* * UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY * *

[treefrog]

Can anyone could recommend either an inexpensive underwater camera or suggest tips/ways I could use my existing camera in some kind of bag/container to take pics in shallow water (in the sea). In fact any general tips on underwater photography would be appreciated.

 

[cowasaki]

Under water photography is a subject that whole books have been written about. You have all the normal photography problems with several other problems added by where you are and this is hindered further by the light/medium you are in.

There are a number of things that need to be discussed first thought.

Do you just want under water snaps?

Do you have an existing camera? if so what?

What is your budget?

What is your level of photography experience?

What depth do you wish to photograph to?

What are you looking to photograph?

What is you level of diving experience?

 

[cowasaki]

You can photograph down to 5-6 metres without extra light in clear water and at this depth you need nothing more than a plastic enclosure which can be bought for under £60.

After that it gets expensive

 

[incapete]

It really depends on how deep you want to take it - just in the shallows and you've got all sorts of options along the lines of the bags you've suggested, much deeper and you'll need a proper housing.

 

[RVF]

As others have said, it depends on what level you're looking at.
I've done a bit of underwater video (had stuff bought by local & national tv company's as well as for DVD's etc) & that wasn't exactly cheap

Compact packages can be bought from as little as £199, will give reasonable results & can be taken down to 60m. Which is enough for what most divers do.

However if you want to use a DSLR then be prepared to spend, spend, spend & spend again. The housings are more than the camera that goes inside it & then you'll need a dome port if you want to use a wideangle lens (pretty much a must in the UK unless you're doing macro/close up). Then you've got strobe units that you'll need to add any colour from anything deeper than 5 - 6m.


oh yes, & get a very understanding/patient buddy

 

[boyfalldown]

OK - there are lots of things to think about with this one. The first thing you need to understand is how light works differently underwater. Basically imagine sticking a blue filter on your lens that take about 1/3 stop red light away from you for every two meters depth you gain, or every two meters horizontal distance travelled. As already mentioned in this thread then you don't need extra lighting down to 5-6 meters, but up to those sort of depths its likely you'll get shadows from water movement on the surface which may present worse shadow issues then you'd have on a sunny day on the surface. You also need to be able to take photos in a format that allows you to easily change White Balance afterwards (RAW) unless you want to spend the whole dive setting it manually.

You have a couple of options for housings - either a bag rated to 40m or so but most people rekon they;re no good after 10 or a hard housing for a compact or DSLR. You aslo need some form of lighting, and you must get this of camera, because otherwise all that suspended matter even in the clearest of water will reflect your flash back in a most horrible way. Most people trigger their flashes as optical slaves and use fibre optic cables to ensure a reliable trigger underwater.

You can spend as much money as you want on a DSLR housing, and they take alot of maintenence and take over your dive. Its worth considering if this is an issue or not. A further consideration here is what is generally thoguht of as a great lens on the surface may be no good underwater or you may not be able to get a housing to fit. not, alternativley Fufi and Cannon both make great housings for their compacts. None are cheap though and a cheap housing or a poorly looked after one will mean a flooded camera.

If you are in the London area, its worth having a talk with Paul at Cameras Underwater by Charing Cross as he really knows his stuff with this and avoids the hard sell


Cheers

Hugh

 

[cowasaki]

oh yes, & get a very understanding/patient buddy

This is why I gave it up! Everyone will want to dive with you ONCE and never again. It spoils the entire dive which becomes more about the 1 or 2 pictures than actually enjoying diving. I had a nikonos camera which was great but beyond 5-6 metres you need to spend the same amount again for a strobe. It is a lot to carry to the boat/cliff/quarry along with the general christmas tree of other stuff you end up with!

Seriously my advice would be have a search and buy one of the sub £100 10 metre guaranteed housings for a cheap digital camera with its built in flash and use it upto 6-8 metres at most. If you are diving deeper leave it on the boat. You will end up with loads of pictures to have a laugh with at the dive club. You are not going to get illustrated book levels of images without spending £5-10K and is it worth that to you?

