Underwater Housing and a new Diver

theEntreriCode wrote:

I'm pretty good buoyancy control, but am extremely inexperienced so obviously I have a lot to learn. I have a singularly difficult time equalising and managing my claustrophobia. Especially if I have the slightest bit of a sinus issue.

The thing about buoyancy control (and breathing control as well) is that it doesn't just need to be good - it needs to be automatic. When you dive normally, you can afford to concentrate on keeping buoyancy and controlling your breath - but if you're also looking for critters, figuring out framing and lighting, camera settings, etc, and then some current comes along - if you're not keeping your buoyancy without thinking about it, you can easily crash into stuff and damage the reef.

Dear lord you have some serious kit. I am going to peruse the forum for some of your images when I get the chance. There is no ways I am getting into that level of kit, initially or in the foreseeable future. I was hoping for a cheap Meikon housing, or, failing that Ikelite. I can't afford the cost of the entire Nauticam rig, although, that is the best quality and ergonomics out there.

I was expecting the ikelite with arms and dome to be around 2400 - 2800. Another 1000 for strobes.

My costs have been:

• 2nd hand Sony A6300 with 16-50mm lens - $837
• 2nd hand Sony 10-18mm lens - $557
• 2nd hand Sony 90mm macro lens - $790
• SeaFrogs (Meikon) Housing with 6" dome - $498
• 4" fisheye dome - $148
• 8" dome - $238
• Macro port - $120
• Vacuum system - $150
• Tray with two arms and four clamps - $137
• Extra arms (4x 300g carbon fiber float, 2x normal 8", focus light holder, two triple clamps, four normal clamps, three long clamps, 67mm magnetic couplers, some other stuff) - total $520
• Trigger extension - $65
• Two Retra Pro strobes - 1478€
• UW-Technics TTL converter - $485

There's also batteries, chargers, torches, covers, pair of SeaFrogs ST-100 Pro strobes that were, honestly, a mistake, etc, etc - my grand total stands just shy of $10k now. As you can see, the housing is a fairly minor part of the whole thing as far as costs go.