⌛ Intova 7 Camera and Fish Charts

Just got into town finally and went out with Snoopy to Dauin. I bought, on Ebay, an Intova 7.1 megapixel camera with housing for about $300 with shipping. Can't remember the dealers name but I can get it if anyone is interested. It came with a 1 Gig card and free underwater flashlight. Brand new, full warranty. Great service in that I forgot the manual in Canada and Intova is shipping me a new one free to DGTE. I am really amazed at this unit. Pretty crappy visability with overcast skies but I got some exceptional video. I think over an hour and didn't max the card out. I bought a 4 Gig card for $50 anyhow just in case. You can check a couple of the videos out on Youtube under my user name "CharlieMoher" . Keep in mind that Youtube tends to badly degenerate videos with their decompression schemes. I'm just thrilled with the results I'm playing back on the computer. It's got a huge viewing screen so there is no squinting to see what you are shooting. Brings me to my next point. Nobody seems to have developed local fish charts for identification so I've decided to make my own. Can anyone tell me where I can get laminates done in town ???

 

Sounds great, had a look at youtube some nice shots.
If you go to town you will find 20+ shops for lamination. I also have my own fishcharts, but almost never use them. Nowerdays nearly everybody has a camera anyway and in the reef-guide-books for this area are way more creatures than the 20 you can fit on a slate. so It is way better to sit together look at the pictures having a cold beer and find them in the books.
Anyway there are some slates to buy who fit this area very good. I posted them in an earlier thread

Cheers

Rhoody

 

Thanks...can you tell me where I might get a reef guide book for the area ? Any recommended titles ? I didn't see anything at the new National Book Store but then again I wasn't looking. I will eventually show up for one of your socials. I'm still trying to get settled in and readapted. As I said in another thread, I'm having a rough time with the smog right now.Thanks.

 

Helmut Debelius - Reef Guide Asia Pacific is one of my favourites.
Reef Fish Identification Tropical Pacific by Gerald Allen is probably that one with the most diversity

Nudibranchs and Sea Snails: Indo-Pacific Field Guide by Helmut Debelius is also a great book or

1001 Nudibranchs: Catalogue of Indo/Pacific Sea Slugs: A Photoguide to the Sea Slugs of the Indo Pacific by Neville Coleman

there are plenty more available, but they have to be ordered. I know the Debelius books were available in a Divishop in Dumaguete

Rhoody

 

I have just viewed some of your entries on youtube Chuck. Very nice indeed!! thanks for sharing mate

 

Thanks for the complement on the video. They are pretty shaky though on account I was using entirely new gear and haven't been in the water for many months. Add to that I am only a novice diver and was having big problems on buoyancy control. That jerking , shaking motion was me avoiding crashing into the coral. There is no more gut-wrenching an experience than kicking a coral to death so my big priority was avoidance and not cinematography.


Rhoody, can you tell me what dive shop has those books ? Thanks in advance.

 

Yes, the Tropical Reef Fish Identification book by Allen, Loach, Steene and Humann is fantastic - has many more photographic specimens that most. I had mine shipped from the internet. It's still good value.

There is another that I've seen around dive resorts to - more like an encyclopaedia than a hand book - but I don't remember it's name.

I find the Debelius books okay if you're new to diving, or visiting a place in the Indian and Pacific outside of the Coral Triangle; but it doesn't have half the fishes you wanna identify when you dive inside the Coral Triangle.

 

Chuck, if you go serious into fish ID you go for:
Coral Reef Fishes: Indo-Pacific and Caribbean by Ewald Lieske and Robert Myers

That is the only book you get not confused by strange colors of UW-pictures as all ID pix are drawings. You also go for scientific names as many common names for the same creature are different in the books. As a "new" diver you go for the Debelius. You get a fantastic overview about the area and I guess you (like 99% of all divers) don't really care if an Angelfish has one stripe more and because of that another name. I know that Atlantis had some of the books mentioned above. I ordered mine with amazon and it took about 3 weeks to deliver to the Philippines.
Also the Diveshop you are diving with should have a good variety of ID books that you can get youself an overview about whats available on the market, or at least what you don't want.

cheers

Rhoody