Improvements through humour..

Ellen, did your friend make a mention of exactly why she felt intimidated?

 

Is it from lack of friendliness of folks on the forum? Didn't feel her photos were good enough to post on this forum?

The sense of camraderie and occasional sarcastic answer from folks?

 

Would be interesting to hear the reasons behind it so we can do something to make folks less intimidated

Mike,

I'm really glad you've asked those questions. Her answers will perhaps give some insight as to why some folks are intimidated when first coming to Wetpixel. At the very least, hearing what she has to say should prove helpful. I will email her and see what she has to say, how's that?

She will be coming on the trip this fall to Bali, Wakatobi and Lembeh, so if you'll be in Bali at the same time, you'll have a chance to meet her and can discuss the reasons why she was intimidated in person with her.

As for myself, I felt very intimidated when I first came here, which wasn't too terribly long ago. Everyone was talking about concepts, gear and destinations that were so far removed from my comfort zone that I felt I'd be laughed at with my questions.

I will get back here as soon as I hear from my friend and will post what she has to say.

Ellen

By the way to overcome your fear in 4 - . But please remember not to step in front of the darts at that point.

But be careful of how many pints you drink... Else you might find your vision and judgement impaired and taking that kilt-wearing dart player home...

But be careful of how many pints you drink... Else you might find your vision and judgement impaired and taking that kilt-wearing dart player home...

Well if I am that impaired hopefully I step out in front of the dart myself beforehand, though of course if worse comes to worse the kilt looks kind of .. well sexy in a dart playing I drank too much sort of way

Hmmm, now that I think about it, Bartender, please pass me a Coca-Cola I gave up drinking per the suggestion of pakman. Yeah, it is a long and sad story, but to make it short we were discussing whether licesning is needed to take photos underwater then somehow ... ahhh nevermind. Just pass me the d#$n Coca-Cola, willya'?.

"Well if I am that impaired hopefully I step out in front of the dart myself beforehand, though of course if worse comes to worse the kilt looks kind of .. well sexy in a dart playing I drank too much sort of way"

Remind me never to drink around you blokes.

Mike,

 

I'm really glad you've asked those questions. Her answers will perhaps give some insight as to why some folks are intimidated when first coming to Wetpixel. At the very least, hearing what she has to say should prove helpful. I will email her and see what she has to say, how's that?

 

She will be coming on the trip this fall to Bali, Wakatobi and Lembeh, so if you'll be in Bali at the same time, you'll have a chance to meet her and can discuss the reasons why she was intimidated in person with her.

 

As for myself, I felt very intimidated when I first came here, which wasn't too terribly long ago. Everyone was talking about concepts, gear and destinations that were so far removed from my comfort zone that I felt I'd be laughed at with my questions.

 

I will get back here as soon as I hear from my friend and will post what she has to say.

 

Ellen

You know, I think we've inadvertantly stumbled on a great thread in the making whilst not so politely hijacking this one. Maybe someone should start a thread "How did you feel the first time you came to Wetpixel"

Scottish!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now now...you know all you skirt wearin' dudes look the same to us uncultured mericans

Most people are afraid they'll say something stupid or waste someone's time,

I agree on this one, sometimes it must be really annoying to ask a new question as a newbie then be semi-flamed and referred to a thread from 2003. I think linking an old thread is fine, but the discussion on a new members thread should not halt there. I was talking to the skirt wearing Canadian/Scottish darts player on about this over a beer (wearing my own clothes that time) a few weeks ago. I reckon wetpixel needs some new mods who are not experienced photographers, people who shoot little olympus etc and are still enthusiastic about learning photography rather than just doing it.

Back onto the off topic:

Didi someone mention SCUBA police? How super!

should that one be in the Photoshop area?

Ok, i will see if i can take some of these posts and split it into a new thread... can't say alll the linked photos will make it though..

My connection is slow and i am not very good at splitting threads so started a new one or two instead.. haha

Serious discussion of how to improve WP and how you felt about WP when you decided to join

http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=22626

I cannot believe anyone would say anything stupid on WP!

