On Wednesday, February 20, 2002 11:04 AM, Bjorn Vang Jensen wrote:

> And clarify further that many of them are only rated to about 80 feet.
They
> are still good housings (saw an Olympus version in action in the Similans,
> impressive), but they do limit your options on a dive :-)

G'Day, Bjorn!  :-)

As a digital neophyte, I'm having more fun than wot you can poke a stick at
with the Sony DSC-P5 and it's underwater housing that's rated to 40-metres.
Mind you, I'm still terrified by the F... word!  (Flood!)

Julian, Janet, (Tricky's better half) and myself have been spending a lot of
time recording the marine life in our area.  On Saturday, Julian discovered
an Ornate Ghost Pipefish; another Golden Weedfish - that looks exactly like
a shred of kelp - and a wobbegong.  (I discovered that wobbegong's take
exception to a flash being shone in their eyes when the bloody thing - at
least two-metres long - stirred itself from its normal torpor and decided to
attack me.  While I was busy fending the thing off, I noticed Julian
floating behind it spraying clouds of laughter bubbles towards the surface!)
:-)

Today's real find - and captured on image - was a small Blue-Ringed Octopus.
Despite its dimunitive size, (3-4 centimetres) it's a deadly little bugger
that, when aroused by having somebody like Julian giving it a gentle prod
with a piece of shell, displays iridescent blue rings on its body!

The only problem that I've found is that the on-board flash tends to wash
out all of the colours and detail - and that disabling the flash completely
sometimes fails to show the true colours or sufficient detail? :-(

I've also discovered that when I've failed to use the right amount of
"spit-in-a-bottle" on the inner lens of the housing - particularly when the
surface conditions before sealing the housing are quite humid - then a small
amount of fogging appears on the inner lens and stuffs up the automatic
focussing qualities.  This is particularly sad when, as happened this
morning, a solitary deformed squid about 30-centimetres in length, sat
hovering about 60 centimetres in front of me!!  :-)

How much de-fogging solution do other people use?  At what time prior to the
dive, do they apply it?  Are there any other tips for eliminating housing
humidity? (Small silica gel packs?)  Is the on-board flash best disabled and
an alternate exterior lighting source beter?  Is an accompanying U/W video
light a worthwhile investment?  And lots more!!!! :-)

BTW, Mate!  I lob into Singapore on the 15th April, (staying at the Pan-Pac)
so you'd better start topping up the bar fridge!  Dehydration can lead to a
terrible thirst!  :-)

Strike