Scuba photography

[San_Antonio_Ex]

I just bought the SeaLife DC 1400, but did not get the external flash or video lights (those will have to wait till a later purchase.)

 

I will be diving in Grand Turk and St. Thomas this month off the Liberty. Can anyone tell me if I can still expect to get good pictures at 40 - 60 feet?

 

I'm not a photographer, so please accept my apology if this is a silly question. I'm just wondering what to expect.

 

Thanks!!

[scubacruiser69]

Depends on what you want to use the camera for. If you want to take wide angle shots with the subject or focus more than half a dozen feet away than it will be fine. If you are hoping to take macro or close shots and capture all of the color you normally see on reefs, etc you will be disappointed.

 

If the camera has the ability, try adjusting the white balance to compensate for the light filtering that takes place at those depths.

 

If its a sunny day and there is anything worth taking pictures of above 30 feet or so, you should see the colors more like you are use to above water.

 

Enjoy your new camera and the memories that it is going to capture :)

[San_Antonio_Ex]

Depends on what you want to use the camera for. If you want to take wide angle shots with the subject or focus more than half a dozen feet away than it will be fine. If you are hoping to take macro or close shots and capture all of the color you normally see on reefs, etc you will be disappointed.

 

If the camera has the ability, try adjusting the white balance to compensate for the light filtering that takes place at those depths.

 

If its a sunny day and there is anything worth taking pictures of above 30 feet or so, you should see the colors more like you are use to above water.

 

Enjoy your new camera and the memories that it is going to capture :)

 

Thank you, Scubacruiser. I appreciate the info. I will look into the white balance idea!

[ScubaCruiser54]

good thing it is digital. take lots of photos and try different settings. White balance is handy and you might try checking a local photoshop for a white balance/neutral grey plastic card. It can be used underwater, presuming your housing will allow you to adjust WB underwater.

 

A strobe will help. another possibility if you have a really good flashlight that is "white" light. A dive photographer that I know has used his light cannon before when his photolight went down. It saved a few dive photo opportunities. But he secured it to his light arm and this gave him better control of the flashlight.

 

I started out with just the small flash on a film camera. You have to be extremely close and aware of backscatter and the positon of your flash. There are a number of good articles on the internet from photo pros. Look up as few and learn. Underwater photography is fun, but often frustrating.

[San_Antonio_Ex]

good thing it is digital. take lots of photos and try different settings. White balance is handy and you might try checking a local photoshop for a white balance/neutral grey plastic card. It can be used underwater, presuming your housing will allow you to adjust WB underwater.

 

A strobe will help. another possibility if you have a really good flashlight that is "white" light. A dive photographer that I know has used his light cannon before when his photolight went down. It saved a few dive photo opportunities. But he secured it to his light arm and this gave him better control of the flashlight.

 

I started out with just the small flash on a film camera. You have to be extremely close and aware of backscatter and the positon of your flash. There are a number of good articles on the internet from photo pros. Look up as few and learn. Underwater photography is fun, but often frustrating.

 

I started reading the booklet that came with the camera and it turns out that there are specific "modes" that you set the camera to if you are going to be diving below 25ft. The camera makes color corrections to compensate fo the loss of red colors. You can also fine tune the color correction depending on the depth and water color on the white balance menu. This appears to be a pretty cool camera. Now I just have to learn how to use it properly!!.

[phillie gal]

I have an older model, DC800 and, while I do have the external flash, can get good shots without it. Here are a few shots taken between 40 and 60 ft in Grand Cayman last week,

[scubacruiserx2]

I just bought the SeaLife DC 1400, but did not get the external flash or video lights (those will have to wait till a later purchase.)

 

I will be diving in Grand Turk and St. Thomas this month off the Liberty. Can anyone tell me if I can still expect to get good pictures at 40 - 60 feet?

 

I'm not a photographer, so please accept my apology if this is a silly question. I'm just wondering what to expect.

 

Thanks!!

 

Yes you can get good results. Great choice of Sealife. We have had only

good experiences with the company and our DC600 and DC1200.

 

 

 

 

These were taken with the built-in flash with standard underwater setting.

