Diving Kona - Macro setup only?

I'm traveling to Hawaii this upcoming weekend to get some diving in. I'm only going to be there for a couple of days so I'm considering only taking either my wide angle set up or my macro set for my Fuji S2 in order to keep my luggage load lighter.

Can I get away with just my macro set up? I know not having a wide angle lens virtually guarantees big animal sightings but is there a good variety of macro shots I could take?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,

Karen

Hi Karen,

Congrats on your hawaii trip - I wish I could go to the big island right now. I was there last year in Feb and all I brought was my macro setup for the S2. You will have plenty of subjects - anthias, garden eels, hermit crabs, small eels, hawkfish etc. I would bring the 60 and the 105.

Have fun!

James

I heartily disagree! Kona's reefs are rather monotonous - where it really shines is big critters in wide angle.

Bmarzin, you may not have gone out with the right folks.

Kona is full of frog fish, leaf scorpions, long nose hawks on black coral, lion fish, dragon morays, etc, etc.

True the reefs are not very colorful.

The turtle cleaning station is a big hit, for photogs! Just outside the harbor too.

Karen - there won't be any humpback's left this time of year. If the mantas are showing up for night dives, that might argue for bringing wide angle. Who are you diving with? I can't recommend enough, Dive Makai.

Kona photos here:

http://pbase.com/derway/kona_underwater_g2

Good luck.

Don

I like Dive Makai too (Hi Kendra!) but it's hard to justify paying $100 for two dives with them (ouch!) when you can do most of the same spots from shore. My best dives in Kona and the Kohala coast have been from shore. Not only do you get to go at your own speed, but you can go to spots that the boats don't normall frequent because it's too far from the harbor.

Cheers

James

True, but the whales, whale sharks, and hammerheads only show up for Kendra. (Does she have a user name here?).

What shore sites are your favs James? Any to the far south?

Hi Don,

My favorite shore sites are up at Puako.

Cheers

James

Thanks for the advice! I was planning on diving with Dive Makai and some shore diving. I think I'll go with the macro set up. I'll post some pics when I get back.

Karen

I'd definitely recommend wide-angle. Hawaii is a great place to shoot sharks and turtles amongst interesting lava formations. I've not seen or been shown many interesting small (around 1:1) creatures in my 40 or so dives in Hawaii. Maybe a few nudibranchs. I have seen many interesting wide angle subjects though, such as Oceanic Whitetip Sharks, Pilot Whales and Manta Rays. If you insist on going macro, use the 60 mm, not the 105. You will be shooting mostly eels and sedentary fish.

-Brad