23 replies to this topic

[warren_l]

Hi All, sorry I've not been around much lately. Been busy diving....

Anyhow, I've finally had a chance to complete my slideshow presentation on my recent Blackbeard's trip. One of the final trips they will be making from Miami. Commencing January, they will be running directly out of Freeport.

Anyhow, we were very fortunate with the weather. Hurricane Katrina blew through Miami the Thursday night before our scheduled arrival in Miami the following night. It was evident that there was a storm recently, as there were some pretty strong winds, and tree branches and debris to be found almost everywhere. But when we left port late Saturday, the seas had calmed and the winds died off completely and we were blessed with a week of complete flat calm oceans and virtually no wind. A week later, the area was in the middle of tropical depression Ophelia.

Anyhow, enough chatter. Here's the pics.

Be forewarned it is 115 MB in size, so a good broad band connection is a must. Download speeds may vary as there's been considerable interest in these pictures through our local dive shop's forum as well, so please be patient. The initial rush to download continues as I just posted this Sept 19.

Blackbeards Slideshow (Aug27-Sep2, 2005)

[warren_l]

A few samples for those who do not have the time or bandwidth...

[casematic]

WOW...... Really nice pictures.... Can I ask what your set up is?..

KC

[warren_l]

WOW...... Really nice pictures.... Can I ask what your set up is?..

KC

I'm currently shooting with a Nikon D70, using an Ikelite housing with dual Ikelite strobes. Most of the shots were done with the Nikkor 12-24mm zoom, some with the Nikkor 60mm micro. Just got this setup earlier this year. Quite like it so far.

[casematic]

I'm currently shooting with a Nikon D70, using an Ikelite housing with dual Ikelite strobes. Most of the shots were done with the Nikkor 12-24mm zoom, some with the Nikkor 60mm micro. Just got this setup earlier this year. Quite like it so far.

Is that a Digital camera or 35mm ..... the pictures are great with a lot of depth to them... I'm guessing that the dual stobes have something to do with the great colors...

KC

[casematic]

What I have now is just a little fuji endeavor 10 (the eps film).... in an ikelite housing with a single flash... it does ok, but if the flash doesn't go off you might as well throw the picture away... I get to keep about 1 out of 5.... and I have to be about 4 feet from the subject or its a wasted picture.... I'd like to upgrade, but don't want to get the wrong thing.

KC

[warren_l]

Hi KC,

Thanks for the compliments. I'm really liking this setup better than my old one - not that there's anything wrong with my first system. The camera is a digital SLR, which has given quite a bit more flexibility than my original Olympus 5050 point and shoot, especially from a lens selection standpoint. Most of what I have been shooting has been with the Nikkor 12-24 wide zoom, which is my favourite lens at the moment. One of the biggest plusses with the DSLR is the quality of the glass. As far as I'm concerned, it can't be beat. A good wide angle lens is invaluable - moreso than strobes. But having dual strobes comes in a close second.

The kind of system you end up with greatly depends on the type of photography you want to do and how much you budget. A good DSLR system isn't for the faint of heart. I easily spent more than three times on my DSLR than on my Olympus system....

[annasea]

Warren,

I was so impressed by your photos that I actually did the download. They really are beautiful!!

Problem is, your slide show is not compatible with my Mac. What application do I need in order to view it? Windows Media Player perhaps? Please advise.

[casematic]

The camera is a digital SLR

The kind of system you end up with greatly depends on the type of photography you want to do and how much you budget. A good DSLR system isn't for the faint of heart. I easily spent more than three times on my DSLR than on my Olympus system....

With the increase in Megapixel capacities, it seems that digital had caught up with film in all but 'wide format', hasn't it (and the digital ability in lowlux may have something to do with that as well) ... Any recommendations for a minimal megapixel a person should get to achieve the quality. I want to spend enough to get what I want the first time... thats cheaper than buying it twice.

Thanks for the info. I'll keep you posted on what I end up getting.

KC

[warren_l]

Warren,

I was so impressed by your photos that I actually did the download. They really are beautiful!!

Problem is, your slide show is not compatible with my Mac. What application do I need in order to view it? Windows Media Player perhaps? Please advise.

Annasea, thank-you for the compliment! I'm glad you like the pictures. As for the full slideshow, it is in a self-running executable that runs under a PC platform - Windows 95/ME/2000/XP. I don't know much about MAC compatibilities, but I don't think it will work.

