New to the site

Hello from the great white north!

It's not that white this time of year... but the water is still full of icebergs! I've been shooting underwater for two years with my Olympus c8080. That came to a crashing halt last weekend when the sync cord cap on the PT-023 cracked off with half the red plastic piece during the pre-dive check. The piece is still plugging the hole, but instead of looking like "I" it looks like an upside down "T". Does anyone have any suggestions of how to seal a hole in a polycarbonate housing? I've been thinking about a double o-ringed nut and bolt assembly... but that will take time and testing.

Before this unfortunate incident, I was getting 20-30cm away from anything that would let me and getting miniature scenes and portraits:

All of my underwater work has been in the North Atlantic around Newfoundland and a working trip to Kachemak Bay in Alaska last summer. I haven't been using strobes, and the water here is generally full of a lot of particulates/debris, hence the very short working distances.

I'm planning the purchase of a new underwater kit, and I will confess I am a dSLR newb. We have one camera store in my entire province (that deals with dSLRs) and they sell what they have on the shelf. I'm looking for advice, and essentially a buyer's guide (once committed) on a complete dSLR kit. Of utmost importance to me is underwater functionality. I'd like to focus more on my extreme close-up work, so a short macro lens with whatever accessories (diopters, telextenders, etc) to increase my total magnification is a first. I've been reading a lot on the D200, and it sounds like an incredible camera. I'm also thinking about a Canon, but not really sure what body is preferred by serious u/w divers. Basically, I would like to get a system that will allow me keep my short working distances, add the much needed strobe, increase my magnification/resolution in my macro shots, and give me the best DOF for little critters. I'll be spending a lot of time in West Africa in the next 5 years, so I'll also be looking for an affordable (<$2000US) telephoto as well. I'll keep my c8080 for versatility at this point.

I'll be planning this purchase for the late fall or early spring, so anything on the horizon I should hold out for would be good to know.

Thanks for reading!

Ryan

Hello Ryan and welcome to the community. This site as become the interactive encyclopedia of underwater digital photography. actually most of the time you end up with more answer than you had questions

There is a store in Montreal, www.lozeau.com or jmorin@lozeau.com that will/do ship to NFLD, you also save the provincial taxes by doing so. The Nikon D200 is my choice of camera, I use the D2x strickly for top side work since I got the housing for my D200, much more compact and travel friendly than trying to house a D2x, the D80 also would make a fine canditate, but still the D200 has a more rugged build IMO.

As for macro lens, with your kind of soupy water you will apreciate the 60mm Nikkor, it does 1:1 and with the addition of extension tube or close-up lenses, can be used for higher mag.

From the look of your destinations, i'll bet your in the oil drilling business and good shots BTW.

Salut Jean!

Thanks so much for your reply... I'll definitely take a look at Lozeau, Quebec has everything doesn't it? Good guess on the oil business, unfortunately I'm not directly involved with the business side (I don't get the income). I'm a PADI OWSI, semi-amateur photographer, snake breeder, I'm starting a import/export venture, and finishing up my M.Sc. Does anyone else love diving because there are no pagers?

Really glad you appreciate my shots... I literally have only been shooting (anything) for two years, and I'm self-taught. But when I noticed I was occasionally getting nice colours, crisp lines, and good angles... I figured I could take it all more seriously Thanks for the support on the Nikon... I'll start making a wishlist!