Scuba SI has made a good point. Sometimes we like to poke fun at each other with nothing but respectful intentions. When I made my 1,000 th post I posted a comment to the community that I hope my posts have been helpful and informative. I got someone who will remain nameless but his name is Matt Segal post a few of my most sarcastic remarks and saying something like, "yea, these have been really helpful." He couldn't resist and although some may have thought he was being an A-hole, he was merely having some fun with me and I thought his response was hilarious as well.

Really subtle, Joe . Joe's 1,000th post was sadly overlooked by many .

I once congratulated a member with his 666th post with a little devil remark. Can't remember who exactly. Since he didnt post any reaction, I suppose he wasnt amused. Maybe my signature would need this disclaimer:

DISCLAIMER

This message represents the official view of the little voices in my head.

She will be coming on the trip this fall to Bali, Wakatobi and Lembeh, so if you'll be in Bali at the same time, you'll have a chance to meet her and can discuss the reasons why she was intimidated in person with her.

 

Ellen

Are you sure you want to put her through this?

Are you sure you want to put her through this?

It is truly an educational experience hanging out with Mike and Simon...

And only slightly dangerous..

I once congratulated a member with his 666th post with a little devil remark. Can't remember who exactly. Since he didnt post any reaction, I suppose he wasnt amused. Maybe my signature would need this disclaimer:

 

DISCLAIMER

 

This message represents the official view of the little voices in my head.

You should have sent him to me....I could have exercised his post. But I can't do a thing for the voices in your head.

I once asked Eric to change my name to "Preacherfish" .... the devil wasn't amused.

To paraphrase Lord Norman Tebbit : If things posted on the Internet upset you, you're going to spend a lot of your life upset.

Well, if I wasn't intimidated before, I sure am now.

OK, I am the person to whom Ellen referred and it has been so long since I've visited this site that I guess I forgot my username (though I thought it was the same one I use for all of the other scuba boards I visit) and password so I created a new one that describes me much more accurately right now since I flooded my Oly 7070 on my recent trip to Australia (on the first dive no less) and now am in the market for a new camera because I feel naked without one. Since I "know" Mike from Scubaboard, and recognize some other names, and, like John said, I know better than to get upset by posters on message boards, I guess I'll not be intimidated any longer. But to try and shed some light on why people do feel intimidated (at least why I did to the best of my recollection), I guess it was a combination of being a new poster, a fairly new diver, being new to photography, being new to the working of message boards in general, not getting feedback on a photo I might have posted for a critique yada yada yada. Oh, and guys in kilts playing darts intimidates me greatly. Now, what kind of camera should I buy? Bwa haa haaa

But to try and shed some light on why people do feel intimidated (at least why I did to the best of my recollection), I guess it was a combination of being a new poster, a fairly new diver, being new to photography, being new to the working of message boards in general, not getting feedback on a photo I might have posted for a critique yada yada yada. Oh, and guys in kilts playing darts intimidates me greatly.

The kilts scare all of us You can cruise over to the Beginners section to see what recent threads for new set ups are there (everytime a new camera comes out, there seems to be a new set of things that are good )

I would think the first questions I would ask is

1.) Do you have a budget in mind for the set-up?

2.) Do you travel to dive and will carrying things be a pain (it is, more so if you mind it )

3.) What do you want to accomplish from photography and diving? (Pro photog, just get some good shots for yourself and friends.)

Anyway in general the Point and Shoots will be less expensive than dSLRS both for the camera and housing and can be alot smaller and easier to travel with (though you can often also carry on a dSLR rig in Pelican or otherwise). The dSLRs will usually produce better quality/have less shutter lag (though I have seen many real nice shots from Points and Shoots, once you get the hang of shooting with any rig you can start progressing.) An external strobe or filters such as the magic filter would be something else to look for to help get better photos.

