Diving With your camera and strobe

[diving_moose]

Hi,
Might seem stupid just wondering how people dive with there cameras etc when they need both hands for something else, do you clip it off somewhere or what?
Cheers Lee

[JAG]

Personally, when taking a camera I use a high force retractor and clip it off on a spare waist strap D ring. As the retractable cord is plenty long enough I only need to hold it when required, and there's no need to unclip it therefore reducing the risk of losing it.
http://www.simplyscuba.com/xxGetImag...&ImageNumber=1

HTH,

Ian

[JohnK]

I use a wrist lanyard for descent and ascent but not for when Im taking pics. Simply put, if the **** hits the fan I will drop the camera - its insured.

[Scubanut]

if you never ask then you never get to expand your mind.......

My camera is handed to me after 'getting in'. I have the camera attached to me via a clipped coiled lanyard, that way if I need both hands I just 'drop' the camera with the knowledge that it won't go far.
That is unless the whole lot comes loose of the tray and goes for a deep dive..!!!!!!!!!!

Cheers,
Scubanut

[Narked@50]

I keep mine slightly bouyant and pass it under my right arm when not needed, this way it floats harmlessly bihins me and is easy to get to.

James

[diving_moose]

Cheers guys, thanks for the tips.

[John Gulliver]

I have a fairly bulky set-up (MM II EX with dual strobes). I get someone to hand it to me when I'm in the water and then clip it off to a D-ring - it's on a thick piece of bungy attached to the base-plate. If I need to, I can let go of it and it then hangs about half a metre below me. Carrying a camera makes it imposible to use your hands and arms for balance, so you have to fine-tune your trim and buoyancy. I often wish I had more hands, though.

[Rick Huggins]

I have mine tied off to a small 4" lanyard with it bolt clipped off to my left chest D-Ring.

I dive a Hogarthian rig and a Oly5050 cam with PT015 casing.

There is a balast weight that I ditched so it floats clutter free until I need it.

Should I ever loose it, hopefully I can collect it on the surface

HTH

[Far_X]

I only have one strobe on my camera but I find arm of that the best thing to carry the camera around with. When I attach the camera to myself, it is clipped directly on to the D-ring on my BCD. I used to use a lanyard on my wrist but one day, as I descended, I lost my camera. Fortunately, another diver found it. I have never used a wrist lanyard since and have removed the lanyard altogether in favour of the brass clip. I have never needed to use two hands for anything else when photographing and on my ascent and descent, the camera is clipped. I have not tried a rectractable lanyard as yet.

[Brian Donaghy]

I use three cameras:

A Sony T1 which is very small (no strobe) which I clip off in a leg pocket when not in use with a stainless steel boltsnap.

A Sea & Sea 3000 (1 strobe) which I clip off to my butt D-ring when not in use with a SS boltsnap.

A Canon 10D with Sea & Sea housing and 2 strobes. This is a bulky unit and is positively buoyant with a dome port & negatively buoyant with a flat port. I almost always have this in my hand when submerged however when I need both hands I clip it to my right chest D-ring with a double ender boltsnap and put it under my arm, somewhat like a stage bottle. Clipping it off to my butt D-ring is an option during deco or whenever but swimming with it there is not really on.

I know serious photographers who say they will never attach a camera to themselves, however unless you have someone to hand it off to this is not really an option for me. I'm just not slick enough to shoot an SMB with one hand safely.