Thanks for all the input and feedback!
Mark Dapoz <md@xxxxxxxxxxxx> writes:
>You will also need a flash, and a
>big one at that! To get good results you have to have a very large
>flash, much larger than anything your would use on the surface.
The case did come with an Ikelite flash case that had a
mid-sized Vivitar flash in it, but it looks like it might hold a
T-32, too. Still, not a huge flash. What sort of w-s or guide
number would people suggest for general wide angle use?
>Manual vs auto mode is not that big of
>a deal since you will most likely be using a flash. The camera will be set
>to its sync speed so you only have to worry about the flash output. Auto
>flash mode is preferable since you don't always know how well the water is
>transmitting the light (depends on the calarity of the water).
I think it's safe to assume lousy visibility around here. On a
really clear day you can see 40-60 feet. More than once I've
found the bottom by running into it before I could see it.
Dave Bulger <dbulger@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes:
>Replace all o-rings, even if they look good.
>Housing underwater @ the max depth you're gonna hit if you can -- without
>camera. At least the 1st time you use the housing.
Luckily, there's a deep enough dropoff near Tacoma that I can
hang the case off my anchor line and lower it to 200 feet for an
hour to test it. I'm fairly confident it has good seals -- it
was mailed to me from Colorado, and after 48 hours at sea level
the air pressure inside was still so low I couldn't open the
case by hand.
>Sea Drops or spit on the glass/plastic in front of the lens.
>While the camera isn't creating heat like your face in a mask
>does, spending enough time at one temp/depth to equalize the
>housing interior temp with the water temp and then moving to a
>different depth/temp can fog it up. Nice for soft focus
>portraits, but somehow that effect doesn't look good on a blue
>tang...
When I cobbled together a home-made case for a cheapo
point-n-shoot several years ago, I solved the fogging and
bouyancy problems at the same time, ballasting it with a
stainless box of silica gel dessicant. I'll have to see if
there's room in the new case for something similar.
>Check your computer (if you have one) or your watch (if you use dive
>tables) to ensure you're not exceeding your limits depth-wise or time-wise.
>While I'm sure your pics will look great even post-mortem, I'd rather keep
>you around to pay for the processing. <g>
I think to start with I'll stay at no-decompression depths while
learning to use the system. If nothing else that gives me more
fumbling time per tank.
Clyde Soles <csoles@xxxxxxx> writes:
>I've dived quite a bit with an OM-4t in an Ikelite housing --
>it's a great system capable of pro results. I'd strongly
>recommend you acquire the OM-1n for it's flash functions instead
>of the OM-10 toy.
Glad to hear it's a workable combination. I don't have a 1n (or
a 4t), but once I'm confident I won't be flooding my gear with
salt water I do have a spare 2n.
>Cables are surprisingly expensive (cha-ching)
>as are the flash brackets (cha-ching).
I figured I'd make my own brackets -- they're simple enough and
oen of my other hobbies is brazing stainless kitchen fixtures,
so that shouldn't be hard. (Easier than making bicycle frames
or tripod collars for lenses at any rate.)
--
Josh@xxxxxxxxxxxx is Joshua Putnam / P.O. Box 13220 / Burton, WA 98013
"My other bike is a car."
http://www.wolfenet.com/~josh/
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