MOA dives on 12-20-09

[Terry]

                  Hey Everyone!
                              I have the CDs of the underwater pics I took at MOA for whoever wants a copy,just over 80 pics total, my favorites are the expressions on the kids faces as I took their pics from outside the tunnel. The lens I used was a Tokina 10-17mm wide angle ( wide to ultra wide) the advantage is that I can shoot very close but you do get some spacial distortion, meaning the closer to the lens the larger items become, notice Mikes hands in a couple pics are larger then his head! Now Mike might say,"large hands large feet, you do the math"  :-\ He did do a very good job of violating the number one rule of scuba diving by holding his breath when the camera was in his face, while some of the other divers were still obeying this rule, as you can see. Now as soon as someone explains how to upload them I'll post a link, I never did understand that one, their about 1.5 meg total. THANKS!
                              I did have a dandy good time doing these dives as much as it sounds like the ultimate underwater tourist trap, I'd do it again a couple months!      Terry

[mattd]

Terry,

We use a Tokina 11-16 regularly (awesome lens) and post process with PT Lens.  Its free for 10 shots to try then only $25 and does a real good job removing barrel distortion and allowing you to make other quick adjustments to rotation, perspective, etc.  I'm not sure if will be able to compensate for that arch, but it is a nice tool to have.

Between videos and pictures (which I have yet to look through), I have just under 5GB of stuff which I am happy to share.  Once I get rid of the tossers, I think it will fit on a DVD.  Let me know if any of you want a copy.

Matt

[mermaid]

oops

[mattd]

Terry,

I just looked it up - that's a fish eye lens isn't it?  That's why you get the distortion from the edge of the frame to the center.  PT Lens will fix that but you will lose a little bit of the width and detail at the edge in the process.

The 11-16 we use is a rectilinear lens and if you ever decide you want to add one to your kit that is not a fisheye, I highly recommend the 11-16.

Matt

[joekarels]

Matt, what's your camera setup? I'm looking to that next.

[mattd]

I have lots of cameras all Canon and none of them are rigged for underwater use.  If you want to see a nice rig (other than the Nikon inside it - ok, well, its nice for a Nikon), check out Terry's setup.  Its pretty cool.

If I had my way, someone would drop about 10k on my door and I'd setup my 5Dm2 with a 16-35L and the new 100L macro for underwater use.  Since I don't see that happening soon, I will likely end up with a Canon or Sony point & shoot in a ikelite housing.

Although I haven't met the new owners yet, I hear GUDC is on track to be THE PLACE when it comes to underwater photography so it might be worth a stop in to see what they are up to.

[Terry]

                    Hey Matt and Shark!
                                    "Other then the Nikon inside it"  Was that a shot?  :-\ The rig I run today is a Nikon D300 with a Tokina 10-17mm wide angle fisheye lens and a Subal ND30 housing with an 8" dome port and a pair of DS 160 Ikelite strobes, with and Ikelite TTL adapter to allow full auto or manual control of the strobes. The Subal housing is a bitching nice piece of equipment, allowing full access to all  (as Matt would say) that sorry Nikon's controls. For Macro I run a AF-S Micro Nikkor 60mm and a flat port. The entire rig is max depth rated at 80 meters, although I seem to recall thats a little deeper then I want to go on air. I do need to remember to bring my rig back when diving the Kamloops. The 10-17mm is dandy due to its field of view being 180 degrees, and she'll focus at the front edge of the dome port. Shes not a cheap rig, about $14 Kilo but I have been real pleased with her, well all except the trip last Feb to Cozy where she flooded on my first dive of the trip, good thing we weren't on the wall, or I would of just kept going :'(
                                    Matt's right about GUDC, I've only met Steve once but a real friendly, real knowledgeable guy about UW photography. Matt, I had $10Kilo in cash someone left me at Christmas, I was going to leave (like a baby with a day old diaper) on your front step, but without a last name, I ended up just pissing it away at a casino. Shark if you'd like to get together and bs about cameras and uw photography, I'd be happy to share the thimbel (half) full of knowledge I have about the subjects over a cold beer, just let me know.    TRINITY

[mermaid]

Wow, $10Kilo is a lot of cash to "piss away" at a casino (at least for a working stiff like me it is..perhaps easy come, easy go??)   

[joekarels]

Trinity,
Thanks, I'll take you up on that.