Green Frog
Contributor
OK, I’m done diving for ‘23 and am thinking about what I want to do for ‘24 and beyond, Lord willing. I am now 74 y.o. and figure I have a few tropical or semitropical dive trips left in me.
I’ve mentioned here previously that in my “film camera days” my travel rig was a bulletproof Nikonos II (look it up in your history books!) with a custom made aluminum arm on a modified aluminum carrier tray, lighted with a tiny Sea&Sea YS-20. For more serious work, I sometimes carried a Nikonos V with one of several larger strobes and did close-ups with an aftermarket add on lens. Also, I had a 28mm and an 80mm Nikonos lens with sport finders in my bag as needed. I got a lot of good pictures with the N II rig and some outstanding stuff when I got serious with the N V.
Now I’m old and all of my future dives will be what I used to regard as strictly “casual”. I plan to use a digital system based on the SeaLife Micro 3.0 as my final photo rig. I have the camera and gave it a thorough test cruise in Nassau in June (see my previous posts) and now am looking to expand my horizons for what will be the last time.
I find the Dragon Lights from SL way too expensive for what they are and plan to use one of the Suptig or SeaFrog box type video lights instead. I found one of the vendors (whose name I can’t recall at the moment) makes a small, fold over tray and arm of plastic that weighs virtually nothing and that when folded occupies next to no space. This will comprise my basic rig. I used to like to get closeups of the little guys, so I may add the SL closeup lens but unless some unforeseen opportunities arise in the limited diving time I have left, this will be my final rig. I’ll try to post a picture of my old Nik II rig, and as it comes in, my SeaLife rig.
Meanwhile, has anyone trod this path (or more appropriately, swum this current) before? Am I tilting at propellers? What think ye? Thanks for listening to the ramblings of an old man.

Regards,
Green Frog
I’ve mentioned here previously that in my “film camera days” my travel rig was a bulletproof Nikonos II (look it up in your history books!) with a custom made aluminum arm on a modified aluminum carrier tray, lighted with a tiny Sea&Sea YS-20. For more serious work, I sometimes carried a Nikonos V with one of several larger strobes and did close-ups with an aftermarket add on lens. Also, I had a 28mm and an 80mm Nikonos lens with sport finders in my bag as needed. I got a lot of good pictures with the N II rig and some outstanding stuff when I got serious with the N V.
Now I’m old and all of my future dives will be what I used to regard as strictly “casual”. I plan to use a digital system based on the SeaLife Micro 3.0 as my final photo rig. I have the camera and gave it a thorough test cruise in Nassau in June (see my previous posts) and now am looking to expand my horizons for what will be the last time.
I find the Dragon Lights from SL way too expensive for what they are and plan to use one of the Suptig or SeaFrog box type video lights instead. I found one of the vendors (whose name I can’t recall at the moment) makes a small, fold over tray and arm of plastic that weighs virtually nothing and that when folded occupies next to no space. This will comprise my basic rig. I used to like to get closeups of the little guys, so I may add the SL closeup lens but unless some unforeseen opportunities arise in the limited diving time I have left, this will be my final rig. I’ll try to post a picture of my old Nik II rig, and as it comes in, my SeaLife rig.
Meanwhile, has anyone trod this path (or more appropriately, swum this current) before? Am I tilting at propellers? What think ye? Thanks for listening to the ramblings of an old man.


Regards,
Green Frog
