News
Aquatica announce AD810 housing for the Nikon D810 camera
The Aquatica Team has announced it is working on the Aquatica AD810 housing design for Nikon D810.
The AD810 will incorporate a multitude of refinements, including access to the highly programmable Fn and DOF preview buttons.
The housing features an internal flash up/flash down capability, a quick access ISO lever actuated by your thumb, access holes of different size are incorporated in the design and are ready to accept various accessories such as Aquatica’s own remote trigger, external monitors, newly introduced Surveyor vacuum monitoring system, or other third party accessories.
Aquatica offers a comprehensive selection of easily interchangeable strobe connectors. The 20076-NK comes equipped with two classic 5 pins Nikonos connectors, and the the 20076-KT is supplied with the rugged 5 pins Ikelite connector. Both versions accept the currently available TTL converter. Taking advantage of the fibre optic S-TTL is also possible with the 20076-OPT, which includes the connectivity for either the Sea & Sea or Inon type strobes. Lastly the 20076-HYB offers both a classic 5 pins Nikonos and one optical connector, which gives the housing a choice in strobes selection. As is the case with Aquatica’s current DSLR line up, their bulkheads can be replaced in the field without the need for specialized tools.
The AD810 housing camera tray smoothly and precisely positions the camera in the housing and easily disengages by a simple push on a tab. It’s easy to remove the camera from the back while keeping a lens and zoom gear attached.
The AF-L/AE-L & AF-ON buttons are accessed with a combined lever and rotating collar that prevents ambient pressure from pushing it back towards the housing. The menus buttons are angled to provide better access to your left hand thumb. The AD810 uses the 4xxxx generation lens gears system with a smaller housing pinion gear and a larger lens gear. This offers a smoother action while zooming in a video sequence.
The AD810 housing’s lightness should not be misinterpreted as a weakness. This housing still has the same standard 90m/300ft depth rating and can still be upgraded to a 130m/425ft depth rating. Its knurled knobs and oversized controls mean easy operation no matter what the situation is. Anyone familiar with the Canadian climate knows that being built there also means that all of Aquatica’s housings are born and bred in one of the World’s most rugged diving environments.
The AD810 retains Aquatica’s molded grips, which are lightweight, sturdy, and are made of one piece; therefore, they cannot come unglued, fall apart or corrode. Both grips have mounting holes which accept the mounting bracket of Aquatica’s TLC system and for the other most current strobes and lighting arms out on the market. An extra mounting point for a focus/video light or other accessories is on top and another three additional mounting points are provided under the housing for various brackets, support or tripods.
Aquatica housings are supplied with the manufacturer’s own Galileo type eyepiece. This high quality and coated optical finder gives a bright and full view of the view finder. The optional Aqua View Finder, available in straight 180 and 45 degrees versions, install in a matter of minutes without special tools. The enlarged and enhanced image provided by the Aqua View Finder provides the photographer with tack-sharp corner to corner viewing of the camera view finder for composing and critical focusing.
The Aquatica AD810 will retail at $3,529.00 USD.
For more information and availability, contact your dealer or Aquatica at info@aquatica.ca.
Free Octopus with every purchase of a SCUBAPRO regulator system
Just in time for the spring season, divers can save money with the FREE OCTOPUS SPRING PROMOTION! Until July 31st SCUBAPRO offers an Octopus for free
with every purchase of a regulator system!
Get a free S270 OCTOPUS with purchase of these combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with A700
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with S620Ti
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with D420
MK25 EVO Din mit S620Ti-X
Get a free R105 OCTOPUS with purchase of the following combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with G260
MK25 EVO or MK17 EVO with S600
SCUBAPRO offers a 30-year first owner warranty on all regulators, with a revision period of two years or 100 dives. All SCUBAPRO regulators are of course certified according to the new European test standard EN250-2014.
Available at participating SCUBAPRO dealers. Promotion may not be available in all regions. Find an authorized SCUBAPRO Dealer at scubapro.com.
More information available on www.scubapro.com.
Jake Davies boards Ghazala Explorer for an unforgettable Red Sea diving experience…
Overnight, the wind picked up, making the planned morning dive a bit bumpy on the Zodiacs to the drop point on Thomas Reef. There, we would dive along the reef before descending through the canyon and then passing under the arch before ascending the wall with a gentle drift. The site provided great encounters with more pelagic species, including shoals of large barracuda, tuna, and bigeye trevally.
Once back on the boat, it was time to get everything tied down again as we would head back south. This time, with the wind behind us, heading to Ras Mohammed to dive Jackfish Alley for another great gentle drift wall dive before then heading up the coast towards the Gulf of Suez to moor up at the wreck of the Thistlegorm. This being the highlight wreck dive of the trip and for many onboard, including myself, it was the first time diving this iconic wreck. I had heard so much about the wreck from friends, and globally, this is a must on any diver’s list. Fortunately for us, there was only one other boat at the site, which was a rarity. A great briefing was delivered by Ahmed, who provided a detailed background about the wreck’s history along with all the required safety information as the currents and visibility at the site can be variable.
Kitting up, there was a lot of excitement on deck before entering the water and heading down the shoreline. Descending to the wreck, there was a light northerly current which reduced the visibility, making it feel more like the conditions that can be found off the Welsh coast. At 10m from the bottom, the outline of the wreck appeared as we reached the area of the wreck which had been bombed, as our mooring line was attached to part of the propeller shaft. Arriving on deck, instantly everywhere you looked there were many of the supplies which the ship was carrying, including Bren Carrier tanks and projectiles that instantly stood out.
We headed around the exterior, taking a look at the large propeller and guns mounted on deck before entering the wreck on the port side to take a look in the holds. It was incredible to see all the trucks, Norton 16H, and BSA motorcycles still perfectly stacked within, providing a real snapshot in time.
Overall, we had four dives on the Thistlegorm, where for all of the dives we were the only group in the water, and at times, there were just three of us on the whole wreck, which made it even more special, especially knowing that most days the wreck has hundreds of divers. Along with the history of the wreck, there was plenty of marine life on the wreck and around, from big green turtles to batfish, along with shoals of mackerel being hunted by trevally. Some unforgettable dives.
The final leg of the trip saw us cross back over the Suez Canal to the Gobal Islands where we planned to stay the night and do three dives at the Dolphin House for the potential of sharing the dive with dolphins. The site, which included a channel that was teeming with reef fish, especially large numbers of goatfish that swam in large shoals along the edge of the reef. These were nice relaxing dives to end the week. Unfortunately, the dolphins didn’t show up, which was okay as like all marine life they are difficult to predict and you can’t guarantee what’s going to be seen. With the last dive complete, we headed back to port for the final night where it was time to clean all the kit and pack before the departure flight the next day.
The whole week from start to finish on Ghazala Explorer was amazing; the boat had all the facilities you need for a comfortable week aboard. The crew were always there to help throughout the day and the chefs providing top quality food which was required after every dive. The itinerary providing some of the best diving with a nice mixture of wreck and reef dives. I would recommend the trip to anyone, whether it’s your first Red Sea liveaboard in the Red Sea or you’re revisiting. Hopefully, it’s not too long before I head back to explore more of the Red Sea onboard Ghazala Explorer.
To find out more about the Northern Red Sea reef and wrecks itineraries aboard Ghazala Explorer, or to book, contact Scuba Travel now:
Email: dive@scubatravel.com
Tel: +44 (0)1483 411590
Photos: Jake Davies / Avalon.Red
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