It never fails . . .

[James R]

Maybe I am weird, or wrong, but I dive enough locally that I already know my gear is good to go. I service it myself. So...I know from past experience exactly how much weight I need to dive warm salt water with a 3mm suit or less (none) and an AL80 tank. I don't even bother with a shakedown dive. I just go dive, and I'll be bringing my camera for sure!

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Two of the three quillfish I've ever seen in my life were seen during OW checkout dives with students. Lucky for them ... sux to be me.

Earlier this year I went diving with a couple friends in what I thought would be very poor visibility. Since we were going as a threesome I decided to leave the camera in the car. Vis turned out to be not too bad at depth ... and we came across a wolf eel on eggs. For some reason, the eggs had floated almost completely out of the den, and she was almost completely outside the den "herding" them back inside. I went back the next day with my camera, but she had already managed to get them tucked well back inside the den where I could barely see them.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[FinnMom]

I'm quite new to using a camera so in the Red Sea I diddn't take it on any dives that might require a little more challenge or attention. For example a zodiac out /zodiac in dive with my daughter who had made exactly 1 previous zodiac dive in her life. 20 mins in we were joined for maybe a 1/2 hour and at very close quarters by no less than 17 dolphins. Thank heavens some folks did have both cameras and Go Pros.
It was our 4th dive at the same location so nearly 1/4 of the boats residents had skipped the early AM dive. I'm afraid they will remember the regrets as clearly (and more sharply) as we remember the experience.

 

[redsky@night]

I don't do photography so I really wouldn't know. With my luck though as soon as I start carrying one I won't see or notice anything!

 

[GrimSleeper]

Excerpts from a long - and annoying - list...

A dozen Scalloped Hammerheads while I was waiting to be 'rescued' as a victim for a rescue course. (Managed to find the same school the next day, though, with video camera in hand).

More Thresher sharks and Giant Mantas than I care to think of when I was dive guiding at Malapascua.

Schools of feeding Grey reef sharks, once while doing Open Water dives with students, once just after I'd successfully demonstrated that the housing manufacturer's depth limit was correct.

Sixty or so Spotted Eagle Rays dancing, again just after a 'whoops' camera moment.

The only time I've ever seen an adult Tiger shark underwater.

My all-time favourite, three baby frogfish hanging upside-down from a ledge, arranged in size order and all the same shade of yellow. The best bit is, I had my camera... I'd set up in a hurry ('Quick! The boat's leaving for an awesome macro site RIGHT NOW!') and left the lens-cap on inside the housing...

I probably shouldn't be allowed to play with cameras.

 

[Quero]

Yesterday while guiding a series of dives with a diver I'd never been in the water with before (I don't carry a camera in these cases), we were just finishing up with a small wreck in a sandy bay at about 20 meters. I typically scan out over the sand just in case I spot anything (there were several snake eels, for example, and a kuhl's stingray), and saw what I thought was a dark-colored nudibranch a couple of fin kicks away from the wreck. I went to investigate it and at first glance figured it was just a little bit of leaf embedded edgeways in the sand, but... there was this little tab, and on closer examination I thought it just might be a minuscule fin, so I checked the other side of the leaf-like object, and there was a second fin! I had found a rare juvenile leaf scorpionfish, about 2-3 cm/1 inch long. And of course I have no evidence that I really did see it, except for having shown it to my diver, who glanced quickly and gave me an OK sign then swam away!

 

[Kharon]

That's why I have a Tachyon Micro-HD attached to my mask. I set it to either take a picture every 2 seconds or to take video. I push a button before getting into the water and make sure it's on and it sees everything I see for the entire dive. Absolutely no task involved once in the water. Sure it's a lot of culling - but, nothing is ever missed - and I do the editing of video and culling of pictures once back home. It's like doing the dives over but not getting wet.

 

[kimbalabala]

On our first trip to the Keys, before either of us had cameras, I saw an octopus - and haven't seen one since. On the flip side though, my husband was reviewing shots from a different trip and noticed a spotted eel that he hadn't seen when he was actually in the water! We're still learning to slow down and be more observant.

 

[fjpatrum]

So far, with 1 exception, I always carry my camera. If i don't use it, no big deal, but I always have it, just in case. If I'm not planning pictures it stays in my thigh pocket. I've missed a couple of great photos because I didn't have a memory card or my batteries died unexpectedly but never because I didn't have my camera. Too many amazing things happen unexpectedly for me to "chance" having no record of it other than my (faulty) memory.

EDIT: Forgot to say what I missed...

Octopii at BHB on my first ever dive there... no memory card.
Mantas on the Night Manta Dive in Kona, HI... flooded camera the day before and the disposable I bought didn't take decent night pics. Bought the DVD though so we still have the pics and video that the pros took.
A couple of reef sharks and nurse sharks out of Jupiter because my batteries died after the first dive of the day.

 

[tdtaylor]

I have typically not carried a camera on my first dive of a trip, although I am diving quite frequently now with the same equipment, so I think that will end.

Everyone I dive with has seen multiple seahorses, except me. They always seem to be "there" the dive or day before or after I was there. We'll, on our checkout dive in Curacao, you know what happened. End of the dive, two seahorses, and me, no camera......

But I am headed to Bonaire with a group in July, and the camera will be constantly attached to my side! (so of course we'll be back to wrong place/wrong time to see a seahorse.