Monterey conditions and photos

[Wristshot]

I originally used a cheapo camera I bought on a trip to Florida, and then in Cozumel I used my buddy's Bonica, I think that it was a Sea King II but I could be miles off.

I have been into photography for years, but the underwater is all new to me. I just haven't been able to allocate the money to buy decent underwater photo gear.

All of my terrestrial photo gear is film based. (several Minolta 35mm & Pentax 35 mm & Mamiya 645) so I have been thinking that I could buy a good digital camera for underwater, and kill two birds with one stone.

I like what I see in your images, and I have friends that say positive things about Olympus digital cameras, so I wrote down that C-730. I also hear a lot of good things about Canon digital cameras.

I know the Ikelite's are not cheap, but I think they are good quality. Obviously you thought it was good enough to spend your money on.

One dumb worry: digital cameras are (were) notorious for delays on the shutter. I hear that some newer ones are getting much better at that. How is your Olympus?

Sorry, didn't mean to hijack your thread, but I appreciate the pictures and the assistance.


Wristshot.

 

[scubasean]

h3o once bubbled...
I've heard point lobos is only limited to like 12 divers a day or something like that... is that true? I've love to make it out there sometime. I still haven't had the sea lion and seal encounters...

Actually, I believe it is 15 PAIRS of divers....

You can reserve a date ahead of time at

http://pt-lobos.parks.state.ca.us/scuba/divereserv.html

Weekends are generally reserved 1 to 2 months ahead of time.

Regards,

Sean

 

[h3o]

Wristshot once bubbled...
I originally used a cheapo camera I bought on a trip to Florida, and then in Cozumel I used my buddy's Bonica, I think that it was a Sea King II but I could be miles off.

I have been into photography for years, but the underwater is all new to me. I just haven't been able to allocate the money to buy decent underwater photo gear.

All of my terrestrial photo gear is film based. (several Minolta 35mm & Pentax 35 mm & Mamiya 645) so I have been thinking that I could buy a good digital camera for underwater, and kill two birds with one stone.

I like what I see in your images, and I have friends that say positive things about Olympus digital cameras, so I wrote down that C-730. I also hear a lot of good things about Canon digital cameras.

I know the Ikelite's are not cheap, but I think they are good quality. Obviously you thought it was good enough to spend your money on.

One dumb worry: digital cameras are (were) notorious for delays on the shutter. I hear that some newer ones are getting much better at that. How is your Olympus?

Sorry, didn't mean to hijack your thread, but I appreciate the pictures and the assistance.


Wristshot.

My first underwater cam was a SEA & SEA MX-5 and the results were not so great... I would get maybe 4 good photos at most out of a roll of 36. And the only decent photos I got was in super clear water, with 50-100' viz. I've had much better results since I've been using my digicam underwater. The digicams seem to allow so much more light than film cameras when you don't have a strobe.

Yeah, the Ikelite wasn't cheap, around $500, but Olympus doesn't make a housing for the C-730 yet. But I'm happy with the Ikelite because I read the Olympus housings are only rated to about 90 feet, and it would suck to have to leave the camera behind on deeper dives.

As for the shutter delay, there is a SLIGHT delay when processing what was just shot, but not in the shutter itself... meaning, the delay is not in capturing the image, but it is in showing you what was just captured.. but even at that, it must be less than a seconds time.

 

[h3o]

scubasean once bubbled...


Actually, I believe it is 15 PAIRS of divers....

You can reserve a date ahead of time at

http://pt-lobos.parks.state.ca.us/scuba/divereserv.html

Weekends are generally reserved 1 to 2 months ahead of time.

Regards,

Sean

cool, it looks like the weekdays are pretty wide open though!

 

[gbrandon]

dmoroni once bubbled...
I don't know about a limit at Point Lobos, but we went with the Monterey Express. Also, the Beachhopper III goes out on some weekdays. There was an Otter that swam with us there.
We also had a Harbor Seal swimming with us at Mcabee.

I was on the M.E. sunday also. Did you take the morning trip out or the afternoon? Im thinking you took the morning because carmel and mcabee were both dive stops and there was a seal swimming a bit with us also. BTW, did you see the dolphins swimming when the boat was in transit from carmel?

If you were on the morning trip, I was the guy feeding the fish in between dives.

 

[dmoroni]

Yes, I was on the morning boat with a very green, you-my husband was also feeding the fish! (I was the blonde) The dolphins were great. Did you see the sealion jumping along with them? He seemed to think he was also a dolphin. I very much enjoyed the first dive. It was my first dive since being certified a couple of weeks ago. Mabe we'll see you out there again!

Diane

 

[gbrandon]

dmoroni once bubbled...
Yes, I was on the morning boat with a very green, you-my husband was also feeding the fish! (I was the blonde) The dolphins were great. Did you see the sealion jumping along with them? He seemed to think he was also a dolphin. I very much enjoyed the first dive. It was my first dive since being certified a couple of weeks ago. Mabe we'll see you out there again!

Diane

No, I missed the sealion jumping along with them. But to be honest, I was trying to keep my gaze fixed on the horizon. I didnt notice your husband fish feeding. Just me and the guy I was diving with. The night before was my first night out drinking in a long time. And to think I used to consider myself a professional. The shame, the shame.

I will be out again on the weekend of sept 13,14th. Will most likely be on the M.E again on the morning of the 14th. Maybe ill see you there!

-Geoff