 

 

This one was about 85' with a strobe.

 

 

Don't forget the video. About 85' and you don't need a strobe. Click on the Ray picture for the video.

[San_Antonio_Ex]

I have an older model, DC800 and, while I do have the external flash, can get good shots without it. Here are a few shots taken between 40 and 60 ft in Grand Cayman last week,

 

 

Wow - those are great pictures. I want to get the external flash, but that might have to wait till next year! Thanks for sharing!

[San_Antonio_Ex]

Yes you can get good results. Great choice of Sealife. We have had only

good experiences with the company and our DC600 and DC1200.

 

 

 

 

These were taken with the built-in flash with standard underwater setting.

 

 

This one was about 85' with a strobe.

 

 

Don't forget the video. About 85' and you don't need a strobe. Click on the Ray picture for the video.

 

 

Great pictures!!! and the video is really cool! I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do next week. :) It looks like I made a good decision with this camera!

 

 

Thank you for sharing!!!!

[scubacruiserx2]

I'm sorry for your mom's passing. I hope you have a great cruise with many great pictures. Sealife camera and company are both great choices.

[drosphot]

I've got a Canon A95 with the underwater housing and I've only used it snorkeling, It takes some great pics for an 8 year old P&S camera.

 

We will be diving in Grand Cayman and Cozumel in 3 weeks and I am hoping to figure out the best settings for this camera. There is an underwater mode that the manual states "uses and optimal white balance setting to reduce bluish tones and record images with natural hues. The flash is controlled to fire as seldom as possible." Obviously I will start with that. Also there is an opaque filter that goes over the flash on the casing, is this useful or should I not use it when light levels are less? the instructions said nothing about it.

 

Any help is appreciated!

[diverearl]

I just bought the SeaLife DC 1400, but did not get the external flash or video lights (those will have to wait till a later purchase.)

 

I will be diving in Grand Turk and St. Thomas this month off the Liberty. Can anyone tell me if I can still expect to get good pictures at 40 - 60 feet?

 

I'm not a photographer, so please accept my apology if this is a silly question. I'm just wondering what to expect.

 

Thanks!!

 

The trick for me to get a decent picture at any depth without an external flash is simply to get as close to the subject as possible whether it is marine life, coral other divers or any other object. I'm not talking 10 feet but rather just a couple of feet or less.

 

On a drift dive like Cozumel it can be quite a challenge especially when having to keep up with the group and not hanging onto coral to get a shot. I've learned to always use whatever flash I have no matter how deep I am.

 

No Flash

 

Flash - far better color

 

Also watch the bottom of the picture because the housing might leave a shadow when close to the subject as my camera often does.

 

 

 

 

 

If possible take several shots quickly to increase your odds of a good pic.

[geekybiker]

If you don't have an off camera strobe, disable the flash. All it does is light up the sediment in the water right next to you. On camera flashes are far too weak to do much underwater. Also shoot in RAW mode if your camera supports it. It will make white balance corrections in post far easier than trying to heavily modify a JPG.

[BillOh]

I just bought the SeaLife DC 1400, but did not get the external flash or video lights (those will have to wait till a later purchase.)

 

I will be diving in Grand Turk and St. Thomas this month off the Liberty. Can anyone tell me if I can still expect to get good pictures at 40 - 60 feet?

 

I'm not a photographer, so please accept my apology if this is a silly question. I'm just wondering what to expect.

 

Thanks!!

 

I hope you will come back and share your experience. I just bought the same camera. I will probably only dive one every year or two and decided to try this camera and at the worst, its no worse than the current camera my wife uses on land today.

[BillOh]

The trick for me to get a decent picture at any depth without an external flash is simply to get as close to the subject as possible whether it is marine life, coral other divers or any other object. I'm not talking 10 feet but rather just a couple of feet or less.

 

 

No Flash

 

Flash - far better color

 

Also watch the bottom of the picture because the housing might leave a shadow when close to the subject as my camera often does.

 

 

 

 

If possible take several shots quickly to increase your odds of a good pic.

 

 

Good examples to go along with your points.