OneYellowTang

I've been a long-time user of Eneloop Pro's in Retra strobes (orig, Pro, Pro X). I recently tried PowerOwl Goldtop batteries... These are Chinese... definitely more variable in what you get, although they advertise both higher capacity (2800mAh for AA) and more recharge cycles (1200) - neither of which I put a lot of faith in. They are also about half the price of Eneloop Pros. I've yet to have any real issues with them, although I'm expecting I will at some point. I usually travel with 32+ batteries (2 sets of 16 plus a few spairs)... Got the idea to try these out by watching one of Alex Mustard's YT videos (he's been using PowerOwl brand AA's for at least some of his recent shooting). Here's the thinking: All AA's will fail eventually. I'm okay getting fewer consistent cycles from the PowerOwls because the overall cost is more aceptable for replacement. I don't like the idea of being frustrated with something like a AA battery (when diving and shooting). I'd rather replace it and move on.

@bghazzal Excellent question... I wasn't brave enough to take my camera rig on this dive for a number of years. I learned from a local photographer much more experienced than me that almost all the u/w phototographers exit on the south end of the beach (takes dive planning, etc.). On most days it's significantly easier (or on the rare occasion you'll see boat divers off the beach...) Howver the most interesting approach I've seen (but I can't get my wife to agree with this yet) is to have someone on "beach support" so that when you just start emerging from the surf your "support" runs into the water, grabs your camera, runs back out before the next wave breaks... I've seen this done a few times - the coordination and timing is pretty impressive (the "support" person is committing to getting pretty wet in cold water, usually without the thermal protection). I've seen camera rigs make it up to dry sand without any issues, meanwhile the diver usually gets pummeled in the surf zone.

Being a long time northern California diver I thought a call out for one of our local favorites was in order. North Monastery Beach (aka Carmel River Beach). When you learn to dive in NorCal, they usually teach you the "crawl out" method for exiting the surf (down on all fours, crawl out of the water). When you practice this at "Breakwater" (San carlos Beach in Monterey) during OW certification dives you feel a bit foolish, because lots of other divers are watching you, and you kmow many are commenting ("newbie divers, look at them crawl out of that 6 inch surf...") Your instructor most likely will mention you are learning this skill not for sites like Breakwater, but rather sites like North Monastery (but as a newbie diver, no one believes there are sites you may really need this skill...). North Monastery (or as some local divers refer to it, "Monstery" or even "Mortuary Beach") is a unique dive. The kelp forest is in good shape, the schools of fish have increased in numbers over the last ~20 years, and for some reason, you seem to be able to find larger individual fish at this site than elsewhere in Monterey. It also has the benefit of having access to the Monterey trench in the deeper areas. All up, it's a really nice Monterey dive - right up until you need to get out of the water. First - unless you get one of the very rare days when there is little wave action, you are going to be exiting on a beach, through real surf. The beach isn't very steep, however the beach does drop off quite rapidly right in the surf zone, so the waves break where you'll be exiting the water. These waves are absolute "dumpers." Second - almost everyone who has experience here will tell you that if you are sitting at the surface, at the end of your dive, watching the wave action from behind the surf zone and you notice any real swell, swim to the southern end of the beach and exit there (who knew you actually needed a dive plan before entering the water?). The kelp is closer to the shoreline on the southern end, which helps keep the wave action down a bit. It's a bit of a swim, but worth it if you are concerned about the surf. My college roommate learned first hand that not only do you need to master crawling out of the surf zone (quickly), but why, if you get caught in the surf zone with a wave about to break on top of you, make like a starfish. In short, he got caught exiting the surf, a wave broke on his back when he was still up on his hands and knees. He creacked two ribs when his tank flattened him up against the hard, wet, sand. This isn't even that uncommon at this site... what divers really need to watch out for is the wave action pulling you back out again as well.

Likely not going to help much, but I'll be headed to Lembeh (Lembeh Resort) next May. I'm assuming you're going to want the gear sooner that that... Question: I've been to Lembeh several times - what are you shooting with the 8-15 there, or is this for diving somewhere else?

