Video: Saturday 12/12/09 at Point Lobos

[Gombessa]

I met up with Cynthia and Ted for a leisurely Point Lobos dive on Saturday. Strangely, though the condition reports were looking good, there were only 12 reservations taken as of Wednesday. I snagged #13 on Thursday. When we got to the parking lot, there were only two dive teams present, including the Kitties. Weird.

The seas looked calm, so we planned to kick out to Beto's Reef. Viz looked pretty good in the cove, but quickly deteriorated at depth. Weird. By the time we hit Beto's, it looked and felt like a night dive. We cut our bottom time short, and when we made our way back to Middle Reef, the viz opened up. So we stayed for quite a long time in the shallows, checking out the really cool reef structure that we normally just blow by on our way to and from our "real" destinations.

It was a great day to dive the cove, where was everybody??

[youtubehq]BSyFYVoYZhI[/youtubehq]

 

[Peter_C]

I saw bunnies :cool2:

Looks like the vis was pretty good on the reef. Thanks for sharing the vid

 

[alwaingold]

Great video, Kenn. I especially love the high-speed bunny footage But no credit for surface support?

 

[ae3753]

Everyone was at Breakwater... or home being dry and having some nice hot cocoa.

Nice video as always. Keep them coming.

 

[Peter_C]

The chance of rain definitely kills a lot of peoples desires to be outside. Ryan and I rode our MTB's on Sunday, and only saw a handful of people in a park that is usually packed. It was a beautiful day and the weather added to the experience for us. Of course we were covered in mud, and I have the pictures to prove it. So weather does play a factor in many people getting out and doing water sports even.

 

[TSandM]

Nobody wanted to go diving, because they might get wet.

We see that here, too.

Love the speedy bunnies!

 

[Gombessa]

Great video, Kenn. I especially love the high-speed bunny footage But no credit for surface support?

Then I'd be compelled to mention the ramp turtling and getting dragged out to sea! But even with the gentle waves, with the kelp collecting on the ramp it was such a tricky exit, and having a couple of helping hands available (especially for the stages) was awesome!

The chance of rain definitely kills a lot of peoples desires to be outside. Ryan and I rode our MTB's on Sunday, and only saw a handful of people in a park that is usually packed. It was a beautiful day and the weather added to the experience for us. Of course we were covered in mud, and I have the pictures to prove it. So weather does play a factor in many people getting out and doing water sports even.

Nobody wanted to go diving, because they might get wet.

I love a light drizzle while diving. It's nice to get suited up and have that "I'm impervious to the cold and rain" feeling. The thing that got me is that Lobos reservation usually fill up weeks before the dive day (and before any forecast is known). All the other weekends in December filled up long ago. Must have been the day a new Twilight film was released.

 

[ae3753]

Then I'd be compelled to mention the ramp turtling and getting dragged out to sea! But even with the gentle waves, with the kelp collecting on the ramp it was such a tricky exit, and having a couple of helping hands available (especially for the stages) was awesome!

At least you turtled yourself in water. I fell at Aquarius II, picking up the tanks from the fill station.

Sometimes you have the tanks. Sometimes the tanks have you.

 

[mikeguerrero]

Hey Ken,

I saw a glimpse of your new camera off of Cynthia's reflection from her car. Can you elaborate on your new camera, bouyancy, memory card, pics, video capablility and an idea of cost?

I watch all your videos and was telling Don during a defriefing how much your movies pull me in with the song you attach, dude I'm hooked, never know what you are going to do next.

MG

 

[Gombessa]

At least you turtled yourself in water. I fell at Aquarius II, picking up the tanks from the fill station.

Sometimes you have the tanks. Sometimes the tanks have you.

You were wearing tanks, picking up more tanks? I think my legs would just break.

Hey Ken,

I saw a glimpse of your new camera off of Cynthia's reflection from her car. Can you elaborate on your new camera, bouyancy, memory card, pics, video capablility and an idea of cost?

I watch all your videos and was telling Don during a defriefing how much your movies pull me in with the song you attach, dude I'm hooked, never know what you are going to do next.

MG

Thanks Mike! I got a really good deal on an Inon UWL-100 wide angle lens and Flip UltraHD camcorder, so I picked up an Ikelite housing for that. Buoyancy-wise, it's very positive without the wide angle lens, and quite negative with the lens attached. no memory cards (8GB built in), doesn't take pictures and only shoots video at 720p@30fps. Pretty limited, but it gives me exactly what I need: wider angle, higher resolution, brighter lens and better low-light than my old camera.

I spent about $450 total, but that's at a steep discount. It's the necessity of the wide lens that kills this setup as a good deal. My recommendation to anyone looking for a cheap 720p underwater video solution is to go with what Don got - a Canon Powershot 980IS or 940IS with Canon/Ikelite housing. You get everything the Flip has video-wise, plus native wide angle, pictures + flash, image stabilized lens, optical zoom and more storage capacity with SD cards.