Guess who's hat

[JamesP]

Thus there is no "magic" or ideal distance. You have to balance the amount of backscatter against the desired shooting distance.

Hi Steve,

Everything that GroungHog has said, but I have to say that is the MAGIC. It is hard to see the results of the flood light aim and spread while in the water. You have to get a feel for it. And you can only see the results when you review the shoots after the dive.The other considerations are: Can you focus your flood lights and how powerful are they. I am using dual Halcyon 24watt HID's and I find them to be just powerful enough to get the job done. They also have an adjustment for focus and spread of the flood. I find that these options make a big difference to shoot. I have tried dual 10watt HID but they just didn't cut it. Even 18watt did not make it.

 

[Scuba_Steve]

I know I'm "under-lit", using 2 35W Halogens (non-focusable, but "flood" by design), but it's that or nothing, as $$$$ don't permit a "Real" lighting system.

The lamps are about 1ft away from the lens (1ft - on either side). Again, due to lighting limitations, I am "stuck" in most dark situations to shooting no further than 5-7ft MAX away from the object.

I'm seriously thinking of using 2 50W, knowing full well I'm abusing the battery (SLA1270's), and would also limit the burn time. The Batteries aren't a huge concern, as I get them very cheaply, but I still wouldn't want to trash them after a dozen dives, ideally.

Comments?

 

[d33ps1x]

Comments?

Yah. move this thread to the equipment forum!

 

[Scuba_Steve]

Any comments that matter........

hehehehe

Did you notice I never once said the word "Tiller"............

 

[d33ps1x]

Any comments that matter........

hehehehe

Did you notice I never once said the word "Tiller"............

I did notice and was quite surprised! I was expecting something like:

"And everything was fine 'tiller father came along with his shotgun and..."

You are showing quite the control in your old age.

 

[Scuba_Steve]

Ooooh I like that one.

 

[d33ps1x]

Ooooh I like that one.

It's very Pennsyltucky...

 

[Groundhog246]

So the synopsis is.........shoot lots of film......

Thanks G/Hog.

Yep. That's where digital is nice. I bought a used 2MP Olympus and housing this spring and later scored a used 128MB card cheap. I can shoot 91 photos at it's highest quality, 266 at it's standard quality or 455 seconds of video in 15 second segments or a combination of various qualities and video. Most recently I bought a set of Nimh AA bateries and charger and they last at least twice as long as alkaline AA's did. Now aside from the upfront cost and any printing costs for those that are good enough for hard copy, the picture taking is free.

I also have a Digital Camcorder and built an UW housing for it. It works better than expected (by me) and it's great to be able to go back over the dive footage later at home. I'm seeing details in the video that I did not notice during the dive. I have not rigged a light for the camcorder yet, but hope to do something soon. It works quite well in low light levels, but a light should help bring out the colours.

 

[PatH]

I am not sure of about the fire hydrant. Someone had cleared all the zebra's off to one side and the hydrant was sitting where we found it. The zebra mussels on the port side of the salon look to be over 12inches deep.

Hmm... last I saw it, it was sitting on the bench at the stern of the salon near the middle. Is it on the floor now?

 

[Marvintpa]

Nice shots James.
I was beginning to forget what the Wolfe looks like.