This thread is for all of those initial questions that we have when we start something new. It's not comprehensive, but should give a good starting place.
These tips are useful no matter which camera manufacturer you choose. Some of the pointers may or may not be relevant to your particular model, so getting to know your camera is an important first step before hitting the water.
This assumes that your diving skills are excellent before you get in with a camera. If your diving skills are rusty or if you have just started diving, the very best thing you can do for your photography is to get in the water and get your buoyancy and other skills down pat. THEN add a camera.
When am I ready to start taking photographs underwater?
A thread filled with suggestions, ideas, guidelines and encouragement is here
Which settings should I begin with?
First, head for manual mode and learn how to use it. Manual mode is one of those criteria that is very important to look for in a new camera if you think you might want to grow with your photography without having to buy another camera in the not so distant future. Models without manual mode can still produce some nice images, however, they have severe limitations and will not grow with you. They may be perfect for the type of diving and photography you wish to do and there are several good models out there right now.
"Underwater" settings or modes These are essentially auto modes where the camera has already made decisions for you and have become a very popular feature on compact cameras.
Underwater modes will usually do one of these things or a combination of them:
-set a wide open aperture causing blue images that may look soft
-increase the ISO. This creates more noise, especially in your blues.
-set a slow shutter potentially causing camera shake or motion blur (remember, everything is in motion underwater!). This can also cause wimpy blue backgrounds that may even look greyish.
-render the jpegs with more "red" to compensate for being underwater. In theory this is a great thing. In practice, it works sometimes. Other times it looks a bit "off" and/or can show up as a noisier image.
It is important to realise how shutter, aperture and ISO work together to create the image you want - it isn't that hard and will rapidly increase the rate of keepers you get. A little effort to start is much easier than unlearning habits and/or blowing shots coz your camera decided for you. You'll need to play around with UW modes to see how they work for you.
Shutter Speed
These are guidelines only and hopefully this will get you in the ballpark. All settings are based on relatively bright conditions. For those diving in the PNW and darker waters you will need to adjust to allow more light in.
Set your shutter speed for 1/125 or so. A fast shutter will help freeze action and you shouldn't get too much blur. Dropping below 1/80 is begging for motion blur in many instances. Avoid program/auto mode...the camera will select a shutter speed that is too slow and you will get blurry shots.
What does shutter do? Shutter determines your background colour (faster shutters = deeper blues) and freezes motion (yours, the cameras, the fishie...) Faster shutter speeds let in less light and slower speeds let in more light.
Aperture
Try your aperture around 5.6 or so...you may have to change one or both of these settings during the dive if it looks like your photos are blown out or too dark. Use f8 on things like nudibranchs and other tiny, detailed critters.
Opening your aperture all the way (2.8 or the smallest numerical value your camera has) tends to create soft images. Very few compacts work well at their widest aperture so moving it two or three steps in helps your image look crisper. The problem with program/auto/underwater modes is that the camera will usually decide to open the aperture (soft, perhaps overexposed images) and/or slow the shutter (blurred or overexposed images).
Remember, many lcds on digital cameras are either too bright or too dark - do a little experimenting to get to know yours so you can expose correctly. If your camera has a histrogram feature, use it! It's a very efficient way to determine if your exposure is close.
Dealing with Shutter Lag
Now for shutter lag. You cannot control this, it's just one of those things you are going to have to work around when using any digital non-slr. Prefocus by half press of the shutter then there shouldn't be any significant lag when you fully press to take a photo. This is one of the hardest things to "learn" when moving from film. You are going to have be patient and wait for the fish/creature to "pose" to take the shot. It'll be worth it.
Learn the behaviours of the creatures you are trying to shoot. Then you can start to anticipate where they will be and be ready to capture the moment!
Other Tips
Get close. Your internal flash is pretty useless after about 4 feet or so. Your best results, with or without a flash, are going to be with the least amount of water between you and your subject as possible. Less backscatter, better colours, crisper images...get close!
