Underwater in the Caribbean

bloomphotog

On a trip to Cozumel this past fall, I got my PADI open water diving license and put it to good use! I wanted to share some of my images, and hopefully see some amazing underwater stuff from other Dgrinners. If you post be sure to give details on the technique/gear. Share and learn!

My rig: 5D3, 16-35mm, Ikelite underwater housing, no lights. Aperture priority, f/10 at 1000 ISO. Conversion in Canon DPP, click WB.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmartinezbiz/8617966647/&quot; title="Cozumel Diving by jmartinezbiz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8527/8617966647_0df8c51a9d_c.jpg&quot; width="800" height="453" alt="Cozumel Diving"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmartinezbiz/8619074870/&quot; title="Cozumel Diving by jmartinezbiz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8248/8619074870_a1a33d661c_c.jpg&quot; width="800" height="534" alt="Cozumel Diving"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmartinezbiz/8617968875/&quot; title="Cozumel Diving by jmartinezbiz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8247/8617968875_00cf793745_c.jpg&quot; width="800" height="534" alt="Cozumel Diving"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmartinezbiz/8619075194/&quot; title="Cozumel Diving by jmartinezbiz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8241/8619075194_f21cab6e84_c.jpg&quot; width="800" height="534" alt="Cozumel Diving"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmartinezbiz/8619074468/&quot; title="Cozumel Diving by jmartinezbiz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8124/8619074468_09c6050f0c_c.jpg&quot; width="800" height="534" alt="Cozumel Diving"></a>

FlyNavy

Very impressive! How do you think your new Fuji X100s would do in a housing compared to your FF Canon? Do they make a housing for the X100s?

endurodog

Great shots, nicely done for a new underwater photographer!!!!

bloomphotog

FlyNavy wrote: »

Very impressive! How do you think your new Fuji X100s would do in a housing compared to your FF Canon? Do they make a housing for the X100s?

I'm sure it would do fine, but I don't think I would use it for underwater photography. The 5D3 is a much better tool for the job.

kdog

Gorgeous, Josh. Your colors are unreal. Is there any risk of those housings leaking? I'm going to the Galapagos in June and am thinking of either renting or buying a housing for the trip. I could use either my 5DMKII or 5DMKIII. I'm thinking maybe I should use the MKII so that if it gets wet and dies, I still have my good body for shooting on land. Or is that being overly paranoid?

bloomphotog

kdog wrote: »

Gorgeous, Josh. Your colors are unreal. Is there any risk of those housings leaking? I'm going to the Galapagos in June and am thinking of either renting or buying a housing for the trip. I could use either my 5DMKII or 5DMKIII. I'm thinking maybe I should use the MKII so that if it gets wet and dies, I still have my good body for shooting on land. Or is that being overly paranoid?

I had the same dilemma. I used my MKIII, and the photos are better for it. And to be honest, yes, there is actually a great chance the housing could leak. However, it's almost never a result of housing hardware failing. Most often it's sand, hair, or other crap contaminating the o-rings and seals. I was very meticulous about disassembling and cleaning immediately before each use. Once the camera went into the housing, it stayed in there all day. I also avoided placing it into the boats dunk tank along with all the other cameras...way to much bumping around going on in there. Always have someone hand you the camera, don't jump with it. There are a lot of things you can do to be cautious. But the reality is eventually you will drown your gear...so don't dive uninsured.

The Ikelite housing was great. It's clear so you can see proof positive that your camera is dry...or leaking, in which case I planned on a rapid ascension. Lensprotogo.com did a great job on my rental, and I plan to use them again. Here's the 5DMKIII housing rental page: http://www.lensprotogo.com/product/ikelite-underwater-housing-5d-mark-iii/

kdog

Thanks for all the great info, Josh. Call me a chicken, but I think I'd be inclined to use my backup camera for this.

kd5fex

Very nicely done.....great shots!

Wossa

Lovely pics, really nice to see.

If you are thinking of placing an expensive camera in the water I would recommend fixing a leak detector/vacuum sealing device to the housing and this will ensure you the housing is properly sealed prior to getting in the water.

I use a Leak Sentinel and its fantastic, no guess work, your detector will flash green once the housing is properly air tight and you can then be confident to place your expensive gear in the drink.

If you google vividhousings or leak sentinel if will give you more info !