But just for you, I've created a web version. I'm not sure if it will run properly from a MAC browser, but you can give it a try. I just uploaded it, and it is about the same size, so it may take a while to download and start up as it did to download the original file.

Blackbeards Webshow

Anyhow, give it a try and let me know if it works!

Warren

Edited by warren_l, 25 September 2005 - 05:33 PM.

[warren_l]

The camera is a digital SLR

The kind of system you end up with greatly depends on the type of photography you want to do and how much you budget. A good DSLR system isn't for the faint of heart. I easily spent more than three times on my DSLR than on my Olympus system....

With the increase in Megapixel capacities, it seems that digital had caught up with film in all but 'wide format', hasn't it (and the digital ability in lowlux may have something to do with that as well) ... Any recommendations for a minimal megapixel a person should get to achieve the quality. I want to spend enough to get what I want the first time... thats cheaper than buying it twice.

Thanks for the info. I'll keep you posted on what I end up getting.

KC

Well, a lot depends on your budget. If you're looking purely at megapix, you'd probably want to go minimum of 5 mpix, which pretty well seems to be the norm these days. But one thing you should realize is that the number of mpix is not the greatest measure of quality. DSLR with an equivalent mpix to a point and shoot would deliver typically far superior quality due to a better quality sensor - this results in crisper colours with much less noise. My D70 is a 6 mpix sensor compared to my Olympus C5050 which is 5 mpix. The quality difference is quite amazing.

If you're serious about photography, I would say that DSLR is the way to go. Not that you can't achieve excellent results from a point and shoot camera (I've seen some great work from P&S cameras), but DSLR will give you quite a bit more flexibility. But the problem is the much higher cost.

[WreckWench]

As usual I think they are excellent!!! We need YOU on one of our trips as our photographer!

[annasea]

Annasea, thank-you for the compliment! I'm glad you like the pictures. As for the full slideshow, it is in a self-running executable that runs under a PC platform - Windows 95/ME/2000/XP. I don't know much about MAC compatibilities, but I don't think it will work.

But just for you, I've created a web version. I'm not sure if it will run properly from a MAC browser, but you can give it a try. I just uploaded it, and it is about the same size, so it may take a while to download and start up as it did to download the original file.

Blackbeards Webshow

Anyhow, give it a try and let me know if it works!

Warren

Warren,

It still doesn't work. I have a PC at work, so I'll download there instead. Thank you for trying though!

[finGrabber]

The camera is a digital SLR

The kind of system you end up with greatly depends on the type of photography you want to do and how much you budget. A good DSLR system isn't for the faint of heart. I easily spent more than three times on my DSLR than on my Olympus system....

With the increase in Megapixel capacities, it seems that digital had caught up with film in all but 'wide format', hasn't it (and the digital ability in lowlux may have something to do with that as well) ... Any recommendations for a minimal megapixel a person should get to achieve the quality. I want to spend enough to get what I want the first time... thats cheaper than buying it twice.

Thanks for the info. I'll keep you posted on what I end up getting.

KC

Well, a lot depends on your budget. If you're looking purely at megapix, you'd probably want to go minimum of 5 mpix, which pretty well seems to be the norm these days. But one thing you should realize is that the number of mpix is not the greatest measure of quality. DSLR with an equivalent mpix to a point and shoot would deliver typically far superior quality due to a better quality sensor - this results in crisper colours with much less noise. My D70 is a 6 mpix sensor compared to my Olympus C5050 which is 5 mpix. The quality difference is quite amazing.

If you're serious about photography, I would say that DSLR is the way to go. Not that you can't achieve excellent results from a point and shoot camera (I've seen some great work from P&S cameras), but DSLR will give you quite a bit more flexibility. But the problem is the much higher cost.

Warren,

is it only the megapixels or does the speed of the autofocus come into play as well? I have a D70 without a housing for it and I've also got a 5050 with housing. I used my D70 on a trip to Colorado last week and was surprised at the speed of autofocus it has. There are shots I got with the D70 that I wouldn't have been able to get with the 5050. Not to mention that the D70 doesn't munch batteries for breakfast, lunch and dinner!

I am thinking about selling the 5050 setup so I can save up for housing and proper strobes for the D70. What housings do you recommend or have used? And what strobes do you use?

Kim