Visiting Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz Island

First dive trip for 2012! I almost did not go but Gabe at Ocean Safari convinced me and I am glad he did. Since the Channel Island sits further up north, the water has a tendency to be colder. During this trip the water sat at an average of 51 degrees. Unfortunately the weather was not very cooperative as well. For most of the day it was grey and windy making the surface currents very strong. But when we were on our way home, it suddenly became sunny. This was my second trip on the Peace and it was enjoyable: good sleeping arrangments, good eats, helpful crew, and best of all... a hot tub!

Testing the flat lens at Shaws Cove

This is my first dive with my modded GoPro with the Mako flat lens. The quality was significantly better than before. The images and video quality came out so much better! This was the best $30 some dollars I've spent! So much less editing needed now. It is true that GoPro will release their own version of the flat lens around April and the price will be around $50 for a modified front housing.

Modifying My GoPro, Adding a Flat Lens

Now having own and used the GoPro as my primary dive camera for a month, here are some of the benefits and disadvantages I’ve noticed.

Pros: - It is less bulky compared to other cameras. Great for keeping your dive profile streamline.
- Compact and lightweight makes it easy for travel.
- The fish eye lens creates an incredible field of vision.

Cons:
- There is always some kind of vignetting. You can reduce it by playing with the resolution (a lot of site recommend 1080 or 720).
- The fish eye lens creates a slight distortion.
- Not as easy to switch between video and picture as a traditional camera.