cables and strobes work perfectly with the inbuilt flash of my Olympus OMD body in a Nauticam housing. I recall reading somewhere that some fibre optic cables have this issue - does anyone know the specs of the type of cable that will work? TiA!

Thanks @Chris Ross - much appreciated.

Ha, funnily, I read this literally JUST before opening up Waterpixels just now. However, the 10-18mm only has a 105 degree diagonal FOV - I prefer wider. A LOT wider. That said, I do wonder if I should consider something other than a 50mm as my general/do-it-all lens. Perhaps for this, I should consider a WWL or some other wide angle converter. But that's something to think about for later. Worst case, I can just my Olympus/Nauticam setup for general shooting.

Also, a question about using the 8-15 on an APS-C body: does the image circle cover the entire sensor at 8mm or do you have to zoom in a bit to 9mm? And any idea what is the approx diagonal angle of view at 15mm, on a crop sensor?

Thanks for the additional info on the WWL-1. To answer your question above - yes, while the fisheye is the primary lens I use, there are times/sites where I want a "generalist" lens. For me, a 50mm lens has worked really well for this in the past. This would be the secondary lens (well, this and a 100mm macro for specialized macro-focused dives).

Thanks, folk. Good to see that i havent missed anything. @Giancarlo M. @Chris Ross thanks for the EF-S 60mm recommendation. I will pick that up as my “swim about” lens. I was originally thinking of the WWL-1 as well but have read a lot of reviews about needing to stop it down to f11 to get acceptable sharpness and stuff. The extra flexibility will be nice but it isn’t essential - in many way, sticking to one type of photography on a dive helps me stay a bit more focused (no pun intended) with my shooting. I dont think i will get the new rig before my Feb trip to Maldives but i certainly hope to have it for Tubbataha in April. 🙂 Cheers! PS: I will likely sell my current Oly camera, the housing, the 7-14 and the matching port. But i may pick up a newer MFT camera and Nauticam housing, to have a second smaller/compact camera system. But that’s down the line.

Folk, after a long time, I am thinking of changing my camera system (this will only be the 3rd model i will be using underwater in 20 years of u/w photography: Canon 20D initially, then an Olympus OMD camera for the past 6 years). I had asked earlier about Canon vs Sony for Nauticam, and got some really useful info, which i dont plan to get everyone to repeat. In the end, have decided on a Marelux housing. I may yet keep my Oly setup as a backup or for compact travel. The plan is to get a housing for my R7. Reasons for doing so: - I already use the R7 for wildlife - The Tokina 10-17 lens is my perfect u/w lens, as I enjoy wide angle photography the most. From my tests, i should be able to live with the AF speed on it for my shooting - i have some legacy EF lenses that I can use with this setup, atleast for now (EF 100mm macro, mainly, manually focused if need be - i have a 17-40 as well, but i dont see that as being very useful underwater) I’ll be carrying over my Supe D-Pro and Inon strobes with this system (they give me all the power i need). Is there any reason to consider a Sony A6700 instead of the R7? I can use the same Tokina with it, with an adapter and buying another macro lens isnt the end of the world. The A6700 has better video (a small benefit, given that i occasionally will be shooting content for marketing/social media for my dive center) and possibly slightly better tracking AF, but for the typical speeds at which fish move, i dont think the different is noticeable. I can’t think of any, but just running a sanity check to make sure i am not missing anything. Also, what do you guys using the R7 use as a general “swimabout lens”? For me, that used to be a 1:1 Sigma EF 50mm macro, but that has horrendous AF with the R7, and is a no-go. Wondering what else is there. I’ve been out of the gear loop for a very long time, as you may be able to tell. TIA!

Lovely! I’ve been toying with whether or not to take a group there, and this post is increasing my interest in doing so. Thanks for taking the time to post such a detailed report.

For me, there is one iconic photograph that stands out - David Doubilet (I think it was him) had a photo of a pod of orcas that were making a bee-line for the ocean, after having been trapped in Antarctic ice for a while (courtesy of an ice-breaker opening up a channel for them). There isnt much to the image in terms of fancy lighting and such - just a line of orcas. But the moment that was captured…. ooof. Despite the still, you got an immediate sense of the sense of purpose with which those orcas were hauling ass. A perfect example of what @Luko was saying about just capturing the magic moment perfectly. For the life of me, I can’t find that photo anywhere online. PS - thanks for those links. Some gorgeous images there. And a reminder to me to get out of my shooting habits - i would likely never consider taking such wide angle shot from such a distance. Maybe i will try something like that in Egypt in August.

