jlaity

You’ve spoken about changing autofocus modes for different subjects or situations. I’d love to hear a geeky episode about that, general concepts rather than camera-specific.

The account was created a year ago, but it was john7984 or something like that. Maybe someone registered 100 accounts back then. But didn’t even attempt to get the post count up with lame replies like “100%” and “wow.”

I got contacted by a probable scammer on their classifieds. My WTB post was answered through PM by a brand new member with few specifics. If the site is a ghost ship, then there’s even less protection and moderation than usual. (Not that there’s typically any protection on private party online sales…)

Sample pic with the setup

The prettiest snoot light with focused beam to make your nudibranchs look like movie stars. This Retra LSD has the mounting for Inon Z-240 but Z-330 also fits. Other mounts are available for different strobes, and the four standard inserts are included. Only light local use, so it’s still in great shape. $320 shipped in USA, or pick up in Los Angeles area.

That looks great, thanks for the preview. Are you using the 5T close-up lens with magnifiers like this one, or only one at a time?

I recently reorganized by subject rather than by dive trip, except for a few recent big trips. Based on the pics that people usually want to see -- sharks, sea lions, turtles., etc. https://photo.jefflaity.com Smugmug has some interesting gallery website examples on their homepage. I liked this example: https://www.christianpondella.com/ You can publish directly to a Smugmug site from Lightroom with their plug-in.

I heard back from Marelux sales department that Nauticam (and Inon, etc?) eyepieces are not supported. Also Nauticam ports are supported with a 20mm extension, but that makes it incompatible with a fisheye lens. Since I would need to replace 3k+ of glass, I guess I’ll keep saving and searching.

I like a lanyard when I’m in deep water (oil rig or black water.) But I’ve seen a camera (and other gear) get dropped near a boat several times, leading to a search and recovery dive after that.

Upgrading to R5mkII or R5C? I’m interested in your old housing. Thanks.

I assume it’s the camera on the left in the top photo? Do you have three lanyards? I always hold my (large SLR) camera rig while diving unless there’s an emergency. The lanyard is just there in case it gets dropped. I’ve never dropped a camera but I’ve dropped a light at the oil rigs. Watched it spiral down to the briny deep for minutes.

I’m considering a Marelux housing for Canon R5 but I’m finding very little online as far as reviews. Does anyone gave experience with these, especially coming from Nauticam? The housing design seems to be inspired by Nauticam, putting it kindly. How difficult is it to adapt Nauti ports to work with the 20mm extension/adaptor? Do the Nauti viewfinders work? How is the optical strobe trigger? Thanks.

Really like Crystal Blue in Anilao, great guides and camera room. Mike usually has gear to try out, and he runs the Black Water group on Facebook in addition to writing the definitive book on it. Some pics from my last trip there: https://photo.jefflaity.com/Anilao-Philippines-2019

Photos from our recent trip: https://photo.jefflaity.com/Komodo-Indonesia-2024 Enjoy

Nice stuff. I like the abstract eels.

Here is the ebook: https://paulnicklen.com/product/photographing-wild/

Book I rediscovered recently, “Photographing Wild” by Paul Nicklen. Alex Mustard’s book is heavy on technique, where Nicklen and Skerry talk about approaching wildlife and how to get better behavior shots. I’ve learned from all of them but I’d love to find more like “Wild.”

Is the only difference between bonfire and black water whether you can see the bottom? To me, “bonfire dive” is when they put lights on the bottom to attract life, like the manta dive in Kona, Hawaii. It’s in around 60 feet of water with lights on the bottom to attract plankton to feed the mantas. All black water dives have lights on a line, for a location reference and safety as much as to attract critters.

Did you bend the battery compartment pins out? The ones on the cap. Also try not tightening the cap so tightly, or cleaning the pins. The pins on the inside are gold-plated, but the ones on the cap are made of tin or something. Also, smacking the strobe around the battery compartment often wakes them up, on the Z-220, 240, and 330. Or maybe listen to the guys recommending Sea and Sea since Inon seems to be on their way out of business…

They seem to sharpen the corners a bit. It helped with my WACP envy. A tiny bit.

I’ve always shot black water with 5D4 and 100mm macro (EF 100mm non-L). Tougher to find the subject but a better shot when I do, I think. Saving to upgrade to R5 and the new RF 100mm, mostly for better AF on black water dives. We just finished a Komodo trip and I did 9 or 10 black water dives.

I’m surprised there isn’t more discussion about the Sea and Sea corrector lens. I have one for the EF 17-40L and corner sharpness was noticeably improved. Not WACP wow but better IMO. They only make two sizes, maybe too big for RF lenses?

Hi, I’m Jeff Laity. I’ve been shooting underwater for around 20 years. I won the Kona Classic Best of Show in 2005 and a few other small awards. I was a member of the Los Angeles Underwater Photography Society when that was active. I mostly shoot off the coast of Southern California and the Channel Islands but occasionally make it to the Indo Pacific and other dive hot and cold spots.