 

[boyfalldown]

. It spoils the entire dive which becomes more about the 1 or 2 pictures than actually enjoying diving.

yep - I watched somebody forget about everything except the photos till they realised they couldn't breath anymore, that was a very fast swim for the surface......they forgot they had a buddy aswell

Hugh

 

[pauld]

Sorry but I am a keen u/w photographer (see recent thread Fish in animals thread ) and it is a great part of photography... Canon have now introduced a 'waterproof camera' but I would look at a compact with housing - it will fit in a pocket, will do video and generally will take some good shots. I would avoid the bags.

Cameras Underwater at Embankment tube as already said are the people to see...

 

[Cobra]

Some sound advice above
just to give you an idea what results you can get without
spending a fortune ( less than 200 quid all in and the A570 is has an underwater
setting too quite useful)

All taken with canon powershot A570 is
and the WP-DC12 housing
between 2 & 17 meters.

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/fo...=93250&highlight=this+looks+a+bit+fishy+to+me

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/fo...=95334&highlight=this+looks+a+bit+fishy+to+me

 

[Wail]

.....

Cameras Underwater at Embankment tube as already said are the people to see...

However, coming out of their store I decided that the best way, for me, forward would be to invest in one of the hard cases and strobes .. budget for that would be close to £4,000 .. not exactly in my grabs these days.

Hence, idea to shoot underwater is now on hold :shrug:

 

[ChrisMClark]

I have enough trouble watching my depth, air pressure and what my fins are doing, let alone a bloody camera!

And that's before I even think about diving on Nitrox and all the maths involved with that!

 

[incapete]

And that's before I even think about diving on Nitrox and all the maths involved with that!

What maths?! There's all of about 2 formula to think about and they're both done before you even get your cylinders filled so there's nothing about Nitrox that should give you anything else to think about... in fact it'll just mean that you can spend longer down there enjoying yourself so get the course done asap!
Seriously, nitrox is a no-brainer these days... even the BSAC lot are using it so it must be easy!

 

[cowasaki]

I have enough trouble watching my depth, air pressure and what my fins are doing, let alone a bloody camera!

And that's before I even think about diving on Nitrox and all the maths involved with that!

It gets a lot easier after the first few hundred dives !

I got to BSAC advanced / CMAS 3 star and spent most weekends out with novices/sports divers. I found it very enjoyable but it is like photography, its not cheap. That was about 13 years ago now and nitrox was just coming in as a recreational gas mix. If you have a good understanding of maths it is quite easy but most people just rely on computers (and did back then). So long as you haven't gone into a requirement for deco stops you just need to come up slower than the tiny bubbles ! I had a watch which had a depth gauge on it as a pretty good backup to the computer which never failed on me. Citizen aqualand I think it was called, massive hunk of a thing!

 

[cowasaki]

even the BSAC lot are using it so it must be easy!

We all love the Canon/Nikon & Mac/PC arguments ! Well you have just reminded me of the old PADI v BSAC/CMAS/SSAC ones It was funny because all us BSAC folk had an elitist attitude towards those silly PADI lot with their lack of emergency training early on and calling someone who barely knew one end of an cylinder from the other an advanced diver !!

I was seriously into it at the time and wanted to do mixed gas diving and some real deep stuff but lack of cash and willing victims to come along put pay to that ! I still have memories of diving on a U boat off portsmouth in 55 metres and seeing 4 minutes on the computer when I landed. I spent 8 minutes on the bottom and had a 22 minute long rise to the surface...... Oh how I wanted nitrox then.

 

[Julie1979]

I've also used Cameras Underwater and they do give great advice. They are also doing the Dive Show at Birmingham NEC again this year so hopefully they'll be doing lectures again. It's definitely worth going along to their lectures and visiting them at the stand (assuming you aren't in London and near their store).

My husband and I are using the Canon G10 and Sealife DC1000. My husband uses the G10 and it gives great results. I bought the DC1000 as a last minute purchase before we went to Tenerife in June and I really wasn't too impressed with it. I normally do manual white balance using the palm of my hand with no problems but this really didn't work with the DC1000 so next time we go on holiday i'll be taking a white slate down. The G10 is a good point and shoot on the surface too but I think it's around £800 with the housing which may be over budget.

I'd love to try the D700 and housing but too expensive for me at the moment unfortunately.

