COOLPIX Shooters in the House

[ZAquaman]

I have the coolpix 4300 and bought a Fantasea housing because it seemed like a good deal. I'm very pleased with the results. It's an affordable and easy to use system. I handed the camera to my sister who has no UW phot experience while I used my Nikonos V. Here are some of her results...

 

[ZAquaman]

I did notice that there is a way to put the cp 4300 into "sleep mode" while in the fantasea housing. Press the "monitor button" twice and it sleeps, once and it wakes up. It'll really make your battery last longer. The backscatter problem is evident with this system, but it's a great deal for the price in my opinion.

 

[corybaby]

thanks for the tips, i will try them sunday,my biggest complaint is slightly out of focus and contrast too high, ie: washed out pics

 

[BubbleBunny]

Hi guys! I'm new to the board and have a new Coolpix system too. I just purchased the Ikelite housing for my Coolpix 8700 and got the DS-125 Substrobe to go with it.

I'm headed to Grand Turk next week and hoping for tons of beautiful shots! Nothing like clear tropical waters to really give your photos a boost!

I'm greatly interested to hear if anyone else is using a similar system. Then we can trade lies and technique.

Well I've finally gotten around to posting a trip report and some pictures from Grand Turk. I'm not sure how to add pictures to the post :06: but I can direct you to my Gallery. Hopefully the link will work, in case it doesn't, go to Gallery Home, Member Galleries, and search BubbleBunny.
http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=46417

For those who are interested, the trip report is under the Turks and Caicos thread or follow the link.
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=101526&page=4&pp=10

I'd love any constructive criticism.

 

[Rick155]

I did notice that there is a way to put the cp 4300 into "sleep mode" while in the fantasea housing. Press the "monitor button" twice and it sleeps, once and it wakes up. It'll really make your battery last longer.</

You're not putting the camera to sleep by doing that; you're just turning off the monitor and suspending continuous auto-focus. For example, if you half-depress the shutter release while in this mode you'll see the auto-focus is still working. The camera is not really asleep, although turning off the monitor does conserve power. From "off" to "on" takes about 3 seconds in this mode. This conservation measure may be enough for some, but maybe not enough for others.

It's easy to program the camera to actually "sleep" after a predetermined interval. In "setup", go to "auto off". You can choose intervals of 30 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes, or 30 minutes. The camera will automatically shut off after the predetermined interval. A tap on the shutter release brings the camera back to life. While diving I typically use 1 minute auto-off to maximize battery life. As I approach a subject that I think I might want to shoot, I tap the shutter release even before I'm in position, so I don't have to wait; it'll be up and running by the time I bring the camera up to my face. It becomes second nature after a while. And the best part is that you don't have to think about turning it off; it's automatic. From "off" to "on" takes about 4 seconds in this mode, so it does take a little bit longer than the monitor-off strategy. But it's only 1 second more

Rick.

 

[pitri]

This is my first digital camera.
When I bought the fantasea cp-4 for this camera I was thrilled. On the box it was written - supports all functions.

When I first took it underwater I realized that I have made a mistake.
It is not possible to switch modes and it is not possible to control the flash. All should be pre defined before closing the housing and entering the water.

As a result I now dive with manual mode when flash is always on.

I must say that this is very uncomfortable and i'm looking for a new housing.

Other than that the camera is great and I got some real nice pictures with it.

 

[robcap]

Finally I decided and bought fantasea CP-6 for coolpix 4600. Reason?
Simple. Nikon WP-CP3 is out of stock (in Italy) since ages.
So the day before leaving for Red Sea I bought CP-6.
I cannot do comparisons, but I am really satisfied with it.
I can control the flash (contrary to what has been written by pitri about CP-4).
No problem with zoom.
No problem with flooding.
I took 250 pics, and some of them are nice (I think).
I will soon publish a gallery on scubaboard, and you will tell me what do you think.

btw, any tip for retouching photos, like adding some red .... any suggestion is welcome.

ciao

 

[harpua]

I own a Coolpix 4300 and just purchased a Fantasea CP-4 Pro housing on eBay. I am going to take this set-up down to Cozumel in Feb. and shoot as much as I can. I am not buying a strobe, as I am a rookie photographer & diver, maybe later tho.

I think it is important to note that there are two types of CP-4 housings available, the SPORT and PRO.

The SPORT model is a bit less expensive and doesn't have all the functions of the pricier PRO model. I am not going to go into detail, just be advised if you are looking at these housings.

 

[jumsted65]

Hey harpua, you'll probably have good luck with that camera in Cozumel. If the visibility is good, and you have some ambient light, the CCD is sensitive enough you may not even need the strobe. Just beware that if you do use the internal strobe, like for macro shots, you might get some shadow as the strobe is blocked by the housing for shots like that. Kinda annoying. Oh, and remember to set your camera to macro mode before putting it in the housing. In fact, remember to set ALL camera functions before you put it in the housing as many cannot be changed underwater.

I'll have to go to Ebay and see what you paid. I'm ready to sell my CP4 pro, and probably keep the 4300 for when I don't want to lug the D70 around on dry land.

Edit: Just read pitri's post. He's right. It's impossible to change strobe mode from auto, to off, to always on when it's in the housing. That bit me once too.

 

[Rick155]

Oh, and remember to set your camera to macro mode before putting it in the housing.

You can switch to and from macro focusing while it's in the CP4 Pro housing, if the camera's in Auto mode. There are two ways to go macro with the 4300 -- (1) as a "scene" setting (dial on the top of the camera), which can't be changed once it's in the housing and (2) with the camera in Auto mode, through what I'll call the focus button (second from left) on the back of the camera. This one can be switched while the camera is in the housing. Flash options can also be changed in-housing with the CP4 Pro. I wish it were possible to switch to and from video mode. Friends with Canon point and shoots in similar type housings can do that and it makes me envious.

Just beware that if you do use the internal strobe, like for macro shots, you might get some shadow as the strobe is blocked by the housing for shots like that.

Yeah, if you're too close to the subject you can get a shadow in one corner of the frame. It takes a little experimenting to learn how close is too close, but the capacity for almost unlimited trial and error without additional cost is what makes digital picture taking such a pleasure! This is an issue only when shooting macro.

I also suggest programming the auto-off feature as described in another of my posts in this thread. Conserving battery life is always a good thing.

Rick