are manual controls a must to take good pics?

[Spoon]

ive seen a lot of people manage with the automatic settings of the canon ixus or s line. would you guys choose this over canon powershot a line? havent started taking uw pics and when i decide to get my ist camera i want it right.

 

[Charlie99]

ive seen a lot of people manage with the automatic settings of the canon ixus or s line. would you guys choose this over canon powershot a line? havent started taking uw pics and when i decide to get my ist camera i want it right.

I'm not familiar with those particular cameras, but went through this sort of choice a couple years ago.

You should think about what your goals are, and what you intend to do with the photos. Your on land photo habits may also help you decide.

I rarely use my Nikon SLR on land, instead preferring to use a compact point and shoot for snapshots. My underwater photos are simply to 1) show my non-diving family and friends what I've been up to, 2) personal memories, 3) fish and critter ID, 4) to record that once-in-a-lifetime 18' purple-spotted-zebrafish that swims by on my solo dive

So far a small, simple, point and shoot with internal strobe has met my needs. Were I to choose again, the only thing I'd do different is to find one that has manual white balance and perhaps some fixed preset distance focus settings. (Others can tell you whether the cameras you are looking at have those features).

If on the other hand, you are trying for the very best quality, and dive photography is going to be the primary goal of your dives, then digital SLR with full manual controls and external strobes is where you should be headed.

There isn't any one answer that's right for everyone.

 

[alcina]

You don't need to go dslr to acheive fantastic results. You don't have to have manual controls to get good results, either - but it makes things more needlessly more difficult. Nor do you need an external strobe. You do, however, have to get to know your system and work around its weak points (and all systems have negatives as well as positives).

Remember, light doesn't play as nice underwater. Photography underwater is different to land photography. The auto settings on cameras do a pretty great job on a wide variety of land shots - they do an ok job on some types of underwater shots.

Manual controls give you the option to learn more and to get much better results in a wider range of situations. Cameras with manual controls also have program modes - so you can simply happy snappy away or you can switch modes to control your images. You can choose different programs to see what results you get and which works better. For the price difference in otherwise similar models, I'd definitely go with the one that had manual controls if it were to be used underwater.

Manual shouldn't be scary or too daunting. With digital you get instant feedback and on many models adjusting is relatively fast and simple. There are several threads around about getting started settings (I believe one is in the Canon section, but works well with any system as a base point).

Would I buy a camera without manual controls? Yes -but only for happy snappy land stuff. I couldn't imagine taking that underwater to use - I've seen the limitations and the photos that turned out OK while the buddy with another small digital used manual controls and really nailed it.

 

[Spoon]

Manual shouldn't be scary or too daunting.

thats what i was dreading. i guess its not as hard as it seems. i always have this idea of an UW photographer going through infinite permutations and combos to get one shot right

 

[H2Andy]

ive seen a lot of people manage with the automatic settings of the canon ixus or s line.

but just manage. some of us better than others, but to get the most
out of a picture opportunity, you really need to master those manual controls

i'm too lazy and don't want to spend the money, so...

 

[Jim Ernst]

i went from a reefmaster dc310 to a canon ps pro 1 and am now learning the manuel settings, and i can say that my very first shots with the m settings of my canon are by far better then my 1000th shot with the auto on the reefmaster, i know the quality of camera differs greatly but i think you get my point

 

[dlndavid]

Manual controls are good if you know how to use them
I just bought that camera, and I'm looking forward to taking some pictures.

 

[RonFrank]

ive seen a lot of people manage with the automatic settings of the canon ixus or s line. would you guys choose this over canon powershot a line? havent started taking uw pics and when i decide to get my ist camera i want it right.

Automatic settings are great... until they are not. In other words, in a number of situations, auto settings work well, but the problem with not having other options is that when the auto settings are NOT working well, you are stuck with poor exposure. Poor exposure = poor images.

Another question is what are you planning on doing with the setup. If an external strobe is part of the equasion, then IMO manual settings are a must.

 

[PerroneFord]

The only necessary requirements to take good pictures are:

1. An accurate meter
2. An accurate shutter
3. A quality and well focused lens
4. A decent photographer taking the shot.

The problem most people run into is that they skimp BADLY on item 1 and item 3. And often come up short on item 4, or at least not enough to overcome items 1 and 3.

 

[RonFrank]

The only necessary requirements to take good pictures are:

1. An accurate meter
2. An accurate shutter
3. A quality and well focused lens
4. A decent photographer taking the shot.

The problem most people run into is that they skimp BADLY on item 1 and item 3. And often come up short on item 4, or at least not enough to overcome items 1 and 3.

The best meters I have uses are ambiant, and those are kinda useless UW as they will flood. Focus in PnS is a function of the camera, and it's difficult to judge IF the camera is doing a good job.

Becomming a good photographer is obviously key, but includes the ability to judge exposure which is largely based on a histogram in the case of a digital PnS. Without manual controls to allow one to control the camera, point four becomes rather useless, and points one and three are next to impossible to contol as well.