Wetpixel Ultimate Indonesia

Nice stuff, sure wish I could have made one of those trips. I saw somewhere Cor did 133 dives in the 40 days.

Cheers

Todd

Great stuff Mr. McClure! Typical style - one page of WA and 5 of macro :-)

Cheers

James

Absolutely fantastic!

I got the wet-diopter part, but not sure what "astro-modified with the AA filter and hot mirror removed" means, nor did I follow all the filters stuff - perhaps you can unpack that for me?

Whatever it all is, the pics are awesome!!

Phil

Simply inspiring. So impressive. Thanks for sharing!

WOW. Amazing images!

It makes me want to go back and reprocess all my photos!

I didnt follow the filters or the IR bit either Craig. And is the 70-180 a sigma lens too?

I got the wet-diopter part, but not sure what "astro-modified with the AA filter and hot mirror removed" means, nor did I follow all the filters stuff - perhaps you can unpack that for me?

I didnt follow the filters or the IR bit either Craig. And is the 70-180 a sigma lens too?

My D300 was modified by MaxMax using their UV-Visible+IR option. Other companies offer the service. Basically, the idea is that the AA filter in a DSLR isn't needed or helpful underwater and the UVIR-cut (also called ICF or hot mirror) filter causes an imbalance in color which increases noise and causes uglier sunballs. With the modification, the D300 produces noticably sharper results and, some say, 10-15% more resolution. Because the UVIR-cut filter is removed, you have to consider blocking UV and IR from the strobes. For macro it is easy; I simply install this filter on the lens. For wide angle, I added IR absorbing filters (ROSCO 213 on this trip but also ROSCO 212 and ROSCO Thermashield) on my strobes and diffusers. In reality, I left the strobe filters on even for macro but the strobe filters are probably not required at all.

Incidentally, Leica offers cameras that use a lens-mounted UVIR-cut filter and many cameras are offered without AA filters. Making these mods doesn't produce a camera that's weird or hard to use. It does force you to think more and it can effect AE modes and strobe TTL metering. It also makes the standard white balance presets useless so plan on setting your own. I find the macro strobe TTL metering way off above water but once underwater it works normally. I set the camera to underexpose 1 stop on all AE modes though I didn't use any AE on the trip at all.

The 70-180 is a discontinued Nikon macro zoom lens. It is hard to find these days but occasionally appears on eBay. It is wonderful.

Typical style - one page of WA and 5 of macro :-)

Yeah, that was partly the trip but mostly me. Others have some interesting wide stuff. Mine is mostly sunball test shots.

now this is one cool shot! 2 snakes! just bummed i couldn't be there... mind you i would have been made fun of by that group for my camera

 

No you wouldn't. Cos at least 3 top of the line cameras stopped working along the way.

wow!! awesome!! thanks for sharing!

cheers,

No you wouldn't. Cos at least 3 top of the line cameras stopped working along the way.

Ooooooo i sense a good story or two

Thanks Wait 'til others post their shots...

What happened to this thread?

Why haven't the 'others' started posting their pics from the trip?

The only one that I can see, from memory, is ScubaSuzy...

Craig,

Two things, you mention "macro strobes" in your post. Were these different from your wide-angle strobes? and,

Did you use the 70-180mm micro behind a flat or dome port? I ask this because it becomes one hell of a big zoom with the 1.5x crop...

Bruce

Craig those images are mind blowing. I look at images like yours and hope one day I will be able to produce images like them. I never tire of looking at images with so much detail. Thanks for sharing.

Stew

What happened to this thread?

Why haven't the 'others' started posting their pics from the trip?

The only one that I can see, from memory, is ScubaSuzy...

 

Craig,

Two things, you mention "macro strobes" in your post. Were these different from your wide-angle strobes? and,

Did you use the 70-180mm micro behind a flat or dome port? I ask this because it becomes one hell of a big zoom with the 1.5x crop...

 

Bruce

People are just getting home from the trip---I've been home about an hour now (no lost luggage!). I don't think people are quite prepared to post galleries yet. I'm still transferring mine to my main machine.

I used the new Inon S-2000 strobes for macro and a combination of S-2000s and Z-240s for wide angle. For the snake shots I used 3 S-2000s in a medium sized triangle on manual. Most macro was shot using optical TTL and the popup flash. It worked really well.

I use the 70-180 with the Nexus modular port system and a flat port. Yes, it's a big zoom with the crop but the focal length shortens more than most with close focus. It is a large lens with slow autofocus but handles well underwater and is not too long for DX even though it may seem to be. It responds especially well to wet diopters.

Craig those images are mind blowing. I look at images like yours and hope one day I will be able to produce images like them. I never tire of looking at images with so much detail. Thanks for sharing.

 

Stew

Thank you.

Great stuff, Craig. My question is...what the heck is #17?

Cheers,

Marli

Craig,

Have you noticed any problems with AA filter removal? Have you tried the camera topside or is it purely an UW setup?

Craig,

great gallery, I really enjoyed the images. love 32-35,69,82 and many more.

Glad to see you using your 70-180, sounds like a great way to get a diverse range of macro shots, esp. with a wet diopter.

Marli, #17 looks like it could be Phestilla lugubris?

Scott

Wow,

Blown away by the images. The colors and the sharpness are stunning.

Great gallery

Craig,

Have you noticed any problems with AA filter removal? Have you tried the camera topside or is it purely an UW setup?

I use the camera infrequently above water but can only see moire in test images. Below water I haven't seen problems. Losing the IR cut filter was more worrisome but I only suspected false color in one image.

Criag,

WOW!!! Your photos are simply amazing. I am very envious and your work is inspiring.

I agree the Nikkor 70-180 lens is a great lens, thanks again for the gears.

You are an excellent underwater photographer. Thanks again for sharing your pics.

Elmer

Craig working the shot:

The snakes were curious. And when I say curious, I mean really friendly...

This one nestled up on my leg during a blue water safety stop .

I'm far behind both Craig and Cor in processing...but hopefully will have some choice images to show off soon.

I love that shot of your leg, Matt. Fantastic.