 

[boyfalldown]

I'd love to try the D700 and housing but too expensive for me at the moment unfortunately.

another issue is I struggle to get kit insurance for underwater use, so I'd struggle to justify the D700 underwater, aside from the costs of the housing.

Hugh

 

[Julie1979]

another issue is I struggle to get kit insurance for underwater use, so I'd struggle to justify the D700 underwater, aside from the costs of the housing.

Hugh

I would also have that issue if I could get the cash together for a D700 and housing (roughly £4K i'd imagine) but we can all dream....

 

[Wail]

I had thought of using a D300 for underwater, thinking its' a lot more logical given the higher cost of the D700 (in case of a flooded case); but when I saw the price of the cases, strobes, cables, brackets, etc. The difference in body cost (D300 vs. D700 ≈ £500) I realised it's not that much of a difference overall.

Still, though, the whole cost of a half-decent underwater kit is way out of my price range; and I don't fancy spending close to £1,000 on a bridge camera to take underwater.

 

[boyfalldown]

I had thought of using a D300 for underwater, thinking its' a lot more logical given the higher cost of the D700 (in case of a flooded case); but when I saw the price of the cases, strobes, cables, brackets, etc. The difference in body cost (D300 vs. D700 ≈ £500) I realised it's not that much of a difference overall.

Still, though, the whole cost of a half-decent underwater kit is way out of my price range; and I don't fancy spending close to £1,000 on a bridge camera to take underwater.

No, but if you look at all the competion winning underwater stuff its on d40s or 350ds - hardly high end, but still a grand in a housing. You can't actually get ports for the really high end nikon lenses anyway, and it doesn't make the world of difference underwater.

One of those in a housing strikes me as a better option, althoguh I like my fuji P & S cause I'd rather enjoy the dive

Hugh

 

[Wail]

Oh, I wholeheartedly agree with you .. it's never about the camera body exclusively .. but I wanted to get either the D300 or D700 underwater .. and I've found that the price difference would be very small overall .. while a very steep price at that.

So, for me ... now ... I've put this on hold while I do a bit of cross-country trekking across Saudi, and save-up the ££££. Once that's done, I'll get back into this.

 

[cowasaki]

I think the D700 would be the one to get under water with its high ISO. Would love to try that.

 

[boyfalldown]

I think the D700 would be the one to get under water with its high ISO. Would love to try that.

maybe, but I'm not so sure it'd be worthwhile. I think with everything else you have to deal with, particularly the lack of the red end of the spectrum, plus backscatter, visability, refraction and all the other things that affect light underwater you'd still end up with two b***** big strobes on your housing.



Hugh

 

[Cobra]

We all love the Canon/Nikon & Mac/PC arguments ! Well you have just reminded me of the old PADI v BSAC/CMAS/SSAC ones It was funny because all us BSAC folk had an elitist attitude towards those silly PADI lot .

I remember it well
I did the BSAC "sport diver" thingy what ever it was called back in the early '80's
IIRC about the mid '80's that was about the time the "PADI" thing was taking off?

I never felt the need to go "mixed gas" or below
30meters TBH

As an aside the OP seems to have buggered off 1 post in 4 days :shrug:

 

[cowasaki]

I remember it well
I did the BSAC "sport diver" thingy what ever it was called back in the early '80's
IIRC about the mid '80's that was about the time the "PADI" thing was taking off?

I never felt the need to go "mixed gas" or below
30meters TBH

As an aside the OP seems to have buggered off 1 post in 4 days :shrug:

I used to lecture for it It was 20m the novice diver, I think 35m for sports diver and then 50m for dive leader or above. I might be wrong it was a while ago. They were not happy when we came back to the boat posting 55-60metres though

 

[Cobra]

I used to lecture for it It was 20m the novice diver, I think 35m for sports diver and then 50m for dive leader or above. I might be wrong it was a while ago. They were not happy when we came back to the boat posting 55-60metres though

I seem to remember you are correct in the depths ( but its been awhile for me too)

you weren't the only one
the club I belonged to were rather into scavenging
and quite often "noddy dives" were a little deeper than "intended"
because the dive leader had spotted "something"
and "forgot" about the "depth" ........a tad naughty that I thought
especially with total noddy's in tow

 

[cowasaki]

