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Hi Steve,
Thanks so much. This is great!! It was really good to speak with you yesterday. In many ways I wish I had of spoken to you 3 months ago; I learnt more from you in 30 mins than all the reading or researching I have done so far!!! I am totalling rethinking my plan of attack regarding my time scale. I like to do things correctly so all the info you gave me is
invaluable....thank you!!!
Lorna Hamilton BA SAA AFC
WILDLIFE & PORTRAIT ARTIST
Dear Steve
Just wanted to drop you a quick line from myself and Morag to thank you for the time you spent with us on Saturday - we learned so much. I have spent the last couple of days taking pictures of some of my fishing flies with the macro lens and the results are very impressive, although I know that replicating my efforts underwater will be another thing!
Hope you have a great trip and many thanks again.
Tom
Hi Mark
Many thanks for all your time on Thursday afternoon in setting up and going through the Canon S975 with me. That's the real benefits of buying from you guys, there's so much more you assist with rather than just a purchase.
Thank you also for loaning me the close-up lens to have a go with next week. I will enjoy using it and of course, will take
good care of it too and then return to you and hope to be able to show you some picture success at the same time?!
Have taken note of the tip too regarding the lanyard and will do that.
Thanks for that advice too.
Have a nice weekend and speak soon.
Kind regards
Carol
VERY happy customer over the last few years.
They've always put my requirements first, been patient answering all my questions, gone the extra mile to sort out getting kit to me a.s.a.p. and the 'try before you buy' facility that the tank provides was worth the drive plus overnight stay!
R
Another very happy customer of Ocean Optics. My experience is that Steve asked me pertinent questions re the type of photography I planned to do, what level of manual control I was happy to use, etc and then made his recommendations. He didn't try to over-sell - if anything he talked me out of spending more money. I lost my Inon strobe (eek!) a couple of months before I was due to go on a big trip, and Inon had supply problems. Rather than me buy an alternative, Steve loaned me a strobe for the holiday, at no cost. I recently called Steve to discuss the possibility of upgrading my camera. After some discussion, Steve's advice was to stick with what I've got, and thus did himself out of a sale. With customer service like that, I cannot recommend them highly enough, and don't intend to shop anywhere else.
Maria
Graham Owens a massive thanks to Steve Warren for his help tonight sorting out a strobe for my underwater camera setup...
I'm humbled Steve.
Taken from a diving magazine forum, this diver was looking for a wide - angle lens for his newly purchased underwater camera. In good faith, an equipment reviewer advised him an INON lens would fit. Unfortunately, it wouldn't, as we confirmed when we were asked. It's really important to do your research before you buy underwater camera equipment.... "just for info, just had a reply from Ocean Optics (boy do they reply quick!) who state that the design of the F100 housing makes it impossible to fit INON fisheye and wide angle lenses (said with a sad voice!)"
Steve
Just a quick note to say thanks very much for your time explaining the lens last night.
As you suggest, we will come in and see you when we get back from our trip, to discuss other kit requirements.
Best wishes
Sarah
Got my lens delivered out here the other day and got it in the water yesterday - very pleased with it so thanks very much
for your help!
Best regards
Claire Greathead
Egypt
Hi Steve/Mark,
Great workshop the other week, both richard and I enjoyed it, many thanks.
Tony
All the underwater photo gear was provided by Ocean Optics - London -
whose professionalism and kindness deserve all compliments. ...
Subaquaphotos.com
Ocean Optics (http://www.oceanoptics.co.uk/oceanopticsinone.html) run the Inon Level 1 Underwater Photography course. This is far more comprehensive and a much higher standard than the PADI Underwater Photographer course..
Devondiver
Scubaboard
Hi Spencer,
Martin Edge's new revised edition is coming out early January, a lot more updated to be geared for the current climate, I bought his book 3 years ago and it tought me a hell of a lot, enough for me to get into SLR's....if you're willing to venture into manual modes etc its just the ticket, there is also a chapter in it geared just for compacts,
I believe, written by Steve of Ocean Optics.
I dont think theres another book that comes in par with his, I'd just hang on til after Xmas.
If you were looking for something a lot more geared down for beginners then Maria Munn also has a book coming out soon.
Cheers
Woody
The book is available from Ocean Optics and Mark wrote the section on compacts - I did a bit about SLR's - Steve
Firstly, scanning through I can't see if anyone has recommended speaking to Steve at Ocean Optics an absolutely fantastic fella who is more than happy to give you advice and more advice rather than trying to sell you what he has in stock - I find him invaluable!
Tazzie
Some stunning pics in your album!
David More
Steve you really are the Bollocks
Nige
Hi Steve
Good to speak with you this morning and thanks, as ever, for the honest advice. As I mentioned, my nephew is looking for a starter underwater camera. He's only 15 and been diving for a year or so, so not looking for anything too clever (don't want him taking better photos than me!) If you know of anyoe who's upgrading and selling their existing camera, please pass on my email address.
