Muellema

Hi, last time we did the Dauin Malapascua route on our 2023 philippines tour (Anilao, Coron,Tubbatah, Leyhte, Anda, Dauin, Malapascua). We did it by car and ferry. Very easy and confortable with our heavy dive and UW Camera equipment. Easily done in one day. We were not organized in advance and even miss the first early morning ferry from Negros to Cebu. After arrival Cebu island it took some time (arround 1.5h) to get a driver with car for transfer to Maya Port to Malapascua. We left Dauin arround 07.00 am and arrived Malapascua arround 05.00 pm. We paid 5000 Pesos for the car. If you organized in advance you should be able to do the trip in approx. 8 hours door to door. From my point of view no need for hotel, flight, etc. If you have some negotiation skills a car with driver is still very reasonable. We were diving Malapascua again (4th & last time) this spring and the car with driver from Cebu Port to Maya was 3200 Pesos. From Maya to Cebu airport we paid 2800 Pesos. Might be little more expensive at the moment due to fuel price increase worldwide. If you wanna see the treasures hurry up. There is a big underwater gopro circus going on at Kimbud Shoal. In April we had up to 28 boats anchoring. The ocean was bubbling. Guides told us in main season in may they have up to 50 boats (one full boat = 15-30 divers)☹️ +++++++the place is not big. Do not know how long the Treasher will play that game. Br Markus

Hi Michi, I bought my cerium oxide on an online platform called hood.de (similar to eBay), though that was a few years ago. I don't recall the brand name. However, during my research at the time, I found out that there are quality differences reflected in the color of the cerium oxide. Yellow and light cream-colored varieties are the purest and are used in the semiconductor and optical industries. Reddish-brown versions contain slightly more impurities and aren't as pure. These are primarily used in the glass industry for polishing glass. I have the reddish-brown type (see photo), and in my opinion, it yields very good results on the ports. Br Markus

Hi guys, Here is my "silly question" again. Can someone please explain the rationale behind applying the coating to the outer surface of a port? Does anyone have a technical or optical justification for this? I do not know the optical sense, but the problem with coating on outer surface is, that we clean/wipe the port after every dive. Even if we use the softest cloth available, we inevitably remove a little bit of the coating each time—however minuscule that amount may be. Unless there is some specific optical purpose for it... why put the coating on the outside of ports? However, I’m certainly open to being corrected if someone can offer a clear explanation for a reason for outer surface coating on ports. May be there is difference on super macro lenses due to optical setup. Hope someone can help. I use ceroxyd for years for my ports and my old macro wetlens and it works perfect. It removes watermarks and even tiny scraches without much effort. Also Seacam confirmed that optical coating is on the inside of the ports. Let me give you also two other example not UW related -first not from the field of optics- but still related to the loss of coatings. I had my car's paintwork treated with a very expensive ceramic coating (a very hard coating). After three years—and very few hand washes the coating was virtually gone due to the washing process and environmental exposure and it had to be reapplied. -second from my optician. I have glasses with expensive progressive lenses with hard coating for protection. My optician recommends to clean this one only with warm dishwashing liquid and use a supersoft close (no standard microfiber, no standard glasses cleaning cloths) to dry. He too, assured me that otherwise, the coating wouldn't last for a terribly long time. May be our UW camerahousing supplier have a superformula coating😁 Best regards, Markus

Hi guys, could someone please explain to me why a coating would be applied to the outer surface of a port? We all clean and dry our lenses after every dive. Even if we were to use a super-soft cloth, it still means we are compromising the coating. In my view, an AF coating only makes sense on the inner surface of the lens. But please—I'm open to being corrected. I use Ceroxid to polish all my glass ports and had never a problem. BR Markus

Hi, I first dived Tulamben and the Liberty in 1992. Tulamben did not really exist. There were only few huts and a "parking area". Last time time I dived there in 2024. In between, I visited and dived Tulamben various times. Things have changed significantly. But nowadays, that is not just a problem in Tulamben. Dived this spring Philippines for 5 weeks. Malapascua/Kimud Shoal and the treasures are a nightmare. We had 25 boats anchoring. Big party underwater and Gopro show with a lot of "nice models". I have never seen before so many divers on such a small place underwater. Guides told me they have up to 50 boats at high season in may. Sabang/Puerto Galera same. Bohol/Alona beach 600+ cylinder early morning on the beach waiting for divers. But I still know some places.......but they are becoming rare. Br Markus