Just finished up 5 days of diving in Anilao with the family at Crystal Blue. Overall, very good (during the day as well as decent Blackwater dives at night). Who knew @bvanant would be right about when the weather turns... we had a few waves breaking over the sea wall at Crystal Blue for the first day or so... meant we had to be driven to the boat a couple of bays over. By the morning of the third day the weather calmed down and things were back to normal. Highlight of the trip: 1 day old flambuoyant cuttlefish sitting on his still unhatched siblings (we know it was a day old because we checked the eggs for several days in a row). After a short stopover in Siingapore, now off to shoot some w/a in the Maldives.

Anilao is basically synonomous with stairs. Most of the resorts are built on the hillside (or just down from the hill) so they use stairs to connect their variious levels. A few of the resorts have enough room (back from the water's edge) for most of the resort to be built closer to the shore level, so possibly easier to get around. Our favorite (by far) is Crystal Blue Dive Resort (quite a few stairs)- it's not the largest, and not the most picturesque, however they likely have some of the best (if not the best) dive crews in the region, and Mike Bartick (photo pro & mgr of the resort) is the pioneer of black water diving in the area.

I've been a couple of times... the above water scenery is out of this world (amazing). The limestone cliffs are even more dramatic (in places) compared to what you find in Thailand. The diving is good, but as @Troporobo mentions, I wouldn't pick it over other destinations in PH, and certainly not over many of the more famous spots in Indonesia. The diving ranges from good to very good (during the off-season, otherwise you will have crowds). Tubbataha is world class... although several folks have dived the area in the last year and not seen any mantas or whalesharks (although the other sharks seem to still be present).

If this was posted elsewhere, apologies (a quck search didn't show a related story...) Thailand Bans Underwater Cameras on Deep Dives for Most Divers | PetaPixel (somewhat sensationalisitic title, also somewhat incorrect) Could be good for the coral, but this a bit of a slippery slope (& AOW or 40 dives is a pretty low bar to set)

@Luko Actually, the list you linked to I had already looked at to verfiy what I had remembered. I went back farther (10 years) to look at more data. The Philippines has had exactly 1 typhoon in Dec. (Rai) in the last 10 years, and other than the unprecedented series of storms in November 2024, exactly 1 typhoon in that month as well. You (conveniently) lump together October, November, & December to claim this is a fairly stormy time in the Philippines. I've been there in December for 4 of the last 5 years (always for diving). I did manage to miss Rai, but other than that, no issues. I appreciate you providing your view here, but the data doesn't really support your position. To the comment (by @Chris Ross ) that as the water is staying warmer longer in the year, extending (or even shifting) the typhoon season that is absolutely correct. July and August remain the month with the most highest propensity for typhoons, but it is shifting.

@rafiqd Couple of things... November is not normally typhoon season in the Philippines, that's July to October (with August being the most active month). I've dives the Philippines many times in November - esp, late November, no issues. Water is still relatively warm, and the air temp is comfortably in the 80's. They did have a large Typhoon in Nov. in 2024, but that impacted the very north of the country, and that's the only one in November in many years. Diving Malapascua would be interesting for both of you (given the thresher sharks) as would Bohol and Moalboal. Dain offers an interesting mix of macro critters and the opportunity to dive Apo Island, one of the healthest reef systems in SE Asia - turtles on evey dive. If you are looking for a nice resort, Atmosphere Resort has a good dive operation and is very comfortable. You can either fly direct to Manila and then take a local flight (1 hour) to Dumaguette, or if you want start your trip elsewhere, fly direct to HKG then take the ~2 hour flight direct to Cebu. Another option to consider, given your partner is still early in their diving career - Wakatobi is one of the nicest dive resorts in all of Asia. The diving is very good (you won't be bored) and then coral is pristine (with many, many fish), and not much current at all. Food is very good and the resort is very well run... It's one extra flight - get to Bali the night before, then they run their own charter flights from Bali to the resort (it's very easy). If you did this you could add on time either before or after in Bali which is very good for non-diving activities as well.

