Diving Partners

How many of you out there have partners who also dive? Does this cause kit sharing problems?

I have just forked out a lot of dosh for the Oly Titan setup & you can bet your bottom dollar when diving we will be scrapping over who uses the camera. Ah! who wears the trousers I hear you cry! "If you love me you'd let me use it" .........always works well (for me).

So here is my dilemma:

Do I get a housing for my video in order to get the best of both worlds, or

buy a second camera, probably a bit cheaper (Oly 5050 eg) so we can both enjoy.

Oh decisions, decisions.

Is anyone else in the same boat?

Mark

PS Any suggestions to trade in the wife will be ignored. I've already done that before!!

Mark,

I'm in a similar, if not exactly the same, boat. Wife dives, which means I buy and carry twice as much gear. Thankfully though, my wife has no interest in photography, so there's no squabbling over who gets the camera. She prefers to play spotter and find me subjects. In fact, she found me a great little spotted moray last week in a pile of rocks that I would have missed on my own.

I'd say get the video camera so that you have both. That way you'll both have a toy to play with, but you won't be buying redundant systems.

A diving wife spotter.......Hmmm I like that. I'll just run off & ask her what she thinks of that one!

Yeah think you could be right about the video. Its so hard to decide though as we both prefer stills.

I'll come back to you with my wife's comments on your suggestions in 5 mins.

I have the same problem, My wife dives & love to take photos, the hard work she leave to me: learning how to use the gear (mainly here in the forum), preparing the gear (photo & all the rest), carrying all to the water and the worst of all cleaning all the equipment at home.

But she also find most of the subjects to shot (all the little creatures that I hardly see) and I have a great U/W model every dive.

Some day I hope to buy another set of camera+ strobe so each of us will have a full gear every dive.

I'll come back to you with my wife's comments on your suggestions in 5 mins.  

I cannot repeat her response. :angryfire: other than it contained a few ****** words. :ph34r: She has threatened divorce.:freak:

Cheers Tom.

Hmmmmmmm divorce..................Nah not again

As you know Mark my wife and I met while we took a group out to dive in Port Hardy.

I am a bit lucky as although she likes taking pictures she is not intense about it like we all are. I have given her my old Motormarine IIEX set-up to use. She has even suggested selling it as she may not use it much. Now, I think it could make a great back-up system just in-case something happens to the other set-up.

Having a spouse that dives was a requirement for me. The old one didn't like to go out and dive as much so, we all know I had to send her packing.

I have to admit, my current, and last wife (They are one and the same) has been extremely supportive of my habit. She encourages me to take pictures as she loves my shots. We have some in the home I would not have put up but, she wanted them so, they get framed.

I guess she realizes what diving and taking pictures means to me and has been fully supportive. And, when I get that DSLR she will get my current set-up. Hand me down again, I know. It may be because we met diving that she understands more.

ps She does get annoyed sometimes when I sit on the same spot for 10-20 minutes trying to get that elusive shot. That, and every now and then the barb of "well you just got all new diving and camera gear so I should be able to go and buy..."

I usually follow with "yes, dear"

ps She does get annoyed sometimes when I sit on the same spot for 10-20 minutes trying to get that elusive shot.

Hit the nail on the head there. Can't blame em though when you look over shoulder and see em shivering.

My situation is almost identical to Tom's in that my wife has had little to no interest in shooting. She has been very patient and a great spotter and model. Only on a couple occasions when I became obsessed with a subject did she get antsy. She did express a little interest in video, while on the Kona Aggressor, when one of the guest had a digital VC. I have thought about buying a used one to allow her to use it if she chooses. I feel truly blessed to have a partner that dives and after 21 years I have learned that new equipment or wet suits or maybe the VC are a cheap price for her interest in the sport.

It seems as though I am the unlucky one then. 2 into 1 just don't go. It looks like I'm gonna be spendin again!

Oh no, not again...We could be moving on to a good bottle of wine now.

ps You could be the lucky one as she share the same interest in photography and can then relate even more so.

She does get annoyed sometimes when I sit on the same spot for 10-20 minutes trying to get that elusive shot.

Buoyancy control is useful in these situations - If your not flapping about like a squid with hick-ups the subject settles and the shots done quicker.

Now you have just gone too far.

As you may be aware, the fresh water diving I have unfortunately become accustomed too, tends to come with silt bottoms in this area.

This means you need to one control you bouyance and adjust your finning technique to minimize the siltout conditions that can be easily generated.

It also helps reduce the chance of losing those students that are following you.

Now, lets add 30lbs of lead and a drysuit to the mix just to make it interesting. Diving in warm water without all that "kit" becomes quite easy after all that. You better kick those mice out of that drysuit and brush up my friend.

ps SHH the girls will think we are fighting.

Now, lets add 30lbs of lead

Crikey. 30lbs !!!!!!! I've only ever known two divers that use that much.......One was the size of a Balaenoptera musculus and the other was a woman.

Need I tell you the punchline..........

We can't be fighting cause we're at work! lol

I cannot repeat her response.  other than it contained a few ****** words.  She has threatened divorce.

Sounds like the response I got when I mentioned adding a second strobe, wide angle lense and dome port. Better to get it over NOT buying than buying...

In all seriousness though, my wife is pretty good about the whole thing. Even those times when I'm sitting there forever she just amuses herself with other things until i'm done. Either that or she ditches me entirely and goes off to find something to do...

Hee Hee Hee - gotcha!

You can obtain a 3rd party reference regarding the drysuit ability in cold water & (only) 10 kg's of lead!

ps You could be the lucky one as she share the same interest in photography and can then relate even more so.

Joking apart, you are dead right here.

Is that salt or fresh water?

I erred in my prior statement, 30lbs was in salt water. Fresh water is 26lbs or approx 11-12 kg's. (That includes ankle weights)

I should save your statement for after August for comparative purposes. (On the weight that is) I am quite sure you are skilled in the water, it was you who questioned my bouyancy.

I feel a challenge coming on here chaps!

Anyway the picture sums up my frustrations.

Y'all should consider yourselves fortunate. My wife, and favorite dive buddy gave up diving last year.

I now find it hard to spend the money for a nice dive trip since she no longer will come along. As much as I love diving, it just isn't the same without her.

OK 'nuff whining

Get yourself on one of our dive trips. Afterwards, I'll guarantee you'll never want to ask her again! lol