jcclink (Jim)

Forum username: jcclink (later jcclink28)
Real name: Jim
Posts: 721
Active years: 2004—2015
Primary forums: Photography Gear and Technique, Trip Reports and Travel, Video Gear and Technique
Specialization: Nikon DSLR systems, Indonesia dive travel, housing engineering

Community Role

jcclink (Jim) was a consistent and practical contributor to Wetpixel over an 11-year span, with 721 posts focused on gear selection, housing reliability, and dive travel — particularly in Indonesia and Southeast Asia. He brought an engineering mindset to discussions, asking probing questions about housing safety factors and construction quality that enriched the community’s technical knowledge.

Jim was a dedicated Nikon shooter who began with the Nikon D70 in a Nexus aluminum housing and later used the Nikon D300. In his later years on the forum (2014—2015), he explored switching to Canon with the Canon 7D Mark II. He strongly preferred aluminum housings over polycarbonate, citing reliability on extended trips to remote Southeast Asian destinations as his primary concern.

His travel interests were heavily focused on Indonesia, where he explored an impressive range of destinations including Komodo, Raja Ampat, Wakatobi, Bali, Derawan, Lembeh, Halmahera, and the Togian Islands. By 2009, he was asking the community for suggestions on “new areas to dive in Indonesia” because he had already visited so many (^[1]).

Notable Contributions

• GoPro HD housing discussion (January 2011): Started a thread about using a GoPro HD mounted on a DSLR housing, raising practical concerns about condensation in the small housings. The 27-reply thread became an early discussion of GoPro underwater use and flat-lens correction options (^[2]).

• D70 housing comparison (October 2004): His first thread on Wetpixel sought opinions on the best aluminum housing for the Nikon D70, sparking discussion that included recommendations for Nexus, Aquatica, and other manufacturers (^[3]).

• Housing design safety factors (August 2010): Asked the community about static design safety factors for DSLR housings, drawing responses from manufacturers including Aquatica’s vizart who revealed their housings had approximately 2x safety factors with 300ft/90m standard ratings and 425ft/130m upgrade options for technical divers (^[4]).

• Indonesia travel expertise: Over a decade of Indonesian dive travel, Jim contributed extensive trip reports and resort comparisons. His threads about KBR vs. Lembeh Resort, Scuba Seraya, airline choices for Indonesian travel, Jakarta customs procedures, and explorations of new dive areas provided practical guidance for other traveling underwater photographers (^[5], ^[6], ^[7]).

• Nexus port development: Discussed custom port options for the Tokina 10-17mm fisheye with Nexus housings, contributing to the community’s knowledge of specialized port solutions (^[8]).

• Forum feedback: Actively provided feedback on Wetpixel’s platform, including reporting usability issues like display mode changes that affected post readability (^[9]).

Equipment

• Nikon D70 in Nexus aluminum housing
• Nikon D300 with various Nikon lenses
• Canon 7D Mark II (explored in 2014—2015)
• GoPro HD
• Nikon 105mm VR macro, 16-35mm wide angle
• Strong preference for aluminum housings (Nexus, Aquatica)

Dive Travel

Jim was one of the community’s most well-traveled Indonesian divers:

• Komodo, Raja Ampat, Wakatobi, Bali, Derawan, Lembeh, Halmahera, Togian Islands
• Scuba Seraya (Bali muck diving)
• Port Hardy (British Columbia) for cold-water diving
• Various Caribbean and Pacific destinations
• Extensive liveaboard experience

Activity Profile

• Peak years: 2007—2011
• Threads started: 79
• First post: 2004-10-10
• Last post: 2015-01-13
• Forum focus: Photography Gear and Technique (~40%), Trip Reports and Travel (~25%), Video Gear (~10%), General Chat, Feedback
• Comments on articles: 1