I seem to remember you are correct in the depths ( but its been awhile for me too)

you weren't the only one
the club I belonged to were rather into scavenging
and quite often "noddy dives" were a little deeper than "intended"
because the dive leader had spotted "something"
and "forgot" about the "depth" ........a tad naughty that I thought
especially with total noddy's in tow

When I was teaching or dive leading with a relative novice then I did not go above their maximum at all. Deep dives were only performed amongst the experienced dive leaders/advanced divers/1st class diver. I was a responsible adult :rules:

 

[pauld]

another issue is I struggle to get kit insurance for underwater use, so I'd struggle to justify the D700 underwater, aside from the costs of the housing.

Westfield or DAN will insure your gear plus scuba kit - I pay around £300 pa for the pleasure...have flooded two housings

I still have memories of diving on a U boat off portsmouth in 55 metres and seeing 4 minutes on the computer when I landed. I spent 8 minutes on the bottom and had a 22 minute long rise to the surface...... Oh how I wanted nitrox then.

55m would have been an interesting Nitrox mix!!!

Point is with SLR u/w photography that the housing and ports will always be cost more than the camera/lens...I use Canon 400D & 10-22 or 100mm macro - less than £800 ...housing at cheap end but still twice the cost

Here's a couple taken with latter in a Sea And Sea housing..

Nudi

Shrimp - at night

 

[Cobra]

I was a responsible adult :rules:

Ah so you're the one
( I just knew that there had to be one somewhere )

 

[Cobra]

Nice shots love the nudibranch

 

[ChrisMClark]

What maths?! There's all of about 2 formula to think about and they're both done before you even get your cylinders filled so there's nothing about Nitrox that should give you anything else to think about... in fact it'll just mean that you can spend longer down there enjoying yourself so get the course done asap!
Seriously, nitrox is a no-brainer these days... even the BSAC lot are using it so it must be easy!

I qualified on Nitrox over Xmas 2005...that was also the last time I dived sadly But the week after I did that (along with the wreck spec and deep spec) were great. And diving from Pattaya in Thailand just made the whole thing awesome

 

[cowasaki]

Nice shots love the nudibranch

I love that name

 

[Cobra]

I love that name

Sounds better than sea slug or even shell-less gastropod I guess

 

[pauld]

Pity slugs in the garden are not this colourful...

 

[incapete]

When I was teaching or dive leading with a relative novice then I did not go above their maximum at all. Deep dives were only performed amongst the experienced dive leaders/advanced divers/1st class diver. I was a responsible adult :rules:

My club parted ways with our local pool and with it we stopped training novices, now we're a club of experienced divers (all twinset or rebreathers) and charter a hardboat on the south coast at least twice a month. This weekend it's the HMS Swordfish (submarine in about 40m) and at the end of the month it's the Moldavia (P&O liner in 54m)...

Let me know if you ever fancy a dive!

 

[ChrisMClark]

Lucky sod you are Pete, I love wrecking. Dived the Zenobia off Larnaca (Cyprus) in '05, it was awesome. Didn't penetrate it but it's one hell of a wreck.

 

[pauld]

Maybe it's time for a guess the wreck or 'creature'

 

[incapete]

Lucky sod you are Pete, I love wrecking. Dived the Zenobia off Larnaca (Cyprus) in '05, it was awesome. Didn't penetrate it but it's one hell of a wreck.

Haven't done the Zenobia yet but it's on the list for the future - don't fancy the penetration but I know a fair number who love that sort of thing.

Plenty of nice wrecks off Dorset coast though - do you still dive?

 

[pauld]

Wrecks ands reefs Red Sea is a good crack for a variation .. with generally great viz.. Thistlegorm at night is great fun...

 

[cowasaki]

My club parted ways with our local pool and with it we stopped training novices, now we're a club of experienced divers (all twinset or rebreathers) and charter a hardboat on the south coast at least twice a month. This weekend it's the HMS Swordfish (submarine in about 40m) and at the end of the month it's the Moldavia (P&O liner in 54m)...

Let me know if you ever fancy a dive!

I would love to. But I haven't dived for 13 years! All I have left is my mask (because it is prescription) and my fins. I think a few 20 metre dives would be needed first!