Advice - new camera or new techniques?

[ReconCPT]

Hi y'all

Got into underwater photography on my second dive trip ever in real water - seemed a shame to let all those memories slip by. I bought a little compact (Sony T33) and the underwater housing for it, and have had some limited success. I do international security work, so I don't get to take a dive trip more than every couple months or so.

I've gotten some great pictures in the last 2 years, but the pictures from my last trip were kinda disappointing. My question, then, is this. Is it time for me to move on to a "grown up" underwater camera rig, or do I need to refine my underwater picture taking techniques? I'm very happy with my night time pictures because the colors are vibrant, which leads me to believe that either I'm doing something wrong with light management during the day, or my camera can't quite handle what I need it to do. I get a massive over flow of blue a lot of the time.

Any pointers?
Thanks

 

[ReconCPT]

Ok, I'm an ass, I just took a look at the "My New Toys" thread, and I think if I can find a strobe it would solve a lot of my heartaches. Comments still sought and appreciated.

 

[vladimir]

If you want confirmation that you can take good pictures with a point and shoot, check here:
EdvinEng.com - Underwater Photography

and here:
Indonesia, March 2008 - PhotoShow Circle

These are two of the many SB members who are taking excellent shots with point and shoot cameras.

 

[ce4jesus]

A camera like a G9 would give you more control and RAW capability. An underwater strobe is a whole other learning experience. P&S cameras are limited by their inability to give the user full manual control which means sometimes the shot just isn't right.

 

[ReconCPT]

Gary
Thanks for the advice, the research I've been able to get done on the internet actually had me looking at the G9, which is either a convenient coincidence, or luck on my part. More control over how the picture exposes, then, is the trick to good shots? I guess I need to learn more about what the settings should be!
Thanks
Roman

 

[Diver Dennis]

Try this thread that alcina put together...

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/un...tting-started-dslr-maybe-look-here-first.html

 

[hammerhead man]

There are a lot of good point and shoot cameras that take great pictures. I have been taking underwater photos for the last 4 years and I've discovered that taking a great picture comes from better photo techniques than a better camera. I have been using Sea&Sea cameras and have gotten great pics from them. I recently started taking pics in manual mode and that is definitely harder but I think that it will force me to improve on my photo techniques and will ultimately result in better pics. If you click on my "view gallery" link and look at my Fiji pics you will see that you can get some really nice pics with a point and shoot. These pics were all taken with a Sea&Sea DX-8000G digital camera. I now own the DX-1G and am excited about the expanded capabilities of this camera. I have also taken a couple of online underwater photo courses that really helped me a lot. Here is a link to the courses I have taken The Underwater Photographer, Underwater Digital Photography Classes: Improve your underwater photos. Bonny and Marty are great and when I emailed a question to them they responded immediately. Once, Marty suggested that I give him a call because he thought he could answer the question better over the phone rather than by email.

Just my thoghts.

Regards,

Bill

 

[Eskasi]

Heheh.... you are now on a slippery slope my friend. The desire to take better quality photos will have an adverse effect on your wallet....

Your first stop should be reading material. If you want something easy reading and basic which will set you on the right path, get this;

"An Essential Guide to Digital Underwater Photography by Micheal AW"
Amazon.com: An Essential Guide to Digital Underwater Photography: A Complete How-To Guide: Mathieu Meur Michael Aw: Books

That was my first book that opened my eyes a little. It is basic enough so that novice photographers can learn a tremendous amount. Once this becomes too basic, this is what I recommend (especially for shooting manual or DSLR);

"The Underwater Photographer by Martin Edge 3rd Edition"
Amazon.com: The Underwater Photographer, Third Edition: Digital and Traditional Techniques: MARTIN EDGE: Books


Gear alone will not help. From what you say, I think you need to understand the basics of photography and shooting underwater. Things like color cast can be solved with White Balance (WB) settings on your current camera or a strobe. There are a lot of variables. Backscatter can be solved with a good strobe. There is much you can learn just from reading these threads.

Next thing I suggest is that you try a decent strobe first. Something that will fire optically so that you can attach it to the camera housing that you are already using. Inon or Sea & Sea are good options. Don't skimp as you will take this with you if you upgrade your camera system. Your flash (if one of the better ones) will last you longer than the camera itself technology wise. This, together with a decent post processing computer application like Photoshop or Lightroom may be all you will ever need or want.

When you feel you need more, get a camera with full manual settings and RAW. There are many options like the G9 or Sea & Sea DX-1G which I have. I prefer the DX-1G because it is much more compact which is great for non-UW use. RAW will allow you to solve a lot of you white balance (blue/green cast) problems as you can fine tune things later on the computer. It is more forgiving when used as you will be able to salvage many shots you thought were "bad". The downside is a lot of computer work after the dive!

If you have the cash to splash, do all three....books, strobe and camera! I am the impatient type myself!

I hope this has been helpful.....

 

[paradicio]

The Martin Edge book is really good. I've not read the other one, but I'll have to give it a shot soon.

What I liked a lot about Martin's book was how much time he spends on technique and the emphasis he puts on taking a quality shot. Post processing is great, but learning to take a good photo is better. I'm still trying to learn myself...