tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6749089622334179862024-02-21T05:25:35.877-08:00Underwater Photography News & Reviews from Optical Ocean SalesUnderwater Photography News, Reviews and Trip Reports from Optical Ocean Sales.opticaloceanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17189775135471966403noreply@blogger.comBlogger127125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674908962233417986.post-2976937354012574722019-08-19T18:29:00.002-07:002019-08-19T20:14:18.755-07:00Setting up the Olympus TG-6 Camera with a Kraken Ringlight 3000 for Underwater Photography
The Olympus TG-6 camera paired with the Kraken Ringlight 3000 is a great compact set-up for shooting macro without the added weight and bulk of a tray, arms and strobes. The Ringlight 3000 can function as a continuous light source (up to 1800 lumens), or as a focus light with 3000 lumen burst capabilities. While using the Ringlight in continuous light mode, the camera automatically adjusts the opticaloceanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17189775135471966403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674908962233417986.post-68098915585523322272019-07-29T16:30:00.005-07:002019-07-29T16:31:53.074-07:00Compare the Difference!At Optical Ocean Sales we believe in proving the best shopping experience for you by providing all the information you need to buy the right product to suit your underwater photo and video needs.
We’ve been working hard to add specs and information of the features of items that we sell, and have them available for in an industry-leading comparison format. No other store does this!
How to Find opticaloceanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17189775135471966403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674908962233417986.post-14665810238438817962019-07-17T15:51:00.000-07:002019-07-17T15:53:49.639-07:00Olympus TG-6 First Impressions
By Jim Lyle
I was able to get my hands on both an Olympus TG-6 camera and PT-059 underwater housing from Optical Ocean Sales fast and at a great price despite a backlog of orders from other
vendors. Of course, with a new toy, I wanted to play with it as soon as possible.
The Olympus TG6 is the newest camera in the Oly Tough series. Waterproof
without to a depth of 50 feet it’s still opticaloceanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17189775135471966403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674908962233417986.post-21287587291678301702019-05-22T09:41:00.000-07:002019-05-22T11:03:31.689-07:00Review: Big Blue CB15000P 15,000 Lumen COB Light
Want to Light up a Whale?
Can a single very powerful continuous underwater video light work well for stills of large animals? As the quality and output of video lights have increased, I’ve been asking myself that question.
We know that many continuous lights can work fine for macro and closer up images, although they tend to give a softer look than strobes. Strobes output a single, very highopticaloceanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17189775135471966403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674908962233417986.post-70103555162948646302019-04-15T19:45:00.001-07:002019-04-16T08:31:26.212-07:00Kraken Macro Snoot Light Review
Shining a ray of light on this new small light.
Kraken’s new Macro Snoot Light is an easy way to get into the use of directed light for underwater macro photography.
Snooting refers to the control of light through a cone, or light shaper, so that it’s used as just a small beam for more dramatic, lighting solutions. In studio lighting photographers use all sorts of shoots, barn doors, grates opticaloceanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17189775135471966403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674908962233417986.post-19295643605723284112019-02-26T16:34:00.002-08:002019-02-26T18:12:49.337-08:00Gone But Not Forgotten
Forgotten Islands/Banda Sea Photo Expedition, November 4-15, 2018
Stories don't have a middle or an end any more. They usually have a beginning that never stops beginning.
— Steven Speilberg
After a few great days of diving at Tulamben on Bali, I joined up with the rest of the Optical Ocean Sales guests up in Ambon, Indonesia. The 12 of us joined the Damai 1 the next morning and settled opticaloceanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17189775135471966403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674908962233417986.post-23401739128152435422019-02-15T16:28:00.000-08:002019-02-19T18:55:54.577-08:00Review: Nauticam MWL Wet Wide Angle LensNauticam's innovative new MWL-1 is a game-changing wet mount wide angle lens. Designed to be used in front of a housed macro lens, it allows for an approximate 150° field of view with excellent sharpness and quality.
Using a specialized double lens flip holder, you can now switch to three lens lengths; shooting close-up macro with a diopter, shooting standard macro with the 60mm lens or a opticaloceanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17189775135471966403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674908962233417986.post-88697041273214691022018-09-24T14:29:00.002-07:002018-12-30T18:13:28.753-08:00Shoot Video & Stills with the Olympus TG-5 & Kraken Hydra Lights
The Olympus TG-5 camera and housing packages have been very popular with a wide variety of divers. The camera shoots great stills as well as 4K video. It has Olympus PT-058 housing, or the Ikelite and Nauticam housings give protection to 140', 200' and 300' respectively.
