Adapting to the environment

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I've finally started to sharpen my skill at photography in Monterey and have gotten some results I'm happy with, now in the beginning of November I'm off on a trip to Cancun for a conference and some diving. I was hoping to get some advice on photography in significant visibility conditions. I use a Canon SD630 with it's underwater housing. I know it would be ideal to get a strobe but the conference is costing me enough so it will have to be the camera's internal strobe. Now the camera has a set (unchangeable) aperture of 1/60s but it does have adjustable ISO levels from 80 to 400. So what I'm asking is, what ISO should I be shooting at in high visibility water? Should I use the strobe or just use ambient light? For macro shots I assume I should just stay at a low ISO and use the flash but I'm asking more about broader shots. Any and all help would be very much appreciated! Happy dives!

 

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Shameless thread bump

 

[ScubaSteve]

First of all, I am an unqualified person to be sharing information which is why I fit in so well on :sblogo: . Yes that was only a joke

But seriously, I am only an amateur photographer so this assistance shall have to get you by until your shameless thread bump gets more responses.

I've finally started to sharpen my skill at photography.......

Look out.....your world will never be the same (neither will your checking account )

..............I know it would be ideal to get a strobe but the conference is costing me enough so it will have to be the camera's internal strobe...............

Personally, I would say that the requirement for an external strobe is not a luxury, it is a requirement for next level pictures. Having said that, I lived without for a couple of years before significantly upgrading.

............Should I use the strobe or just use ambient light? ........

The internal flash is a difficult thing to use underwater because of its location. It shoots light straight out from the camera facilitating a little annoying thing we know as backscatter. You should not use the internal flash unless you play with diffusing the light so that it is not shooting straight at your subject. You can try tape or some housings even have them built in. You may have to change your EV to compensate for the light level.

.............For macro shots I assume I should just stay at a low ISO and use the flash but I'm asking more about broader shots............

I believe the same answer applies here....use the internal flash only if the light is diffused. It is much easier to use a flash on Macro shots because you have less water column between you and your subject to contain particles to reflect as backscatter. This does not mean there will be none. Thus my indicator that a diffuser should still be used. You may have to change your EV to compensate for the light level.

I hope you get some good help as I know there are far more knowledgeable people out there. One thing I know I am qualified to say: You are about to head down the path of underwater photography and none that enter, ever leave.

 

[paradicio]

If the visibility is good enough and you've got enough light you may want to consider manual white balancing and shooting w/o a flash.

Just a thought.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

Great recommendations so far. I would say don't bother with getting an external strobe for this trip.

Use the flash only when taking close-up macro pics. If you have a flash diffuser (and I believe all of the Canon OEM UW housings have one), then just use it...always.

I'll also second the recommendation to shoot without a flash. You can choose to manually white balance at a given depth...or apply white balance during photo-processing.

With only one aperture selectable, it really doesn't give you that much "play" with shutter speed. That's a bummer.

You should consider messing around with the CHDK hack for your Canon P&S. It will give you the ability to shoot in RAW and provide better options/more pixel info for white balancing after taking the picture. Post-processing for RAW photos usually necessitates time, patience, and better, more expensive software to ease the pain...but the results are worth it.

Have a great time in Cancun. Try to make it out to Cozumel. It's only a bus + ferry ride away.

 

[ce4jesus]

Look up a Magic Filter at Reef Photo and Video. Get the kind you cut so you can place it at the end of your port inside the housing. Turn off your strobe and White balance if possible. Your camera doesnt' have a set aperature or shutterspeed. Chances are you have an aperture mode, or Av mode for Canon. If you place the camera in that, you can choose the aperture and the camera will choose the shutter speed automatically. I wouldn't boost your ISO past about 100 and certainly no more than 200 for a P&S. It doesn't hurt to experiment a little with digital. As stated above, if you shoot macro, use the built in flash. WA or fish pics..turn it off. If you look up Alcina's pink link on this page....it should have some tips specific to your camera. Most of all...never....ever....forget to have a good time.

 

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Hey guys, thanks for all your help so far, very much appreciated! So the impression I'm getting is to shoot without the strobe (unless it's for macro), and keep the ISO at about 100? Does that sound right? With strobeless shooting, it makes it easy to get blurry shots right? So I really have to watch my steadiness? Cancun in t-minus 8 days! Also, I will be using white balance because I'm terrible at photo editing and haven't figured out the RAW hack yet. But thank you!

 

[ScubaSteve]

If shooting without a strobe then yes, only use the flash on Macro shots. Definitely make sure there is something diffusing the internal flash (could be built into the housing or it could be something you secure to the housing).

I believe the following to be true but am sure if I am wrong in any way someone will correct me D). I would also be careful with setting the white balance as well. The white balance will be different with Macro/flash shots as with distance/wide angle/no flash shots. They will be different because of the avilable light present.

As for the blurry shots, I do not think that it is necessarily easier to get a blurry shot with no strobe. Movement of any kind is your enemy with underwater photography so buoyancy is still paramount and key.