Dream holiday coming up, camera queries!

[Jody2803]

Hi All,

Have been doing a lot of reading on the forum recently but wondered if someone would be able to help.

In May I am going to the Maldives for 2 weeks, it's my absolute dream holiday and one that we probably wont be able to repeat due to the cost. Last year I bought a Fuji F100fd with the WP-FXF100 Fuji housing which I took to Egypt with me. Overall, the camera performed ok, I got some half decent shots with I played with on Nero to sort out the white balance. I only ever used the UW mode which in hindsight was not the best mode, I have to admit I am a total novice when it comes to cameras! I have just ordered a copy of Maria Munn's underwater photography book so I can better understand camera features in general. I love taking pictures, I just am not very good at it.

Because of this holiday I knew that I wanted something much 'better' and have kind of set my heart on a Panasonic FT2 as it has the HD video and the clips I have seen on youtube and the like have been amazing. I would still keep the Fuji purely as a dive cam and because I am going to spend many more hours snorkeling than diving, I thought the Panny would be a much nicer all round option.

That said, I did think about putting a strobe on the Fuji but I really don't know much about them. Another option was obviously to sell the Fuji as a package and then put the proceeds from that and the panasonic budget towards something much more competant. I have to admit that I do have a bit of an OCD issue with leaking cameras, I am filled with the fear of going all that way to have a camera leak and not getting any pictures - this is part of the reason stopping me from getting just 1 camera.

I don't ever intend to dive in the UK, it's just not for me so the actually amount of dive time such camera would get would be fairly minimal. As you can problem see from my rambling....I'm so confused what to do. I REALLY love the panny for the video clips but perhaps I am being a little blinkered? Or would I be better off just getting some sort of strobe kit for the Fuji - but then it will be so bulky for snorkeling.................

Any opinions.......(please?!?!?!!)

 

[vladimir]

We--the 95% of underwater photographers that take photos with little or no artistic merit--delude ourselves into thinking we are capturing something special. Inspired by the beauty that we see, and anxious to share it with those who won't see it, we blind ourselves to the fact that we fail to capture that beauty. My first dives on a beautiful IndoPacific coral reef were truly revelatory; how could my friends and family be so blase about the photos I brought back? I got a close up of a whale shark's eyeball, for Pete's sake! Don't they appreciate how difficult that was, swimming for all I was worth, focusing, and clearing my ears as the leviathan dived? How about that flawless shot of a commensal shrimp, taken while inverted in a current at 30 meters? Do they think that was easy? They don't know, and they don't care.

Your friends and family would rather see pictures of you and your friends in the boat--that is the truth. Those pictures of fish, coral, etc? The first 1,000 will suck anyway, and even if you get good, not that many people will care. Don't spend your dream dives with your head stuck in a viewfinder--you will miss a lot of what's going on around you.

 

[Warren_L]

I think a lot depends on what kind of shots you're hoping to get.

I just got back from 10 days in the Maldives last week. The main attractions for me were the large pelagics. Although we didn't get to see any whale sharks, there were manta rays and other reef sharks around. There are some decent macro opportunities as well, but on the whole, the reefs were really just ok. Prior to the Maldives I did 10 days in the Philippines and the reefs there were much more lush and full of smaller critters to shoot.

If you want to shoot topside, there's stuff to see in Malé as well as the numerous islands there.

If you want to see a few of my Maldives shots, you can browse through them here: Maldives February 2011

 

[Jody2803]

We--the 95% of underwater photographers that take photos with little or no artistic merit--delude ourselves into thinking we are capturing something special. Inspired by the beauty that we see, and anxious to share it with those who won't see it, we blind ourselves to the fact that we fail to capture that beauty. My first dives on a beautiful IndoPacific coral reef were truly revelatory; how could my friends and family be so blase about the photos I brought back? I got a close up of a whale shark's eyeball, for Pete's sake! Don't they appreciate how difficult that was, swimming for all I was worth, focusing, and clearing my ears as the leviathan dived? How about that flawless shot of a commensal shrimp, taken while inverted in a current at 30 meters? Do they think that was easy? They don't know, and they don't care.