underwater preset modes for snapshot, wide angle and other modes that make life easy. As well it has amazing macro modes opticaloceanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17189775135471966403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674908962233417986.post-59651125994149114032018-06-09T19:40:00.000-07:002018-06-18T21:44:28.022-07:00Nikon D850 & Nauticam NA-D850 Housing Review
By Jack Connick
Nikon’s new D850 full-frame camera is proving to be one of their most popular cameras ever, and what’s not to like? A massive 46MP sensor with resolution that matches or exceeds film, fast autofocus (AF) borrowed from the pro-level D5, low base 64 ISO to better capture bright scenes and a fast 7 fps frame rate with an electronic front curtain shutter, for just a start. Matching opticaloceanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17189775135471966403noreply@blogger.com1800 Westlake Ave N #201, Seattle, WA 98109, USA47.6349653 -122.3398416999999722.112930799999997 -163.64843569999996 73.1569998 -81.031247699999966tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674908962233417986.post-9544979850064811272018-05-31T15:59:00.001-07:002018-05-31T18:30:49.049-07:00South Pacific Dreamin’ - Yap & Palau Trip Report
Dropping into the warm, crystal clear water we spotted at least 3 or 4 species of sharks all in good numbers. We were on a shark dive on the remote outer reef of the Micronesian island of Yap. Grey reef sharks of moderate size, lots of smaller black tip reef sharks and quite a few larger silvertips were nosing around us looking for their afternoon snack. Good for us it was a small “chumsicle” ofopticaloceanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17189775135471966403noreply@blogger.comPalau7.5149799999999987 134.58251999999993-0.55175800000000219 124.25537149999994 15.581717999999999 144.90966849999992tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674908962233417986.post-12622366999412058702018-01-21T09:35:00.000-08:002018-01-21T09:36:42.915-08:00A few D850 Shots from FijiSpent a week on the Nai'a and another 8 days at Qamea Resort near Taveuni.
Shot
the Nikon D850 in a Nauticam NA-D850 housing. I used the Sigma 15mm FE, Nikon
17-35 behind a Zen 170mm dome, as well as the Nikon 105mm VR macro.
I'm still working on a TR, will post when it's available. But here's a few shots to whet your appetite.
Underwater Album on Flickr
opticaloceanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17189775135471966403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674908962233417986.post-90025509349042351682017-08-04T16:07:00.000-07:002017-08-04T16:07:01.256-07:00Lembeh Straits Macro Video on a Nikon D500I've (finally) edited together a video of macro critters from Lembeh Straits during last year's Photo Expedition to Dive into Lembeh resort. I used a Nikon D500 camera, 60mm macro lens, diopters in a SEA&SEA MDX-D500 housing with a Kraken Sports Hydra 5000 video light. It includes footage of a rare "Hairy Octopus". All shot hand held!
opticaloceanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17189775135471966403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674908962233417986.post-54672244485607329472017-06-03T11:40:00.000-07:002017-06-03T11:45:27.911-07:00Saga Dive Trio Macro Lens Review
I love shooting underwater macro – specifically super macro. One of the challenges of this discipline is deciding on which diopter to bring along on a dive. Inevitably I choose one strength lens and wish I had brought along something different. Enter the Saga Dive Trio. This innovative lens from Spanish optics manufacturer Saga Dive, combines a +5, +10 and +15 diopter in one unit, giving you theopticaloceanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17189775135471966403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674908962233417986.post-48123647739945747552017-04-22T10:01:00.000-07:002017-04-28T08:09:40.914-07:00Review: Kraken Weefine Underwater Photo Ring Light
The latest offering from Kraken Sports is the WeeFine Ring Light for macro illumination. This innovative light attaches to any threaded port and is similar to ring flashes using strobe lights that have been on the market for a while. However, it features a constant-on 1000 lumen light and is small, lightweight and self-contained. As with all Kraken Sports products, build quality is excellent, opticaloceanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17189775135471966403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674908962233417986.post-26671319608075619492017-04-21T16:58:00.000-07:002017-04-22T08:55:42.901-07:00 Micro 4/3rds vs. APS-C & Full-frame Cameras: Mexican Shootout or Standoff?
Nauticam E-M1 MKII vs. D800 - shown with fisheye dome ports.
(Continued from Part 2)
Underwater photographers have always debated their cameras and there are always questions and continuing debates about the virtues and performance of various formats.
We cover all of their pros and cons in our free Handbook: Choosing an Underwater Camera & Housing. But here's my experience.
opticaloceanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17189775135471966403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674908962233417986.post-12101896859263882452017-04-20T17:29:00.000-07:002017-04-22T23:31:04.193-07:00Olympus E-M1 MKII Underwater Housing Review Part 2: Nauticam NA-EM1MKII
Nauticam - Great Controls with Lots of Lens Choices
(Continued from Part 1)
For my next trip to Cabo Pulmo and the Socorros Islands in Mexicos, I decided to take the new Nauticam E-M1MKII housing, along with my trusty Nauticam Nikon D800, and give them a bit of a wide angle shoot-out. Although there was a strange dearth of large animals, I did get good shots with both systems.
