Ready for the trip!!

Finally assembled my new U/W rig ... never been down with a strobe or my own camera before ... should be fun ... leaving Saturday for a week on the south coast of Antigua ... will be diving every day and hopefully a couple nights ...

Canon G9

Canon WPDC 21 Housing

Sea & Sea Double Light Arm/Tray

YS-15 Auto

YS-27 DX

Fantasea Nano Focus Light

I've got the fiber optic running to the YS-15 and the YS-27DX fires off that. The focus light is in my own DIY mount using velcro and a rubber band ... seems solid enough.

Any suggestions or tips before I head off?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeremypayne/s...57603606442018/

If I were you, I´ll try something else over that focus light.. seems to be really easy to fall off...

If I were you, I´ll try something else over that focus light.. seems to be really easy to fall off...

Thanks for the advice - that's definitely my biggest worry (aside from the fear that I will screw up the O-ring somehow and flood the whole case).

The velcro strap I made to go across the back is a good start, but I need something better than a regular rubber band around the front and the port of the housing. There is velcro under the light holding it on and a velcro strap across the top as well ... but the rubber band is dicey, I agree.

I'm looking for a "better" rubber band - something thick and cheap so I can bring like 10 with me.

I have been playing with it on dry land a bunch - tilting, wiggling, waving it around and it seems to hold pretty well ... but I would feel a lot better with a sturdier band around the front. Maybe a lashing that tied or sinched it on instead of an elastic ...

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=21...157603606442018

Here's a close-up view of the DIY velcro strap I riggged up to hold the back end onto the case. There's velcro holding it on the bottom in addition to the strap across the top.

Jeremy, congrats on the new rig! It looks nice. If it has never been in the water, as I suspect, take it in the water for the first time WITHOUT the camera in the housing. Get as deep as you can to test the housing, and strobes, for leaks. Press all buttons and levers at you deepest depth. Then, enjoy taking pictures for the rest of your vacation!

A young man recently purchased a camera and housing from my local dive shop. One tht had been on the shelf for over a year maybe. He disregarded this rule and flooded the whole thing! Oops. I bet he wished he listened more closely to the owner of the shop when he bought it!

Another thing. When I am using my focus/modeling light for macro, I find that I need to move it around depending on the distance of the subject from the port glass. Your set up doesn't offer any way to angle the light down. Only straight out. Depending on the options on the top of the housing, you might check out the ULCS site, http://www.ulcs.com/ , for finding exactly what you need to hold on to your Nano.

Jeremy, congrats on the new rig! It looks nice. If it has never been in the water, as I suspect, take it in the water for the first time WITHOUT the camera in the housing. Get as deep as you can to test the housing, and strobes, for leaks. Press all buttons and levers at you deepest depth. Then, enjoy taking pictures for the rest of your vacation!

 

A young man recently purchased a camera and housing from my local dive shop. One tht had been on the shelf for over a year maybe. He disregarded this rule and flooded the whole thing! Oops. I bet he wished he listened more closely to the owner of the shop when he bought it!

 

Another thing. When I am using my focus/modeling light for macro, I find that I need to move it around depending on the distance of the subject from the port glass. Your set up doesn't offer any way to angle the light down. Only straight out. Depending on the options on the top of the housing, you might check out the ULCS site, http://www.ulcs.com/ , for finding exactly what you need to hold on to your Nano.

Thanks ... hadn't really checked their stuff out before (which is too bad - looks very cool) and it definitely looks like I can Frankenstein up my rig with some of their components for a much more permanent rig. There is no attachment on the top, but I think I could hack up my existing arms to get a second adapter onto the middle of the arm with the smaller strobe ... it'll have to wait until I get back ...

I hear you on the angling down - and that's ultimately why I'll look to something like that ULCS stuff for a better long-term solution - but at least in my land-based tests in the dark living room, diving on my christmas tree "coral reef", I had no problems focusing on stuff real cose - but we'll see underwater and under real ledges.

Thanks for the tip about taking the case down alone first - hadn't heard that before ... hate to give up a whole tank for that purpose as each one is pretty precious to a desk-jockey like me, but it sounds like very sound advice.

Congratulations, that's a very nice setup.

I've got the same focus light and it flooded on the first dive even after checking the o-ring. I'm sending it back to Reef to see if they can reproduce it. Other than that flood it's a great light, puts out good power and with a very nice pattern.

I've read a review on the 10 bar light ( http://wetpixel.com/i.php/full/10bar-ultra...g-light-review/ ) and I'm not the only one who's had problems with it.

Good luck,

Easydiver

Thanks all for the advice on the focus light ... I decided to go for a much more secure, permanent and adjustable solution.

I bought a YS mount meant for a Nikonos (I think) and used steel reinforced epoxy to attach the mount to the case. I think it will hold ... but we'll see.

Much, much more secure than velcro and rubber bands ... and allows me to angle down right in front of the port.

Will let you if if holds up underwater ...

Nice rig, I am thinking of a G9 too.

Suggestion, tie a cord or something between the light & arm, if the glue didn't stay, you wouldn't loose the light. If it did happen, you can try an ULCS AC-TCS - Triple clamp which is the easiest solution.

For example:

Nice rig, I am thinking of a G9 too.

 

Suggestion, tie a cord or something between the light & arm, if the glue didn't stay, you wouldn't loose the light. If it did happen, you can try an ULCS AC-TCS - Triple clamp which is the easiest solution.

 

For example:

That's a great tip! The epoxy held up diving quite well. That said, it did fall off almost immediately upon being taken out in the cold when I got home ... should have realized that the different coefficients of expansion between the plastic housing and the metal mount would make this happen.

I'll definitely re-epoxy it for the next dive (with a slower-drying, stronger epoxy) - and will leash it as well.

Thanks! Happy diving!