DSLR Underwater Camera Settings for Divers

[Maluku Diving]

DSLR Underwater Camera Settings for Divers -
Blog Maluku Diver Resort

DSLR cameras today come with many features that can be very overwhelming if you are a new shooter. Additionally, if you have the wrong settings, you may think that the camera is faulty when really a small adjustment will have it working perfectly. Here are tips to help you out:

• Turn off the AF Illuminator – Turn this off because you really don’t need to have the build in focus light on.

• AF Drive – If you are looking for an easy way to focus in on one point, then you should have single AF on instead of continuous.

• AF-ON – Instead of having autofocus on half press, turn on the AF-ON button. This will cause your lens to keep pun on manual focus until you press the AF-ON button which will then kick in autofocus.

• Center Focus – This is a single point focus and it is actually the strongest focus you have on your camera.

• LCD Brightness – It is important to make sure that your screen is not too bright since this can give you the illusion that your picture is bright only to find that it is very dark on the computer. Always bear in mind that it is a dark environment underwater.
  

• Priority Release – You want to set your camera to priority release and not focus since this will allow your camera to release even though the camera may not think you are in focus.

• Metering – Make sure you can meter the entire scene. You don’t want center.

• Highlight Warning and Display Histograms – This helps you know if you have the right exposure.

• Go Raw – This file format produces vibrant color tones and better results because it is uncompressed.

• Color Space Adobe RGB – This will give you a huge color range to play with which is excellent for printing.

• Macro Lens – This should not be set to limit.

• White Balance – You can have it set on auto if you will be shooting with strobes, but if raw, you can make changes after the shoot.

• Turn off Auto ISO – Especially if you are making adjustments to aperture or shutter speed.

• Keep picture style as standard or normal and not vivid.

• Sleep/ Meter off – This is a great idea so you will not have to wake the camera up.

• Consecutive Numbering – This way your images will not be overwritten in the computer for having a similar name.

• Red Eye – If you will be using the TTL convertor, avoid flash settings. Use fill-in flash only.

 

[Storker]

To recommend Adobe RGB after recommending shooting raw is meaningless. A raw file doesn't have a color space; it's applied during post-processing. Color space - like color balance - is only relevant when you shoot JPEGs.

 

[ScubaSteve85]

To recommend Adobe RGB after recommending shooting raw is meaningless. A raw file doesn't have a color space; it's applied during post-processing. Color space - like color balance - is only relevant when you shoot JPEGs.

True, but they specifically recommend Adobe RGB in the context of printing. In my experience, RAW formats need to be exported to another format such as TIFF for printing, so recommending a color space in this context is applicable.

 

[northernone]

Same goes for:

• Go Raw – This file format produces vibrant color tones....

• Keep picture style as standard or normal and not vivid

 

[Storker]

In my experience, RAW formats need to be exported to another format such as TIFF for printing, so recommending a color space in this context is applicable.

It all depends on what you want to use the image for.

• Screen display: Often sRGB is best, since many computer screens don't cover more than the sRGB color space. Besides, not all browsers are able to read ICC profiles. Without that, an image in Adobe RGB will display with very dull colors. Web browser color Management
• Photo-printing: Depends on the printer. Many consumer photo printing services wants the image as sRGB JPEG. If you want to take advantage of the larger gamut of Adobe RGB, you normally have to use professional services or do your own printing
• Press printing: This is where it gets really complicated. Normally the printer will specify the file format and color space/color model.

I see no point in exporting the image as a TIFF file unless it has been requested by the recipient. I shoot exclusively in raw file format, but since I'm an amateur who only show my pictures on a computer screen or have them printed by consumer services, I usually export my pictures in JPEG format and in sRGB color space. For display on my own computer, where I have a calibrated screen and my software use color management, I use Adobe RGB.

Setting your camera to record in Adobe RGB only makes sense if you record in JPEG format and are able to convert from one color space to another during post-processing.

Shooting raw requires some kind of post-processing. I'm a big fan of Adobe Lightroom for photo management and post-processing. When you use Lightroom (or a program with similar functionality), there's literally nothing more to shooting and archiving in raw format than in JPEG. My raw files are automatically developed as they are imported, so I have to look at the file's extension to find out which format my camera recorded in. However, I have a lot more latitude in adjusting exposure and color balance when the starting point is a raw file.

 

[Maluku Diving]

To recommend Adobe RGB after recommending shooting raw is meaningless. A raw file doesn't have a color space; it's applied during post-processing. Color space - like color balance - is only relevant when you shoot JPEGs.

Ehmmm that makes sense...

 

[Maluku Diving]

True, but they specifically recommend Adobe RGB in the context of printing. In my experience, RAW formats need to be exported to another format such as TIFF for printing, so recommending a color space in this context is applicable.

Yup everything is depend that we need

 

[Compressor]

DSLR Underwater Camera Settings for Divers -
Blog Maluku Diver Resort

DSLR cameras today come with many features that can be very overwhelming if you are a new shooter. Additionally, if you have the wrong settings, you may think that the camera is faulty when really a small adjustment will have it working perfectly. Here are tips to help you out:

• Turn off the AF Illuminator – Turn this off because you really don’t need to have the build in focus light on.

• AF Drive – If you are looking for an easy way to focus in on one point, then you should have single AF on instead of continuous.

• AF-ON – Instead of having autofocus on half press, turn on the AF-ON button. This will cause your lens to keep pun on manual focus until you press the AF-ON button which will then kick in autofocus.

• Center Focus – This is a single point focus and it is actually the strongest focus you have on your camera.

• LCD Brightness – It is important to make sure that your screen is not too bright since this can give you the illusion that your picture is bright only to find that it is very dark on the computer. Always bear in mind that it is a dark environment underwater.View attachment 413716

• Priority Release – You want to set your camera to priority release and not focus since this will allow your camera to release even though the camera may not think you are in focus.

• Metering – Make sure you can meter the entire scene. You don’t want center.

• Highlight Warning and Display Histograms – This helps you know if you have the right exposure.

View attachment 413717

• Go Raw – This file format produces vibrant color tones and better results because it is uncompressed.

• Color Space Adobe RGB – This will give you a huge color range to play with which is excellent for printing.

• Macro Lens – This should not be set to limit.

• White Balance – You can have it set on auto if you will be shooting with strobes, but if raw, you can make changes after the shoot.

• Turn off Auto ISO – Especially if you are making adjustments to aperture or shutter speed.

• Keep picture style as standard or normal and not vivid.

• Sleep/ Meter off – This is a great idea so you will not have to wake the camera up.

• Consecutive Numbering – This way your images will not be overwritten in the computer for having a similar name.

• Red Eye – If you will be using the TTL convertor, avoid flash settings. Use fill-in flash only.

View attachment 413718

This is nicely done. Thanks.
I shoot manual most of the time with shutter @ 1/200 and aperture 2 f/8-11. Then I fill flash. Mostly without TTL.