Kata Beach beach dive this Sunday (31 Jan 10)

[beaner]

If you're in Phuket this weekend and want to go for a dive on the reef at Kata Beach, let me know! A few of us are going out on Sunday.
I'm waiting, with baited breath, for my brand new Nikon Coolpix L20 and Ikelite Housing # 6280.20 to arrive in the next few days so that I can test it out. I'm new to diving (less than 2 years; 50 dives) and slightly nervous and skeptical about my UW photography skills. I know that I won't end up being a highly-paid photographer (its just not my calling), I just want to be able to take some semi-good shots of the cool stuff that I see when I'm down there.

 

[BigJeff]

Beaner1,

Unfortunately in the wrong country for diving - but a camera question....

Have you found an Ikelite dealer on Phuket, or was it a special order?

 

[beaner]

Hi Jeff,
Couldn't find anyone in Phuket who carries Ikelite (thought this really strange) so I ordered it through One Stop Dive Centre in Ao Nang (Krabi) - SCUBA diving equipment sales, servicing and repairs in Krabi, Thailand.
Service was *fabulous*. Lee, the Sales Manager, responded to my web inquiry promptly and I had the housing in my hot little hands within 48 hours.
I also contacted a retailer in Bangkok and was pleased to learn (after I had already made the money transfer) that the housing was substantially less expensive through One Stop. As well, One Stop had the housing in stock whereas the company in BKK said they had to order from the US, which would have taken 7-10 days.
I'm so excited to try it and will let y'all know how it goes!
Jenni

 

[Poggus]

Would love to join you, but I'll be in the Similans this weekend. Perhaps another time!

Speaking of your camera, did you get it here in Phuket? I'm looking for Canon products and was wondering the best place to visit

 

[BigJeff]

Thanks Beaner1,

I've had the same trouble finding Ike on Phuket - makes it a pain to order stuff or have it serviced. I'll keep the shop in Krabi in mind for the future.

Good Luck with the new camera!

 

[beaner]

Hi everyone! An update on my first sojourn with my new camera...
Right off the mark, I'm pretty pleased with the camera and housing but since I only had 15 hours (9 of which were sleep and the rest catching up with my friend who had just arrived and brought me the camera. Poggus: the camera was purchased in Canada) before using it underwater, I didn't have time to figure out the settings and all. I definitely need to work on the White Balance. One thing I'm not crazy about is the orientation of the trigger on the housing - it's really awkward. Also not crazy about the use of disposable batteries... I really wish the camera was rechargeable. To mitigate I'm going to purchase rechargeable batteries as I can't find anywhere to dispose of batteries responsibly here in Phuket - back in Canada you can take them to Radio Shack or another electronics retailer and they'll take care of them for you.
All in all, I'm pleased with the camera and housing and think I made the right choice for my very first purchase. As I said before, I'm not sure that I'll invest much more into UW photography, but this is a great way to capture memories while underwater.
Unfortunately I can't figure out how to attach photos here (grr) so if you're really interested, PM me and I'll send some of the "better" ones along. ouf!

 

[Quero]

Yeah, but how was the diving? I guess if you manage to attach the photos, we'll "see" what you saw, but until then, do you want to report on your dives themselves?

 

[BigJeff]

Beaner,

I can give you some guidance on the Scubaboard picture posting; you'll have to fill in some gaps yourself along the way.

· If possible down sample/crop the pictures (say to 600 pixels x 400 pixels) and save with a maximum file size of 150K. If you don't know what that means then don't worry, you can still upload the full photo's it just takes longer to do and longer to view.
· Click on "Photo Gallery" on the top menu bar (Takes you to Recent Photos)
· Click on "My Photos" on the top left (should be empty at first)
· Click on "Upload Photos" on the right, then follow the instructions to select and label the photos (you can do 10 at a time)

The uploaded shots should now be visible when you go to "My Photos", to attach them to a post do this:

· Go back to "My Photos" and click on the one you want to display
· At the bottom of the picture you'll see a "Linked Thumbnail" line.
· Copy and paste the entire line into the post that inserts a thumbnail that will link to the bigger picture.
· To insert the big picture select the small picture & chain icon close to the thumbnail link
· Then Copy and paste the "Linked Image" line instead of the thumbnail one.

That's it - once you have some images uploaded then a link will show on the left side of your posts in the "Stats" box so anyone can go straight to all your pictures.

Good Luck

 

[beaner]

The diving was OK, not great. Vis wasn't the best, but then I can always find something interesting and think ANY dive is a good dive. So I'm probably not the best person to critique.
I'll try to put up some photos soon with BigJeff's helpful directions, but don't expect too much! This is gonna take A LOT of practice! haha
Thanks for your support and encouragement guys!