I know it is a bit general, but figured it is a starting point Also as an aside, make sure you get comfortable with scuba fiirst and some of the skills before multi-tasking with a camera. (You may be good already, but something that can be frustrating is trying to get the photography going at the same time as diving.)

Thanks Drew. I am looking at a point and shoot because, quite frankly, I can't afford the dSLR set up with housing. Plus, I am not a pro and don't like lugging a lot of stuff. BUT... I couldn't stand the shutter lag of my Oly 7070. I already have a strobe and focus light so I am looking for something that will fit that set up. I have to make a call to the shop where I bought some of my camera gear and see what that guy recommends. But the worst part for me is.. I am basically a procrastinator (I am here instead of making a phone call) and I have a hard time making decisions.

Right now you can get an awesome point and shoot camera, underwater housing, and add on wide angle lens for <$1000 Things have changed a lot since I started! My first point and shoot type camera cost that much!

Good cameras to look at would be the Fuji F50FD, on the small side or the Canon G9 on the larger side.

Cheers

James

I already have a strobe and focus light so I am looking for something that will fit that set up. I have to make a call to the shop where I bought some of my camera gear and see what that guy recommends. But the worst part for me is.. I am basically a procrastinator (I am here instead of making a phone call) and I have a hard time making decisions.

Remember do not do today what you can put off until tommorrow

Also remember that one of the best parts of getting the new rig is researching and discussing it. Both for the sheer joy of the potential of a new toy and also to try to narrow down buyers remorse. I think 99.99% of my purchases come after looking for a long time and either (a) finding a deal on one of the things I am eyeballing or (B) a trip is about to come up and I really wanted something.

The 7070 was about .65 seconds on Continuous AF according to the tests, but are faster ones out there now. For instance the Canon PowerShot SD1000 (about $165) is .36-.40. Of course there are other factors (such as being able to control the camera more, which you may want as you progress), but there are things well within a reasonable price.

Which strobe do you have? Most strobes will probably work with most cameras with the proper pieces, but you may want to make sure (on the off chance it does narrow down the choice of camera and make it a bit easier )

Just to give you an idea of a basic dSLR Kit, you can get the starter Nikons (D40x) or Canons (the xTI which is probably being replaced tomorrow ) for $500 to $700 or so and a housing for around $1,000 with a port (such as the Fantasea.) Sort of a ballpark, but figured I would throw it out there on the off chance that it mmay not be quite as painful as you may have thought.

As to the cameras, I would hold off for a day or two now that I think about it. PMA is starting and there will be new things coming out which means (hopefully) older models drop or there are some real nice new models. It also means that some people may be changing systems (though it may not be for a bit until new housings come out) and you maybe able to pick something up. You can find some good deals in the WP classifieds.

Hi Nekid without Camera!

I just purchased an Oly E410, new housing and port (smallest housing and DSLR) for Under 2K. I know you can get the same camera and port now for aobut $1500 new. Of course the Port and housing are the most expensive pieces. Ryan's Reef Photo can get you the port and housing for around a grand. Camera, new on ebay, is around $450 with a single 14-42mm lens. Tropical1, Phil Rudin, has done a great write up here on wetpixel of the housing, size etc. Here are two write ups I fished out for you.

http://wetpixel.com/i.php/full/dema-2007-olympus-america/

http://wetpixel.com/i.php/full/olympus-e-4...rwater-housing/

Keep in mind, small is relative. The housing is bigger than an OEM standard P&S housing but quite smaller than most DLSR housings. As a reference, I get two Inon strobes, arms, tray, housing, and a spare E-410 body inside a pelican 1510 which is the largest carryon hardcase. The case has an outside diameter of 23" x 14" x 9". Now I'm not sporting a dome port just yet and when that happens somethings going to give on the transport issue but overall I'm very happy going from a P&S to this camera. Its very quick so you can say goodbye to your favorite anatomical part of a fish.....the dreaded fish butt!

Very cool ce4jesus. Thanks for the links. Sounds promising.