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Which compact Canon do you have, and which housing? Do you have a strobe? If you want better image quality and only have $500 to spend, your best bet is to buy a strobe (or 2) and learn how to shoot in manual mode. It's easy! Just put your shutter speed to 1/200 or faster, medium aperture, low...

I'm glad you like my pictures Jen. I don't have my old logbooks handy, but going by memory, generally water temps in Philippines range from 25-27 C. Visayas generally a bit warmer, say 26-27, whereas Anilao/PG closer to 25-26 range. Water temps are coolest perhaps around March/April and a bit...

I just spent the last 10 days in Anilao, great diving, water temp was 25 C, so a bit chilly. If you are doing a lot of diving, a 4/5 mm suit with a hood or hooded vest would be good. Visayas will likely be a bit warmer, Malapascua water temp was 26 C a few weeks ago, I would guess that Dumaguete...

I started with a SeaLife and in hindsight it was not a very good choice. Lots of reliability issues, mediocre image quality, and not very easy to use in manual mode. My next camera was a Canon S100 which was way better. I highly recommend you get a compact Canon, like the G16 or S120 (or even...

Nice report! What an absolute nightmare getting from Toronto to Philippines!! It really sounds like a horrible experience! Please, please tell me that next time you will take the Philippine Airlines flight that goes from Toronto to Manila (via Vancouver)!!! I have taken PAL Vancouver to...

I agree with Centrals. Most of the diving in Philippines is land-based, no live-aboard required, and is all about the macro. If you like big animals only, you might be disappointed, but if you love macro-photography, you will love it. You don't need a live-aboard to get lots of time underwater...

My experience is the complete opposite. I have been to Philippines many times, and I always take the direct PAL flight Vancouver to Manila. The flight has always been great, and the timing is perfect. The flight usually leaves Vancouver around midnight or 1 am, and gets in to Manila quite early...

Melissa, you have received all good suggestions above. If you are really keen to see 3 places, do what Central suggested. But if you only have 12 days, I think only 2 places is better. So you could do Dumaguete (more precisely Dauin) plus either Bohol (Alona Beach) or Moalboal. As Dirtfarmer...

Joyinthewater, you don't mention if you are using an external light source, but I will do my best to give you some advice. I feel your pain because I started with a SeaLife DC1000 (with 2 strobes) 5 years ago, and flailed around shooting in automatic mode for 2 years, with mediocre shots. It was...

Hi Phishphood, as promised, I'll give you my humble opinion. First off I have to admit I am not overly familiar with Olympus and have a strong bias towards Canon. For most people that are new to underwater photography, I would strongly suggest starting with a compact camera. However, since you...

Same as for another post, I would like to give you some advice, but I need to ask you a few questions first: Do you know how to shoot in manual mode, or are you shooting in automatic mode only? Do you mostly take stills, or video? And what light source do you plan to use? Strobes are the best...

Joyinthewater, I would love to give you some advice, but first, I have to ask you a few questions. Are you shooting in automatic or manual mode? And what light source are you using? Are you using continuous light (i.e., video or focus light)? Strobes? Or ambient light only?

I would whole-heartedly agree that once you are used to the incredible diversity of small critters in South-East Asia, the Caribbean pales in comparison. New divers may not notice much difference, but experienced underwater macro photographers will certainly notice! Luko, I see you have been...

Mark, I have been to both Malapascua and Southern Leyte, and it is difficult to decide which is better. Perhaps the edge goes to Malapascua, because I am actually headed back there again first week of March. You mentioned that you don't mind paying a little extra for transport, so in that case...

If you are going for 6 months: 1) you are very lucky! :-) 2) You don't really need to figure out now which dive shop you want to train with, because you will have plenty of time to figure out which dive shop you like when you are there. Since you have so much time, you will have time to check...

The "shutter lag" is more likely focus lag. Try half-pressing the shutter to lock focus, then full-press to take the shot. I bet you will notice a significant improvement!

Hahaha, so you can actually take the camera out of its housing and use it topside? That is a novel concept for me!!! ;) Seriously though, although my interest in topside photography is less compared to underwater, I tend to use a different camera topside than underwater. For quick casual...

I agree that a larger sensor is inherently more difficult to focus compared to a smaller sensor, but what also matters is the lens. Nauticam has just announced their housing for the G7X, and seem to agree with Scott G. that the G7X is better than the RX100 for macro: "Most interesting to...

Hi Bill, Thanks for the useful information. I am interested to know why you suggest the Tamron 60 mm rather than the Canon 60 mm. Is it because the Tamron will take a teleconverter without the need for an extension tube? My understanding is that a teleconverter will work with the Canon 60 mm as...

If you book TAC-MNL-Puerto Princessa all on one ticket, the airline will decide for you what the minimum layover will be in Manila. So if you are late coming in to Manila and you miss your connection, it will be their responsibility to put you on the next available flight. On the other hand...