I may have created a Monster.

[TomC]

She is a sweet monster but she might be going over the edge... Kay has purchased a second-hand kit consisting of wide angle and macro lenses, a different housng. plus a second strobe for her G-9 .  She is anxious to expand her capabilities without the hassle of a DSLR.  The excellent photos I have seen on the net shows that it can be done.

She is now trying to convince me to make a return trip to Bonaire to practice with the new equipment before we go to Australia.   (Like I need much convincing )  We are probably going to go the end of September.  We enjoyed Captain Don's, so we will probably stay there again.

[jrandml]

She really should quit playing with "toys" and get a real camera.  She eventually will anyway

[KiwiKen]

I just want to see Tom pass off his used rigs to Kay as hand-me-downs and then argue that he needs to "upgrade". 

I've recently created the same monster w/ Misty and her G-10.

[Webster]

Kandace and I much preferred the Divi Flamingo for being diver friendly, and we thought that the rooms were better as well.  We have also stayed at the Sand Dollar a few years ago.  Their diving operation, Bonaire Dive Adventure was first rate and not crowded like CD's.

However, I would shop around as there are a lot of deals to be had.

[TomC]

It started out with me convincing her to take a camera (any camera) and a good strobe.  Of course, the good strobe was designed to be my backup - but we are way pass that.  She is now excited about nailing down the basics of Aperture and Shutter speeds, the new housing will allow access to those controls on her camera.

I am being a hard-ass and do not want to setup her new rig for TTL, I want to wean her off the Auto Mode. Actually, she has not been using Auto but rather a couple of presets I have set on her camera and her adjusting the strobe power settings for each shot.  We are going to step it up a notch and leave the strobe power setting fairly constant and adjust the Aperture and Shutter speeds to achieve proper exposure. 

Once she understands a little 'electricity' I am sure that ML is correct and she will want more - which is OK with me - I could not be happier with her new found interest.  It wasn't too many years ago that she would go to Europe with the girls and I would go diving.  Now she would rather go on dive trips with me - basically, it is working out to my advantage. 

She is the best dive buddy I could possibly want - especially at 90 feet when I am short on air after getting excited shooting Mola-Molas and she is right there with her Octo handy.

[scubafish]

Tom,
Sink your choppers into this one:
http://www.usa.canon.com/templatedata/pressrelease/20090901_eos7d.html

This just out is the replacement to the 50d with FULL HD 1920x1080i video. Lot of other neat and cool features as well.

[TomC]

On the surface and from the early comments on the web, the new Canon 7D looks like it contains many great features.  Such is life, as I am committed to the 50D for the immediate future.

That is the way it goes in this digital world - improvements and advancements are always made with every new release.  However, I believe that the camera I currently own exceeds the limitations of my lenses.  (Man, those higher end lenses are expensive!)  So, what's the point of having a more advanced camera without better lenses?

I have not reached the point of wanting video capabilities, I hope that someday I will reach that point of excellence, but for now, I still have a few blank spaces on my wall for good prints - I need to fill those blank spaces first.  One caveat though - just as soon as we start having grand kids - I am sure that I will rush out and purchase something with video capabilities. 

[tullochbrianr]

Tom,
   I have a G-9 too, was interested in how you set up the 2 Inons to function in TTL- sent an e-mail to you both after the last show with that same Q, not got a reply yet- OK to come back privately to my e-mail. Brian Tulloch

[TomC]

Brian,

Really sorry about my delinquency - didn't mean to ignore you.
 
What we did was to utilize 2 fiber optic cables stacked on top of each other and then velcroed onto the housing.  (I drilled a hole through the first fiber optic cable tab to allow the camera's flash to pass through to the second tab.) 

However, there is an easier method.  There is an apparatus with 2 end points for the cables that you adhere to the housing.  Attached is a photo obtained from REEF PHOTO, their item # rpv.foa.  There is also an apparatus with 2 end points for the cables that you attach to the housing's white plastic flash shield but I could not find a photo of that item.

BTW.  Kay does not like the white plastic flash shield that mounts on her housing.  So, we have entirely covered the inside front of her clear housing with black electrician's tape, leaving a small hole in the tape where the camera's flash is located.  Therefore we can attach the optic cables directly to the housing at this point thus eliminating the need for the flash shield.  The item I referenced above from REEF PHOTO would work perfectly in this situation.