Packing the dive rig

Every now and then in one place or another I get asked about how I pack and carry my underwater camera gear. Because I'm bored and don't get to dive again until September, I made a web page out of some shots I took last time I dove.

http://cjcphoto.net/uwcamera/images/54798207_10213979079298229_6730743631537242112_n.jpg

Before:

....(bunch of stuff happens as shown at the URL above)...

After:

Packed (before padding):

Everything that fits in the roller bag is in there (housing, dome port, anything else that fits).   The stuff off the towel goes in the waist bag at top.  The three items on the towel go into a suitcase.

It's not all that hard to assemble or dissassemble, but I sure need a checklist to make sure all the parts are present before I leave (going or coming back).

wolfbane wrote:

Hello Craig,

Amazed nobody seems to have responded. Have never tried underwater photography so it is educative to see what one might have to tote.

There's not a lot of traffic here.  I was posting in a thread on Wetpixel about packing this sort of gear and made a web page to show my story.  Since I had it up anyway I thought I'd post here.

How much does all that gear weigh? It must be a relief to get into the water and let it take some of the strain.

The assembled rig set up for macro weighed in at 31 pounds I think.  I never weighed it with the dome port, but it must be heavier.   It is quite a hassle to deal with.

I also cannot fit it all in a single bag, though perhaps I might come close in a backpack.  The roller bag I use loses a lot of space to the wheels and handle.  I basically can fit the dome port and the housing in my roller bag, and that's it for the big pieces.  Even then I have to partially disassemble the rig to make it short enough to fit.  I have to put some in a waist bag and the rest in a suitcase.  And since I travel with my own dive gear, that suitcase is full of dive gear anyway.  I use a second smaller suitcase for my clothes, toiletries and laptop.   Which means I have three roller bags - and two hands to pull them.  So at airports I strap one bag to another to get down to two rollers and a waist bag.

And I only have two lenses to carry/use.

Looking at your output, the investment was well made, Alistair.

Thanks.  I work at this.  It's gotten to be the only type of photography I'm really interested in doing.

Do you carry any tools and spare parts?

So, you check two roller bags and carry one for the overhead?

What's the most you've paid for extra luggage?

Have you ever shot a fisheye lens?

daveco2 wrote:

Do you carry any tools and spare parts?

Yes.

So, you check two roller bags and carry one for the overhead?

I check two suitcases, and the roller bag and waist bag go into the cabin with me.

What's the most you've paid for extra luggage?

Hmm.   Has to be the time my late wife and I traveled from Malaga Spain to the Canary Islands for a week.  We had flown business class to Europe and had four 50 pound bags.  But we took a discount European flight to the Canaries and another one coming back.   They had a 50-pount limit, for one bag each.   5 euros per kilo over.   On the way back I left behind my Akona dive gear suitcase (too heavy), a bunch of clothes (cheaper to buy new ones), and even a pair of shoes.   And when we go to the airport we found the new airline had a 40 pound limit.

Total extra cost was $250.

Have you ever shot a fisheye lens?

Above water, yes.   I'm not really a fan.  Fisheye shots are like tequila.  A few shots are fun, but too many make you sick of them.

I really miss having a normal zoom range, but at least with Nauticam housings, I pretty much have only the 60mm macro between wide (8-15 fisheye, 16-35vr, or similar) and the 105 macro.   Someday I may play around trying to adapt something, like use my 50mm prime behind the big dome port, if I can work out the right extension length.