Maria Munn

Hey @Caszieme So pleased to see that you're enjoying your Insta 360 Ace Pro journey. It really is a fabulous piece of kit and definitely delivers in low light. The Ace Pro 2 is far better than the Ace Pro for this. Feel free to share some footage or images, we'd love to see them. Maria

Thanks for this @Nando Diver It'll be really interesting to see this all in action. I've been in love with my iPhone 16 Pro Max for the past few months. The only area where I have been disappointed is the 5 x digital zoom mode when underwater for images as the results have been very grainy, even in good light. However, the results are far better when I use video. I've heard that there isn't so much of a benefit to upgrade from the 16 Pro Max to the 17, but we will see. I have heard though that the Optical Zoom is less grainy though, so I may well bite the bullet as I've fallen in love with the teeny stuff here in the UK.

Hey @STEMI Sorry it's taken so long to reply, I've been buried in book writing, funnily enough using images taken with my iPhone 16 Pro Max in a DiveVolk Housing which I've been using all summer. Did you find an answer to your question? The Kraken lens is always going to be a better option in terms of optical quality - glass -v- acrylic which is what DiveVolk's own wide-angle lens is manufactured from. However, I have heard that they are bringing out a new lens which I'm looking forward to. Just make sure that the lens which you are going to use lines up with the Kraken lens. The lens thread is 67 mm so this will fit on the DiveVolk adaptor perfectly. As for the Nauticam Diopter, I'd definitely give it a try. As long as the thread fits and the lens lines up with the Smartphone lens you choose, then there's every chance. Hope this helps and if there is anything else you need to know, just shout. Have a great evening. Maria

Well done from me too @Gudge What a cracking image, so different and it almost looks like there's stars, or am I in need of more coffee ;) Incredible, absolutely beautiful! Maria

Love these! The colours on the Warbonnet is unreal! Awesome shots! Love the Pacific Northwest. Thanks for posting Dave :) Maria

Hey @aquabluedreams Thanks so much for posting this. Love the images and footage. It brought back some incredible memories for me when I was at Katmai, it's such a special feeling to be in their presence watching them feed. Great to see so many salmon too. Have a great rest of the day. Cheers, Maria

Hey @calbear Welcome from me and can't wait to see your images from Raja, so love that place. Have a great week and happy shooting! Maria

Hey @darkmanta Welcome from me too! I loved using my Go Pro and other action cameras. It's a huge jump up to a Mirrorless System but the learning curve will be so much fun. Look forward to reading about your experiences. Have a great week! Maria

Wow, there's just no words for how amazing this piece is. Huge well done Ben and thanks for sharing it with all of you. Maria

Hi @atus They definitely look lovely don't they! I know a few underwater photographers who've used Seafrogs housings with their Fuji Mirrorless Systems and haven't had a problem. I used them with my Olympus TG before reverting back to an Olympus Housing, and have never had a problem with them. One of the key considerations would be that the back is made of plastic and I'm not sure if they would have the same range of add-on diopters, ports, viewfinders, extensions, etc that other brands offer. I've also heard that sometimes you can only get the option of shooting with either Shutter Speed or Aperture Priority by using the dial and then you have to change them in the menu settings. At the end of the day, it's a great for entry level or those with lower budgets. Just be careful with the plastic screen. There is an award-winning photographer called @ben.freediver on Insta who uses one, could be worth reaching out to him. Good luck with the decision-making.

That's amazing Tim, I never knew that you could do that. Thanks for this 🙏

Hi @Caszieme It does have an endurance mode which is said to optimise the battery life by 50%. I love the settings that it offers for entry-level photographers. I’ve very rarely shot in full manual mode underwater to achieve my portfolio. It’s a fabulous set-up now that Backscatter’s add-on lenses can be used too 😊

Hey @DavidM Welcome from me and thanks for sharing your stories. There's never anything wrong with shooting with and still using older kit, I have my underwater work captured with compacts at my studio with kit I used back in 2004 with my Olympus 5050! Congrats on your PADI DUP. Tim's a great photographer and what a fabulous place to learn! I started my underwater smartphone photography with a Sealife SportDiver Housing which I loved and it gave me some amazing results. Happy to help if I can and look forward to seeing your images and more of your adventures! Maria You can see my Smartphone Gallery which I'm starting to build here: https://oceanvisionsphotography.co.uk/smartphone-underwater-images

Hey @Giancarlo M. and @Davide DB Thanks for posting this, it will be great to see what you think of it. I was playing with one this week with my underwater photography course guests using their Olympus Tough TG-7, I'll pop some feedback up later. Maria :)

Love this Wolfgang! Beautiful images. Thanks for sharing this, always lovely to read about new destinations. Maria