The new opticaloceanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17189775135471966403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674908962233417986.post-89943069376525955902017-04-19T16:17:00.003-07:002017-04-20T19:55:17.815-07:00Olympus E-M1 MKII Underwater Housing Review Part 1: PT-EP14 Housing
The new Olympus OM-D E-M1 MKII has been the darling new camera lately, with high reviews from all corners for its improved feature set over the original E-M1. There is a lot to like: much faster AF with 121 focus points (especially in low-light), 20MP live MOS sensor, faster TruePic III processor, dual card slots, incredibly high-speed frame rate (18fps), better in-body image stabilization, 4K opticaloceanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17189775135471966403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674908962233417986.post-48969717993214660512017-03-31T16:35:00.000-07:002017-04-22T10:39:16.191-07:00Komodo Trip Report: Biodiversity Amid Nature’s Fury
(Or Hell Hath No Fury Like a Dragon Scorned)
Komodo National Park lies near Bali, between East & West Nusa Tenggara islands in Indonesia. Our intrepid group of Optical Ocean Sales photographers managed to survive a cold wet season dive expedition there last February on the Damai 1 liveaboard boat.
Cold and wet aren’t what usually comes to mind when thinking of Komodo, which is hot and dry opticaloceanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17189775135471966403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674908962233417986.post-22235398239032806852017-01-25T19:33:00.001-08:002017-01-26T00:49:36.463-08:00Lembeh Low Down & Review of the MDX-D500, Olympus E-M1
Optical Ocean Sales Trip Report - Dive into Lembeh Resort, Oct. 2016
We came, we saw, we took photos, and more and more photos of an amazing variety of small underwater critters at Lembeh Straits, Indonesia last October on the Optical Ocean Sales Photo Expedition there.
Lembeh is an area centered around the town of Bintung, at the north end of North Sulawesi Island. With 8,000’ deep drop-offsopticaloceanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17189775135471966403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674908962233417986.post-57019652164436254772016-11-27T18:31:00.002-08:002016-11-27T18:31:21.941-08:002016 DEMA Underwater Photography ReportThese are some new underwater photo products and some of my good industry friends from the 2016 DEMA dive show. Many of the products featured are prototypes and will be shipping in 2017. Look to Optical Ocean Sales to always have the latest underwater imaging products!
Probably one of the most innovative products is the new Saga Dive Trio
macro lens. It allows you to use the basic lens, then opticaloceanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17189775135471966403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674908962233417986.post-65165111223663063942016-11-15T08:42:00.004-08:002016-11-20T21:59:32.597-08:00Kraken Solar Flare Max Video Light ReviewMy first impression when seeing the Kraken 10,000 lumen Solar Flare Max underwater video light was how nicely crafted they are. The light is incredibly durable with metal construction and a strong glass dome for the LED lights that spreads the light underwater. It also comes with a neoprene cover for the dome and nice soft carrying case - similar to a camera bag. I was opticaloceanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17189775135471966403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674908962233417986.post-69575606340143663912016-10-18T17:08:00.000-07:002016-10-18T17:08:16.750-07:00Get the Latest Underwater Photo Gear from Optical Ocean Sales!
Check out our latest E-Mailer for all the best new #underwaterphotography gear! We've got lots of new products from SUBAL Housings, Kraken Sports, SEACAM, SEA&SEA, Saga Dive, Nauticam, i-Divesite and many others.
All the latest underwater housings, lights and accessories that you're looking for are at Optical Ocean Sales!
opticaloceanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17189775135471966403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674908962233417986.post-52575695165295778122016-09-23T19:38:00.000-07:002016-09-25T10:29:49.173-07:00Let Loose the Kraken!
Divers and underwater photographers are being inundated with a dizzying array of new and different lights. Some of these have similar features like a single button for both mode and power, single lith-ion batteries instead of more reliable battery packs and chargers. Most less expensive LED arrays that have hotspots. In other words, buying lights strictly on the basis of lumens for dollars opticaloceanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17189775135471966403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674908962233417986.post-82460815782119658632016-08-18T16:28:00.003-07:002016-08-18T17:13:21.998-07:00I-Divesite Symbiosis SS-2 Lighting System Review
Over the years many customers have asked for some sort of combination of video light and strobe. With most new cameras also shooting excellent video, this need has increased. However mounting both types of lights at the same type is bulky and heavy.
Underwater photographers want to keep their rigs small and compact to swim with. It’s especially so in these days of limited baggage when opticaloceanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17189775135471966403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674908962233417986.post-430094965156902942016-05-26T17:22:00.000-07:002016-05-26T17:22:11.556-07:00Subal Underwater Photo Systems Now Available at Optical Ocean Sales!
We're now a Subal dealer!
Subal has made some of the finest quality underwater housings available
since 1954, and we're proud to now be a stocking dealer for them! Stop
in and see Austrian-quality, hand-crafted housings, ports, gears and accessories for the Canon 5DS/r,
and Olympus E-M1.
We'll soon have one of the first Subal ND500 housings available for the Nikon D500 DSLR in stock!
opticaloceanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17189775135471966403noreply@blogger.com