Digital at last

[ScubaRon]

Well I finally made the move to digital. A brand new Olympus C750 Ultrazoom with a PT-018 housing, an Inon D-180 and a Sea & Sea digital WAL arrived this weekend. See attached pics of the setup.

Since the lakes here are barely unfrozen, I am practising in my reef aquarium. Stationary objects are OK (see pics), but the shutterlag makes it very hard to make good pics of fast moving fish. Any tips regarding this are very welcome.

 

[Gilligan]

Congrats. It looks like a great setup. You are off to a great start with your pics. Best of luck with your rig and photos.

Be sure and get yourself a lens dock for that WAL. They are real easy to drop and/or lose.

 

[Aardal]

Looks like a very nice setup. I like the hermet crab picture!

 

[Mo2vation]

Since the lakes here are barely unfrozen, I am practising in my reef aquarium. Stationary objects are OK (see pics), but the shutterlag makes it very hard to make good pics of fast moving fish. Any tips regarding this are very welcome.

First off, congrats on the rig. I have the D180 - it rules.

Next - dude, are you like using a snorkle or are you tanked up in that reef aquarium? Just curious. With your full rig you'll get a chance to dial in your buoyancy with the rig. It'll shorten the learning curve for when it ices out soon. Just a thought.

Last - Fish butt... I'm a pro at that one - the undisputed king of fish butt. See a cool shot, compose, pull the trigger, fish butt. I got zillions of them. That's why, as I'm getting the rig dialed in I'm taking lots of pics of things that move slow - stars, slugs, fans, anemones, etc.

Other UW photographers with much more experience will chime in at a more reasonable hour - but the way I get around fish butt (sometimes) is by anticipation and pre-setting.

Not sure if the 750 can be pre-set, but with the 5050 I can dial in E & A as well as zoom length - so when its fishie time, I go to my pre-set #4 - about 31 inches. I know if I'm 25 - 36 inches, I'll get the shot (if he's still there.) With pre-set, I can see the subject (picture me swiming along all nonchalant...) and sort of make the turn and pull the trigger on approach, and by the time I get within range, the shutter lag has expired and before fishie knows what's going on, I get the shot. I'm getting better with it.

You're going to love the rig!

K

 

[Dee]

Congratulations....new toys are great! I love the hermit crab. Looks like you've got great subjects to practice with.

I agree with Gilligan, get aDigital Len Dock to hold that WA lens. The tether will be your safety net against dropping it out of sight.

Check out Gilligans website and GB's mouting pages to see several ways to mount the DLD to your rig.

 

[ScubaRon]

Congrats. It looks like a great setup. You are off to a great start with your pics. Best of luck with your rig and photos.

Be sure and get yourself a lens dock for that WAL. They are real easy to drop and/or lose.

I actually have an Inon double lens dock, I just haven't decided yet where/how to mount it.
How do you attach the cable to the lens? Just tie it tightly around it?

 

[Gilligan]

Yes, you wrap a cable tie (the type with a loop on the end) around the lens and connect the leash to the loop. Check out the cable tie on GBUnderseas site

I did not cinch the cable tie down tight so that it could turn while I was threading on/off the lens.

May I suggest you make adjacent marks on your housing and the housing lens ring so you can easily check if you are accidentally unthreading the housing lens ring along with the WAL or Macro lens.

 

[ScubaRon]

Next - dude, are you like using a snorkle or are you tanked up in that reef aquarium?

LOL. It a 60 gallon tank: I can barely get the rig inside. I haven't figured the buoyancy out yet, but will do so in the next week.

Not sure if the 750 can be pre-set, but with the 5050 I can dial in E & A as well as zoom length - so when its fishie time, I go to my pre-set #4 - about 31 inches. I know if I'm 25 - 36 inches, I'll get the shot (if he's still there.) With pre-set, I can see the subject (picture me swiming along all nonchalant...) and sort of make the turn and pull the trigger on approach, and by the time I get within range, the shutter lag has expired and before fishie knows what's going on, I get the shot. I'm getting better with it.

Yikes, that sounds difficult... I've got the pre-sets, so I guess I'll start practising.
Thanks!

 

[Mo2vation]

Yikes, that sounds difficult... I've got the pre-sets, so I guess I'll start practising.
Thanks!

You can set up to 8 of them on the 5050. I have set 3 for top side and 3 for below - below include: Macro, Wide and Super Macro. You're gonna love getting "into it."

My issue was / is that I need to narrow it down and maybe concentrate on Macro for this dive/trip, and concentrate on backlit subjects in wide for the next dive/trip, etc. Its tough (simply because of the medium) to have a wide latitude of shots - you really need to set up the cam and concentrate on a specific series. I've been bad at that, but am getting better.

Chris M mastered the single subject concept to his great credit, and has become an excellent photographer of several specific subjects because of it. In my shotgun approach, I figure I'll get good at one or two by the time I'm 60. :bonk:

K