uw cameras question

[NeurosurgeryNP]

www dot preservationstation dot com

 

Two will fit in the case I have for the A570IS. They go from deep blue to lavender to pink when whey are no longer good. I think I paid $15 or $20 for 60 of them - something like that.

 

I don't think these can be re-used - the beads are surrounded in plastic.

[foneguy]

where did u find them?

[foneguy]

where did u find them?

[NeurosurgeryNP]

where did u find them?

 

 

The dessicant packs - www dot thepreservationstation dot com

 

the o-ring spares - Call the Canon Parts Order Desk at (732) 521-7230. It's open Mon-Fri 9am-5pm EST.

[tha sista]

I use a Cannon Sureshot SD700 IS with the cannon housing. I love it and it has great video as well...

 

Here's an example from last week...

 

A Frogfish!

 

[bruce-r]

I use a Cannon Sureshot SD700 IS with the cannon housing. I love it and it has great video as well...

 

Here's an example from last week...

 

A Frogfish!

 

That's a great find. Where were you diving?

[tha sista]

That's a great find. Where were you diving?

St. Croix...I usually hit the walls on the north shore, but the water was very rough so we decided to do the pier in frederickstead! Saw about 7 different sea horses and an octopus as well...

 

[Colorado Kat]

St. Croix...I usually hit the walls on the north shore, but the water was very rough so we decided to do the pier in frederickstead! Saw about 7 different sea horses and an octopus as well...

 

Excellant colors - Did you have a flash? I saw seahorses under the pier in St. Croix 20 years ago - I'm glad they're still there. Like your octopus! And the colors on your frogfish are great.

 

How big/bulky is the camera with housing? Just the regular flash on the camera, or something else as well?

 

I'm thinking of the Olympus Stylus 1030SW, but I'm leery of so many doors/ports/etc. I think it's too new to tell how well the seals hold up. Anyone else research them?

Thanks...

Kathy

[NeurosurgeryNP]

Did you use strobes? I do not have strobes, so I will be shooting with natural light/camera flash. Great shoots! Thanks for sharing.

[tha sista]

Excellant colors - Did you have a flash? I saw seahorses under the pier in St. Croix 20 years ago - I'm glad they're still there. Like your octopus! And the colors on your frogfish are great.

 

How big/bulky is the camera with housing? Just the regular flash on the camera, or something else as well?

 

I'm thinking of the Olympus Stylus 1030SW, but I'm leery of so many doors/ports/etc. I think it's too new to tell how well the seals hold up. Anyone else research them?

Thanks...

Kathy

Kathy, this is a very small point and shoot...for the most part. It has an underwater setting that reduces alot of the scatter. Both of those pics were with the flash on the camera and there is a diffuser that comes with it. It is super easy to use, small light weight. I just have it strapped to my wrist, flip it up and take a pic...The captain on the dive boat emailed me when he bought this camera a couple of years ago. He does research all over the world on the reefs. He uses his camera for this as well. He has bigger nicer ones, but he loves this one for quick work! Camera and housing will run about $500. Housing came from cannon camera I got the best deal at newegg.com Again, that was a couple of years ago so the prices are probably better now.

 

Topside photo without the housing...

 

Scorpion Fish with the flash...

 

Southern Stingray buried without the flash:

[Colorado Kat]

Kathy, this is a very small point and shoot...for the most part. It has an underwater setting that reduces alot of the scatter. Both of those pics were with the flash on the camera and there is a diffuser that comes with it. It is super easy to use, small light weight. I just have it strapped to my wrist, flip it up and take a pic...The captain on the dive boat emailed me when he bought this camera a couple of years ago. He does research all over the world on the reefs. He uses his camera for this as well. He has bigger nicer ones, but he loves this one for quick work! Camera and housing will run about $500. Housing came from cannon camera I got the best deal at newegg.com Again, that was a couple of years ago so the prices are probably better now.

 

Girldoc - What is the camera type? My DDs and I are going on a cruise in June. 3 times for snorkling. All certified divers, but I don't see a lot of diving in immediate future, due to college costs coming up for twins. I don't mind spending money, but by the time we're ready to do some fun dive trips in the future (5-6 years), equiptment will be much better/cheaper than today.

