The Less Money Bite Back

Staff · Issue 4, Jan 2002 · pp. 51–56

Products mentioned: Nemrod Siluro, Scubisnap, Agfamatic 4000, Guppy housing, Praktica BCX, EWA Marine housing, Nikon F90 housing, Subal housing, Nikon autofocus zoom lens

In the Cape of Storms, South Africa, most dive operators choose Yamaha outboards. On a day when the seas were hinting that they might live up to the name, our boat was asked to escort another vessel back to port. Unusually it didn’t sport Yamahas - and it had engine trouble. Michael, our Cox, nodded towards the boat. “Less money motors”, he stated dismissively. “You pay less money for them and then you have less money forever more while you try to keep them up and running”. Would be underwater photographers often fall into the same trap. I did myself. As a kid I went through a succession of underwater cameras. I started with a Nemrod Siluro. The flashgun never worked underwater and while I could afford film, my pocket money would never stretch to processing. Next I had a Kodak pocket camera in a Scubisnap housing. It was secondhand and when my father wound it on the film advance lever fe…