Your friends and family would rather see pictures of you and your friends in the boat--that is the truth. Those pictures of fish, coral, etc? The first 1,000 will suck anyway, and even if you get good, not that many people will care. Don't spend your dream dives with your head stuck in a viewfinder--you will miss a lot of what's going on around you.

I actually do really understand where you are coming from and you are quite right.....but, the pictures are for me, very few people actually get access to my UW pictures, they are for me in my own little fish obsessed world! I certainly don't intend to spend my entire dive time with a camera in my hand but I would like to know that should I wish to grab a quick snapshot, my camera is actually going to show a good represntation of what I saw while down below.

I think a lot depends on what kind of shots you're hoping to get.

I just got back from 10 days in the Maldives last week. The main attractions for me were the large pelagics. Although we didn't get to see any whale sharks, there were manta rays and other reef sharks around. There are some decent macro opportunities as well, but on the whole, the reefs were really just ok. Prior to the Maldives I did 10 days in the Philippines and the reefs there were much more lush and full of smaller critters to shoot.

If you want to shoot topside, there's stuff to see in Malé as well as the numerous islands there.

If you want to see a few of my Maldives shots, you can browse through them here:

Thanks for the link Warren, you have some fantastic shots there!

I couldn't say that I specifically want to shoot macro subjects or wide angle scenes, I kinda do a bit of everything, I know that isn't very useful. We are heading to south ari atoll for 2 weeks and the island we are staying at supposedly has a very nice reef so I am confident I will be able to find some nice subjects to capture. I personally have a 'thing' for butterflyfish and angels and the shots I have seen from recent visitors indicate a large abundance of butterflys.

My UW photogrpahy book turned up yesterday and I am already half way through it and have a much better understanding of how selecting different apertures and speeds can affect the shot. A camera can only be as good as the person using it afterall. I have now decided against a strobe unit, the reasons being that a) I am still a novice diver and I don't want to be carrying a large piece of kit and possibly get 'distracted' by tinkering with the settings. I also don't have the available funds to get a set up that would last, I know I would end up wanting to upgrade fairly soon!

Because of this I have been looking into other accessories, namely red filters and fisheye/macro lenses. I was told not to bother with a red filter by a camera specialist some time ago but I think that was because I was being pushed towards a strobe (more money for them obviously). I did a quick google this morning and found an U/W reef video where the red filter was put on halfway through and the difference was striking. Fantasea also make a push on filter for my specific housing although due to the shape, it isn't stackable. They also do a Macro lens, this may be my preferred type as I like fairly close up shots. My other option would be to get the fantasea eyedaptor so that I could effectively use any 67mm lens, I will need to work out which costs more. I did look at the magic filter but I like the idea of being able to pop the red filter off for macro shots.

If you have anymore thoughts on this I would love to hear.

Many thanks

Jody

 

[PatW]

As far as other people being impressed with the photos, it depends on the people. I have seen some people be impressed by my photos. Others, well it just is not something they are interested in.

 

[Warren_L]

Thanks for the link Warren, you have some fantastic shots there!

I couldn't say that I specifically want to shoot macro subjects or wide angle scenes, I kinda do a bit of everything, I know that isn't very useful. We are heading to south ari atoll for 2 weeks and the island we are staying at supposedly has a very nice reef so I am confident I will be able to find some nice subjects to capture. I personally have a 'thing' for butterflyfish and angels and the shots I have seen from recent visitors indicate a large abundance of butterflys.

There were a lot of reef fish, for sure. Not as much in way of little critters like nudibranchs, but definitely some interesting butterfly fishes. I don't think you'll be disappointed. A compact system with macro capability is likely what will serve you best, especially if you want the flexibility to shoot both wide angle and macro on the same dive.

My UW photogrpahy book turned up yesterday and I am already half way through it and have a much better understanding of how selecting different apertures and speeds can affect the shot. A camera can only be as good as the person using it afterall. I have now decided against a strobe unit, the reasons being that a) I am still a novice diver and I don't want to be carrying a large piece of kit and possibly get 'distracted' by tinkering with the settings. I also don't have the available funds to get a set up that would last, I know I would end up wanting to upgrade fairly soon!