@dentrock Not our experience shooting with the 90mm and the MFO. It's both sharper, and helps with focus in a number of situations. We've found it to be significantly faster to find focus (in part, because it doesn't hunt nearly as much vs. without it). We do not have this issue on an A7RV. For what it's worth @Alex_Mustard didn't either.... Discussing Gear And Techniques From Anilao, Philippines

I thought I would add one more thing... When our oldest was born, we decided very early on we would not stop traveling or stop diving. We took our daughter to Singapore (from the US) when she was 8 weeks old (that was a work trip), which gave us the confidence to take her to Fiji a year later (there was a trip to Hawaii in the middle - but only I dived, my wife wanted to stay with our daughter). The trip to Fiji was awesome - Fijians (who are very family oriented to begin with) love babies - the resort arranged for a nanny for our entire stay (it might have been for something absurd like $1/day). We expected to see our daughter afer each dive (at lunch, etc.). However, by the end of the trip our daughter was spending almost full days in the local village, playing with other young kids, etc. We were very worried until my wife visited the village as well - our daughter was getting so much attention (and care) she was immediately put at ease. We enjoyed that trip so much we returned the next year as well. When our son was born a year later we kind of repeated the whole thing. First trip was to Hawaii, then when he turned a year old we went back to Fiji. When he was 4 we took them both to the Maldives (we dove in the mornings and then I snorkeled with them in the afternoons). Our first trip to Indonesia was when he was 5 (our daugher was 7). We stayed at a very small resort - arranged for baby sitting while we did a morning dive each day, however by the end of the week they basically had the run of the resort on their own while we dove in the mornings (sounds more concerning that it was... they were very well taken care of - and the resort was on it's own island, and quite safe). The next year we did Bunaken (this time bringing a family friend to watch the kids as well - in exchange for paying to have our friend to get certified). Fast forward more than a decade and both kids are highly skilled and confident divers as well as underwater photographers - we dive as a family once or twice a year, and I usually take one additional trip with each of them based on their university schedules. As someone else said - prioritize your wife's comfort for this trip... it will pay off. You're not just getting a kid (and all that this entails) - you're potentially getting a built in dive buddy for a number of years to come ;)

@rwb500 My wife was pregnant a number of years ago and we were in a similar situation... Indonesian (public) healthcare is not anywhere near up to western standards. I would completely avoid all of Indo. The Philippines (outside of Manila) is just as limited so avoid the Philippines as well. We chose Hawaii when she was pregnant the first time (I still love diving the Big Island - It's not the Coral Triangle, but I would choose it over any part of the Carribean). For her 2nd pregnancy we chose Australia. Healthcare in OZ (for pregnant women) is easily a match for the US system, and in some ways even better). We chose Lizard Island up on the GBR - diving was good... Guam is an option, Palau would be an option as well (mainly because you could get off island to Guam or Taiwan fairly easily). Unfortunately, none of these are great (or even good) macro destinations. The Big Island of Hawaii has the "pelagic magic" blackwater dive, which is worth doing a few times, but not the same as true macro. Because of this, what you might consider is using Singapore as a base for a trip. The healthcare in Singapore is world class - surpassing much of the US healthcare system. You can buy travel insurance to evacuate someone in a medical emergency back to Singapore, which is 3 hours from Bali, etc.

The Sony A7 series (started with the A7III, A7RIV, and now the A7RV) with the 90mm lens (specifically shooting blackwater) suffers from the lens hunting (often) while trying to grab focus on translucent and semi-translucent subjects (think jellies, salps, etc.). There are a few shooters that claim this combination is fine shooting blackwater - that's not really the case - if you compare this set up with either a Nikon D500 or a D850 with a 60mm lens, there's a massive difference - you would need to experience this to really understand. The MFO prevents the 90mm lens from hunting about 80%-90% of time for most blackwater subjects -so it's very much a game changer in this scenario (actually, for translucent subjects, it's the difference of being able to get a shot or not - given the quick, 3D movement of subjects, etc in a BW setting). By eliminating the lens hunting for focus it has significantly changed the type of subjects my daughter is able to shoot with her rig in this scenario. For the Nikon Z8, I shoot BW with the FTZ adapter and 60mm lens. Hunting & getting focus is not on issue with this combination...I haven't decided if it's as good as either the D500 or the D850 with the 60mm lens, but it is fairly close (at least). The slight bit of extra magnification might be interesting on a BW dive - I might try this in Anilao in a few weeks.

This thread has been very useful for discussing the MFO. We have two in our family... I've been using mine on the front of my Z8+105 - no noticeable change to focus speed, however the slight bit of magnification is quite useful. I just don't ever take it off (unless I'm looking to shoot super macro). Where the MFO really shines is on my daughter's A7RV+90mm in a blackwater setting. This is a game changer... this combination is now more than useful shooting translucent and moderately translucent subjects. Alex M discussed this during a recent Underwater Photography Show episode...

