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S.U.P.E.R. Part 18: Cinebags CB70 Square Grouper
In our ongoing series S.U.P.E.R. (Scubaverse’s Underwater Photography Equipment Reviews), Scubaverse.com’s underwater photography editors Nick and Caroline Robertson Brown review new underwater photography equipment, general diving equipment, and some older favourites too.
For the eighteenth instalment of S.U.P.E.R., Nick and Caroline take a look at the CB70 Square Grouper from Cinebags.
We discovered Cinebags at DEMA 2016 and were instantly impressed with what we saw. They encouraged us to take one home with us to try out for ourselves, and with two trips – to Fiji and Sharm – coming up, along with several testing days in a U.K. quarry, this would be perfect timing to put this rugged bag through its paces.
The Cinebags CB70 is a large bag that has been designed to carry your full underwater camera setup, including lighting, as well as all the spares and bits and bobs you might want to take on a day of diving with your camera. We put Nick’s D800 in a Nauticam housing, with its glass dome port, arms, 2 INON Z-240 strobes and a couple of video lights in the main compartment of the bag, and it fitted with no problem at all! The bag is made out of heavy duty pvc tarpaulin material and is well padded. It really gives you peace of mind when you pop it on a boat, and you know it is in its own protective bag. No-one can brush their camera against yours on the camera table and you do not have to worry about accidentally knocking it as you walk to the dive boat. It makes carrying your underwater photography gear to the boat or shore much easier, using the tough yet comfortable handles or shoulder strap.
One of the features that we loved about this bag is all the extra little pockets, both on the inside of the lid, and on the outside of the bag. We put camera care equipment, like spares, grease, lens clothes on the inside pockets, and then our sun cream, sunglasses (or woolly hats and hand warmers) and other bits and bobs in the mesh pockets on the exterior. There are even cargo loops on the top of the lid to help keep all your gear in one place. The bag collapses down neatly, and the shoulder strap can be removed, so that it is easy to pack when you are heading home.
Another fantastic feature of this bag is that it is watertight. This means that whenever you have the CB70 with you, you also have your own personal camera rinse tank. Rather than adding your camera to the mass of others in the general rinse tank, risking damage to it and any lighting, you can simply grab a hose and ensure that your camera is kept safe in a padded rinse tank of its own. Even better, at diving locations where a rinse tank is difficult to access, you can put this under a shower or add water from any source when you return from your dive.
We have found the bag to be extremely useful on both overseas trips and whilst diving here at home. Not only does it keep your precious equipment safe whilst travelling to and from the dive site, walking, on a boat or in the car, when you are about to go diving, it is a great way to keep all your accessories in one place as you are about to get into the water too. Our lens hoods, towel, dive lights and anything we might not be taking on a particular dive gets tucked away in this versatile bag.
Cinebags also make a matching range of port pouches to keep all your glass safe whilst you travel too. The only sadness that I have about the Cinebags CB70 Square Grouper, is that we do not have two – so we are still arguing on who gets to use it each morning!
For more information visit www.cinebagsunderwater.com
For more from Nick and Caroline, visit www.frogfishphotography.com.
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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