LawrenceAlexWu

Great list!! THanks....

Hi Smokinfun,

If you're considering on underwater photo equipment, then have a read of this link...It will give you a good idea of what to start with & the knowledge to make a wise decision on your first camera...Unlike myself who ended up retiring my 1st uw camera after 2 dive trips!! I've been shooting now since 2003 & still making pictures with only compacts digitals.

Also, if you're looking for other dive buddies from Bangkok, PM me

Cheers, Alex

<snip>

I was going to book a liveaboard around the Similans, its a shame to hear they are over dived. The dive sites visited are Elephant Head Rock, Breakfast Bend, Shark Fin Reef, Anita's Reef, East Of Eden, West of Eden, Koh Bon, Koh Tachai Plateau, Rechelieu Rock. Do these dive sites fall into the dive site that have been over dived.

Hi Simon1985,

only some of the sites are degraded...not all...

Elephant Rock & Richelau is still great dives I've heard this year...Basically i've heard that the further north you go, the less degraded the sites!

But overall, the life seems to be better in the South Andamans.

Cheers,

Alex

Hi Newbie, I would agree with most about the South Andamans being much nicer these days than the Similans which have been very over dived. I've come back from 2 trips there on different liveaboards, the best way to see the South Andamans with some photos here:

Hi Bangkok Divers,

If any of you are scuba divers or runners, then we hope you'll come & meet us at a Sunday Night dinner at the 5-star hotel Anantara Sathorn.

DETAILS:

Cost: 600 Baht net per person - Discounted from 1200B value

*** no corkage fee if you bring your own bottle of wine!! ***

Includes:

- Sunday Roast Buffet dinner (soft drinks included)

- 1 Local beer/coffee or tea/ beverage included. Possibility to purchase more too :-)

- 1 "Datorade" Drink to test on your next long run, courtesy of K San's Bonita vegan Restaurant

- Some fun pictures from past club meetups.

Please RSVP here:

https://www.facebook...09095082566018/

Photo of Anantara Sathorn:

Hi Bangkok Divers,

If any of you are scuba divers or runners, then we hope you'll come & meet us at a Sunday Night dinner at the 5-star hotel Anantara Sathorn.

DETAILS:

Cost: 600 Baht net per person - Discounted from 1200B value

*** no corkage fee if you bring your own bottle of wine!! ***

Includes:

- Sunday Roast Buffet dinner (soft drinks included)

- 1 Local beer/coffee or tea/ beverage included. Possibility to purchase more too :-)

- 1 "Datorade" Drink to test on your next long run, courtesy of K San's Bonita vegan Restaurant

- Some fun pictures from past club meetups.

Please RSVP here:

https://www.facebook.com/events/209095082566018/

Im looking at your details...we have the same crappy expensive camera. Both equally unimpressed.

Hi BangkokBurning, many others feel similarly to you about their underwater cameras! Here's an article about why underwater cameras are poor such performers underwater...& how to fix it.

https://www.facebook.com/notes/lawrence-alex-wu-photographysometimes-underwater/uw-camera-setups-compact-dslr-mirrorless-or-micro-43rds/477592048920526

I've taken good pics with lesser cameras than the Canon IXUS...These pics are from an UW setup that's less than US$200 for the camera + housing...but would still recommend the IXUS over it:

http://AGuaPictures.com/_News/SeaLife_DC1200_UWphotos/

Cheers,

Alex

Hi saramsland,

Read yr post & I do both, so usually my workshops incorporate a bit of both underwater & land tips & topics.

Have a look at my workshop descriptions here:

http://AGuaPictures.com/Workshops/

Cheers,

Alex

Considering they are both the same price as a consumer you should be able to exchange within a short period of the purchase.

Often, i feel a response like that just means they can't be bothered...I would speak to a manager!

Quite often the newer model is the better camera...but there have been many exceptions so try this:

https://www.google.com/search?q=Olympus+EP2+versus+EPL2&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

Cheers,

Alex

Hi Paths...According to this website, there's no housing for this camera model.

http://www.digideep.com/english/digital/photo/camera/Nikon/Coolpix-P100/25/4016

There are bags for them though...but in my opinion because water damage through leaks is often an issue - & electronics' worst nightmare is salt water, you might want to think about using a compact camera instead which also there are bags & housing for...Most digital camera's i've seen get overly wet simple RIP afterwards.

Another option is to get a waterproof camera for snorkeling (up to about 6meters)...There's at least half a dozen models on the market already...& if you decide to take on diving later, a housing for it can be purchased for it too.

Feel free to PM if you have any questions...

Cheers,

Alex

This box jellyfish was also found & captured on my camera in Pattaya box jellyfish. On this trip, our diving friend ahead of us unfortunately discovered it...from his hands...& both his hands welted up looking like marshmallow fingers!

http://www.facebook....06518079&type=1

Box jellies can be more than 200 times more poisonous than the Portuguese-man-of-war found in Australian waters.

