Cozumel Pics

[DanL]

Just returned from six days of diving in Cozumel. Used Oly 5050C digital in PT-015 housing, no external strobe. Posted 13 pics at this link. Also some pics from Isle Royale last August.



Dove with Blue XT Sea and Liquid Blue. Both were excellent and I highly recommend them. Liquid Blue dives with steel 120's, so you really get long dives - really nice in warm water!

Saw eagle rays, a lone dolphin, a rare batfish, turtles, etc. Great weather, calm seas, great viz and beautiful reefs. Best of all were the always friendly people in Cozumel.

[LKunze]

Nice pics Dan. Was this the first time you got to use your camera in the ocean? How long were your dives with the 120's?

[Dano]

They are nice pics. I hope to see some of the same in March. What reefs had the most to offer? And, is that a bone pile by the purple moray?

Dano

[lwright]

Dan,

Those pictures are really good! Nice work!

[DanL]

Thanks for the compliments.
Dano - not a bone pile, but broken coral bits. Most of the reefs in Coz have great stuff to see, and it varies by season and even by day. You won't be disappointed on any dive. Some of my favorites are Santa Rosa, El Cedral, Palancar Caves and Cantaral or Punta Sur Sur for eagle rays.
Lonnie, the dives on 120's were 101ft/68 min, 81 ft/69 min, 93ft/69 min, 68ft/56 min, 128ft/53 min, 61ft/77 min. Had plenty of air left - dives were limited by heavier air users.
Also, yes, it was the first time I used the camera in the ocean.

[Dan G]

Great Pics Dan!

My success with the digital camera in Cozumel has not been very impressive. How close were you to your subjects? Also wondering where you stayed there?

Dan G

[DanL]

Dan,
Hello - haven't heard from you for a while.
My first pics, and many pics along the way, were poor. You're seeing some of the better ones. I got excellent tips from DigitalDiver.net ()
and from folks in Coz.
Key feedbacks I was given - get very close (2-3 ft max), use a strobe (I don't have a strobe, but I used on camera flash some of the time), shoot UP from under the subject vs. down, and use a red filter (which I don't have).
That said, I also found that a minimum shutter speed of 1/125 seems necessary for sharp pics, that you really need practice to anticipate framing because of digicam shutter lag (I got a great pic of a shark tail), that holding position in current takes great skill (which I am very slowly getting), and that chasing eagle rays for pics burns air fast!
Note - many of my pics were "improved" with Photoshop.
Stayed at a very cheap hotel right on the Plaza, Meson San Miguel (has cold and colder running water). Hotel and air were a cheap package from Apple Vacations.