Hi Dave, verry sorry, my mistake. I mispelled may be something. I also have only one 2032 battery on my D850 housing vacuum system. Br Markus

Hi Dave, if your happy to work with the rechargeable cells it is fine for me. Fact is that rechargeable 2032 have a capacity of 45 mAh and the Li cell between 210-240 mAh. For me, that's a significant capacity difference. Sorry ,but I do'nt want to change cells every few days, but I agree on your argument regarding waste. FYI: I started my dive trip in march with new installed CR2032 on my Nauticam vacuum system. I did 25 diving days and left the vacuum system running several days overnight (f.e. Malapascua, you leave 05.00 am...I think you know) and even left the vacuum running several times for 2 full days (too lazy open the housing). It was still running on the last diving day without change batteries. I just made a quick calculation and I roughly estimade more than 300 hours the vaccuum system was working with two CR2032. Br Markus

Hi Dave, thanks for hint. I have also checked after reading your message and must agree with Chris. The capacity of rechargeable button cells are very low. Nothing compared with the lithium battery one. You won't be happy using them. Br Markus

Hi, I’ve been using the Nikon 8-15mm lens in combination with a Kenko 1.4 teleconverter for several years now. I’m actually quite satisfied with the image quality. I mostly work within the 11–15mm range, shooting through a Seacam fisheye port. I’ve quickly picked a few sample images attached here. If you’re interested, I’d be happy to provide you with detailed metadata for the images. Best regards, Markus

PLUS some blue reduction rings. Thanks Dave for sharing the files. The reductions fit perfect and did a great job reducing backscatter on my Philippines trip March/April

Hi Dave, thanx for sharing. Will download and print in the next few days. Rating will follow. But I`m shure your design will work. Already printed your design of macro rings for retra flash and used it on my current philippines dive trip. They fit and worked perfect. Backscatter was noticeably reduced. Just returned back home after 6 weeks and need some time for detailed review. Br Markus

Hi Dave, interested in the new designed connectors. It would be great if you shared the print files. Br Markus

Hi, any coatings on UW- ports are on the inner surface. Br Markus

Hi, I use Ceroxid (Cerium (IV) oxide). It is a powder widely used as a high performance polishing agent in the glass industry. I bought some stuff on ebay but it shoud be available on internet shops as well. Watermarks are easily to remove and I was even able to remove small scratches with. I do it without polishing machine, so it takes a bit of time. But worth to do it. Br Markus

Hi Jens, I am 100% with you. Solving problems with UWT is a nightmare. They tell you it is always a customer problem.... Wrong settings, change batteries, clean contacts and on and on and on .......... Bought UWT trigger for my NA-D850 using Seacam 150D. Trigger did not work at all after arrival. A long long story with a lot ot suggestions from UWT did not work. After one year of discussions they replaced trigger. This one was working till end of last year. To find a reasonable solution for new problem I contact UWT via email. Same story.. Change batteries, clean contacts........ That is what you get from the "world finest TTL trigger". The price for the trigger is ++++. Support is -----. Next time I will use a company closer to my location if possible or one that have good customer support. Prices for triggers are similar and I hope for better support. Br Markus

Hi, 100% agree with Chris. Eizo is the benchmark. Tested several monitor and ended up with Eizo for my picture editing. Little pricey, but really true color after right calibration, long warranty and no dead pixel. And my monitor is working for years now without any issue. Second monitor together wit the Eizo I use a cheap LG but this one is only for the toolbars, open folders, rename/edit files etc., not for picture editing. Br Markus

100% agree Jens. Used a few UW strobes (Inon D180, D2000, Z-240 Type2-4, Nikon Sb-800 with Sealux housing, Nikonos SB-105, Seacam 150D, Retra Pro Max, and Subtronic Pro270 + 160) Subtronic had a very good light quality when there were only few providers in earlier times and they still offer good performance today. While I used the Subtronics, service was outstanding compared to other manufacturers . Quick & cheap, always communicative. They even modified the strobes to my liking for little money. From my point of view a 100% + is that they still offer reliable repair service. Anyone still interested in sustainability these days? Hmmmh☹️

