newbee needs advice

[axx]

Hi, I got certified as Open water Diver over a year ago.
ofcorse forgot everything.
Now I finaly have a chense to do it again 3 weeks - Thailand.
I love photography and was always in awe of underwater photography.
I got Sony DSC F707 (5Mg Px)

You'd make me really heppy if you help me to answer a few questions:

what should I do to get myself back on the dive?
Can I just show up at my destination and get a quick refreshing course?

Is 3 weeks anough time to get good enough so I can start taking the camera with me?

are ewa-marine housings worth paying the little they cost?
It seems to be the most affordable option.

thank you very much

axx

 

[Dee]

axx once bubbled...
what should I do to get myself back on the dive?
Can I just show up at my destination and get a quick refreshing course?

Were you comfortable in the water when you were certified, you may just need a refresher course. If, like you say, you've forgotten everything, you may do better taking the course over.

Email your dive operation in Thailand and ask if refresher courses are available...they aren't available everywhere. If so, I'd start there.

Is 3 weeks anough time to get good enough so I can start taking the camera with me?

No, probably not. How many and what kind of dives are you planning to do in those 3 weeks? Before you pick up a camera, you need to have excellent bouyancy control in order to protect both you and the environment. You need to be very aware of your surroundings and be very diligent in checking your gauges. I've never known anyone with 3 weeks experience to have all 3 of those things. I would strongly suggest you leave the camera ar home this trip. Go, pay attention to your diving and improve all you can. You don't need the added tasking a camera requires.

are ewa-marine housings worth paying the little they cost?
It seems to be the most affordable option.

Avatar can offer you personal experience with the Ewa-Marine bags. He seems to have had a decent experience. Personally, for anything more than snorkeling, I wouldn't trust my digital camera to a plastic bag, no matter what the design was.

By the time you've gotten more diving experience and are ready to add a camera to your task load, maybe you'll have a housing for that camera and will be ready to go!

The main thing is not to rush into it. Take your time and be prepared for every step along the way.

 

[ssra30]

Where do you plan to dive in Thailand and how many dives do you plan?

Since you have not dived in awhile, I would do the homework about dive location first before even thinking about adding a camera to make your dive more complicated.
Right around this time of the year, I assume that it would be either Pattaya or other places further east in the northern part of Gulf of Thailand, around Koh Tao/Koh Samui or Chumporn, or else south Andaman around Phi Phi island/Krabi.

Basically regardless of where you go, it is the monsoon season here so the sea can be quite rough, especially if you go Pattaya or Andaman Sea route.

If you go to Pattaya, there are some easily accessible dive sites that a lot of people do their open water test but visibility is quite poor. Not a bad place for refresher course area either but the more interesting sites around the outer islands and some wreck dives there can have strong currents so if you are not completely comfortable with diving, I would advise you not to try out your camera there.

Koh Tao is a bit easier. Do a couple of dives around White Rock, Twin Peaks, they are shallow and easy dives first before venturing out to other sites. Some of the more popular spots such as Chumporn Pinnacle, Sail Rocks are quite deep so I would be a bit more concern about those waterproof bag for camera.

I have not dived around Phi Phi in a long time so I am not sure what's its like currently, Krabi is not too bad and current is not too strong, just dive without the camera for a few dives first just get yourself familiar with the routine again.

What Dee said is also very important, don't bother about the camera until your get your buoyancy under good control.

Similan has been opened earlier than expected, not because the weather improved but because the government wants to attract the tourist back to Thailand ASAP. If you are thinking of going there, leave your camera for now, the dive sites are generally quite deep and current can be quite strong this time of the year so it is definitely not an ideal place to do a crash course in photography or refresher course either.

Be careful a bit with dive operators in Thailand. Tell them specifically that you need a refresher course and ask for one if you feel that you need one. In the last one year, only one dive operator on Koh Tao asked when my last dive was and none ever checked my C-Card so they can be a bit careless. They tend to just assume that you know what you are doing so if you don't, speak out.

Just my thoughts...

 

[axx]

wow!
This is so great that I came across this forum!

dee and ssra30 - you help me sooo much.

The diving is one of the stops on my "finaly done with university" around the world trip.
I though, "before I get into a job, loans, car leases, family... I got to see what's out there"
no - my parents are not rich and I fully support my self, just working hard and maneging my finances prudently. (I'm 25)

By the time I'll get to Thailand it will be 1st of november.
By that time (I hope) I'll have 2 - 3000 left and plan to dive as much as possible. (all touring will be over by that time - just diving)
I'm finishing my deploma right now wich leaves very little time for plannig and reserch. The plan was: just to show up and then...
However I'm so happy to find people like you, who can help.

The first time I was diving in Dahab (Egypt). I felt really comfortable and up on graduation demonstrated pretty good bouyancy control (at least I though so
If I had to take a guided dive right now, I'd be probaly ok, but I got just 1 life and want to minimize the risk. So, the good thing #1 is that there is such a thing as a refreshing course!

so now that you know all the variables: how should I organize my diving?
do I have enough money for this period of time(3 weeks)?
should I seek a travel agent that will arrange the transportation and accomodations? or I'll be OK jumping the dive sites on my own?

going back to EWA - I'll have my Sony with me anyway and a "Zip bag doesn't take that much space. After a little reserch, I would accept the risk factor of using EWA.
the real question for me is - is it really worth taking it with me?
If yes, then should I get one with the compartment for flash or being the beginer I'll be OK with my built-in?