Regards
Maria
Steve also invited me to come in and have a chat to him about underwater photography in his shop Ocean Optics. It was really good to be able to spend some time talking to Steve not only about cameras and techniques for improving my filming quality and pictures but also about possible people to talk to about hosting opportunities and other photographers to get in touch with.
Jade Berman
Our World Underwater Scholarship Society Rolex Scholar
For detailed advice, the folk at oceanoptics.co.uk are a good start.
Have fun, Howard
Hi Mark:
I read your chapter in Martin Edge's book and enjoyed it thoroughly. the book is great. I had thethird edition which I handed off to a friend. In reading you chapter I saw your recommended set-up.
I already had the s90 from canon from last year which I knew superseded the camera choice. I had the canon housing as well. I owned an Ikelite a F 35 which I used on my recent trip to Dominica. I got some decent images but knew I needed to upgrade my flash after reading the chapter you wrote. I have ordered the s2000 flash, optical cable set up and an ultralite tray and arms. I am saving for the Inon Lenses next.
I am anxious to get this set up in the water. I thank you for the help you provided in Martin's book. Below is an image from my trip to Dominica in January. I look forward to more shots and better control. I wish I could attend your class. maybe it will work out next year.
Sincerely,
Jim Cross
Thanks again Steve for your advice your right i was not thinking like an underwater photographer and i love buying new toys. i have managed to purchase another s90 off ebay :) just chopping at the bit to practice in the water learning so much from Nick. Once get more experienced will have to come down to see you and maybe use the stage
Regards
Gary
Steve / Mark
Many thanks for all your help yesterday and taking the time to show us around the great facilities you have available . Clear warm deep water and under an hour away in the car, along with all that underwater photographic kit and advice I could ever need , was we dreaming ??
I will let you know how i get on with the camera on my April trip and will stay in touch regarding future trips / workshops..
Many thanks again,
Paul
Take The INON Course AT LIDS And Avoid Buying The Wrong Camera! >>
Having bought the Canon Powershot G11 with underwater housing I had high expectations, and it did appear to have a lot of useful features that I hadn't had the confidence to use like manual exposure control initially.
However, I took a digital underwater photography course in Basildon, Essex with a company called Ocean Optics, which taught me how to take high quality images underwater. Money well spent, and that was the moment I wished I had done the course and spoken to them before making my decision.
One thing I learned from the course is that to take high quality images underwater you need to get close to your subject to reduce the amount of water the light has to travel through the water. The practice sessions in the pool proved that. The built in lens in the camera simply isn't capable of getting close enough. You need a wide angle, or even a fish eye lens particularly when shooting anything big like sharks and whales or even wrecks.
I am not suggesting you rush out and buy a DSLR for underwater photography. The housings for these are really expensive. The powershot s95 would be a far better option because lenses can be fitted to the underwater housing. Ocean Optics can give more information on this but they do adaptors and lenses made by a company called INON (Japanese I think), and the lenses can be changed while underwater. This means that you could swap lenses to get that perfect shot, and there aren't many features the g11 has that the s90 and s95 don't. I used one on the course and on viewing the pictures they were really good.
Also, the strap that comes with the dc34 housing is about as much use as a chocolate fireguard for underwater use, which proves how much Canon know about diving. It was just an ordinary strap you put round your neck. Fine if you just want to hike accross the moors in the rain, but not worth spending £200 on a case to do that, so I needed to invest in a decent lanyard from my local diving store.
I would strongly reccomend enrolling on the Ocean Optics INON level one course before making any purchase decisions to try
out their equipment and learn how to use it properly. I am now considering part exing my camera and housing for a powershot
s95 which isnt really what I wanted to do because it cost a lot to buy, but I am never going to get high quality images from the G11.
Steve
Hi Steve,
And thank you very much for your comments! I guess I will have to try some lenses before I buy a WA set for my Patima G12 housing... Thanks again for your help and congratulations for the huge amount of fine information available from your site. It is a reference for me and many others!
Regards.
Joao
Thanks Steve - the service you provide is still the best - even when rushed!
Cheers
Rachel
Hi Steve and Mark,
Just wanted to let you know I love the float arms!!! I arrived in Wakatobi the day before yesterday, and took the camera out for the first time yesterday for 3 dives. The camera couldn't be better balanced! Thanks so much for all your help! Everybody here is raving about them and want to know where they can get them - so I think they are a total hit!!
Hoping to get some really good shots here - conditions almost perfect and reefs so healthy - if I'm lucky!