Hi Dave, would you share the 3D/CAD files of the knobs. I also sometimes mix up the power and mode knob due to almost same design (only length is differnt). I was thinking to design a clip-on knop. But if your design solves also the "salt problem"👍😃. To be honest, I hadn't figured out the salt problem until today. Will later remove a knop on my strobe to get an idea how much salt stuck there. Br Markus

Hi, I don`t want to go too deep. Just give me a definition of "sharp". Do I have a "sharp" photo, just with a so called sharp lens. @ Adventurer: From my point of view I`m not clearly shure what you would like to compare. Only mirrorless lenses or also full frame DSLR lenses which can be used with adaptor. By the way, who can let me know the OPTICAL difference using full frame f.e. 8-15mm lens on a mirrorless or a Dslr system. FYI: Fisheyelens I use 13mm RS & 8-15mm on Nikon DSLR & Im lucky with the results. BrMarkus

Hi all, this is not a UW photo issue but I just want to inform the community as many of us want to dive and take pics at Socorro. I do not know if all of you have knowledge about the situation. Solmar V Liveaboard takes bookings and the do not go out. They cancel there trips shortly before departure and do not refund customers. They did it in the past and still do it. I was personal involved in October with cancellation less than 24 hours before departure. See kink on Scubaboard wih reports of victims. Br Markus https://scubaboard.com/community/threads/solmar-v-socorro-problem.664728/

Hi, can agree with rays on Male tiger spot. We saw not hundreds but quiet a lot of rays . Vis for Photos a nightmare. Lots of sand and stuff in the water as spot is very close to the harbour. Too many boats in/out. Fuva is also at harbour entry but only few small boats pathing due to small village port. Vis was much better. Attachted photos with 8-15mm + Teleconverter 1,4. I think you can imagine how close the guys come close. Br Markus

Dived both sites (Fuva & Male) in June 2024. Fuva was great. Male had very bad vissibility and no Tigers when we visited. Some dive operators even partial refused to dive there due to "strange/dangerous" behaviour of the Tigers if they ever appear. No restrictions for use of flash on both sites. (see attached video guide made from me using flash in Fuva) Br Markus GX010533_1714984680260(5).mp4

Hi, we dived Fuva last year. Male to Fuva we paid a lot on "carry on" on domestic. They even refused to reduce the price for 5kg allowance for both of us because we had "overload". So we had to pay for """"All WEIGHT"" carry on. From Fuva to Male nobody was interested on weight of carry on. Same Airline. Br Markus

Hi, definitely no rocket science. If you have a little knowledge in mechanics, be a DIY & have the right tools it shouldn`t be a problem. Just be organized if you dismantle all buttons/wheels/levers at same time, so you know they are all on the right position when you reassemble. I did this on different housing brands (Patima C7070, Hugy D300, Sealux flash housing Nikon SB800, Seacam housing D800, Nauticam housing D850) I haved used and all worked fine after reassemble. SIngle buttons and wheels are never a problem. Just be careful with levers. Some brands are easy and they always in the right position as they mechanical fit only in one position. Some brands you can. f.e. move the levers on the shaft. So it`s always a good idea to mark the position with a pen before dismantling. Will save you a lot of time when you reassemble. Photos also help a lot. Br Markus

Hi, due to short time cancellation (less then 1 day before departure) of our liveaboard (planned Magbay & Socorro) we reorganized our Mexico trip and dived La Paz, MagBay & Cabo Pulmo landbased end October/beginning November. MagBay diving from Puerto san Carlos is possible but quite exhausting. You will leave early morning 06.-07.00 am and will be back arround 04-05.00 pm. Ride to the Sardine spots arround 2-3 hours depending on waves/weather condition. We stayed arround 4-5 hours at the supposed sardine rn area to find action spots. We booked our own boat so we were independet & we were able to choose most of the times spots just for us. San Carlos has 2 diving operators but the thing at MagBay is to snorkel. No fun to put on diving equipment and get in/out of the water xxxxxx- times per day. Even things happen very fast so you must be quick in the water. So no diving operators necessary just tour operators organizing a suitible boat with good skipper knows were the action takes place. Puerto san Carlos has a wide range of reasonable accomodation. Good food/restaurants are also widely available. Preparing current trip report so there will be more infos & photos, but will take some time. Any Question just let me know. Br Markus