OneYellowTang

@bvanant If you found the rhinopias then I'm pissed for leaving early 😉 BTW - that was my image of the Paddleflap... taken at the point (where we didn't see a whole of nembrotha...)

@Davide DB Well said, however there is a bit of revisionist history in the argument you make. Apple was not the first company to create a smart phone, and actually there were Android devices availabe on the market (made by Danger) before the first iPhone was released. I understand the argument you are making, but both Japan and Korea had internet enabled "smart" phones (with app stores widely available) well before the iPhone. Several of the manufacturers still exist today (although most now standardize on Android). Apple did well to consolidate the market, however only a small bit of this was due to technology, the rest was through coerce the "app ecosystem" to within a walled garden (the app store). Without arguing the ethics of this, consider that just last week the founder of OpenAI (the creators of ChatGPT) and one of the original designers of the first iPhone & iMac have now partnered up to build a new consumer wearable AI-device that is being designed to replace phones altogether (as they have already stated). I think we've already seen the "peak smartphone..." moment - the future will be something else. AI-driven, much more personal, multimodal (input & output), more attentive, and less of a distraction.

And yet... I have two young adult children (ages 19 and 21), both have been diving since ~12 years old, and both picked up underwater photography a few years (and at least 50 dives) later. One shoots with an A7RV, and the other shoots with my older D500. Above water they only take pictures with their iPhones, posting on Instagram, etc. However, underwater they continue to choose to shoot with their (relatively) big and bulky rigs. In part because they have invested enough time and learning to understand some of the nuanced differences of what they can capture with a fast AF, manually managed exposure system. Even they are a bit of an anachronism -their friends both thinking they are a bit cool but odd for carrying such weighty systems. I think we will eventually see a majority of underwater shooters using things like iPhones, but I don't think we are in immediate "danger" of this in the next few years. Certainly every new u/w photographer end up evaluating options like this, however I see the more serious folks in this group eventually step up to compacts or small mirrorless systems. I'll wait to see if/when my kids look to make the switch to an iPhone underwater - that will be a key indicator for me. As for me, I recently moved from a D850 to the Z-8, however next week (heading back to Anilao) I'm bringing along my D850 & 60mm as well, because there is still a significant gap in performance when shooting blackwater.

Lots of good info being shared here... I would just add - we've done the PG-Anilao combination several times, and new prefer "just" Anilao. It's target rich, easy to get to, and diving is very good (another big fan of Crystal Blue here). In addition, PG can be crowded, the harbor is a mess (but you can avoid this area), and Sabang at night is a bit of a dump. I am headed back to Anilao in about 3 weeks... Re:mandarinfish - there are a couple of spots were they are consistently (like nightly) found, however I (now) much prefer blackwater diving in Anilao (vs. any other night dives or dusk dives). If you are interested in blackwater dives, Anilao is easily one of the best in the world for these dives (and it's very easy here). We were back in Lembeh this summer, and the guides showed us a spot where the mandarinfish can now occasionally be found out swimming in the coral during the day. They were both less skittish, and easier to shoot (although no mating behahavior during the day).

Anilao is also a decent location to see rhinopias... they are not common, but they are definitely found more frequenly than in many other locations.

Actually the White Valley (La Vallée Blanche) dive site off the main island of Tahiti historically was very good for diving with tiger sharks. They no longer allow the fishermen to dump their fish bycatch here on the way back in to port, so the tigers are a little more elusive these days, but can still be found fairly regularly.

@canislupus As many others have said, Changi is a very efficient airport (potentially the most efficient in the world). I have made connections that tight before, however I've missed a connection at least once when I got caught up going through immigration behind a mass of tourists that got to immigration before I did (A330 from Delhi landed ~10 min before we did). We almost always spend the night in Singapore. It helps with the timezone change, and food is excellent (as an aside: others have said it's expensive - it doesn't have to be - you can find lodging from 2-5 stars, depending on what you are looking for, public transportation is good, and food (at the hawker centers) can be quite cheap). It's also worh noting that LH also has baggage transfer agreements with Garuda (via Singapore) and Cathay Pacific (via HK) so if you booked the flights on one ticket they would have handled the bags for you. Last - I'm guessing you were trying to connect to the 19:00 Garuda flight (SIN-CGK), then potentially connecting to a late night/early morning flight to Sorong (or elsewhere). This is a very common itinerary. Although I've made that connection (->Sin->CGK->SOQ), it's much less stressful with a stop.

For clarity, Sorido Bay's "house reef" is not Cape Kri. The house reef is the bowl that you can enter right off the dock. It's worth 1-2 dives (convenient for the day the staff takes off, Saturdays) - turtles, large cuttlfish, the occasional reef shark, octopi, schools of fish, etc. After having done this dive a couple of times I enjoyed snorkeling with the reef sharks instead (good way to spend an afternoon). Cape Kri is only about 5-8 min away by boat (so very close), but you do need a boat, and a guide, and feel comfortable diving in moderate to heavy current (potentially with reef hooks, etc.). Incredibly fishy dive, well worth it, but you can't do it on your own (as a shore dive - although there are stories - that would a hell of surface swim).

I just checked a few of my Nauticam arms (with balls) and my ULCS arms (with balls). I did find one Nauticam O-ring (on a ball) with a signifiant gouge in it - that one will likely eventually break. The ULCS O-rings feel a little more "robust" (defintiely less soft). A gouge could easily turn into a snapped )-ring given enough friction and movement.

Basically, Weefine quality is exactly as the picture shows... lacking. Having said this, ULCS clamps work fine for me connecting Retra strobes with ULS arms. Been using this combination for the last several years (previousy using Inon Z330s with no issues, and before that Z240s with no issues). Your post did get me a bit curious - I used a ULCS clamp to connect a Retra strobe to an Inon Z330 - no issues, clamps down easily. I then dug up a Nauticam arm, a ULCS clamp, and connected the arm to a Retra strobe. Based on my (imperfect) measurements, the Retra ball mount and the Nauticam ball are slightly different sizes, but by only 1-2mm - the ULCS clamp had no issues holding the arm and the strobe at what ever position I set them (hand tightened, and not overtightened). The issue might not be the ball head(s), it might be the clamp. As others have said, ULCS is rock solid stuff - I've been using their arms & clamps for over 15 years, and I still have many of the orginal clamps (and they work). I only upgraded some of mine to the newer ones because I didn't want to experience FOMO 😉 (and they now sell colored bits, so how can you say "no" to that). They feel a bit more robust compared to the Nauticam ones as well.

Wondering if anyone is in the region at the moment. Concerned about the local population in the region. Many of the DMs and guides for the resorts live and have family in this area. Also, I'm supposed to be in Lembeh in the middle of May, looking to hear what the impact of the eruption on diving operations may be like for the next couple of months.

Late to the game, but finally created an account here. Glad to see many old names (and a few new ones). In the process of moving from a Nikon D850 to a Nikon Z8. Camera & z 105 lens already in hand, waiting on the Nauticam housing to arrive.