Now that I could dive as often as I want to, it was time to upgrade my camera system. My old Olympus EPL-1 served me well, but I had taken it about as far as I could. I was frustrated by the slow auto-focus, and it was getting harder & harder for me to see the critters through the LCD viewfinder. With only 1 strobe, I was lighting fish butts half the time, and there really was no good wide angle option. I didn’t have the budget for a full-fledged SLR system, so my trusted mentor Cathy Church, suggested that I go with the Olympus OMD EM5 Mark II camera in a Nauticam housing.

I was lucky to find a dealer here in Bali that had most of the items already in stock and could order those extras I needed. He even made the 5 hour drive up to Pemuteran from his shop in Jimbaran to deliver and set up everything personally. So, if you’re here in Bali and want an underwater camera, strobe or other accessories, contact Andy Chan at Ocean Pixel.

So, here’s the rundown on my new system: Olympus OMD-E5 Mark II camera with 12-50mm and 60mm macro lenses, Nauticam housing (including 180 viewfinder and vacuum pump leak prevention system), 2 Inon Z240 strobes, Nauticam buoyancy arms, Nauticam WWL1 wide angle lens, Subsea +10 diopter with flip holder, and Green Star GS16 aiming light. How much was all of this? Well, let’s just say I could have purchased a nice used car with the money I spent.

But, who needs to drive when you can dive?!