Cat Island (Bahamas): seeking advice

Hello!

Going to Bahamas very soon and thus seeking advice from experienced divers/uw-photographers who were actually there already for Cat Island shooting the oceanic whitetips. What lenses did you use or recommend? I habe both the 16-35 f/4 VR and 15mm Sigma on 9" dome port, shooting full frame.

thanks

I like to use a rectilinear lens when shooting Whitetips. The stretch of the fish eye combined with the paddle shape of the dorsal fin is not pleasing to my eye. YMMV.

It depends on the Oceanics. if they come in very close or prefer to keep their distance. A zoomed fish-eye (e.g. Tok 10-17) or rectilinear lens (Tok 12-24 or comparable) gives you flexibility to adapt to the conditions. For really close encounters I prefer the fisheye. On Cat island its probably more difficult to find your right position floating in the water than on Bimini where you can kneel comfortably on the white sandy bottom (thats with the great hammerheads). The classic Oceanic shot of course is the Oceanic moving in with a full pilot fish escort. And....with some nice sun beams penetrating the surface. Have fun! (-;

I will take both of them, the 16-35mm and sigma 15mm and 2 dome ports, namely the small 4" and the larger 9". I think using the sigma with the 4" dome for snorkeling and using the large dome when diving with tanks. let's see how it goes...

Btw I have shaved the sigma's lens hood as well as the sun shade of the 4" dome port; still there is a small remain of black edges visible in the left and right corners in the image. I guess I will have to crop slightly to get rid of the curtains...

Looks like you have thought it over very well! The large dome would also do for snorkeling, and over-under shots. Shark under, boat above surface, small aperture, focus on shark, manual flash half power.