Slow down. Even while drift diving it is possible to do this. Don't pursue the fish/creature...most of the time this will make them turn away. Have your camera & arms in position so you aren't making dramatic movements when you take a photo...this will also let you have a nice place to prefocus from.
This approach will also help you take shots of creatures that are actually moving - fish, eels, rays, turtles etc. Try to not make large gestures or sudden movements; lead the shot slightly for the half-press prefocus and wait for the subject to get far enough into the frame before full press.
Be prepared with your settings will also help you get that elusive moving target. Usually when cruising the reef I reset my camera to my "defaults" - f4.5 to f5.6 and shutter 1/125 to 1/400. This gives me the shutter speed to capture things and gives me a nice water colour...you'll have to do some test shots at the beginning of your dive to find what works where you are. Then when I see a subject I would like I can concentrate on focus/aiming instead of settings. If I have time, I can adjust and reshoot.
Don't be afraid of high shutter speeds if you have an external strobe. All the light on your subject can come from your flash/strobe and the high (1/800+) shutter will give you those velvelty black backgrounds.
Don't shoot down. Always try to shoot up or at least at an angle. Shooting down on camouflaged creatures like scorpionfish, octopus etc shows how cleverly they are hidden, but makes images look flat and your subject will often appear dull or get lost.
Practice practice practice. If you can do shore dives or snorkelling or even in the swimming pool get in there with the camera. You don't have to keep your results, but practice is the only way you will get a feel for how long it takes for your camera to go from cold (no prefocus) to a worthwhile shot. Then you get to try to "time" that when you diving...it can be frustrating, but keep at it...you'll be surprised at how fast you get it!! You can also practice on land!
Know the limitations of your camera.
* Don't try for those all encompassing reef scenes or wrecks...if you do, turn off the flash and go for the outline/blues look. Adding a WA lens and a strobe later will let you experiment more effectively with this type of photography.
* Know your minimum focus distance. If you go inside of this your photos will be blurry. This changes as you use zoom (it gets farther away). Practice on land with a ruler so you get a feel for things.
* Remember your internal strobe is only good for about 4 feet. Canon A series users may want to turn their flash intensity down to 2/3s instead of full or you will overexpose things that are close; some other manufacturers may have similar quirks. Play with increasing the intensity if 5+ feet away.
* Set your camera to macro mode and leave it there. When shooting the Oly 5050 I leave the camera in macro mode almost all the time; even for manta rays and sharks.
* Turn off the red eye function.
* Reduce backscatter by shooting against a reef background instead of into the blue. Turn off your flash when shooting silver fish in a blue background. Flip your camera upside down or vertical to control where the flash is hitting.
* Whenever possible, take more than one or two frames of your subject.
* Shoot, review, adjust, shoot, review, adjust, shoot etc...
Macro Mode
I keep my camera in macro mode always unless I know I am going to concentrate on really big guys, like manta rays or whale sharks. And even then I have been known to leave it on. Basically what the macro function does is tell the camera to start looking closer for your focus...and since we always want to be closer underwater, seems like a good plan of attack to me.
Note that some cameras, such as some Fuji models, limit zoom use when in macro mode - this is something you'll need to look at before you buy!
Have fun! Don't forget this bit
Turn off the AiAF
Pick your subjects to get started. Don't expect to shoot those zooming fishies perfectly the first time. Look for more stationary subject like nudibranchs, sea stars, corals, scorpionfish and other slow moving or non-moving subject. These will ensure that you bring back some really nice shots even from your first dive. With the slow or stationary things you can practice "getting your eye in" for your settings and also work on composition and finding your minimum focus distance. Go ahead and shoot those faster fish, too. At best you'll get some great shots, at worst you'll have images you can learn from for the next dive!
Don't get too upset if you come back from your dives with only a few good ones. This happens and it's all learning! Remember that diving is fun and adding a camera should remain fun, too!