 

I'm gun-shy because I have a ton of money invested 20+ years ago, when DH and I were DINKS, and dove on warm weather trips twice a year. Two Nikonses (UW Nikons), strobes, marco tubes, backups, etc. I don't want to use them now, because they're film cameras, and I'm spoiled with digital now. Not worth spending money to replace all rings/seals, etc. But when I bought, they were state-of-the-art.

 

I don't mind popping $350 for that Olympus Stylus 1030, but I hear that it needs yearly maintenane of $160. $500 is getting a little rich for my blood. Maybe your camera might be cheaper in price by now?

 

Thanks....Kathy

[NeurosurgeryNP]

I just got a Canon A570 IS with underwater case rated to 130' for $300 total at Amazon. Great set up. Great Topside camera as well. Frim what I can see ny other posters and other forums, takes great pitcures.

 

Beware of some of the Olympus camera that are waterproof - they are only rated to max of 30'.

[tha sista]

Girldoc - What is the camera type? My DDs and I are going on a cruise in June. 3 times for snorkling. All certified divers, but I don't see a lot of diving in immediate future, due to college costs coming up for twins. I don't mind spending money, but by the time we're ready to do some fun dive trips in the future (5-6 years), equiptment will be much better/cheaper than today.

 

I'm gun-shy because I have a ton of money invested 20+ years ago, when DH and I were DINKS, and dove on warm weather trips twice a year. Two Nikonses (UW Nikons), strobes, marco tubes, backups, etc. I don't want to use them now, because they're film cameras, and I'm spoiled with digital now. Not worth spending money to replace all rings/seals, etc. But when I bought, they were state-of-the-art.

 

I don't mind popping $350 for that Olympus Stylus 1030, but I hear that it needs yearly maintenane of $160. $500 is getting a little rich for my blood. Maybe your camera might be cheaper in price by now?

 

Thanks....Kathy

No problem Cannon Sureshot SD700 IS. The housing is on cannon.com and it was cheapest there when I was looking. Like neurosurgeryNP's camera this one is rated to 130 feet. Haven't had to do any annual maintenance.

[drifting_away]

I have the olympus 1030 and just got back from Hawaii. I loved this camera. We bought the underwater housing for it since we dive as well as snorkel. The camera performed beautifully. We used it with the housing and without. It was easy to care for and easy to use. I even turned my 13 year old son loose with it and he came up with some beautiful shots. Never ran out of battery power and the memory cards held tons of pics.

 

The only negative would be that it is hard to see the view screen in bright light. Pictures still came out great though. Lots of settings. :D :D

[hobbit81]

I guess it would be OK for a single use point and shoot camera, but if want a better camera that you'll be more likely to use UW and on land, you should consider getting the Canon - PowerShot A570 and the Canon housing for it, the Canon WP-DC 12

 

sorry to chime in but I have a question, I have the PS and housing, but I'm wondering about a strobe and if it is needed. I'm interested in snorkling, and diving.

[tha sista]

sorry to chime in but I have a question, I have the PS and housing, but I'm wondering about a strobe and if it is needed. I'm interested in snorkling, and diving.

I am not a UW photo specialist...its only a hobby for me. For me the flash or strobe if thats what you have is what allows the brilliant colors to be seen when diving. I think I have used my camera once when snorkeling and unless you are pretty close, the flash causes quite a bit of scatter from floating debris. JMHO!

[NeurosurgeryNP]

I am using the Canon on our trip in 2 weeks. Without strobes. You need to play around with the settings in manual mode (low ISO around 100, shutter speed 1/100 or faster), from what I have been told by a prof photographer who also shoots this camera uw. She says that no strobes are OK if you are going to be shooting very close - under 2 feet away from your target - any further and you risk scatter. ALso, another point I got was to shoot up towards your subject trying to capture the natural light from abover. WIll post pics as soon as we get back and I have a chance to color correct them.

