rstark (Robert Stark)

Forum username: rstark
Posts: 398
Active years: 2002–2014
Primary forums: Photography Gear and Technique, Lights / Strobes / Lighting Technique, Shooting Technique / Workflow / Editing
Specialization: Strobe systems, Aquatica housings, compact camera systems, gear troubleshooting

Community Role

Robert Stark (rstark) was a founding-era Wetpixel community member whose first post dates to 2002, placing him among the earliest participants in the forum. Known by his first name “Robert” (and sometimes “Bob” by fellow members), he contributed 398 posts over a 12-year span through late 2014. His posts concentrated heavily in gear and technique discussions, with 143 posts in Photography Gear and Technique, 95 in Lights/Strobes/Lighting, and 44 in Shooting Technique/Workflow/Editing.

Rstark was one of the community’s most persistent strobe troubleshooters, documenting technical problems in detail and following up with repair outcomes. He was also a practical DIY-oriented member who shared homemade solutions for gear management, such as his UWL-100 lens caddy design.

Notable Contributions

Strobe Troubleshooting

Rstark’s most significant thread was “Problem w/ S&S YS90DX” (56 replies), one of the most detailed strobe troubleshooting discussions in the early forum. Starting in January 2003, he documented a systematic investigation of a TTL slave exposure problem with his dual Sea & Sea YS-90DX strobes on an Aquatica A5000 housing with a Nikon Coolpix 5000. The slave strobe would dump full power on close-up subjects despite the primary strobe achieving correct TTL exposure.

The thread drew a notable response from Ikelite’s official account, explaining that similar sync circuit compatibility issues affected their own SubStrobe line with newer Nikon cameras. When rstark tried switching to a dual sync cord, he encountered further problems with strobes failing to fire after the first shot. The thread became a valuable reference on the technical complexities of multi-strobe TTL systems in that era. Rstark discussed the strengths and weaknesses of the YS-90DX’s 12-position manual power dial, noting the knobs were nearly impossible to operate with cold water gloves (^[1]).

Aquatica System Expertise

Rstark was an early Aquatica system user and started multiple threads about Aquatica compact housings:

• “Aquatica A995 Tips” (28 replies) — Created a community tips thread for the Aquatica housing for the Nikon Coolpix 995. He shared a macro zoom technique using the camera’s startup zoom setting to achieve optimal working distance, comparing it to switching between 60mm and 105mm film-era macro lenses. He also ran dual Sea & Sea YS-90DX strobes on ULCS arms (^[2])
• “Aquatica A5000 Tips” (8 replies) — Started a similar tips thread for the Nikon Coolpix 5000 housing (^[3])
• “Aquatica CP5000 Extended Battery” (14 replies) — Discussed battery solutions for the Aquatica compact housing
• “Anyone shooting Aquatica 5000 19mm Dome” (13 replies) — Asked about wide-angle dome port quality for the CP5000 system (^[4])

Practical Gear Solutions

Rstark contributed practical DIY solutions to the community:

• “UWL-100 Lens Caddy” (11 replies) — Shared his homemade solution for storing the large Sea & Sea UWL-100 wide-angle lens underwater, using modified filter ring adapters and a ULCS tray mount (^[5])
• “Flood Insurance” (15 replies) — Started an informative discussion about DAN equipment insurance for underwater camera gear, sharing details about coverage policies and cost breakpoints. The thread prompted useful community discussion about homeowner’s insurance limitations for flood damage vs. theft (^[6])

Compact Camera Later Years

In his later active years, rstark explored compact camera systems, starting the “G10 New Fantasea WA Dome” thread (16 replies) about wide-angle solutions for the Canon G10. The thread drew responses from Ryan at Backscatter about various dome and wet lens options including the Fisheye Fix, Dyron, and their own in-development wetmate wide-angle lens (^[7]).

Community Engagement

Rstark also shared diving stories, including “Not mine, but what a story!” (43 replies), a thread about a diver’s account of repeated decompression sickness incidents that generated extensive community discussion about dive safety and risk management (^[8]).

Equipment History

• Early system (2002): Nikon Coolpix 995 in Aquatica A995 housing, Sea & Sea UWL-100 wide-angle lens
• Primary system (2002–2005): Nikon Coolpix 5000 in Aquatica A5000 housing with 19mm dome port, dual Sea & Sea YS-90DX strobes on ULCS arms
• Later system (2009+): Canon G10, explored Fantasea and other housings with wet wide-angle solutions
• Classifieds (2014): Sold a 10Bar LX3 housing package, suggesting he had moved to Panasonic compacts

Activity Profile

• Peak years: 2002–2005 (founding era)
• Forum focus: Photography Gear and Technique (36%), Lights/Strobes (24%), Technique/Workflow (11%), Classifieds (11%), General Chat (7%), Feedback (7%)
• Style: Detailed technical troubleshooter, DIY problem-solver, practical advice contributor