Toque

Thanks for the info. That was not my experience on my attempts at bonfire. My first was done years ago when t was first coming out. They actually did large lights (hence Bonfire) on shore. and the other time was more like a shallow blackwater dive. This produced a ton of critters, too many to get photographs. Again a few years back. I'm also not familiar with any of what you speak. I Haven't really looked for info on bonfire dives. I'll have to look this up when I'm in Bonaire this winter. Thanks for the info.

Not sure what heptic is, but for me the difference was the action. The bonfire dive I did had mostly recognizable reef creatures on a night dive, where blackwater has just the craziest creatures. I done blackwater in Lembeh and Palm Beach, Florida and there is so much life in the water column and I also love the feeling of the drift. I only wish I could do it more, because so far I have failed at the photography side.

I've traveled to Bonaire every year for the past 30+ years. I can't seem to figure out why no operator does blackwater dives. They have this deep protected trench between mainland and Klein and they also have the windward side. I have to say I haven't had great experiences with bonfire diving. Just not the same.

I have the 1st edition of this light (only 1000 lumens I think) and I could never get decent shots of anything. Just didn't seem bright enough. It's laying in a box in the back of the closet. These pics make me want to bring it out and give it another try. Thanks for the report

Ive been using solid core cables that I made a couple of years ago for about $5 a piece. The ends are removable so if a cable has a problem i just slip the ends on a new piece of cable and away we go! I was told that the solid core cable wouldn't work well, but never had a problem yet. My cables are not as organized as some of yours I'm sure, but its worked for me. I dive about 200 dives or more a year. Its great on my setup of Sea & Sea strobes and both a Nauticam and UWT flash triggers. I think I bought the cable (about 10') and end caps on ebay.

Thanks, thats good to know. I also like reefs too. The problem i have with other areas is that we only have 2 weeks and wasting a day or two traveling just doesn't make sense to me. Now if I had 3 weeks or month? someday.

Hey thanks for the response! i've been leaning in crystal blue's direction. My wife doesn't want to spend more than a week at Anilao (she's not a photographer) is there anything close that has good reef diving? I hate to waste a day traveling to a new destination. Thanks again

Thanks for the help. Not sure what happened, but it's working now. I got these last 2 responses

Good call! Thank you.

nope didn't get your reply. mmmmm

Just checking. I have the "follow topic" switch on and although I used to, I non looking get a email reminder that some activity has occured

Thanks for the info. some good things to discuss with the group. We are already spending a week in Puerto Galera and thinking maybe a week in Anilao and hopefully a week somewhere else. Any recommendations for Anilao resorts? I've heard that some resorts have a lot stairs to get around. We have an older couple in the group that might be a problem. Thanks again.

Hi All. Anyone done any diving in the Palawan area? We met someone in Indonesia last year that said they had some great diving there. Specifically in El Nido

I have a hard side carry on case that i use that can carry just about all my camera equipment in. I did have to check this once on my way to Indonesia. and then I stuff wet lenses in jacket pockets and I have a small backpack that fits under the seat for anything else and then 1 change of clothes.

I'll put a plug in here for a resort group in Sulawesi area. Check out Murex Dive resorts. They have a great package deal called "Passport to Paradise" that we've done a few times. It includes 3 different resorts with different diving conditions that you set the amount of time at each based on your dive preferences and they do the transfer between resorts while you dive! (Have to say the reefs at Bangka are our favorite diving and the Lembeh resort is our favorite resort) I'll also put a plug in for the hotel in terminal 1 at the Singapore airport. What a great idea! You don't pay for entry into Singapore unless you want to leave the airport and I think they charged us by the half day or something like that.

Thanks for the replies. I used PS many years ago when I had a copy at work. I'm sure tons has changed since. when I went to elements(cost) I could do everything I needed with the plugins I found. and my favorite thing about it was the plugin I had was able to correct very specific areas of the photo. The name escapes me, but it was originally available on Elements and then later allowed only on PS only, and it was free! Thought someone mentioned it in this stream, but I can't seem to find it now. I am interested in this plugin, but really not needed. I would say that 90% of my pictures are macro in warm waters, so pretty easy to control backscatter. Besides I'd have to get a new computer, as it is Elements dogs my '14 Macbook Pro. I also like this ACR idea of doing processing in raw. I assume this helps keep your files bigger, less pixel loss? Thanks again

Wow! Almost afraid to ask a question. I use PS Elements for my processing and yes I throw out tons of pics, but with digital I take tons of pics. And I get many shots that I'm happy with. I guess I'm intimated by PS and Lightroom and the amount of options and "tricks" they have up their sleeve(s). And now this new product? I'm in awe of what can be done. So to start from the beginning where would I go to learn about the work flow that you guys use in post processing? Does everyone use both PS and Lightroom? some use 1 or the other? and after reading this thread What is ACR? Thanks

Hey All Anyone know if the lens can be replaced? or is a new port the only way to fix this. Its off to the side and honestly I never noticed it in any of the pictures I recently took, So I might have to live with it awhile. TIA Tim

Hi All. Finally getting around to cleaning up my wife's and my photo equipment box in the closet, so this won't be my last item. Somehow we've acquired a lot more "toys" than we have use for, so next up is the Fantasea UCL-06LF Macro wet lens, a +12 diopter. The lens optics are in perfect shape, no scratches or chips. The housing has no wear or scratches and it comes with a secure strap and quick release secure line to ensure the lens is safely attached to your housing. I also have the front and rear lens caps to ensure protection out of the water. Want more information? Check out this link Offered at $120

For Sale - Nauticam Compact Macro Converter in very good condition. Optics look perfect. It does have a nick on the rim as you can see in the picture, so I added a picture with a color lens on top to show that the threads are not affected. It comes with the front cover and a padded mesh carrying bag. I bought this for my wife, but she doesn't use it. Paid about $325 for it a few years ago. Asking $200

Hi guys. Sorry I didn't see the responses until now. so it is a juvenile Sweetlips? Thanks, I'll have to try those sites for the picture to be ID a few days ago.

Anyone want to take a shot at naming this guy? I'm guessing its in the dragonet family, but not sure. Shot in November at Blue Heron Bridge TIA Tim

Thanks for the responses. A simple cleaning of the contacts with alcohol on both sides did the trick!

Actually its not an issue yet, but today I was prepping my camera setup for diving tomorrow and when I plugged my Sony A6600 into the flash trigger I got this message on the camera(Attached). It stayed on the screen for a few seconds and then went away. The camera and strobes seemed to be firing fine. If it makes a difference, a couple of months ago while testing my camera before getting wet i depressed the housing trigger and the strobes started firing like crazy! I opened the housing and removed the connection from the hot shoe and reconnected it. never had that problem again. Just wondering if anyone else has seen this.

Hi all. Just wanted to give everyone an update to my flooded camera situation and some good news! After some testing by a local camera shop the camera and lens were in fact dead (no surprise). But what was a surprise was that the UW Technics flash trigger and Nauticam housing electronics are working just fine and don't appear to suffer any corrosion from the ordeal, so kudos to both Nauticam and UW Technics! The second thing I'd like to bring to the community's attention is that that dead camera just may worth something to someone. I really hate throwing things away even when they are damage beyond repair I'll normally take them apart and look for parts that I might be able to use sometime in the future (think switches, stainless screws, bolts and the like). And sometimes I turn to Ebay thinking someone out there might be able to use this camera or lens for parts. I priced the auction just to cover my handling costs plus shipping and in this case the bidding went a little crazy I think. I sold the camera body and lens for almost $350! The cost of the new lens.