sabbath999
Contributor
My reply to a PM was WAY too long so I am just going to post it here... the reason being the tips I was giving are general, and I though you all might like to see them as well.
The OP asked me for general Sealife advice as somebody who has dove the system, and about Ginnie Springs in particular. Here was my LONG WINDED reply that didn't work as a PM.
-----
Sorry, I have been away from the forum for a couple of hectic weeks and I just noticed this.
The fresh water flounder abound at Ginnie. The ones I pictured from there are from just outside the Ballroom at Ginnie's main spring. I didn't see any in Little Devil, Devil's Eye or Devil's Ear.
They are all over the place at the ballroom... they are about three inches across, and blend pretty well, but if you are looking for them you will definitely find them.
We are going to be at Gennie about the same time, don't know what day but we will be there at least a full day (perhaps two) the week between Christmas and new years. We are going to Vortex, Morrison, Ginnie and we are going to go on a manatee snorkle trip as well down on the crystal river.
Advice for newbies? Well, the following is what I know about Sealife and shooting a DC1000 MaXX kit (two flashes) that I just sold (I am moving to a DSLR system later this year for my UW pictures).
Here are a few tips about this system and how to use it best (IMHO).
IF you have strobes, this is info about them. The strobes need to have have diffusers on them just leave them on and shoot them that way 100 percent of the time. They flip up if you ever want to use the flashes without the diffusers, but I don't know why you would want to.
To use the strobes, start with the camera in external flash auto and go from there. Obviously, you want to shoot in as clear of water as you can. I don't know what your skill level is as a diver, so please forgive me if the following sounds offensive, I don't mean it to be buoyancy control is MUCH more important than anything else when taking underwater pictures, especially when using a external strobe camera system. BOTH hands are going to be busy, one on the shutter and one on the flash holding it steady that means you are NOT going to be skulking around with your hands. Even when you are not shooting, your hands will be busy Just wanted to throw that out there.
Basically, how you point the strobes depend on the subject. I HIGHLY recommend finding an LDS that has pool sessions and doing a session or two in the pool with clear water, limited depth and no current and just play with positioning. I "generally" the flashes out as wide as I can and point them towards center.
Because there is a lot of "trapped air" in the flashes, they float up while the camera sinks down... making a very good platform for horizontal pictures. Vertical ones are a bit more tricky. I never dove it with just one flash, but you might want to keep this in mind.
Of course, if you don't have a strobe or strobes, you can ignore that
You can shoot without the flashes on at all if you are shallow, you can shoot some nice "landscapes" using the sea mode. I've done this quite a bit.
Moisture munchers. You need em.
To reuse them, you need a product called "Damp Rid", it's for drying out things like moist areas under sinks and stuff. It also has the wonderful effect of refreshing moisture munchers.
I suggest you buy a new bag of munchers, and put them in a bottle with a good amount of Damp Rid in them that will keep them fresh, and over time it will dry them back out after use (it takes a good week).
The good news is that you will not have to buy a huge supply of munchers. One for each diving day (don't open the camera all day unless you are doing more than 2 dives the battery should last 2 dives). If you are doing a week of diving, and doing four dives a day, that means you will use 2 munchers a day, so plan ahead.
Eventually, the Damp Rid will wear out and you will need more. Home Depot has it, huge bags are like $15 bucks or so.
IMPORTANT thing Sealife seals do NOT get lubricated. Don't use o-ring lube on them, just clean them as the manual tells you to. Lube will wreck them. This camera's seals are fairly fresh, should last another diving season before you need to replace them, but that's up to you.
The best way I found to keep the camera o-ring in top condition is to pop it out, and run it through a damp clean lens cloth, then pop it back in. This is VERY easy to do.
If you decide you want to dive without the flashes (not planning to take pictures but you want to put the camera in your BC or Drysuit pocket), they make a flash diffuser which I never got but thought about getting. The case cuts off a portion of the internal flash, so you need the diffuser for shots without the strobes. With the strobes it doesn't matter, because the ring that connects the strobes to the camera covers the internal flash entirely.
The Wide Angle adapter works great if you have one... if not, that might be something you want to add to your kit. There is generally a BIT of vignetting in the corners. That's just the way it is. You need to have it in certain modes for the wide angle lens to work (Sea modes or flash modes), otherwise it doesn't work right. Normally this isn't an issue. The funky looking tray thing on the bottom of the whole rig is for the lens to slip in so you can put it on or take it off underwater and not have dangles...
OK, here's my favorite trick that I personally have never heard anybody using. When you hit the water (assuming you are on a boat) and the crew hands you your camera, take a shot right away. Doesn't matter of what. You can later look at the time stamp, compare that to your computer and find out how deep you were when you took the picture. For example, if you take a shot that is 22 minutes 30 seconds after your "at the surface" picture, you can look at your dive computer log and see where you were 22 and a half minutes into the dive profile-wise. That's how you know "this was at 44 feet, and that was at 67 feet, etc.
I didn't talk much about the video, but it does have video. It's not great, but it has it. Here's some stuff I shot with the video (keep in mind this is a dark freshwater quarry with extremely limited vis):
YouTube - In The OOZE...
YouTube - Turtle Finds A Home
YouTube - SCUBA diving at the Dive Stop, New Melle, MO
The video would look a lot better if you mounted a video light to the rig. I think Sealife is coming out with one, but there are plenty on the market already if you are interested. Me? I got a HD camera for video... but like I say, it's there if you want it.