On the same note...make sure that the smaller shops are just sending divers to the big boats as this often happens in Phuket where during the low season, if they don't have enough to justify gas on a just a few passengers, then many shops pool together on the same boat.

These are full box sets of the:

Olympus XZ-1 Camera Box Set - inclusive of:

- Olympus XZ-1 camera -- black

- LI-50B battery

- USB-AC charging adaptor F-2AC + power cable

- Lens cap + tether string

- USB to camera cable

- Camera to RCA cable

- Neck strap

- Olympus Viewer CD-ROM (Windows & Mac)

- XZ-1 Basic Manual

- 1 year Olympus World Wide Warranty

Olympus PT-50 Housing Box Set -- inclusive of:

- Olympus PT-50 plastic housing + all O-rings

- 67mm port cover -- red

- Flash diffuser + tether string

- O-ring silicone grease

- O-ring removal tool

- PT-050 Instruction manual

It is ONLY sold as a package set & not separately.

This special promo offer is only available at the Thai Dive Expo happening from TODAY UNTIL SUNDAY

There are limited quantities!!

If interested or for more information please visit:

http://AGuaPictures.com/_News/OlympusXZ-1_PT-50/

You can try DigiDeep.com too...

If you have a good enough internet access & credit card, then you can buy directly online i believe.

The 30 day full trial version is freely downloadable from the web...so all you would need is the serial number later to make it licensed.

FYI...There's a trip setup during Songkran to dive Anilao in April.

Click herefor more details if you're interested.

Cheers,

Alex

Hi everyone,

Just aside & for those of us in BKK....checkout the Underwater Photography social nite this Tues here:

http://www.meetup.co...vents/16160306/

You don't have to be a member to join. You can just show up or RSVP me so we have some numbers...

Thanks,

Alex Wu

FarangBuddha...i think we've met already...

Not sure if the islands are cheaper or not...if they were, most likely it would be phuket or Koh Tao as there are the largest concentration of dive shops there.

In BKK, they're pretty scattered. Google:

Wahoo

Dive Supply

Planet Dive

Mermaids

Divemaster

THere are more for sure...but i'm sure you'll find links to the others which are also not so centrally located & perhaps speak less english too...but at the same time might be slightly better priced.

Cheers,

Lawrence Alex Wu

hI JalapenoKid,

FYI: These types of cameras are quoted as being waterproof...but do check to what depth just in case you intend to use it deeper.

There's a few good reviews in particular on YouTube.com...so have a

I'm not sure if this video covers your models above...but i'm sure a search through YouTube & Google with the word 'review' or 'test' would give you good results & advice....

Cheers,

Lawrence Alex Wu

Hi FBN,

There are places to pressure test dive equipment in BKK too...if you don't mind doing it separately. I think it's 300-500 baht...

To be honest tho...shooting digital is much easier be able to review photos immediately to get the photo you want then & there ona dive & several digital compact models work great underwater.

I'm sure there are others, but these are the one's i know of to date that are on the top of my list of compact cameras:

- Canon G9, G10, G11, G12

- Panasonic LX3

- Canon S80, S90, S95

- Olympus c5050

- expected but not yet tested: Olympus ZX-1

Here's my list of why a compact is BETTER THAN AN SLR underwater too:

http://www.facebook.com/board.php?uid=170606518079

Cheers,

Lawrence Alex Wu

The higher quality compacts take excellent photos and are good for macro because the smaller sensor gives you a much larger depth of field than using an SLR.

The Panasonic LX5 can get really close to a subject.

http://www.thaivisa....ost__p__3942324

Likewise with the Canon G12 & G11 which can have subjects up to 1inch away. Getting close tho also means that lighting could present more problems too.

If you had to deal with a lot of NOISE...then most likely the camera automatically pushed your ISO to higher values. To avoid noise, switch your ISO to the lowest value possible. Again this may conflict with lighting the subject though.

Unless they are very very bright LED's, i would think they didn't provide enough light intensity thus the noise you got. The biggest tip here is that your shutter should not go below 1/30-1/60 second...unless you are shooting on a tripod & not pushing the shutter button (eg. set the camera on a timer or use a shutter release wire/device).

Sharpness might be another consideration!! independant lensed cameras (such as SLR's or the new micro 4/3rds cameras) will give you the sharpest results versus compact cameras...but then it also depends how big do you need the photos...if only for the web, compacts can perform just as well.

Composition though is very very important! This is a whole topic in itself. With bad composition, even the most expensive & technical camera will yield terrible results!!!

Hi MisterMan...

I just sent you a PM...hope you get it okay...if not, please let me know & i'll reforward it...Thanks again!

MisterMan& others who helped,

Congrats on your efforts! Especially in such a such a short time!

I must admit that i didn't get wind of this happening until now...but i think everyone here's a shining example to others all around our world!

The bus down to Chumpon/ferry over to Koh Tao is very cheap. It's just a bit painful.

I prefer the train. Much more comfortable, only slightly slower with about the same price with a sleeper bed.

But yes, with the amount of travel time...it's almost better to fly out of BKK...especially with many sites to choose from around SE Asia!

Alex