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Yeah agreed. For SCUBA there'd obviously be no need since all operators have them, but even freediving someplace as developed as Hawaii there should be zero issues finding a dive shop to rent some weights from. The only case where I'd think it'd be necessary to pack them is if you were going...

I wouldn't be too concerned. This is basically the norm all over the world now, to some extent. At least in Raja Ampat it seems to be limited to a handful of sites mainly in the strait, and I'm sure liveaboards won't take you to any dead sites. They're not stupid, and being on a boat they...

Yikes, the trash and bleaching is rough. Wonder how long the strait will take to recover? I've read that bleached (but not dead) corals can bounce back in just a year or two if water temperatures drop to normal levels fairly quickly, but I have no idea what the conditions have been like there...

Yuuuuup. What a clown show anything in the water is in Egypt right now. All the operators have to cut every cost they can because nobody wants to go to Egypt and they have to set unrealistically low prices, the government entities that are supposed to be regulating this stuff are probably...

I prefer the stix foam (on normal ULCS arms) to hollow/float arms because it's cheaper and far more customizable. You won't know exactly how much buoyancy you need to add until you get it in the water. You can guess, but adjustments are often needed and you can't adjust float arms. And if you...

Yeah I'll echo that. Cards are mainly for liability purposes. You have to at least show them an OW card to dive (and nitrox if you want to do that). Outside of that, it's rare to even be asked for or have an AOW card matter, let alone anything beyond that. I've never been asked to produce...

On the short inter-island flights like to Taveuni, assuming it's on the same booking as your international flight then you shouldn't incur any excess fees. They have to take everything that you were entitled to check on the long flight from the US, for free. They still do have to precisely...

twentyfirst - Nice AI bot or whatever the hell you are. Go away.

Shot on a Canon R5. 4K60, 8-bit, non-log video. Slowed down to 30fps after processing in Davinci Resolve. I'm still mostly a stills shooter, so I'm learning and playing around with video as time allows. On my next trip I'll try shooting everything in clog3 and using that workflow for more...

Action cams have always been pretty limited in that respect due to a lack of physical controls. When I use a gopro I have it fully setup and configured in advance and set it up so I can just use the top button to power it on and off and it starts/stops recording automatically. So one button...

Yeah I haven't been on the Blue Manta yet (booked for 2026) but one of the coolest things was certainly the look of the bathrooms. Ordinarily in many liveaboards you get a tiny bathroom with enough room for a toilet, sink, and often times a shower that barely fits a person (if you even get a...

Finally stopped being lazy and fired up Davinci Resolve to process and edit all my video from this trip, more than a year later lol. Enjoy:

Yeah this should really be in the liveaboard trips/marketplace forum.

I think the actual tax rate (theoretically) assessed on whatever they choose to tax is 16% (based on what I've read). So let's assume a standard pro level UW mirrorless/DSLR rig with macro/dome ports could easily run you in the neighborhood of $1000 USD, assuming they don't come after your...

The Carnets don't seem a whole lot cheaper than the actual shakedowns. You just prepay for the convenience of getting through the airport without unexpected drama. My solution is just don't go on dive trips to Mexico.

Haven't been diving in Mexico in a long time, but just read about this stuff and wow. Yeah, zero chance I'd ever willingly travel someplace doing shakedowns like this. Equipment for personal use shouldn't ever be taxed, and this has never happened anywhere else I've gone in the Caribbean or...

Yeah certainly if you're going to be doing video at night, in cold water or poor vis, or a lot of macro in nooks and crannies you will absolutely want lights. I think it mostly depends on what type of video that ~20% for the OP is going to be.

Yeah I'll echo what Barmaglot said. It can be done, but a lot of pros will tell you they get better results focusing entirely on either stills or video on a given dive. In addition to practical differences/limitations like lighting and lenses, you can find that the types of subjects you look...

All the divers in that video clearly needed fins on their hands.

I've never heard of locations banning knives. A small knife, line cutter, or shears are a critical piece of safety equipment that you should always have. I have one of the small blunt end titanium knives with a cutter on my harness belt. Shears can easily go in most BC pockets. Gloves, sure...