Thank you very much for your help

axx

 

[ssra30]

Axx, if you come here in November, I think your best bet will be the Andaman Sea ie Similan, Richeliue, Phi Phi, Phuket Krabi etc.
accomodation on Phuket and Phi Phi are available in just about any price ranges from under $US20 a day to $100's.
I have not been to Phi Phi in a long time so you might want to post the question also in the travel section of this forum under Asia. I think diving around Phuket, Phi Phi and Krabi, you should not have to spend more than $15-$20 per dive.
Similan/Richeliu is going to be quite a bit more expensive as the islands are quite remote. Most people go on a live aboard where they can do 3-4 dives per day. The price could be anything from around $400 up to $1000 for 4 days of diving. Do search for scuba diving and phuket/phi phi. Many dive operators around phuket will have dive trips around Phuket itself as well as trips to Phi Phi and Similan/Richeliue.

Cheaper alternatives would be Koh Tao on the Gulf of Thailand. It is accessible all year round pretty much but the best time to go there is from April to August. However lodging are available from under $10 a day and diving should cost only around $12-15 so if you want lots of diving on limited budget, it is quite ideal.
I was there for a week earlier this year, did 16 dives, I paid a little over $US350 for diving/accomodation/food.

From Koh Tao, you can take a boat back to Chumporn or Surathani and catch a bus to Krabi/Phi Phi or Phuket quite easily also so you can do both if you want.

As far as the camera goes, I would not bother about external strobe just yet. Usually it is a good idea to just use the camera on its own on at least a dozen dives before adding a strobe which in and of itself, will take awhile to get used to as well.

There are not a lot of beach dives in Thailand so you will have to hook up with a dive operators to get to dive sites and they will come with dive guide/DM anyhow.

 

[David Evans]

IMO, you probably shouldn't mess with the camera until you can easily hover off the bottom 2-3 feet and without kicking up a silt cloud behind you. You might be able to do this with your experience, but if you can, you are a truly exceptional new diver.

But here's an idea: Take the camera, put it in program mode (point and click mode), and give it to your dive leader. Have him or her take pictures for you (and of you) while you are diving.

I initially got certified for a trip to St. Lucia - dive #6 for me was on this trip. I handed my camera to the dive master, and he took some fun pictures of me and my wife underwater that made the vacation pictures a LOT of fun to look at. We gave him a good tip at the end of the trip.

I'm now a very avid UW photographer, but it took me 50 dives or so before I really felt comfortable with my buoyancy skills for photography purposes. Somewhere about dive #100 I noticed a dramatic improvement in my photography - that's about the time I feel I got really good and dialed on my buoyancy and trim. Another 150 dives after that and I am still improving, and still have more improvement I need to work on.

Remember that if you are flailing about, not only will you be kicking up silt, but you'll be scaring the hell out of the fishies.

One last point: being a dive buddy to someone that is taking pictures is a REAL chore, because photographers (and I am one) usually have their head so far up their butt that their ears get bent down. It takes considerable skill to shoot underwater, and on top of that, buddy awareness is taxed to the max. Even with 250 dives, I won't take pictures during a dive if I am diving with a stranger or a newer diver for that very reason. Your photography not only affects you, it also affects your buddy and his/her enjoyment of their dive.

Don't mean to lecture or nag... hope this helps a little.

-david

 

[Ruu]

I agree totally with what everyone here says about bouyancy - it took me around 50 dives to get it under control enough to even start thinking about having something else to worry about on a dive. I'm not an experienced u/w photographer like many here, although I have tried on several occasions, and I think it is going to remain the most fun you can do underwater until someone invents an easy way to join the '100 feet down club'.

I still wouldn't leave that camera behind though - buy the bag and see what kind of shots you can take while snorkelling. Its fun, its reasonably safe, and you should have:
a) A couple of good shots to take back from your vacation, and
b) A little bit of practise for when you do think about taking the camera down to depth.

Just my two cents / pence,

Dave

 

[finstotheleft]

Assuming you are comfortable with everything, I would take the camera. I'm not an expert on u/w photography or anything else; I have only had about 22 dives and have had minimal problem using my camera in a variety of conditions (ocean currents, lakes, etc.). My buyouncy is pretty good.

Just make sure that you keep a safe distance away from any marine life (such as coral) that is environmentaly sensitive, just in case you loose control momentarily. I myself follow this advice since I am not excellent at it yet.

The others have given you good advice, but I hope I have given you some confidence being as I have little experience with it and do just fine.

 

[axx]

THANK YOU VERY MUCH EVERYBODY!

I'll get the "zip bag".vThe worst case scenario - I'll snoracle and ask my DM to take a few shots.
Finstotheleft - thanks for your encaurigment!
Ruu(Dave) - you are right : Snorkelling alone is worth it.
David - thanks alot -great idea with DM, also thanks for the advice.
ssra30 - tthank you for the very useful information.
now I'll try to heng out more in the Asia section

again - thanks alot