Headed to Hawaii -- let's talk gear / locations

[privatebydesign]

Question for the members here... going to dedicate a 5D3 to UW work. Any housing recommended?

Only two worth looking at are the Nauticam NA-5DSR and Aquatica A5Dsr housings, both companies came out with better versions that fit the 5D MkIII after the 5DS/R came out.

The Nauticam has the unique Multi Controller Pad, both have strobe, port, and viewfinder options to cover pretty much everything.

I prefer Aquatica housings personally, but I rarely change any settings once under water so the MCP is of limited value to me.

 

[Pookie]

Question for the members here... going to dedicate a 5D3 to UW work. Any housing recommended?

Only two worth looking at are the Nauticam NA-5DSR and Aquatica A5Dsr housings, both companies came out with better versions that fit the 5D MkIII after the 5DS/R came out.

The Nauticam has the unique Multi Controller Pad, both have strobe, port, and viewfinder options to cover pretty much everything.



I prefer Aquatica housings personally, but I rarely change any settings once under water so the MCP is of limited value to me.

Thanks, rented a Nauticam before. I'll be in Maui for most of May so I'll be looking into this ASAP.

 

[Ozarker]

Nice images here... love Kaneohe on Oahu and Makapuu is awesome but we ended up buying a place in Maui up country. Love the snorkeling/diving there, especially Honolua Bay... the best IMO. Both of my sons have Hawaiian names, that how much we dig the islands. Maui no ka oi !!!

BTW, isn't there another Maui guy here on the forum?

Question for the members here... going to dedicate a 5D3 to UW work. Any housing recommended?

Honu at Kahekili...

Beautiful photo Pookie!

 

[Lyle Krannichfeld]

I'm on Maui, pro landscape/underwater photographer. Feel free to email me with any questions, Lyle at Krannichfeld dot com ;D

 

[bholliman]

Thanks for the suggestions and comments! I made several modifications to our itinerary based on the information in this thread and a helpful Facebook chat with Maui resident Lyle Krannichfeld.

We are leaving next week, I'm still going with my first inclination for an equipment list:

• 5DsR
• 16-35 f/4 IS
• 24-70 f/4 IS (taking this over my f/2.8 II since its smaller and lighter and has IS and semi-macro, 77mm filter thread size common with other lenses on trip
• 70-200 f/2.8 IS II
• 35 f/2 IS
• 430EX III-RT for fill flash when needed
• 1.4x III extender
• 77mm CPL, 3-stop and 10-stop ND filters
• Lightweight travel tripod and with ball head
• Lowepro Fastpack 350 AW backpack - will hold all this gear and provides easy access to my camera for shooting
• Canon Powershot D30 underwater camera for snorkeling shots and for those situations were I don't want to lug around a DSLR

Any comments/suggestions on the gear list?

 

[Pookie]

I'm on Maui, pro landscape/underwater photographer. Feel free to email me with any questions, Lyle at Krannichfeld dot com ;D

Killer work... love to hear your take on UW housings and your set-up. Maybe open a thread as I really dig hearing from people that are actually using the gear they are talking about.

 

[Pookie]

Thanks for the suggestions and comments! I made several modifications to our itinerary based on the information in this thread and a very helpful Facebook chat with Maui native Lyle Krannichfeld.

We are leaving next week, I'm still going with my first inclination for an equipment list:

• 5DsR
• 16-35 f/4 IS
• 24-70 f/4 IS (taking this over my f/2.8 II since its smaller and lighter and has IS and semi-macro, 77mm filter thread size common with other lenses on trip
• 70-700 f/2.8 IS II
• 35 f/2 IS
• 430EX III-RT for fill flash when needed
• 1.4x III extender
• 77mm CPL, 3-stop and 10-stop ND filters
• Lightweight travel tripod and with ball head
• Lowepro Fastpack 350 AW backpack - will hold all this gear and provides easy access to my camera for shooting
• Canon Powershot D30 underwater camera for snorkeling shots and for those situations were I don't want to lug around a DSLR

Any comments/suggestions on the gear list?

Essentially what I carry... I use the 400AW flipside. Lens-wise I take a few more portrait faves and a 2 head pack of Eli's. Never or rarely use speedlites these days. Just bought a UW housing for one of my 5D3's after talking with a seasoned UW photographer on Oahu. I used a D10 and D20 for a few years and then rented a UW setup but decided time to invest, especially for surf shots here in Santa Cruz too. We will be heading back to our house in Maui for most of the month of August. If you were around I'd love to meet-up.