These tips are useful no matter which camera manufacturer you choose. Some of the pointers may or may not be relevant to your particular model, so getting to know your camera is an important first step before hitting the water.
This assumes that your diving skills are excellent before you get in with a camera. If your diving skills are rusty or if you have just started diving, the very best thing you can do for your photography is to get in the water and get your buoyancy and other skills down pat. THEN add a camera.
When am I ready to start taking photographs underwater?
A thread filled with suggestions, ideas, guidelines and encouragement is here
Which settings should I begin with?
First, head for manual mode and learn how to use it. Manual mode is one of those criteria that is very important to look for in a new camera if you think you might want to grow with your photography without having to buy another camera in the not so distant future. Models without manual mode can still produce some nice images, however, they have severe limitations and will not grow with you. They may be perfect for the type of diving and photography you wish to do and there are several good models out there right now.
"Underwater" settings or modes These are essentially auto modes where the camera has already made decisions for you and have become a very popular feature on compact cameras.
Underwater modes will usually do one of these things or a combination of them:
-set a wide open aperture causing blue images that may look soft
-increase the ISO. This creates more noise, especially in your blues.
-set a slow shutter potentially causing camera shake or motion blur (remember, everything is in motion underwater!). This can also cause wimpy blue backgrounds that may even look greyish.
-render the jpegs with more "red" to compensate for being underwater. In theory this is a great thing. In practice, it works sometimes. Other times it looks a bit "off" and/or can show up as a noisier image.
It is important to realise how shutter, aperture and ISO work together to create the image you want - it isn't that hard and will rapidly increase the rate of keepers you get. A little effort to start is much easier than unlearning habits and/or blowing shots coz your camera decided for you. You'll need to play around with UW modes to see how they work for you.
Shutter Speed
These are guidelines only and hopefully this will get you in the ballpark. All settings are based on relatively bright conditions. For those diving in the PNW and darker waters you will need to adjust to allow more light in.
Set your shutter speed for 1/125 or so. A fast shutter will help freeze action and you shouldn't get too much blur. Dropping below 1/80 is begging for motion blur in many instances. Avoid program/auto mode...the camera will select a shutter speed that is too slow and you will get blurry shots.
What does shutter do? Shutter determines your background colour (faster shutters = deeper blues) and freezes motion (yours, the cameras, the fishie...) Faster shutter speeds let in less light and slower speeds let in more light.
Aperture
Try your aperture around 5.6 or so...you may have to change one or both of these settings during the dive if it looks like your photos are blown out or too dark. Use f8 on things like nudibranchs and other tiny, detailed critters.
Opening your aperture all the way (2.8 or the smallest numerical value your camera has) tends to create soft images. Very few compacts work well at their widest aperture so moving it two or three steps in helps your image look crisper. The problem with program/auto/underwater modes is that the camera will usually decide to open the aperture (soft, perhaps overexposed images) and/or slow the shutter (blurred or overexposed images).
Remember, many lcds on digital cameras are either too bright or too dark - do a little experimenting to get to know yours so you can expose correctly. If your camera has a histrogram feature, use it! It's a very efficient way to determine if your exposure is close.
Dealing with Shutter Lag
Now for shutter lag. You cannot control this, it's just one of those things you are going to have to work around when using any digital non-slr. Prefocus by half press of the shutter then there shouldn't be any significant lag when you fully press to take a photo. This is one of the hardest things to "learn" when moving from film. You are going to have be patient and wait for the fish/creature to "pose" to take the shot. It'll be worth it.
Learn the behaviours of the creatures you are trying to shoot. Then you can start to anticipate where they will be and be ready to capture the moment!
Other Tips
Get close. Your internal flash is pretty useless after about 4 feet or so. Your best results, with or without a flash, are going to be with the least amount of water between you and your subject as possible. Less backscatter, better colours, crisper images...get close!
