Best Settings G9, Ikelite & DS125 Strobe

[vindog]

Have a G9 with Ikelite housing, TTL cable and DS125 sunstrobe.

Going to test the rig tomorrow, hoping to have some insight into best shooting modes for macro, and "wide". I see that choosing custom settings is the best approach to keep settings together since default settings seem to go away once set on any other mode. My question is what should the best overall settings be? My stab at the custom settings:

C1 Macro- manual flash, manual mode settings 125th sec/F8, flash 1/2 power (with diffuser on ds125), "underwater" color balance settings, RAW

C2 "wide"- TV mode to 125th sec, underwater color balance, Auto TTL, Raw?

If anyone has any better suggestions, please let me know!!!

 

[alexindiana]

I'm afraid I've got no tips on settings, but as I'm off to the Red Sea next week for my first dives with the G9 and Ikelite I too would be really keen for any settings hints and tips anyone can share!

 

[vindog]

Crickets.....chirp....chirp....anybody out there?

 

[NTSilver]

Doesn't it kind of depend on the environment/ambient light available? I am always messing with the settings. I will be using mine next week at Socorro so I will let you know.

 

[waynel]

Be careful about your pre-planned settings for C1 and C2. As mentioned above enivironment/ambient light will dictate your settings. I would also add visability to that. The thing I like about digitals, and especially my Canon G9, is that I can review each shot after I take it, along with the camera settings I used. Use that first day to try different settings and review each shot. When you hit on that "money" shot, jot down the settings on a slate so you don't have to remember them. When you get back to your room and remove the camera, set up your C1 and C2 at that point. You'll be all set on the second day. I love the custom settings on the G9 because I know I'll get good shots with them when I absolutely must have a good shot. It really frees my up to play around with other settings that may or may not make the cut. Have fun.

 

[Katamuki]

I dont have a G9 but have shot 5000 photos or so with a G7 so my suggestions may or may not help. The C1 and C2 work very well as presets but my opinion is to use them to preset for a macro (C1 setting) and a WA (C2) using a Manual combination and not a TTL combo. The issue with TTL is that the camera will default to a 1/60 shutter speed no matter the fstop you choose and you will end up with photos that are not as clear as they could be. With the low shutter speed there are many fine details such as fish fins, nudibranch gills, shrimp antennae that simply wont show up in the photo.

The G7/9 will easily handle an F8 photo with a shutter speed of 1/200 or so and you can use the 125 strobe to moderate the light exposure. The Canon G series cameras develop a nice DOF with the F8 setting which will make your photos from WA to macro more interesting. This series of photos were all taken the other night all in Manual mode with a DS51 and a Nocturnal Light SLX. These arent the best photos but they were still on the SD chip stuck in computer so I could upload them the fastest.



ISO 80, 1/250, F8.0, AWB, Vivid, macro mode

ISO 80, 1/250, F8.0, AWB, macro

ISO 80, 1/250, F8.0, AWB, Macro

ISO 80, 1/80, F8.0, AWB

 

[Katamuki]

I forgot to mention that all these shots were from a deep (30+meter) night dive so there is obviously no ambient light.

 

[RonFrank]

This depends on what you are shooting.

Most find that Manual mode for the shutter and aperture works well. One can use the aperture to control the background exposure when shooting wide and part of the image is going to be out of flash range. The shutter setting will be based on the amount of light available, or if using flash, I'd shoot at 1/125 or faster.

For flash, if you have a TTL mode, I'd give that a try. The flash TTL setting on my DS125 works well with the Ikelite TTL controller. If the flash can not be controlled in a TTL mode, than you are going to have to work with it. If you are blowing out the subject at full power, start making adjustments by either lowering the power on the flash, or by stopping down the aperture. Increasing the shutter speed does NOT change the flash exposure as the flash duration is much shorter than standard shutter speed settings.

For macro, you want a lot of DOF so a smaller (bigger number) aperture. Most PnS camera's don't do much in the way of small apertures, so f8 maybe your most stopped down setting.

 

[Splendidus]

I just purchased the Canon G9 and Ikelite housing / DS-125 today. I would be very interested in knowing how the equipment performs on your trip when you get back. Unfortunately, the DS-51 or the DS-125 from Ikelite was the only way to get an underwater TTL capability for the Canon G9. Let's hope some of the other manufacturere's start to thnbk about real TTL capability for the P&S Digitals.

 

[deutzmann]

Have the same setup as you... G9, Ikelite housing and 125 substrobe. Will get it wet next month for the first time and I am also trying to figure out the best settings. Don't want to miss that good shot because of bad settings. I tried the TTL on dry land and it did not work. Figure it will not work either in the water. I also plan to take a dip in a 16 feet pool to try it and test it before the trip next saturday. I will let you know how it went.
please let me know how your tests came up...
125, f8.0, half the flash discharge sounds like a good starting point for say 3-4 feet distance to the subject and then maybe bracket as much as possible

Cheers