Hello from Bordeaux

[vg_uw_photography]

Hello everyone,

I am new to this forum that I discovered when I was trying to get informations about underwater photography.

I have been diving since September 2021 in France Bordeaux. I am now a FFESSM N2 diver equivalent to CMAS** and I am preparing my FFESSM N3 - CMAS*** diver this year

I sign up to this forum to tell my experience with underwater photography as it could help people that are like me few month ago when I knew nothing about uw photography. I have choosen to try this activity with smartphone housing in order to keep a low budget on my gear on a recent trip to Marsa Shagra Egypt that was amazing. I am really impressed by the results (I will share it here soon)

Thanks a lot for all the members sharing their experience

Regards

Vincent

 

[drrich2]

Welcome. I'm glad to see you have an interesting in sharing your experience. Most every diver, from the newbie who just got in from his open water checkout dives at a quarry up to the seasoned dive pro.s and technical divers has something to share, a perspective, what topside accommodations at a popular (or rarely reported on!) destination were like, something.

The issue of smart phone housings to use phones as dive cameras is interesting. I've seen nice photos on the forum. Some of us are wary of putting a phone that may've cost over a grand into a housing and risking it on a dive. Of course, phone + housing may or may not be much more expensive than a 'point and shoot' camera + housing, but people often rely on their phones for so much more, so the prospect of one flooding during a foreign dive trip is scary.

Often when I log onto a website for something, it insists on sending me a notification to reply to, to confirm it's me. Some sites insist on a text rather than e-mail.

One question I've got for you...how long in terms of dives, or number of photos, did you get out of a battery charge, before you had to get it out of the case and recharge it?

 

[vg_uw_photography]

Well i understant the dilema of putting an expensive phone onto a dive housing but my phone is waterproof. It may not be true but I think if my housing leak I will see it quickly and be able to abort the dive and rinse through water the phone. Moreover I am using the Divevolk Seatouch Pro so the opening is very small compared to an O ring limiting the risk of leaks.

As I have full access on my touchscreen I can put my phone in airplane mode and I have been able to do 4 dives of 1 hours and still have like 30-40% at the end of the day. I took maybe one or two hundred picture in total per day. I was worried about battery life and was really positively surprised

 

[JMBL]

Hi neighbor ! (not living in Bordeaux, but further east in Aquitaine).

Welcome to the diving club and good luck with your N3. Diving only abroad or in France as well ? Curious to know where, I must admit. Once you'll be N3 certified, you'll able to enjoy the deep wrecks in the gulf of Biscay, off the coast from Arcachon. If you're ever interested, I can suggest a good operator.

But beware, diving is addictive !

Cheers.

 

[vg_uw_photography]

I ve been diving in France at the Bassin d'Arcachon. I've done the blockhaus and the chariot. At bordeaux I mainly dive with my dive club operated by Hydrosphere.
I've passed my levels at Cazaux lake (N1) and Marseille (N2). And I agree diving is highly addictive !

 

[JMBL]

Blockhaus (not my favorite) and Chariot (love that one) are some of the local classics. With your N3, you'll be ready to discover some more, like Kriegsmarine's tugboat (Remorqueur de la Kriegsmarine ; my personal favorite one) or Suzanne M. You already know the guy who'll take you there. Julien at Hydrosphere is a terrific bloke.