Slow down. Even while drift diving it is possible to do this. Don't pursue the fish/creature...most of the time this will make them turn away. Have your camera & arms in position so you aren't making dramatic movements when you take a photo...this will also let you have a nice place to prefocus from.
This approach will also help you take shots of creatures that are actually moving - fish, eels, rays, turtles etc. Try to not make large gestures or sudden movements; lead the shot slightly for the half-press prefocus and wait for the subject to get far enough into the frame before full press.
Be prepared with your settings will also help you get that elusive moving target. Usually when cruising the reef I reset my camera to my "defaults" - f4.5 to f5.6 and shutter 1/125 to 1/400. This gives me the shutter speed to capture things and gives me a nice water colour...you'll have to do some test shots at the beginning of your dive to find what works where you are. Then when I see a subject I would like I can concentrate on focus/aiming instead of settings. If I have time, I can adjust and reshoot.
Don't be afraid of high shutter speeds if you have an external strobe. All the light on your subject can come from your flash/strobe and the high (1/800+) shutter will give you those velvelty black backgrounds.
Don't shoot down. Always try to shoot up or at least at an angle. Shooting down on camouflaged creatures like scorpionfish, octopus etc shows how cleverly they are hidden, but makes images look flat and your subject will often appear dull or get lost.
Practice practice practice. If you can do shore dives or snorkelling or even in the swimming pool get in there with the camera. You don't have to keep your results, but practice is the only way you will get a feel for how long it takes for your camera to go from cold (no prefocus) to a worthwhile shot. Then you get to try to "time" that when you diving...it can be frustrating, but keep at it...you'll be surprised at how fast you get it!! You can also practice on land!
Know the limitations of your camera.
* Don't try for those all encompassing reef scenes or wrecks...if you do, turn off the flash and go for the outline/blues look. Adding a WA lens and a strobe later will let you experiment more effectively with this type of photography.
* Know your minimum focus distance. If you go inside of this your photos will be blurry. This changes as you use zoom (it gets farther away). Practice on land with a ruler so you get a feel for things.
* Remember your internal strobe is only good for about 4 feet. Canon A series users may want to turn their flash intensity down to 2/3s instead of full or you will overexpose things that are close; some other manufacturers may have similar quirks. Play with increasing the intensity if 5+ feet away.
* Set your camera to macro mode and leave it there. When shooting the Oly 5050 I leave the camera in macro mode almost all the time; even for manta rays and sharks.
* Turn off the red eye function.
* Reduce backscatter by shooting against a reef background instead of into the blue. Turn off your flash when shooting silver fish in a blue background. Flip your camera upside down or vertical to control where the flash is hitting.
* Whenever possible, take more than one or two frames of your subject.
* Shoot, review, adjust, shoot, review, adjust, shoot etc...
Macro Mode
I keep my camera in macro mode always unless I know I am going to concentrate on really big guys, like manta rays or whale sharks. And even then I have been known to leave it on. Basically what the macro function does is tell the camera to start looking closer for your focus...and since we always want to be closer underwater, seems like a good plan of attack to me.
Note that some cameras, such as some Fuji models, limit zoom use when in macro mode - this is something you'll need to look at before you buy!
Have fun! Don't forget this bit
Turn off the AiAF
Pick your subjects to get started. Don't expect to shoot those zooming fishies perfectly the first time. Look for more stationary subject like nudibranchs, sea stars, corals, scorpionfish and other slow moving or non-moving subject. These will ensure that you bring back some really nice shots even from your first dive. With the slow or stationary things you can practice "getting your eye in" for your settings and also work on composition and finding your minimum focus distance. Go ahead and shoot those faster fish, too. At best you'll get some great shots, at worst you'll have images you can learn from for the next dive!
Don't get too upset if you come back from your dives with only a few good ones. This happens and it's all learning! Remember that diving is fun and adding a camera should remain fun, too!
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