Many Z8 shooters likely have already "discovered" this solution, but having only started diving with the Z8 at the beginning of this year (coming from a D850) I thought it would be worth posting the following. Egonomically, the Z8 paired with the NIkon 24-50mm lens and a WWL-C is hard to beat. Just returned from a quick, short trip to the Big Island of Hawaii and this setup was ergonomically great for shooting turtles (extrapolating to other larger subjects)... Most of the dives were dedicated to shooting smaller subjects but I did get a chance to test out this set up - definitely worthy of packing when I'm not committed to bringing the WACP.

@shokwaav Completely unrelated to the topic, but that's a hell of an image.I've seen similar in Cocos (but darker water) and in the Solomons (but not with the shaped "funnel" - where was this taken?

@scipionems Slightly off topic: you mentioned you used your A1 with the HF1 for blackwater dives in Anilao. I mostly shoot a Nikon setup, but my daughter has been shooting the A7RV... blackwater dives are a challenge, mostly because the 90mm is slow to focus. We've mostly switched to a Nikon 60mm with a Monster adapter- that's faster, but still not quite as good as my Nikon setup. What lens were you shooting with for blackwater in Anilao, and from your post I couldn't tell if you were saying the new Smart TTL Backscatter trigger worked well for blackwater or not? Was it useful shooting TTL on a blackwater dive?

@Giancarlo M. Chris provided some very solid information, nothing much to add there... Just a few additional comments: Tawali- pretty much the birthplace of muck diving, still one of the top 3 destinations in the world for nudibranchs. There is some good wide angle as well, but many visit just for the muck. Tufi - if they can't get out to the outer reefs (due to weather conditions) then it's all muck diving inside the fjords. This is good, but the outer reefs are what make Tufi special. I would be very surprised if you made all your domestic connections without an issue. Air New Guinea is notorious for long delays and cancelled flights. If you build in a bit of a buffer it can help, but you should just expect some connections are going to be delayed (up to a day or so). Having said this - the trip should be phenomenal. PNG was Raja Ampat before Raja Ampat was opened up, with the advantage of better visibility and more large marine life (although some of that has been fished out).It's still an amazing destination. As you've probably already heard, try to limit your time in Port Moresby as much as you can.

Lots of possible comments here, but I'll just share something tangential... Years ago (think "film" days), when I did quite a bit of diving in Thailand, I was on the old Ocean Rover when Mark Strickland was the cruise director/photo pro. He would dive with two big rigs... gently putting one down on the substrate and leaving it there (with a sign on the camera saying "I put this here, please leave it..."). He'd shoot one camera until ~36 exposures taken, then go shoot the other camera, before bringing both to the surface at the end of the dive. Two cameras, no lanyards, often even in a bit of current.

All, I'll start by mentioning I've been to Cocos a couple of times and Malpelo once. Maybe once or twice on those trips I remember wishing I didn't have a large camera rig to deal with in a heavy current situation (which was always a temporary feeling). We're headed for Galapagos in a couple of months (I know, wrong time of year for the big stuff, but my daughter's university break dictated the timing of this trip). I've been reading about potentially heavy current dives up at Darwin and Wolf, as well as potentially 1-2 other spots. I'm also aware that you could end up not experiencing these conditions as well. This isn't enough to likely to get me to leave my rig on the LoB, however I am thinking a bit on how I may want to secure the rig to my BCD and have it enough out of the way so I can have both hands free to anchor myself on the rocks, etc. A single lanyard is an obvious starting point, however a Z8 in a Nauticam housing with dual strobes swinging around in a current (as your pulling yourself along hand over hand) may be secure, but doesn't seem ideal. Thoughts on best practices here? I've dived in some reasonably heavy currents with my rig in the recent past (Shotgun & Castle Rock in Komodo, Devils Highway in the Solomons) without worrying about this, however Galapagos seems like it could present a next level challenge - maybe it's the rocks, or maybe I've been reading too much 😉 Looking for suggestions or any advice for those that have been before.

As someone mentioned above, I always travel with a spare Nauticam strobe trigger. I have had one go bad on a trip, and I've also sold 2 on my last 2 trips to folks that have had this happen to them. I sell them at cost, and replace them when I return home... I've field repaired the wiring on one previously as well. The other one (also mentioned) is I travel with a spare battery charger. I usually have my 16 position battery charger, but always carry the eneloop pro 4 position quick charger as well.

@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.