Subject:	Where to start?
Author:	awhkwong
Date:	7/23/2002 1:18:24 PM
Message:

Howdy All!

In preparation for a trip to Bonaire in September with my whole family, my sister and I were looking into purchasing a strobe and a macro lens or two for the Sealife Reefmaster that we had picked up the previous year. When we realized that this would set us back several hundred dollars new, I started to poke around on eBay to see if I could get them cheaper. It was there and then that my sister and I made the fateful step to delve more seriously into the world of underwater photography.

To make a long story short, about $1000 later my sister and I now own the following:
Ikelite housing with a dome port
Ikelite 300 strobe kit (setup for a Nikonos)
Canon Elan body
20-35mm (f/3.5-f/4) USM lens with +4 close-up filter*
the correct sync cord

*this lens requires a custom made zoom sleeve to use the zoom in the housing so I’m stuck at whatever focal length that I set before the dive for now.

Additionally, I have a couple of other lenses that will fit on the body as well: 50mm (f/1.4) and a 28-105mm (f/3.5-f/4). I also have a Canon Elan 7e body that I think might be able to work in the housing (some controls may not work), but I’d prefer to use the older Elan. The 50mm will fit in the existing port, but the 28-105mm is too long.

I’m an avid land photographer so I have a pretty good grasp of general photography and have now read Dave’s excellent website and a book called “The Underwater Photography Handbook” by Annemarie and Danja Koehler.

I’ve been in the pool a couple of times with just the housing and camera (no flash) using a snorkel to play around with the controls. On Saturday, my local dive shop is having a confined water session in the pool for an open water class and I’m going to tag along to try out the whole rig with scuba gear.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what I should be working on in this first “official” dive or in general as a beginner? Should I just work with TTL for now or start right out playing with manual flash settings? I’m a little concerned that the light colored background of the pool will wreak havoc with the TTL sensor. I’ve got 2 months to prepare before my trip. :) Thanks in advance.

Andrew

I’d also appreciate any comments/suggestions on my “new” setup: things I should add, was this a poor choice on equipment to start off with, or perhaps “you fool, you paid way too much”

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