Because of this I have been looking into other accessories, namely red filters and fisheye/macro lenses. I was told not to bother with a red filter by a camera specialist some time ago but I think that was because I was being pushed towards a strobe (more money for them obviously). I did a quick google this morning and found an U/W reef video where the red filter was put on halfway through and the difference was striking. Fantasea also make a push on filter for my specific housing although due to the shape, it isn't stackable. They also do a Macro lens, this may be my preferred type as I like fairly close up shots. My other option would be to get the fantasea eyedaptor so that I could effectively use any 67mm lens, I will need to work out which costs more. I did look at the magic filter but I like the idea of being able to pop the red filter off for macro shots.

To strobe or not to strobe, that's a tough one. Given your concerns about not having additional distractions, that's a smart way to look at your diving. But it may be worth looking at a smaller strobe system that may come with a compact system if it's compact enough for you to be comfortable with - simply because when you're shooting macro, I think you'll get better results than without strobe lighting. But as you say, there are also other considerations, especially from a budgetary standpoint.

A red filter can certainly help. I'm not familiar with the magic filter, although I have heard good things about it. A red filter will help to some degree, but at best it is just an approximation that helps to restore the proper spectral balance in your shots when using ambient light. It will rarely restore the proper balance exactly (compared to using strobe lighting), but can often bring it closer to the proper balance. You also need to remember that the spectral balance changes with your depth as it is the total distance your light travels through the water to your lens that affects how much colour is lost.

 

[Jody2803]

Thanks for coming back Warren.

I decided to take a look at the nano type strobes and came across the fantasea nano strobe, it seems to have got some ok reviews here on SB and although very entry level, maybe compact enough for me to be happy about carrying. Even better is the fact I just realised the same strobe is advertised by Fuji and I have a friend who works for Fuji and can get equipment half price, it would work out at £75 if he can obtain it - would be silly not to get it at that price especially as the red filter I saw was over £80.

I assume that this would really assist with the macro shots?

I also managed to pick up an Epoque Wide Angle lens last night for less than half of the current retail price. I am simply viewing it as an investment which will undoubtedly be used again.

 

[Warren_L]

Having your own lighting generally helps, since ambient light will give you a bluish or greenish cast in your pictures, which is why colour correction, like using a red filter for example, will help make ambient light pictures appear more true to the colours one would expect. However, whatever method of colour correction you use, at best it is still an approximation whereas having artificial lighting like that from a strobe, will get you even closer.

Your best results will likely be within half a metre of your subject with that strobe, so distance shots of scenery will not likely yield the true colours you might want quite as easily. So with a compact system with that strobe, your best results are likely going to be the up close macro shots.

I think the investment in a wide angle lens is a good one. The big advantage of the wide angle lens is that is will allow you to get closer to your subject. For underwater shooting, this is a really key advantage as the closer you get, the less water you have between you and the subject. This means that you get better light quality from your strobes and there is less particulate matter in front of the lens to deal with. In general, it makes for cleaner looking shots compared to shooting without one.

Anyway, as you already recognize, this is a learning process. One thing I would highly recommend is once you get your underwater system, learn to operate it out of the water. Get familiar with all the controls and how to handle the system. This will help since doing anything in the water is usually much harder than on land, and if you can get familiar with your setup before getting it wet, it's going to be a big advantage.

Oh, one other thing you also need a fiber optic cable for the strobe, which is probably going to be around £30 I'm guessing from the Fantasea website.

Good luck!

 

[Puffer Fish]

Jody, learn how to do a manual white balance and you will not need the red filter.

 

[Jody2803]

Well, a lot happened yesterday!

I spent about half an hour on the phone to an underwater camera specialist here in the UK, the basic gist of it was that my options are very limited if I keep the Fuji. Their advice was to seriously consider getting a Canon set up as the Epoque wide angle will vinette with my camera. It was a very useful conversation though as we talked through the white balance and how to set it. The good news was that once I have an adaptor for my housing I can use any macro lens

I think I will get a small strobe of some description just to toy with and probably an Inon Macro lens, my wide angle turned up today so I will have to try it out with the adaptor and see how bad the vinette is, if it is not too bad then I might be able to crop the frame a little.

Thanks for all of your advice Warren, I still have a lot to think about but I am going to try and get a pool session with a local dive club so I can take the camera along and practice under the water which will also be a big help!