Last minute purchase before trip, friendly advice really appreciated!

[Where2Next]

I was saving for an Olympus PL underwater camera rig - an upgrade from my OLy P&S I have used for three years. I had some last minute good fortune, and was able to make a big upgrade to a Canon Rebel T3i set-up, 60mm macro lens, and this package... Sea & Sea RDX 600D Housing System - Sea & Sea RDX Housings & Accessories - Sea & Sea DSLR Housings & Accessories - Optical Ocean Sales Underwater Photo - 800-359-1295!

I am sooo excited - I bought a 920 seashorse case to pack it all. I literally leave in two days and the housing is due to arrive today. The camera and lens arrived yesterday. I have not done a lot of research on this underwater set-up, and frankly I have been hanging in the Olympus forums for over a year chatting/reading about that equipment. Honestly I am a little over my head and this will be equipment I can definitely grow in to.

I was hoping if anyone has the same set-up they might be willing to part with some tips - a photo of how you have packed your rig in foam would be super awesome too. I am headed to PNG Thursday, and am quickly doing all the things one does before leaving for three weeks - stressing! I plan on reading manuals, etc, on the plane and boat. Tips on camera settings - things that have or have not worked for you underwater, whatever you are willing to part with would be sooo helpful. I realize surfing the forum would be great too - but I literally had just a moment to post this question and hope to check in tonight after work.

Hopefully you get where I am coming from... I appreciate any advice! Thanks!

 

[DiveMaven]

My husband has a T2i and Sea & Sea package (he bought from Jack at Optical Ocean as well) and if you don't have any Stix foam for your rig, you may want to try to get some ASAP. It is a very heavy rig underwater and really needs foam. We were told to use a cut up pool noodle, and although it helped, my husband called Jack immediately upon our return from our last trip and ordered the Stix foam.

As far as settings are concerned, sorry, my husband is the photographer, I'm just the editor. I know he absolutely loves the 60mm macro lens and having dual strobes though. I hope you get some good hints on where to start.

 

[Where2Next]

Thank you Divemaven!! I am sad no one has even at least given me a 'your screwed, good luck' LOL! Oh well - Oly forum has a lot more posters - hope that is not a sign of an unpopular/bad camera :-O

I did think to myself as I put it all together at 1am last night holy $#!T this is heavy! I was hoping the air in the housing would help give it a negative bouncy. I am in Noosa, Australia for three nights - I will find a dive shop/ camera store and get some -or jerry-rig something! I really appreciate the advice, because once on the boat I would have been screwed!

Jack strongly recommended I buy the 60mm - especially for PNG, so I bit the bullet!

 

[DiveMaven]

Oh, the 60mm is an amazing lens, you'll love it!! If you want to check out my husband's first photos with the T2i/Sea&Sea housing, look here: http://divetraveladventures.shutterfly.com/maui They are the August, 2011 photos and all were taken with the 60mm lens. As you scroll through the photos, you'll notice that many of the nudi photos got closer and closer. Those were as my husband got more confident with using the rig since it's quite a bit more cumbersome than a point and shoot! The photos also improved when we put the pool noodle foam on the arms, but we still bought the Stix foam as soon as we got home.

Keep in mind that I reduce all of the photos before uploading to Shutterfly, so a few of them don't look as good as they did at full size....the first photo of the White Margin Nudibranchs is a good example of it.