Does anyone backroll with their Ikelite?

A couple of questions:

- Has anyone done backrolls out of Panga holding their Ikelite-housed DSLR? Hold it against my chest? Clip it to BC?

- Is the current at Darwin's arch so strong (going in May) to make it difficult to "hang on" when I'm carrying D300 and strobes?

- Any favorite gloves for hanging on to sharp rocks in a current and taking photos?

- Are the strobes a waste? Are all my photos going to be existing light?

I'm really a warm water Caribbean diver and just trying to prepare myself as well as I can for Galapagos. I do plan on sending my housing in to have Ike do the upgrade to 4 locks and I'll probably be using my Tok 10-17 or my Sigma 17-70. At this point, I'm thinking I will put a d-ring through the slot on my ULCS arms so I can clip to my BC if necessary and I will enter from the Panga by holding my rig with my left hand against my chest while holding reg and mask with my right hand. Any suggestions are welcome.

thanks,

John

When I have to, I backroll with an Ikelite two lock housing. I fill the bcd before rolling, extend my arms holding the housing by the handles and the housing barely hits the water. I also hold the dome towards the water surface when doing this, such that the water will push the dome towards the housing rather than pulling it from the housing. No problems so far, but it is always somewhat nervous. I really look forward to the four lock design, that should add a significant extra level of security.

My first Galapagos trip will be in September this year, so I am looking forward to the answers to the rest of your questions.

Regards Bent

John,

I went to Galapagos in 2004 and had several dSLR housing users along including my own Ikelite dSLR housing.

The panga entries aren't that swift you can't immediately pop up and have the crew member hand you your rig if you don't dilly dally. I had a couple of guys just hold it as Bent C says but I always just had them hand it to me.

Dual strobes on the plateau at Darwin can be challenging with some currents, and I did most dives with one DS125. But I had several folks using duals and they were glad they did when a Whale Shark came by and they swam out into the blue

One other idea I had a customer do last November was for Darwin shooting he ditched his 8" port and got a smaller Ikelite 6" port for his Tokina 10-17mm. On Canon bodies (1.6X crop) this has no vignetting even a 10mm. The #5503.20 has larger shade cut outs . On Nikon 1.5X cropped cameras vignetting is barely visible and gone by zooming to 11mm.

PM or email me if you want any other tips.

dhaas

Hey John

What port do you intend to use withe the housing?

Do you have the new 4 clip port lock system?

I have the new 4 port lock system and to me it feels stronger and more robust. I would strongly suggest that you invest in it if you haven't already.

John,

 

I went to Galapagos in 2004 and had several dSLR housing users along including my own Ikelite dSLR housing.

 

The panga entries aren't that swift you can't immediately pop up and have the crew member hand you your rig if you don't dilly dally. I had a couple of guys just hold it as Bent C says but I always just had them hand it to me.

 

Dual strobes on the plateau at Darwin can be challenging with some currents, and I did most dives with one DS125. But I had several folks using duals and they were glad they did when a Whale Shark came by and they swam out into the blue

 

One other idea I had a customer do last November was for Darwin shooting he ditched his 8" port and got a smaller Ikelite 6" port for his Tokina 10-17mm. On Canon bodies (1.6X crop) this has no vignetting even a 10mm. The #5503.20 has larger shade cut outs . On Nikon 1.5X cropped cameras vignetting is barely visible and gone by zooming to 11mm.

 

PM or email me if you want any other tips.

 

dhaas

I was hoping you would chime in Dave -- good tips! Tell me, do you remember if the gentleman shooting the Tok in a 6" port was using a diopter? I'll probably try that out. I love the 8" dome, but when there's a current it's like carrying a kite around with you!

Thanks,

JP

Hey John

 

What port do you intend to use withe the housing?

 

Do you have the new 4 clip port lock system?

 

I have the new 4 port lock system and to me it feels stronger and more robust. I would strongly suggest that you invest in it if you haven't already.

Thanks for the reply Bill. I don't have the 4 clip lock yet, but I'm going to send my housing in next week to get the mod.

JP

John,

Tokina 10-17mm Fisheye doesn't have any front filter threads for diopters. Plus it focusses to 5.9" so it doesn't need one!

The 4 port locks is nice and I do recommend people taking advantage of the modest upgrade cost.

Good luck!

dhaas

John,

 

Tokina 10-17mm Fisheye doesn't have any front filter threads for diopters. Plus it focusses to 5.9" so it doesn't need one!

 

The 4 port locks is nice and I do recommend people taking advantage of the modest upgrade cost.

 

Good luck!

 

dhaas

 

Oh yeah, I forgot about that. I should know it doesn't accept a filter since I've used the magic filter on it and had to cut it to fit on the back of the lens. Hey Dave, are you doing another Holbox trip this year?

Thanks!

JP

John,

Not at this time but talking with my travel guru tomorrow.

PM me through my web site contact page.

www.haasimages.com

dhaas

Hey John

Did you get my P.M. request for your phone number?

Bill

Hey John

Did you get my P.M. request for your phone number?

Bill

I did Bill -- responded in PM.

thanks,

John

A couple years ago we did a trip to Galapagos and managed to do 7 dives at Darwin's Arch. I took an Ikelite housed 20D (classic two clip port) and I started the dives with a back roll off the panga. For the wide angle photos, I was using a Tokina 10-17mm behind the 8" Ikelite dome too. My technique was to set the housing (with two Ikelite DS-125s) in my lap, curl my chest around it a bit then roll backwards off the panga. I figure that the cylinder and my back is breaking the water for me and taking much of the shock away from hitting the housing.

As for the current, it was strong, but I never felt like it was strong enough to give up the strobes. Coco's was much more challenging from a current perspective. Just keep the arms tucked in for the descent to your perch then unfurl them once you get settled. If you are swimming with whale sharks, I can see the appeal of not having strobes on to help streamline the package. It was a lot of work pushing the housing through the water when circling a 35' shark. However, our encounters with whale sharks were always at depth (the photo included was at 105 fsw) and I don't think my 20D would have been happy with all natural light at that point.

I've linked a couple of photos from the Arch that illustrate why strobes can be handy. You can flip through my Flickr gallery too if you want to see what else we encountered. I think much of the time our depth on the Darwin dives was 75ft and below which means it was fairly dim lighting.

Good luck with your trip!

Sagen

Hey John

I haven't been able to contact you at the phone number you provided.

Bill