digital camera settings

[SUBMERGED]

I've looked at the message board and see that there are a lot of digital camera users out there.
I'm new to underwater photography and I have looked at many of the links you provided to look at your U/W photos, and I have seen many excellent photos.
On most cameras there is a choice of two or three quality modes and also a choice of sharpness modes.
My question is what quality and sharpness mode should you shoot at?
( 640x480) (1280x960)etc and (normal, soft, hard ) sharpness.

 

[raxafarian]

always shoot at the highest quality/largest size settings.

It's best to use software (photoshop, etc.) for sharpening. Much more sophisticated than in-camera sharpening. Even though the images might look soft, you will actually be retaining more detail. I'd leave it at soft... normal at the most... never hard.

 

[Dee]

I agree with Rax. If you plan to print any of your shots, use the highest compression you can. If you don't plan to print any and only want to use them on the internet, 640x480 would work. You'll also get more pics on the card.

The camera's normal sharpness setting is fine. If you have a manipulation program you can better see if you need to tweak the sharpening or not. Too sharp is a bad thing.

 

[ReyeR]

If you plan to print any of your shots, use the highest compression you can

Hee hee Dee, you mean LOWEST compression and highest resolution possible...

 

[Dee]

ReyeR once bubbled...


Hee hee Dee, you mean LOWEST compression and highest resolution possible...

LOL...well, I knew it was highest something!

 

[GP]

Yep...I always shoot at highest resolution too. I just got Photoshop myself and it's awesome. I couldn't believe how much I was able to improve my photos from last year with it.

 

[dlwalke]

>>I just got Photoshop myself and it's awesome. I
couldn't believe how much I was able to improve my photos from last year with it.<<

I just got my first dig cam yesterday and am tres excited. Two questions. What can you do with photoshop or similar software. All I know about manipulating images on a computer is cropping, and cutting and pasting.

Also, with the C5050 (and I suppose other models) you can use a wide range of cards. Olympus is touting the XD something or other (the most expensive one). Are there any special considerations for underwater use? I am inclined to get the state of the art one, but could save some $ by going for one of the older more established cards.

Dave

 

[The Pirate]

raxafarian once bubbled...
always shoot at the highest quality/largest size settings.

So, would that be TIFF or Raw or something else on the 5050?

 

[raxafarian]

The Pirate once bubbled...

So, would that be TIFF or Raw or something else on the 5050?

I don't know what the settings are on that camera.

I'll clarify with shoot at the highest quality compressed setting. I don't think you gain a whole lot shooting raw, and some of the conversion programs are crappy. Shoot the best quality .jpg setting.

 

[Dee]

The 5050 has a RAW setting and ability to use multiple cards (2 of 4) that the others don't have.

The 4040 can record in TIFF but it really eats memory. Unless you plan to have a huge poster printed there's really few reasons to use it unless you are a pro.