Black Photos....

[RussR]

Hi,

I recently returned from a trip tp Cozumel and I had tried out my new external flash setup with limited success at best. The setup is Olympus SP 350 in a PT030 housing with a Ikelite DS-50 external strobe and the Ikelite manual controller

Most of the photos were black, no amount of photo shopping could save them.

I shot (for the first time) in manual and raw so this could be the problem but I am not sure. The settings I started with were for "wide angle" F5.6, Shutter 1/125, ISO 100. and for MACRO I used f8, 1/500, ISO 50.

The flash fired but almost every wide angle photo was black, i tried lowering the f# but it did not help.

I am a relatively new photographer so maybe I was taking on too much. A few of the macro shots came out pretty good but many of those turned out black or extremely dark. The photo of my first nudibranch is nonexistent

Could it be a flash synch issue? Could the flash be defective?

Anyway to trouble shoot this on land?

Any advice will be helpful. I want to get this squared away for my next trip. I will take the camera to the quarry once it opens to see what’s what, but if I could figure out the problem first....

Thanks in advance as always

Russell

 

[PermanentlyNarced]

Did you have the pre-flash in the camera turned off? It could be that the strobe was triggered by the camera's preflash and then didn't fire when the shutter was actually open (and the main camera flash fired).

You could try to take a picture of yourself in front of a mirror in a dark room. In the picture you should see the flash firing. If not, then the strobe is not firing when the shutter is open.

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Thats a small flash for WA shots, don't expect lots of coverage. You'll still want to meter the shots.

Its important to learn the basics of exposure in order for pictures to turn out.

 

[RussR]

I tried the camera in the mirror and it captures the flash....

I tried different shots around the house with and without the external flash and the flash is definately registering in the above ground pictures. I guess I have to wait to get it underwater again to see whats happening....

I wasn't expecting very good coverage but a photo of a diver 2-3 feet away came out totally black and I saw the flash fire.

thanks for the advice so far

 

[AndyT]

Long shot, two things come to mind:

Strobe aiming, especially for the macro stuff.

Power setting on the strobe ?

 

[jaybombs25]

post one lets see

 

[RussR]

Ok I have attached three photos the first two are the diver. First one is unedited, second one is exposure value + 2.0. The third photo is an edited macro shot that I was able to "save" thanks to photohsop.

It may definatley be a power issue with the flash although I "thought" I had it on full....

 

[alcina]

Sorry to hear you had some problems!

The first one looks like a distance and/or aiming thing to me - you don't seem to be getting the light onto the subject fully, if at all. Also, check your settings - I wouldn't expect a natural light shot from Cozumel at 5.6 and 1/125 to be that dark.

The third one looks pretty good. A little tweaking and you could get the exposure to look just fine.

 

[rjsimp]

It really sounds like a sync issue. You don't have AF assist on or anything like that? Pre-flash cancellation an option on the strobe you have? I know it is on other Sea & Sea strobes.

The 1/125 shutter speed is well within any sync limits. So, the only things it could be; aiming, distance (doesn't look like that), settings not what you thought they were, or a sync issue. This of course is based on the fact you said the strobe is firing. All of these issues you should be able to troubleshoot on land before ever getting into the water.

 

[RussR]

I checked a few of the WA shots and the shutter speed was set at 1/500 instead of 1/125 - I must have changed it without realizing - Would that account for the darkness?

Is it possible that the synch is well, out of synch underwater but in synch on land?

What is the best way to simulate Underwater photos on Land - I was taking some shots of miniatures last night to try and get a feel for macro settings but was doing so in a well lit room against a white background - should i shoot in dim lighting? no lighting?

Thanks for all the help - I will definately watch the stobe aiming and power issues. and am going to take lots of photos between now and April to try and make sure I get some good shots on my next trip