Help me put together my first underwater setup

ctawn wrote:

Hmm, in no sense am I relatively new. Been certified since 1993 and have over 150 logged dives, mostly in the pacific including cold water dry suit diving int the pacific north west. Got no problem with bouyancy. For most of my diving life I've been a gear minimalist. Used tables for the first 10 years. Dove with a t-shirt, BC, reg, tank, mask, fins and nada else. Then finally got a wrist-mounted computer which I still use. Then a knife and my own torch. I like to travel light. I rent all gear but my mask, torch, knife, computer, and now camera rig. And I do what I can on a budget.

10 dives per year translate to a wide range of diving experience, particularly around buoyancy.  You did many in the cold, but there are a lot of warm water once every 2 year divers who just repeat the same experience each time, don't really grow.

Are you looking to change the frequency with this foray into UW photography?  it's not a great budget activity, and if you're doing it once a year for 2-4 days, may be better off sticking to what you got, or perhaps renting.   When you go as far as the dual strobed ILC rigs and going once to twice a year, you burn the first couple days just getting dialed in.   It's the exact opposite of minimalist diving.  It offers a much higher ceiling on what you can generate, but not for free ($$ or convenience).

I think when you refer to wet macro lenses, you're talking about diopters (aka, close up lenses).  They do not magnify, they let you get your camera closer than it could otherwise focus.   You still need to be able to get it up tight on the subject.   They don't let you get the same shot from further away.  And they have a terribly narrow focus range - see the remarks about a lot of blurriness.

is macro the focus?  If so, than the Sony may be the wrong route to take.  It's stronger at the video and high speed shot capability.   Its 70mm lens (recent gens) is not so good, though it's really about the minimum focus distance.

Bluewater puts up articles with recommendations and the strengths of each.   They also conduct excellent macro diving trips in the Phillipines.  10 days, 36 dives, and pretty damn cheap in the scheme of things.   Let them bring you some rental gear and practice and you'd come out very well prepared to take it forward.