New Camera - First Photos (June 2008)
I have been longing for a new camera setup for a couple of years. The recent annual REEF Monterey Field Survey tipped me over the edge. As I looked at all the other folk's photos, I decided to take the final plunge. There were a number of deficits in the older Olympus 5060 and manual Sea&Sea strobe that I was shooting. First, the shutter and focus response of the 5060 is quite slow. It is very frustrating to miss a lot of great picture because the camera would not take the shot. Not to mention the fact that the small LCD screen on the 5060 gets smaller as I get older. Second, the macro mode on the 5060 is impossible to get setup quickly during a dive. And lastly, the Ikelite housing did not support TTL (Through The Lens) metering and firing with the Sea & Sea strobe. So...
The new system consists of:
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Take a Look at the New Topside Gear! |
I am still working my way through how to shoot the camera and deal with the significantly larger Ikelite strobe (close to 3 lbs. on the surface!). Here are some photos from the first 3 dives made with the camera. Dives were at Coral Street and Breakwater Cove on June 14th and 16th. Visibility was moderate in the 15-20 foot range, so underwater vistas were hard to come by. However, I did have fun with the macro mode.
Click picture for larger image...
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School of Tubesnouts |
Lingcod |
Surfacing Under The Kelp |
Padded Sculpin |
Pygmy Poacher |
Rubberlip Surfperch |
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Tiny Snail Convention |
The Canopy at Coral Street |
Tubesnouts Up Close |
Hermit Crab |
Dendronotus Iris on the Attack |
Tiny Snail and Strawberry Anenome |