Kona Aggressor 8/1 - 8/8! QUESTIONS PEOPLE!!!

Anyone going on the Kona Aggressor 8/1-8/8??? I'm booked in the quad cabin, anyone ever stayed in the quad before?

Also, has anyone taken or can anyone recommend taking the PADI Photo Specialty course while on the trip? Is there photo pro pretty good? Does it really help? I'm a fairly new underwater photographer using a point and shoot Sealife DC1000 Elite (it has one external strobe and a detachable wide angle lense) - it is for beginner u/w photogs but it does have an external flash manual mode that can be used for more advanced shutterbugs - even the user manual has no info on how to operate this camera in ext flash manual mode!

Answers, feedback, or all out envy in my direction would be great! :mooner:

Eric

Never done the Kona boat, but have done several others. You have picked a decent "starter" camera system. I started with the DC500 3-4 years ago and have progressed to something better. Having the wet WA lens is a plus when starting out. Plus ALWAYS use your flash when UW. The color correction in the camera isn't that good.

The Photo course depends solely on the instructor. I just came off the Cayman Aggressor and Capt. Jon Kreiger did the photo course for a couple divers and they were very satisfied.

As a warmup, I'd suggest that you get Martin Edge's newly revised book, The Underwater Photographer. THIRD Edition. After reading that, you may not need the Photo course, just some coaching which the Aggressor staffs are usually more than willing to do.

One other point. Before you go into the water, practice topside with the camera in the housing until all the routine functions become second nature. Those buttons are small and you'd be surprised how easy it is to get confused with menu changes, etc. when your subject is swimming away. Also practice a lot shooting macro topside.

Camera operation needs to become second nature BEFORE you go on your trip. A session or two in the pool with your camera and a mask & snorkel doesn't hurt.

I actually have been using the camera because I live on Oahu and dive with my local club - I wanted the Kona Aggressor to be my first liveaboard because it's so close by, I had to buy new gear this year - so therefore I could not afford to take a liveaboard trip to Turks and Caicos, Belize, or the Cayman Islands.

Check out my thread on the Underwater Photography forum in the sealife station, that's where I've posted questions and some of my photos.
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/sealife-station/285076-sealife-dc1000-question.html

I used to use the Sealife Reefmaster point and shoot film camera about 10 years ago but made the upgrade to digital along with upgrading other essential dive gear too. Kona hopefully should be fun!!! 10 more weeks!

First Question: My wive, her sister and husband and I stayed on the Kona Aggressor last July in the Quad room. It's a nice room, but you better be good friends with the people you are sharing with, it is a tiny room. Four separate beds, a sink and some counter top and a bathroom/shower.

Honestly, on a liveaboard, nobody really spends much time in their room - there's a nice salon and several on deck spaces to find a bit of privacy to read a book or nap. The Kona trip is AWESOME! We loved the diving and the food was really, really good. Highly recommend.

Here's some pics from the boat and land:
Picasa Web Albums - John - Hawaii_Landan...

And here's U/W pics:
Picasa Web Albums - John - Kona Hawaii -...

On your second question: It's hard to know how good the photo pro on the trip will be; I've done 7 different liveaboards and there was really a photo pro on only one - which BTW is the Kona Aggressor and his name is Ben. Don't know if he'll still be on the boat in August, they usually keep crew on a boat for 8-9 months at a time. At any rate, if he's still on, he's a great guy, very knowledgeable in photography, had his own land-based studio at one time.

The Manta night dive on the Kona Aggressor was one of the most fantastic experiences I've done as a diver. We did it twice on our trip plus we saw them twice in the daytime. Enjoy!

Thank you John,

Your reply was perfect! I actually have the quad cabin to myself as of now but either way you're right - I'm only using it to sleep in and I travel pretty light so no major luggage space issues hopefully. I simply can't wait to go, I probably will try to get my PADI photo specialty onboard and try to enter a photo or two into Aggressor's photo contest - who knows maybe I'll get a little luck

Take care and great photos overall! Truly awesome!

Eric