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03/16/2009 09:04:40 AM · #1 |
Hey guys,
who does underwater(UW) photography here? Is it very different from normal photography? I'm guessing lighting is an issue. Can anyone give a brief summary of how UW photography differs from normal photography? Wide angle lenses are probably much more usefull than long one's... Any wisdom to share?
Chris |
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03/16/2009 09:10:52 AM · #2 |
I've done a little with a point n shoot so just have a couple of tips:
Underwater camera housings are EXPENSIVE and the bigger your camera the more you have to pay :(
Turn any image stabilisation off as swimming underwater kind of does it for you, and you may end up with odd results (in my experience; others may disagree)
Yes, WIDE angle is required cos the water magnifies everything further so even a standard-angle lens will become more of a telephoto.
An orange filter is a godsend cos otherwise everything will end up blue below around 5 metres, not even rescuable in Photoshop. However if you're not going that deep (eg. snorkelling) take the filter off or everything will be a bit too orange...
Ultra-clear water is your friend - unfortunately that often also means it's cold...but have a go in somewhere like the Red Sea and you can't go far wrong!
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03/16/2009 09:23:11 AM · #3 |
cool. thanks. more commentss welcome!
also, about underwater in a LAKE. I'm guessing it's terribly brown....how does one deal with that?
I know people use handheld torches etc to light scenes...
anymore advice? |
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03/16/2009 10:20:29 AM · #4 |
One of the biggest problems with underwater photography is sediment. If you've got lots of particulate matter in the water, any flash or strobe will reflect of the matter. Dive lights are a good option to help illuminate things. As was said, the deeper you go, the less of the light spectrum will penetrate, which is why you lose the reds first and the blues last, so the clearer the water, the more the light will penetrate (in relation to it's wavelength).
one option is to set up a custom white balance. Bring a white or neutral slate down with you and set your custom WB at the depth you will be taking picture. If you've got crappy water, close-ups may be your best bet
With your casing - always clean and lube the o-ring and where the o-ring goes before you go down. Make sure there is no grit or hair where the o-ring goes, because one piece of sand will cause leakage, and there is nothing worse than being down 90 feet and watching your camera fill with water.
If you have a strobe set-up, same thing, it may be best for close ups to minimize the sediment and reflection between the camera and the subject. Make sure you are very comfortable with your buoyancy because when you start fiddling with setting, you can easily ascend faster than you should if you are not paying attention.
Maybe you can tell us what it is you are going to try and shoot and with what? wrecks? fish? I actually find most P and S with a casing can take perfectly respectable underwater pictures (there are a few in my portfolio and on my website). If there is something you see and want more info, let me know and I can give you the specs. |
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03/16/2009 10:43:39 AM · #5 |
Yeah been thinking the same thing and I am probably going to buy a Canon G10 as I want raw images for wb purpouses and etcetera and still don´t want to spend much money on casing and these images are mostly for myself so IQ is not the main factor, will probably never print any underwater images bigger than 30x40cm.
Figured that was the cheapest way to get resonable quality images for a low price, think it´s about 600$ on bhphoto with a waterproof casing. Don´t really want to dive with the 1Ds as I would hate for that thing to get ruined by a leak in the waterproof casing :) |
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03/16/2009 11:11:56 AM · #6 |
| I found the site mentioned here useful. Several good articles when I was trying to work out what to buy for using a G10 underwater. |
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