Damn, Diggy, you making me blush now. 🙂 Been a while since jumping off the boat to rescue an idiotic golden retriever puppy, eh?

Right, sorry, i did mean the 100-120 adapter. And that high speed sync is definitely a neat feature to have - agreed. Also good to know! Cheers!

Thanks for sharing the info about the optical cables, guys. I recently picked up a couple of D-Pros and was a bit concerned about the idea of it not working with a Nauticam trigger. My own short notes about the D-Pro: I switched to the D-Pros recently - replacing a mixed pair of one Inon Z240 and one Sa&S YS-D2J. I had a pair of Inons - flooded one because i twisted the O-ring and didnt notice it. At that time, the Z330 had just been released and were hard to find, so i got the S&S. Decent enough strobes but the battery life was hit or miss, and one strobe died after 2 trips - and S&S told me to go pound, claiming there was some internal O-ring that i needed to service annually. I tried out the D-Pros in Raja Ampat recently and am very pleased with them so far. The big changes i have noticed are a *much* larger beam spread (to the point that a lot of my images had backscatter on the sides because i was pointing these strobes the way i was my Z240/D2J) and a significantly better battery life. I can get 2 days out of these strobes, whereas with the Inon/Z240, even a third dive would sometimes be pushing it. Having one less thing to do in the evening after a day of diving is always a good thing, in my books. The weight/bulk is a downside. I could easily fit my Nauticam/MFT housing, ports and strobes in a small, nondescript Lowerpro shoulder bag - but that’s a bit of a struggle now as each strobes takes about twice the space of my older ones. The lack of granularity in the power ratings isnt a big thing for me - any small adjustments in exposure, i can make with aperture. I do find them more powerful than the Inons/S&S, and have mostly shot with power at a 3 or 4 setting - so plenty of power for me and I dont really see the need for more. OTOH, even the Inons were powerful enough for me, with me rarely maxing out their power - so maybe its a “me” thing. Overall, am very satisfied with the strobes, atleast for now (2 trips in). The fantastic battery life and significantly wider beam are the main drivers for this. I am, however, going to remove the diffusers on the next trip. That beam doesnt need to be any wider. 🙂

Oof. This is good to know, thank you - as is the bit about the choice of lenses for photos vs videos. Honestly, video isnt going to be my prime use case but I need to spend some time figuring out my priorities. I dont see myself using a rectilinear WA for my photography - i much, much prefer the FE. So need to figure out how that’s gonna work together. Honestly, that’s what i am leaning towards. But doing my due diligence about the Sony as an option - the superior video was a very attractive option but @Barmaglot has given me a few things to think about that I hadn’t considered. FWIW, I havent ruled out the Panasonic GH7 either - that would be the simplest upgrade: buy a new housing, buy a new camera, done. I actually use a Sigma 50mm macro lens in an EF mount. The autofocus is not as fast as Canon’s USM, but it does offer 1:1. I just ordered the Canon adapter - let me see what the performance is like and then I’ll figure out what lenses i need. Am also going to try to find someone who has an A6x00 and see if i can try it out with Canon lenses.

Gotcha re the 3D part. Getting one printed shouldn’t be an issue - i have a few friends with 3D printers. I may hit you up for the schematic if you go that route, if I can’t find it online. Thanks again, everyone, for your help. It’s starting to come together now.

I looked at the Kraken and Weefine options and apparently, there really isnt a very good swivel option for them. You have to screw/unscrew them every time you want to attach/detach them. I have one of these wet lenses for my backup TG5 system and it takes approximate 12,683 revolutions to attach, so I am not gonna bother with that. And yeah, stopping down to f11 or f14 to get good shots isnt exactly a screaming recommendation of quality for a $2000 optic.

Hi Lewis - may i know which particular port adapter you use? They all have some extensions built into them - trying to figure out which one i may need,