Galapagos newbie

Hello - headed to Isabela island for a week the end of the month and likely will only have a gopro for my snorkeling/fishing adventures.  I'm a Canon dslr shooter and joined here in hopes of procuring a housing for the trip but not sure if it'll happen in time (1dx mk1, 1dmk4, or the original 5d). 

Curious if anyone has any tips as I'm extremely green when it comes to underwater vid/photog experience and just as inexperienced using my gopro hero 9 black.  TIA!!!

8 hours ago, seabass said:

Hello - headed to Isabela island for a week the end of the month and likely will only have a gopro for my snorkeling/fishing adventures.  I'm a Canon dslr shooter and joined here in hopes of procuring a housing for the trip but not sure if it'll happen in time (1dx mk1, 1dmk4, or the original 5d). 

 

Curious if anyone has any tips as I'm extremely green when it comes to underwater vid/photog experience and just as inexperienced using my gopro hero 9 black.  TIA!!!

The housings for the 1D series are huge and then you need to find a port for your lenses, what lenses are you proposing to use?

You also need strobes - they are the thing that makes all the difference in UW photos.  Certainly at the Galapagos there are pics to be taken without strobes like schooling hammerheads and other big creatures, but other images certainly benefit from strobes.  A month to throw together an UW rig seems quite rushed to me.

I've not dived the Galapagos but from what I've heard handling a massive rig for the first time in the dive conditions there may not be ideal.

Honestly if you’re set to do this, I would skip strobes and just get a wideangle lens and focus on the big stuff. Still a wideangle lens will mean a huge dome which may be a problem in the conditions there but maybe someone who has been to galapagos before can tell you more. Alternatively fisheye lenses can be used with smaller domes, but you may often be too far away from stuff making the fisheye less ideal. 

Thanks for all of the tips folks!  With my lack of time I think I'll stick with my gopro but hope to get a real rig for future travels!!!

Have a great trip.  I think a GoPro is a great introduction to underwater photography.  That is how I started.  Easy to focus on composition and a steady grip when you have no adjustments to aperture, lighting, focus, or zoom.

Hey Seabass,

This will be a great trip.  I was always a little apprehensive about making this trip as I'm definitely a "warm" water person.  However, my 5 mil wetsuit did just fine and  I was very comfortable the entire time.  I shoot a Canon 5D and my son had just bought me a GoPro.  So, I rigged up an attachment on my Seacam housing so I could shoot both simultaneously.  It was a little hectic at some locations with some of the surge conditions, but it worked.  I got some great stills as well as video.  

BTW  If you're looking for a really nice Seacam housing (5D) with ALL the attachments, I've got one.