Have a good weekend, and thanks again,
Lisa Collins
Mark / Steve
I would just like to again thank you for a full and informative course,that was conducted in such a relaxed way that I couldn't believe that it was 13 hours long .I have come away knowing which direction to go with my diving and will continue to try to improve my photography.
Thanks Again
Andrew
Hi Mark & Steve,
I just wanted to say huge thanks to you both for all your efforts at the weekend. I thoroughly enjoyed the INON level 1 course on Sunday and learned a lot although probably just as important - got myself well motivated to get out there and take better pictures!
I particularly enjoyed the wet sessions and my favourite 'classroom' part was the tips / tricks section near the end. I sort of wish that I'd had more time to spend with my own camera but having said that, its probably best that I wait until I've got all my new kit together first!
I didn't feel that it was appropriate to mention this at the time (even though diving with sharks and national geographic were mentioned), so whilst I'm on, please allow me to share a wee link to one of my shots being used by national geographic's website in one of their shark features: - http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/photos/your-shark-photos/#/ lemon-shark-bora-bora_9040_600x450.jpg
Again, many thanks for everything and I hope to catch up with you guys again soon. Doubtless we'll talk when the new gear arrives which will hopefully be soon.
Please also pass on my gratitude to Fred, Chrissie and the underwater studios team.
All the best.
Cheers!
D.S.
Dougie Souness
No Half Measures Ltd
Hi Steve;
Just recently got the inon macro lens you handed over to Rob at the dive show. Thank you very much. The tips have been very useful, you are certainly right, there's not much room for error on focus, but i'm getting some good results so far.
Cheers
David Allen
MV Sea Spirit, Maldives Scuba Tours
As "confined water" environments go - the Underwater Studio is the best I've ever seen - superb for this kind of stuff and full marks to Steve at Mavericks/Ocean Optics for putting the event on. He clearly has an excellent understanding of the issues such as loss of buoyancy at depth with wetsuits and other stuff that normally gets overlooked. I reckon almost anyone would benefit from doing his Buoyancy Workshop - he's put a lot of thought into all this.
I enjoyed this and I applaud Diver and Mavericks diving for highlight the buoyancy issues which seem to plague the incident reports.
I was asked if there was a way to improve this if they were to run it again and I said that while swimming with a weight through the hoops, it was a constant depth which means once you are stabilised, the control of buoyancy isn't that difficult. I said that if you gave the divers the weight bag and asked them to do the ascent/descent course, you might get more pronounced results and this would highlight the requirements to be more neutrally buoyant.
I know that Howard was impressed with some of the tasks and was going to introduce them into his training sessions with Dive Wimbledon.
Garf is right about the exam, it was a shock for me (being that I am good wiff numbers). However, it also emphasised that being overweight isn't just an issue for you, if you are overweight, there could be issues with someone trying to lift you if you are unresponsive.
Overall a good day out and worth the drive from Fleet to Basildon. Well done to Diver, Mavericks diving and Underwater Studio.
Regards
Gareth
Hi Steve,
Just to let you know that the float arms were perfect and I am really happy with them. My set up was completely neautral with the inon UWL-100 wide angle lens fitted, and slightly positive with twin inon macro wet lenses (this is preferable to being negative in my opinion). I didn't really notice the bulk once underwater and they folded quite nicely round the back of the camera housing when on the boat, so all in all a great result.
Had some fantastic dives on and around Sipadan although weather fluctuated between monsoon storm and brilliant sunshine, and it was quite intense at 4 boat dives and one night shore dive a day for 8 days without a break.
Ed Rowland
Just a thought, but in my opinion 'Ocean Optics' are second to none. Not sure if they stock the canon housing but certainly worth a call. I have always had fantastic service service from them......
HTH
CHRIS
The housings, strobe and arms all came courtesy of Steve Warren and his crew at Ocean Optics, who offer the best service you could imagine for underwater photographers of all skill / experience levels.
Paul Godfrey
The Subal housings are superb to use and the ports have excellent glass. As an example, all the buttons are labelled on the exterior and are just where your fingers expect them to be. They work well and are not prone to sticking (45m is the max depth I have actually taken mine). The 180 viewfinder is E X C E L L E N T! For a chap who is hard of seeing, such as myself, this is a huge advantage.
I cannot praise the Subal housings enough. I have only 1 complaint - they are a little bit negative in the water when 2 Inon Z240s are attached. I have noticed this on my wrists when particularly waiting for "the moment" using my 100mm macro lens.
Finally, tough though it is for me to say , you will not find a better outfit than Ocean Optics and their after care is out of this world. The shade on my dome port cracked and they replaced it without hesitation or charge. A month later, whilst I was diving some small rocks west of Ecuador , a friend kicked me and managed to dislodge the shade (It was a really good kicking!). Upon my return, Steve Warren at Ocean Optics fitted another shade again without question or fee.
Chris Sterritt
