D200 Nikon Settings for Underwater shoot

[mexdiver]

I was wondering if any one has any chart of settings to use for Nikon D200 to shoot pictures underwater . using wide angle lens or macro lens can any one share some?
Or give me some pointers please.

Thank you

 

[fisheyeview]

I was wondering if any one has any chart of settings to use for Nikon D200 to shoot pictures underwater . using wide angle lens or macro lens can any one share some?
Or give me some pointers please.

Thank you

Which lenses?

 

[mexdiver]

Which lenses?

For Nikon 20mm AF and Nikon 60mm AF lens

 

[fisheyeview]

For Nikon 20mm AF and Nikon 60mm AF lens

I have not tried my 20mm lens with the D200. The range of coverage makes it more like a 30mm which does not appeal to me for underwater. I would start with the following setings for the 20mm:
1/125
f8
ISO-100

You can tweak it based on the water conditions you dive in, and how deep you are shooting.

For the 60mm start with the following settings:
1/125
f16
ISO-100

A big plus with the D200 is the split histogram view where you get seperate histograms. Use this view option in the display. I use the blue histogram to judge the ambient light in the shot, and the red histogram to judge the strobe lighting.

 

[fisheyeview]

For Nikon 20mm AF and Nikon 60mm AF lens

You might want to think about dropping the 20mm, and getting a lens like the Tokina 10-17 FE. This is a great lens with this camera.

 

[philmayer]

You're going to want to stay faster than 1/125 sec exposure times as much as possible. There is A LOT of movement underwater.

ISO and aperture I adjust based on light, composition, mood, etc.

 

[mexdiver]

Thank you both for the advice

 

[RonFrank]

There are no magic numbers here. Part of being a photographer is.... Well being a photographer and understanding what you are doing.

UW you want MAX DOF, a shutter speed of at least 1/100, and ISO 100. Can one achieve those settings based on the conditions, and composition? Yes....No....Maybe....

If one can NOT get those settings, what's a photographer to do?

I would highly recommend some reading. There ARE not magic numbers, even if there are some starting points. But the starting points are based on vis, light, lens selection, and flash selection.

Provide more information on your setup, and maybe we can provide better information. My best advice however is don't ask such general questions, rather read some books on exposure, and equipment technique, and then ask questions. There are some great books on the market, and they go into much more detail than one will ever see on any forum.

I'm not trying to be harsh, but if you don't want to learn to be a photographer, than put the camera in P mode, and go with what you get (which is likely not going to be all bad! ).

 

[mjh]

As Ron said there are no set numbers. I am complete amateur and my photos are evidence of that. BUT got advice from a dive guide/photographer (award winning) who worked with one of the Big names (one of their books are on your coffee table now) and their advice was shoot the slowest SS possible.

1/60, f.8, ISO100, Nikon 17-55

1/40, f.16, ISO100, Nikon 60mm

1/60, f7.1, ISO100, Nikon 60mm

 

[JackConnick]

On my D80, which is similar, I have experimented with a few settings. I would say that shooting in auto ISO with it set to 100-200 or so is a nice option for W/A. I would shoot at no less than f/14 on the 60mm and no more than f22, unless you really need the DOF. It's much sharper that way. I agree with the others, stay at least at 1/125th-1/200, remeber your strobe doesn't sync much faster than that.

I use spot focusing and AFS. However, with a 105VR, I've found that that AFS is a bit too fast to release and a more manual setting is a bit better.

Jack