Sealife DC1000 question

[ewaiea]

Okie Dokie SealifeJoe or any other experienced users:

I have very few examples, but have you had issues with your DC1000's (with one external flash - the elite model DC1000) having issues focusing? I AM SURE this is operator error because I've had plenty of other pictures come out just fine but yesterday I was shooting photos and they were coming out blury. I thought the camera was supposed to auto focus, the square in the view finder turned green (or so I thought) which should mean the auto focus should have worked.....hmm, any tips or hints would be great.

Also, I have noticed that the tips all say to be closer to your subject than you might think, however, using an external flash sometimes causes the photos to be over exposed and I need to adjust contrast and brightness accordingly. The operator manual says to just point the flash at your subject and the flash intensity adjustor (form macro in side 2feet away, wide angle - over 5ft away, and regular which should be good from about 2-4ft). I always have camera set for EXTERNAL FLASH AUTO, I don't know enough to do manual and I'm not even sure if a PADI PHOTO SPECIALTY course would teach me that or not.

Keep in mind, I'm a member of a dive club and sometimes the divemaster has me babysit the noobies out there and yesterday I had to babysit a guy who wouldn't even wear a wetsuit because he was a "tough guy", was seasick the whole time, and was down to 300psi when I still had 1300! So naturally I aborted taking some of my better photos for the purpose of safety......ANYWAYS....any thoughts, advice or tips about adjusting exposure and other settings would be much appreciated.

The Snake Eel and the Puffer I consider my best of the attachments, the octopus would be the in between pic, and the rest could use some improvement....at least you have something to go off of, I hope you're able to browse the photos without technical difficulties - the brightness and contrast were adjusted on some of these photos and they were cropped to some degree - those are the digital adjustments I've done so if they still look bad obviously I need some help right?

Eric

 

[Diver_C]

If the focus square is green when the camera takes the picture, there is something wrong with the camera, because they should be in focus. Yes, adjust the strobe brightness.

 

[deeper thoughts]

I use a diffuser with my strobe and it has helped 100pct

Here is one pix with diffuser

 

[ewaiea]

The manufacturer didn't send a strobe diffuser but I was able to find one that was made for the DC800/DC1000 external flash and decided to grab it since not too many suppliers that I have found sell it (I got it through www.diversmarket.com- it appeared to be a reputable retailer and it did show pictures of the merchandise). The diffuser has a port that can be opened and closed, can you give me (a noobie eager to learn) a little information on how to use the diffuser, what the advantage is, when to open the diffuser window and when to leave it closed....etc...

I see what you mean with your picture, the diffuser makes a huge difference! I have noticed people with white covers over their strobes but I was never quite sure what they were or why they were used - I thought it was like a lense cover for the strobe - shows what I know!......

 

[deeper thoughts]

The manufacturer didn't send a strobe diffuser but I was able to find one that was made for the DC800/DC1000 external flash and decided to grab it since not too many suppliers that I have found sell it (I got it through www.diversmarket.com- it appeared to be a reputable retailer and it did show pictures of the merchandise). The diffuser has a port that can be opened and closed, can you give me (a noobie eager to learn) a little information on how to use the diffuser, what the advantage is, when to open the diffuser window and when to leave it closed....etc...

I see what you mean with your picture, the diffuser makes a huge difference! I have noticed people with white covers over their strobes but I was never quite sure what they were or why they were used - I thought it was like a lense cover for the strobe - shows what I know!......

The diffuser is simple to use. It attaches right to the strobe and softens the colors, with the flash on auto it is pretty simple

 

[SeaLife Joe]

Ewaiea, could you PM with your email address so we can get some images sent over to me to look at? I woul dneed the untouched photos though to be be able to read the data properly.

Thanks
Joe

 

[ewaiea]

Hey SealifeJoe,

I'll be taking my DC1000 and flash on a 3 tank boat dive off of Oahu next Monday - I'll let you know how it goes and I'll send you some untouched photos.

How long are exteral flash batteries good for? I'm using disposables - not rechargables.

Eric

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

All of these photos appear to have the strobe pointed somewhere other than on the subject.

1st image appears to be taken in macro mode with an attempt to zoom

2nd and 3rd images are in perfect focus on the blue reef just to the left of the subject

4th image is in perfect focus on the gravel to the right of the subject

Puffer, I cannot tell because of the background, but your strobe is definitely not in position for the shot.

Snake Eel. The shot is in perfect focus just to the left of the head on the rock formation.
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From these photos, I can only state that more practice will improve your photo quality. Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!
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I've had days when I have tossed the entire day of pictures. Sometimes, you just have an off day.