How Much Experience Have We Had?

Great thread, Craig!

I was certified in 1988 in a Canadian lake during the early spring while the ice was still receding. We had 7mm full suits with hoods and gloves. It was the most miserable day of my life and I have not dived in cold water since!

In fact, I did not have a chance to dive again until 2015 when I met my second wife. She had previously acquired a vacation property in Roatán to serve as a pied-a-terre for our two girls who are adopted from Columbia. We visit every 3-4 months and have logged around 150 dives all around the island.

My wife and I dove with GoPros from the outset. In retrospect, our photos and videos were pretty horrendous except for the occasional lucky shot. I started making videos using Premiere Elements, which I found to be very enjoyable from a technical and creative standpoint.

In 2017, I upgraded to a Sony CX-580 in an Ikelite housing. It was a very inexpensive rig but it allowed me to custom white balance and zoom to near-macro levels. This was a huge step up in capability and, with my improving dive skills, I was able to make a couple of videos that were borderline watchable.

In 2018, I upgraded to my current rig, a Panasonic LX100 in an Ikelite housing. This was a quantum leap in image quality and functionality including the ability to shoot 4K video, use macro wet lenses, etc. It has taken me a couple of years to hit my stride with this camera. I have also started editing in Davinci Resolve and I feel that my last four productions are quite good.

Moving forward, I will most likely house a Panasonic G85 that I already own so that I can amplify my macro capabilities using the Olympus 60mm macro. The G85 is basically a poor-man's GH5. Since I do not need any of the pro features of the GH5, it should do fine for my needs.