well seeing Scuba diving is my main hobby over Photography I was able to borrow a rather expensive camera from a friend and get off a couple of good pictures at the end of November.... never thought of it before... but going to post them here for something different...

Not a normal picture on this forum.. but worth sharing...

I would love to take this up and combine the two but a cheap setup with two strobes runs about. $4000 or a housing alone for my 30D is worth $2500. Also it is very difficult as you are forced to shoot at shutter speeds of like 1/30 wide open to get as much light in... very hard to sit still in the water and get sharp images..

anyways here they are. This is shot in about 50' of water near Wiarton Ontario in Colpoys Bay

My friend Nick


Underwater windmill... sunk by divers



My buddy Dean

My Self Portriat. (I dive a rebreather, not normal scuba equipment)

Interesting .... neat shots

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regards, Mike
http://mglennn.smugmug.com/

Neat shots Looking forward to the fish now.

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"If you don't know where you are going, any road will do."

Adeline
Snowbirder

Cool shots!

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Ann
Rocky Mountain House, Alberta
http://www.pbase.com/ann44

Charter member of L.A.P.P. (Loose Apphiliation of Phools and Photographers)

T.A.H.O. P.O.P.

Interesting .. you should combine the hobbies and get the under water camera gear .. that would be fun and very interesting especially in the tropics.

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Thanks for looking ..... Malcolm
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8357466@N03/
http://www.myspace.com/bryanbennmusic

Canon 1DMIV, 500mm f4, 300mm f2.8, 85mm f1.8, 70-200mm f4, 35-70mm f3.5-4.5, EF 1.4X II, EF 2X II, 580EXII

Hey Chris efinitely neat stuff !! Do you know were that wind mill came from...Your more likely to see scenery like that in man made lakes in the states along with foundation from houses..Typical bottom in that area shelf rock though...I did some diving over in Red Bay in the late 70's were the bottom looked very similiar from what I can remember anyways...


Brady

Not sure the wind mill was placed there... it has cement on each leg... I am familiar with some of the sunken stuff. there is a whole town under water up in Quebec along the st. lawerence river. They flooded it and a few other sections to allow for boat traffic... some old factories still underwater there...

This is typical lake bottom up in that area.. rock or sand... or Rock with a light dusting of sand... so would be similar to red bay... which is a great bass fishing spot if your into that...

Nice stuff Chris.

Re UW set ups.
Theres a few options. Just a matter of choosing the one thats going to suit your purposes.
Getting setup is for a DSLR is expensive, and for my purposes way to big and bulky.

Been shopping some of the compact options and even they are expensive by the time you get decent housing, a strobes and WA port but at the least it's within reach. You might want to explore the compact route as a means to doing some UW photography.

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John
Ontario Federation Anglers and Hunters
Outdoor Writers of Canada

http://jben.zenfolio.com/

I was looking at a SEA & SEA camera similar to this setup I borrowed.. it does take better pictures then my friends Intova Camera he bought for $500 that and the SEA & SEA has their version of a RAW image... which would be much better to have then not have... I would like to shoot raw for color correction to add the reds back into the images.

I agree I have some friends that shoot DSLR underwater and their rigs are very bulky.. mind you they take amazing pictures... but still bulky.

John... are you localish to my area. Looked through some of your pictures.. man what amazing shots...

I'm in Durham but find my way down around Chatham occasionally. Usually end up in Wallaceburg once a year or so.

I *had* a Fuji f200 and their housing. It was reasonably good. But lacks a strobe so the on board flash leaves alot to be desired. Its gone "missing", my daughter swears she doesnt know what happened to it . So Im left with the housing but no camera/charger.

need something by the end of April so I either replace the Fuji f200 or "step up" now.

Im considering a G11 with housing, strobe and WA port by Fisheye. Still its really pricey but am tempted to go this route as it can be done over time. Start with the body and maybe Canons own housing for it. Then start adding peices from Fisheye (Ikelite is another good manufactorer) for "add ons".

Sea and Sea has some good setups as well. I think they have a new model to be released soon. Sealife has a unit that retails for 1g that gets you everything ( body/housing/strobe and WA). Another one thats *cough*economical *cough*

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John
Ontario Federation Anglers and Hunters
Outdoor Writers of Canada

http://jben.zenfolio.com/

My wife has a G9 and I looked that the housing for it.. they are down to $450 for the Ikelite... so I have considered that.. but my wife looks at me with an evil eye every time... the thought of me flooding her Camera, even with insurance is not an option for her...

yeah
The Ikelite housings are bulky, even for the G9-G11. They are about 6inches wide/tall/deep.
A new G11 and Canons housing is just under 1g. (600+300).

I guess it depends. The Fuji takes decent pictures and I may be able to add a strobe...not sure.. But the body and fuji's housing combined cost about $600.

This was taken is a serious green water algae bloom, so it probably wouldnt matter what set up I had


Problem with it might be the lack of a strobe. Once you get below a certain depth that on board flash wont count for squat. If your diving Huron where theres visibility to 30feet at times...it might be *ok*. Certainly alot more economical than most options out there.

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John
Ontario Federation Anglers and Hunters
Outdoor Writers of Canada

http://jben.zenfolio.com/

very cool and intriguing captures

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Happy Shooting Keith


http://www.pbase.com/keithrankin/root

Thanks Keith

Actually I do dive Huron a lot as well and the water is pretty clear once you start getting down to 150' or deeper...

only reason I like the Ikelite over the canon is for better depth rating.. I want a camera to still function at like 200 feet down. Lake Ontario gets that major alge bloom as well until you get about 70 feet down or better...

Spring time is always best for water clarity and photos... I just got back from a week of Cave diving In Florida and here is a picture with a cheap Intova Camera and housing and two strobes.. full setup was about $600... but you can tell the quality is not that great. Only one strobe fired in this shot as well... This is in a place called Jackson Blue and we are at 80 feet down and about 2000' back inside an underwater cave.

smaller jpeg file and some editing to color correct.. ie add the reds back into the image.

Pretty good for one strobe and very little backscatter.

At those depths (180+) I dont know that id trust anything but Ikelite or Fisheye.

On the colour spectrum and loss of reds/greens/ The Sealife cameras have "filters" coded in so you set the camera based on depth an it adj your WB accodingly. Maybe worth a look as regards to the economics they are the most affordable for a full rig (including strobe and WA).
The pictures Ive seen are actually fairly good

Its a tough call.
I know the set up I'd eventually want by Fisheye with a G11 will run close to 3g and thats really hard to justify

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John
Ontario Federation Anglers and Hunters
Outdoor Writers of Canada

http://jben.zenfolio.com/