What I meant is that when you think your buoyancy is good take a camera and shoot some video to find out how good it really is. Most people find it isn't
beginner still camera with some video
- Thread starter trapper1981
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
K
KeithG
Guest
I believe we have a word connotation issue here. We now appear to all agree, you initially just used words that meant something very different to us here in the "colonies" (otherwise commonly known as the center of the universe).
When communicating across cultures we need to be prepared for / sensitive to these issues and be very simple & concise in explanations. Even then there are lots of potholes.
My divebuddy recently experienced a humorous culture clash misunderstanding. The Brit delegation used the word "scheme" when describing their new business plan. The north american's were all offended and quickly pulled the ethics card and from the moral high ground attacked the Brits for being dishonest, shifty, morally bankrupt bunch of crooks that needed to be exposed, tarred & feathered and then thrown in jail.
After a short discussion the 2 sides came to learn that in the UK the word "scheme" means "plan". AND the Brits learned that only crooks "scheme". At least here in the colonies....
Whilst the advice the op may be one of sorting out the buoyancy first i just want to stress that padi the leading agency even consider digital underwater photography as an integration into the open water dive course for level 1. If you read the padi DUP guide the emphasis is not touching anything however you could still try and go shoot images of your dive buddies. For this reason although the advice of getting more dive under the belt is sound we need to be aware that someone could potentially even do an open water course with a camera. As long as the environment is not messed up this is not something we can stop happening
eotm
Registered
I started on an Olympus EPL1. Decent camera, cheap ($500 with kit lens, another $500 for the Olympus housing). This may not apply to you if your wife lugs around a Nikon, but I found it to be a great travel camera as well (small lens + body can fit in your pockets separately in places where you don't want to advertise you are carrying expensive things. Have a 9x9 grid of 1'x1" canvases at home, for all the crap the m4/3 sensor gets, its more than sufficient for good prints. Slim depth of field is another issue and takes some getting used to on the shorter/faster lenses but the results can really pop when you get it right. And if/when you want to upgrade, you can go to the excellent OMD EM10 with minimal fuss (which I just did and am loving). I still have the EPL1 + housing, would be happy to sell at a price in-line with trade value at the local camera store (probably $500 ofr body-only + housing + non-OEM extra battery to get you through 4/5 dive days). I took the photo in my profile with that camera, if you want to get an idea of what it can do.
For skills, do advanced buoyancy ASAP (or replicate on the cheap via hula hoop and practice hovering on the bottom via lung control). Assume you know the basics of composition already (or your wife can explain), and while there is some underwater specific stuff (big one is shoot upwards from closeby) shouldn't be too hard. Strobes are tougher, they help (a LOT) but if you're not going to be all that deep probably can get by with good RAW processing and/or a red filter and scale the learning curve much quicker. Also add a lot of bulk to your kit (I travel with only a carry on).
For skills, do advanced buoyancy ASAP (or replicate on the cheap via hula hoop and practice hovering on the bottom via lung control). Assume you know the basics of composition already (or your wife can explain), and while there is some underwater specific stuff (big one is shoot upwards from closeby) shouldn't be too hard. Strobes are tougher, they help (a LOT) but if you're not going to be all that deep probably can get by with good RAW processing and/or a red filter and scale the learning curve much quicker. Also add a lot of bulk to your kit (I travel with only a carry on).
Wait, what? PADI lets basic open water students take a camera into the CLASS? Really?
cannon fodder
Contributor
I brought mine to my OW class, the instructor got some great shots of me and my class mates. He wouldn't let me use it underwater until the class was done and we were all certified though.
Similar threads