[tha sista]

I am using the Canon on our trip in 2 weeks. Without strobes. You need to play around with the settings in manual mode (low ISO around 100, shutter speed 1/100 or faster), from what I have been told by a prof photographer who also shoots this camera uw. She says that no strobes are OK if you are going to be shooting very close - under 2 feet away from your target - any further and you risk scatter. ALso, another point I got was to shoot up towards your subject trying to capture the natural light from abover. WIll post pics as soon as we get back and I have a chance to color correct them.

 

Be sure to post your picks...I'd love to see them and will take any helpful hints you pick up!!! Have fun!

[scubaran]

Hi,

 

I have a canon A620 with the underwater enclosure. I've been shooting with it for about 3 years and I'm very pleased with the results (see a sample below). I have a "cheap" strobe, the epoque strobe with a fiber optic cable that has a velcro attachment to my enclosure. It works great, though I did have to block out the enclosure with black electrical tape because I trigger the strobe off the flash and the flash was causing a lot of backscatter in my pictures. If you want to take underwater pictures, instead of underwater snapshots, I recommend considering a strobe (if you look at what you invest in dive gear and cruising, it really is a small amount). I also recommend getting desiccant paks for your camera so as they heat up in the case (which they will) your viewing port doesn't fog (lost a great picture once because of a fogged lense and won't make that mistake again!). Anyway, I prefer the canons, not only do the enclosures work well, but most of the A-series have a removable ring around the lense and an adaptor that lets you attach 35mm lenses (I have a wide-angle and a 2x telephoto for mine for land shots (they don't fit in the enclosure)).

 

Randall

 

 

 

[scubaran]

BTW, I used to not use strobes, I call it my "blue period photos". :)

 

Randall

 

P.S. besides using the underwater setting on most cameras you can eliminate some of the blue by: shooting in "cloudy" white balance (cloudy days add blue to your pictures and this compensates with redder shots) or take a white slate, or find a good patch of white sand at depth, and do a manual white balance. If you use the slate make sure you hold it at arm's width, or let your dive buddy hold it, as you'll need a bit of blue showing for the white balance to adjust. Also remember to take that off once you get to the surface or all your pictures will be way red.

[tha sista]

Scubaran thanks for the tips...could you explain more about your strobe..didn't understand the black electrical tape. Can I assume you don't use a red filter? I have to figure out how to white balance my camera...Also do you manually change your ISO or any other settings?

[scubaran]

Hi,

 

When my camera triggers the internal flash, the fiber optic cable sends the light to the stobe which flashes in milliseconds (before the camera lense closes) illuminating the subject. Because the flash triggers, if I didn't block out my clear plastic enclosure, the flash light would also travel in front of the camera causing backscatter. By putting black tape over the enclosure (except where the fiber optic cable connects to the enclosure), all the flash light is contained within the enclosure and doesn't leak out into the surrounding water. This means the picture is lit only by the strobe light (which is brighter, can be moved to the side to eliminate backscatter, and provides true white light for max. colors).

 

As far as settings, ISO 100 in clear water, ISO 200 in cloudy water, F5.0, 1/125 or faster to freeze fish motion, cloudy white balance setting, 1/3 flash output. Canon's have a manual setting so I can play with all these settings. Anyway, hope this helps,

 

Randall

[tha sista]

Hi,

 

When my camera triggers the internal flash, the fiber optic cable sends the light to the stobe which flashes in milliseconds (before the camera lense closes) illuminating the subject. Because the flash triggers, if I didn't block out my clear plastic enclosure, the flash light would also travel in front of the camera causing backscatter. By putting black tape over the enclosure (except where the fiber optic cable connects to the enclosure), all the flash light is contained within the enclosure and doesn't leak out into the surrounding water. This means the picture is lit only by the strobe light (which is brighter, can be moved to the side to eliminate backscatter, and provides true white light for max. colors).

 

As far as settings, ISO 100 in clear water, ISO 200 in cloudy water, F5.0, 1/125 or faster to freeze fish motion, cloudy white balance setting, 1/3 flash output. Canon's have a manual setting so I can play with all these settings. Anyway, hope this helps,

 

Randall

Thanks I'll mess with these things and see what I can get out of my camera!!