The OP asked me for general Sealife advice as somebody who has dove the system, and about Ginnie Springs in particular. Here was my LONG WINDED reply that didn't work as a PM.
-----
Sorry, I have been away from the forum for a couple of hectic weeks and I just noticed this.
The fresh water flounder abound at Ginnie. The ones I pictured from there are from just outside the Ballroom at Ginnie's main spring. I didn't see any in Little Devil, Devil's Eye or Devil's Ear.
They are all over the place at the ballroom... they are about three inches across, and blend pretty well, but if you are looking for them you will definitely find them.
We are going to be at Gennie about the same time, don't know what day but we will be there at least a full day (perhaps two) the week between Christmas and new years. We are going to Vortex, Morrison, Ginnie and we are going to go on a manatee snorkle trip as well down on the crystal river.
Advice for newbies? Well, the following is what I know about Sealife and shooting a DC1000 MaXX kit (two flashes) that I just sold (I am moving to a DSLR system later this year for my UW pictures).
Here are a few tips about this system and how to use it best (IMHO).
IF you have strobes, this is info about them. The strobes need to have have diffusers on them just leave them on and shoot them that way 100 percent of the time. They flip up if you ever want to use the flashes without the diffusers, but I don't know why you would want to.
To use the strobes, start with the camera in external flash auto and go from there. Obviously, you want to shoot in as clear of water as you can. I don't know what your skill level is as a diver, so please forgive me if the following sounds offensive, I don't mean it to be buoyancy control is MUCH more important than anything else when taking underwater pictures, especially when using a external strobe camera system. BOTH hands are going to be busy, one on the shutter and one on the flash holding it steady that means you are NOT going to be skulking around with your hands. Even when you are not shooting, your hands will be busy Just wanted to throw that out there.
Basically, how you point the strobes depend on the subject. I HIGHLY recommend finding an LDS that has pool sessions and doing a session or two in the pool with clear water, limited depth and no current and just play with positioning. I "generally" the flashes out as wide as I can and point them towards center.
Because there is a lot of "trapped air" in the flashes, they float up while the camera sinks down... making a very good platform for horizontal pictures. Vertical ones are a bit more tricky. I never dove it with just one flash, but you might want to keep this in mind.
Of course, if you don't have a strobe or strobes, you can ignore that
You can shoot without the flashes on at all if you are shallow, you can shoot some nice "landscapes" using the sea mode. I've done this quite a bit.
Moisture munchers. You need em.
To reuse them, you need a product called "Damp Rid", it's for drying out things like moist areas under sinks and stuff. It also has the wonderful effect of refreshing moisture munchers.
I suggest you buy a new bag of munchers, and put them in a bottle with a good amount of Damp Rid in them that will keep them fresh, and over time it will dry them back out after use (it takes a good week).
The good news is that you will not have to buy a huge supply of munchers. One for each diving day (don't open the camera all day unless you are doing more than 2 dives the battery should last 2 dives). If you are doing a week of diving, and doing four dives a day, that means you will use 2 munchers a day, so plan ahead.
Eventually, the Damp Rid will wear out and you will need more. Home Depot has it, huge bags are like $15 bucks or so.
IMPORTANT thing Sealife seals do NOT get lubricated. Don't use o-ring lube on them, just clean them as the manual tells you to. Lube will wreck them. This camera's seals are fairly fresh, should last another diving season before you need to replace them, but that's up to you.
The best way I found to keep the camera o-ring in top condition is to pop it out, and run it through a damp clean lens cloth, then pop it back in. This is VERY easy to do.
If you decide you want to dive without the flashes (not planning to take pictures but you want to put the camera in your BC or Drysuit pocket), they make a flash diffuser which I never got but thought about getting. The case cuts off a portion of the internal flash, so you need the diffuser for shots without the strobes. With the strobes it doesn't matter, because the ring that connects the strobes to the camera covers the internal flash entirely.
The Wide Angle adapter works great if you have one... if not, that might be something you want to add to your kit. There is generally a BIT of vignetting in the corners. That's just the way it is. You need to have it in certain modes for the wide angle lens to work (Sea modes or flash modes), otherwise it doesn't work right. Normally this isn't an issue. The funky looking tray thing on the bottom of the whole rig is for the lens to slip in so you can put it on or take it off underwater and not have dangles...
OK, here's my favorite trick that I personally have never heard anybody using. When you hit the water (assuming you are on a boat) and the crew hands you your camera, take a shot right away. Doesn't matter of what. You can later look at the time stamp, compare that to your computer and find out how deep you were when you took the picture. For example, if you take a shot that is 22 minutes 30 seconds after your "at the surface" picture, you can look at your dive computer log and see where you were 22 and a half minutes into the dive profile-wise. That's how you know "this was at 44 feet, and that was at 67 feet, etc.
I didn't talk much about the video, but it does have video. It's not great, but it has it. Here's some stuff I shot with the video (keep in mind this is a dark freshwater quarry with extremely limited vis):
YouTube - In The OOZE...
YouTube - Turtle Finds A Home
YouTube - SCUBA diving at the Dive Stop, New Melle, MO
The video would look a lot better if you mounted a video light to the rig. I think Sealife is coming out with one, but there are plenty on the market already if you are interested. Me? I got a HD camera for video... but like I say, it's there if you want it.