 

[bholliman]

• • 5DsR
  • 16-35 f/4 IS
  • 24-70 f/4 IS (taking this over my f/2.8 II since its smaller and lighter and has IS and semi-macro, 77mm filter thread size common with other lenses on trip
  • 70-700 f/2.8 IS II
  • 35 f/2 IS
  • 430EX III-RT for fill flash when needed
  • 1.4x III extender
  • 77mm CPL, 3-stop and 10-stop ND filters
  • Lightweight travel tripod and with ball head
  • Lowepro Fastpack 350 AW backpack - will hold all this gear and provides easy access to my camera for shooting
  • Canon Powershot D30 underwater camera for snorkeling shots and for those situations were I don't want to lug around a DSLR

  
  Essentially what I carry... I use the 400AW flipside. Lens-wise I take a few more portrait faves and a 2 head pack of Eli's. Never or rarely use speedlites these days. Just bought a UW housing for one of my 5D3's after talking with a seasoned UW photographer on Oahu. I used a D10 and D20 for a few years and then rented a UW setup but decided time to invest, especially for surf shots here in Santa Cruz too. We will be heading back to our house in Maui for most of the month of August. If you were around I'd love to meet-up.

  
  I've seen some of your work here with lighting, and its terrific! My artificial lighting and portrait skills are pretty limited, so just one speedlite for fill and bounce on the list now. I may take a 2nd one (600EX) to do some off camera lighting, I haven't decided yet.
  
  I considered a UW housing for my 5DsR, but decided the D30 would be good enough. We live in the middle of the country and don't get to coastal areas often, so imagine I'll sell the D30 after the trip. We will be home by mid July, so will miss you, but thanks for the meet-up offer.

 

[StudentOfLight]

• [list type=decimal]
  [*]Consider bringing a filter wrench and sensor cleaning swabs for safe measure. There have been many times that I've gotten a filter stuck on a lens. I have the Cokin Z-pro filter system and I'm pretty sure it's similar to the Lee filter 4x4 and 4x6 systems. Make sure your filters are absolutely clean because long exposures facing the sun will definitely reveal imperfections in the filter.
  [*]An ultrawide lens would be nice, but be sure it meets the spec of your filter system. My Cokin setup doesn't work well with lenses wider than 20mm as vignetting becomes quite severe when I begin stacking 2-3 filters.
  [*]Oahu is amazing. If you're up for it, try photographing sunrise and sunsets. Try looking up hikes along North Shore and Windward Coast.

Tip: Look up the temperature, humidity, and dew point each day you're in Hawaii. Be careful when switching out lenses when you're below the dew point and the humidity is above 90% as you can easily introduce moisture into your camera. I.E. Changing lenses inside an air conditioned hotel (usually below dew point) and walking out onto the beach (usually high humidity and above dew point) will sometimes result in fogging up your lens from the inside of your camera.
[/list]

Yep. Filter wrenches are already on the list.

The Lee system won't vignette with UW lenses if I get the right adaptor ring (they have a low-profile one for lenses under 24mm on FF). I will likely have to pick up an 82mm ring depending on my rental choice, however, as I only own a 77mm right now.

Great feedback on the humidity -- that happened to me in Puerto Rico once. And that A/C hotel room situation is 100% going to happen again. What's a best practice there? Let the camera come up to temp before changing lenses? Is there any need for ziplocks and desiccant packs when bringing my gear back into the hotel room?

- A

Have you tried this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3DJTLLfIfE

 

[scottkinfw]

Nice images here... love Kaneohe on Oahu and Makapuu is awesome but we ended up buying a place in Maui up country. Love the snorkeling/diving there, especially Honolua Bay... the best IMO. Both of my sons have Hawaiian names, that how much we dig the islands. Maui no ka oi !!!

BTW, isn't there another Maui guy here on the forum?

Question for the members here... going to dedicate a 5D3 to UW work. Any housing recommended?

Honu at Kahekili...

Awesome shot Pookie.

Did you use a filter for this?

Sek

 

[Pookie]

Nice images here... love Kaneohe on Oahu and Makapuu is awesome but we ended up buying a place in Maui up country. Love the snorkeling/diving there, especially Honolua Bay... the best IMO. Both of my sons have Hawaiian names, that how much we dig the islands. Maui no ka oi !!!

BTW, isn't there another Maui guy here on the forum?

Question for the members here... going to dedicate a 5D3 to UW work. Any housing recommended?

Honu at Kahekili...

Awesome shot Pookie.

Did you use a filter for this?

Sek

Hi Sek, Thanks... no filter. I think this was either a D10 or D20. Prob a D10 first gen. Just recently put one of my 5D3's into a UW housing for surf and sea work. Will be in Maui for an extended vacation soon so I hope to really test it out. Love the D series UW Canon's but they can't compete with DSLR... for snorkeling they are fun though and not much of an investment. I def recommend them for light weight UW work. I have 3 of them for different family members when they head off for the beach. I've also pushed them way past the max depth when freediving almost every time I go out.