Canon s400 Digital Elphs--For Dummies

[wettek]

Gidday guys.
I have an Ixus 400 in the WP-DC800 case and have had it down at 40m on several occasions. I bought a small strobe (Epoque DS 150) and am madly practising with it. I found the majority of shots I was overexposing so wound up taking most shots with ISO50, and this has improved shots greatly. Definitely takes some practice though. Here's a few shots anyway. I have played extensively with ISOs, so if you need any advice, I'll do what I can.

Regards to all.

 

[ddub23]

Hi everyone,
S400, WPDC800 and the YS90DX strobe here. My problem is motion blur, shutter lag (among other things ). As i'm pretty new to to UW photography, power settings and strobe angle was an exercise in patience. I was experimenting last weekend with setting the white balance off my slate (50ft in Monterey) and the pictures turned out OK. I'll post them up when I get the chance. I have also not experimented with the ISO setting yet but will report back.

 

[Norboo]

How much did you pay for the UW case? Where did you buy it? What are some compact and light strobes on the market for Canon S400? How much should I expect to spend?

What else do I need for underwater photography?

Thanks

 

[Norboo]

anyone?

 

[ddub23]

anyone?

Sorry for the delay (wish i was away diving )

The case is around $160 (WP-DC800). The first one i bought off the internet (did a search on Froogle), and the second one I bought (after flooding the first one...) at a local photo shop. There are a variety of strobes available from different manufacturers: Sea and Sea, Ikelite, Inon to name a few. I am not an expert and do not have a lot of experience so I relied on the recommendations of others on the board. I ended up with the Sea and Sea YS-90DX. Its a great strobe, but everyone will have their own criteria and budget. Strobes are not cheap. Look to spend at least many hundreds depending on your setup (will also need a tray, and arms-look at my sig for my setup).

As for what else you need? For me, I think lots of patience, good attitude (meaning you are looking at the future since my first pics were not for public consumption), and more patience. The board is a great place for advice. Follow some of Dee's threads. She's our resident expert. Happy diving and keep us informed!!

PS: Be anal retentive about your o-rings. They can turn your dive into a really bad day...

 

[simonc]

Hi everyone,

I am new to the UW photography. I recently purchased the DC800 housing from my S400. I noticed when testing it in the pool that it is very bouyant. A recent screen of this board showed a link to the canon weights - WW-DC1.

Are these necessary, why bother? Does the bouyancy decrease as you do deeper?

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Simon

PS: great discussion board!!!

 

[ArthurGerla]

Are these necessary, why bother? Does the bouyancy decrease as you do deeper?

IMHO no, on both counts.

An external strobe and the associated rigging will mess up whatever bouyancy tweaks you make now anyway. And you will want one eventually.

I use an at least five year old Digital Ixus (the original, before they started numbering the models) with the WP-DC800. Shutter lag is huge on this one, so I'm saving up for the Ixus 500 for its quick-shot functionality. I'm also looking forward to making small underwater movie clips.

 

[simonc]

IMHO no, on both counts.

An external strobe and the associated rigging will mess up whatever bouyancy tweaks you make now anyway. And you will want one eventually.

Thanks ArthurGerla,

My IXUS400 works like a treat. Just not sure about its bouyancy in the housing. I hope it doesn't float above my wrist and become annoying.

I was hoping for feedback regarding whether this is the case and whether without strobes etc it is OK. I don't really want to weight the housing unnecessarily.

Ciao.

 

[ArthurGerla]

My IXUS400 works like a treat. Just not sure about its bouyancy in the housing. I hope it doesn't float above my wrist and become annoying.

Assuming the weight of the Ixus 400 is the same (I suppose it is) the housing will be slightly buoyant. But in the dozens of dives I've made with it I found I held it in my hand all the time anyway, just to have it ready when a photo opportunity presented itself. And if I did let it go, it wasn't annoying at all.

Art

 

[simonc]

Assuming the weight of the Ixus 400 is the same (I suppose it is) the housing will be slightly buoyant. But in the dozens of dives I've made with it I found I held it in my hand all the time anyway, just to have it ready when a photo opportunity presented itself. And if I did let it go, it wasn't annoying at all.

Art

Thanks. I can't wait to give it a go. Hopefully I'll have some fantatic photos of hammerhead sharks and large pelagic fish from Malaysia to share in a week's time.

Cheers,

Simon