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Join Date: Apr 2001
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Under the sea
Of the many random collections of photos that we have threads on, none of them see to be for underwater images. And since I spent all day yesterday diving I wanted to share a few of the ones I got and start a thread for future sharing.
Here are a couple of the better ones I got:
A few more (not as good ) from yesterday can be found here.
Thanks for sharing, terrific pics! Where were they taken? What kind of camera setup were you using?
I would really like to get some kind of underwater camera, don't need anything to go too deep, don't want to spend mega-bucks. I hesitate to get a waterproof body for one of my Canon P+S cameras because if the camera fails the body is useless. I was looking at the Olympus 770, but I don't think I want to go with a proprietary XD card.
Moderator: Travel Technology, Travel Photography and JetBlue
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I meant to post the technical specs in the initial post and forgot. The diving yesterday was off of Oahu, on the southeast side of the island. These pix were taken using my SD870IS in the Canon housing. I use an Ikelite DS50 strobe and the associated wireless TTL trigger for it (no strobe in the silhouette shot). In reality the strobe part costs more than the camera and housing in my current kit. I struggled getting the strobe to fire sufficiently to really light up the scene in many of the shots. I'm not sure if it is because the strobe is just underpowered, the wireless TTL link to the camera wasn't working well or that I just didn't have it set up right. But it was my first day out diving with the kit as configured, so not too bad, I don't think.
I used to use an Olympus C-5050z and the Ikelite housing for it, but I decided to slim down my kit by one device and I can carry the SD870IS in my pocket when I'm not diving with it, something that the C5050z doesn't do so well. I'll likely be listing it on eBay soon. And I used to use a Nikonos III prior to that, but that is a film camera, an anathema these days. That being said, it is built like a tank and incredibly reliable. Plus, it takes phenomenal pix. The shots in this gallery are about half and half from the Nikonos and the Oly. You can look at the EXIF data on them (click on photo info while hovering over the image) and when real data starts showing up that's when I was using the Oly.
I considered getting a housing for my SLR, but those are way more expensive and there isn't one made for the Pentax line, which is what I have. So I'd have to swap out to a Nikon, Sony or Canon SLR and then get lenses and then get a housing. And probably some more strobe power, too. That's way more than I can afford.
As for worrying about the long-term utility of the housing for the P&S camera, I think that there is a pretty decent second-hand market for them on eBay as long as it has never flooded and the seals are still functional.
These three photos were all taken on the same dive, where our max depth was 90 feet. For that sort of depth you really need a housing for the camera. You can get to 30 or 40 feet with some unhoused, I think, but that isn't really enough if you're going scuba diving.
Thanks for the great info! I'm looking forward to viewing your Turkey pics too.
Thought the honu looked familiar. I was on the Big Island twice this year, going back next month. I've just been snorkeling, but I've dived in the past. I don't want film, don't want to invest a bundle. I like the Canon P+S's and it sounds like it might be worth it to go ahead and get a housing. I'm less concerned at this point with a strobe/lighting setup - in the near future, I'd just be using the camera for snorkeling/skin diving, at least until I get a feel for what kind of photos I can get in shallow water, but I definitely want a housing.
Never had an SLR, don't see it in the future. I am still learning how to get the most out of my P+S's, particularly the A710 (a bit of manual control, if I can ever figure out how to use it properly).
Moderator: Travel Technology, Travel Photography and JetBlue
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chollie
I don't want film, don't want to invest a bundle. I like the Canon P+S's and it sounds like it might be worth it to go ahead and get a housing. I'm less concerned at this point with a strobe/lighting setup - in the near future, I'd just be using the camera for snorkeling/skin diving, at least until I get a feel for what kind of photos I can get in shallow water, but I definitely want a housing.
Assuming you're going to use the A710 IS underwater, the housing that you want to look at is this one. It has buttons for full access to all the camera controls and should meet your needs. You can use the on-camera flash and it will be OK, assuming that you are very close to what you are taking a picture of (<4 feet at most) and that the water is pretty clear. If there is a lot of particulate in the water you'll get backscatter in the image, which is basically the reflection of the flash off the particulate. But for $180, the housing I linked to is a good option to get started with and should cover you on most recreational diving if you choose to do that at some point, too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kingalien
Superb, really liked the wolf fish shot .
Thanks! It was better when the fish was hiding on a rock/coral of similar color and pattern (I'm actually a bit surprised I spotted it), but it spooked and moved into that location where I got the shot.
I took all these with a Canon SD750 with a WP-DC14 underwater case. That case is of the best photo investments I ever made. I've been really happy with the quality of the pictures, ease of camera use and durability of it.
I wasn't sure when my next underwater trip was going to be for a while. But my family just scheduled a return to the British Virgin Islands a month from now. So I'll get to play with my underwater shots a bunch more
) from yesterday can be found 
.
Neat story!
