Film?

[bonehunter]

I have a cheap underwater camera, what is the best 35mm film to use, 200, 400, or 800?

 

[bleeb]

IMHO, don't even bother with 200. If you're shallow (<10-15') you can get away with 400 (and if it's really sunny with a white sandy bottom, 800 could start to saturate), but much below 10', I haven't found 400 particularly effective.

 

[oly5050user]

IMHO, don't even bother with 200. If you're shallow (<10-15') you can get away with 400 (and if it's really sunny with a white sandy bottom, 800 could start to saturate), but much below 10', I haven't found 400 particularly effective.

bleeb has it backwards..If you are shallow and there is plenty of available light ASA/ISO 100 film is fine..200 speed film is ok for low light conditions..if using a strobe stick with 100..you did not say what shutter speeds or aperature controls you have on the camera..if it is a very simple "cheap" fixed lens point/shoot then either check what the camera manufacurer recommends or go with 200..The higher the ASA/ISO number the more sensitive the film is to light.

 

[fisheyeview]

Depends on the camera. If it is a Sea & Sea MX10 then it will only take 100 or 400. There is a switch inside the camera you set depending on which of the two you are shooting.

The Sea & Sea MotorMarine II will take 50, 100, 200, or 400. It reads the film spead from the canister. If it can't read it then it defaults to 200 setting.

For macro I shot 50, and for W/A I shot 100. The only time I shot 200 was when I shot B/W, as the only B/W slide film is Agva Scala which is 200.

 

[herman]

Depends on the camera. If it is a Sea & Sea MX10 then it will only take 100 or 400. There is a switch inside the camera you set depending on which of the two you are shooting..............

.

That is not exactly correct. The switch in the MX-10 only changes the calibration of the internal light meter (red and green leds in viewfinder) otherwise it does nothing. The camera has a fixed shutter speed - I forget what it is- and a varible F-stop. You can use any speed film in the MX-10 as long are you use the correct F-stop for the light conditions and ignore the information on the F-stop selector. Takes a little more operator effort but it can be done. That said I always used 100 speed. I found Kodak file had more realistic colors and Fuji had more vivid but less accurate colors. I prefered the Fuji.

 

[fisheyeview]

That is not exactly correct. The switch in the MX-10 only changes the calibration of the internal light meter (red and green leds in viewfinder) otherwise it does nothing. The camera has a fixed shutter speed - I forget what it is- and a varible F-stop. You can use any speed film in the MX-10 as long are you use the correct F-stop for the light conditions and ignore the information on the F-stop selector. Takes a little more operator effort but it can be done. That said I always used 100 speed. I found Kodak file had more realistic colors and Fuji had more vivid but less accurate colors. I prefered the Fuji.

I think the shutter speed was fixed at 1/125.

It has been a few years since i shot an MX10, and I guess I never used the internal light meter. I developed a system that worked for me.

With the built-in lens, or W/A lens:
Above 60' on a sunny day - f8
Above 60' on a cloudy day - f5.6
Below 60' - f5.6

With the the close up lens f11

With the macro lens f11 or f16 depending on the reflectivity of the subject.

These were general guide lines that worked for me as I dive in blue water with usually good visibility.

YMMV

 

[Brewski]

I'd recommend Fuji slide film over print film for color saturation. I can't recall if it was Sensia or Velvia I used in my Motor Marine II But either was better than shooting negative film.

So, what camera are you going to use?

 

[bonehunter]

I am diving the black water of the southeastern rivers. I like to photograph fossils and artifacts on the bottom. I am using an hid dive light to illuminate the spot I am taking the pic of, since it is so dark. After reading the posts, it looks like the 200 film would be best?

 

[diver 85]

I always used 100 speed in my S&S MM II.......

 

[DA Aquamaster]

It has been a while since I used a film camera, but there are several related issues.

1. Film gets grainier as the ASA rating rises. 400 is about the limit before it begins to become really noticeable, but even an 8x10 enlargement with most 400 films is going to show a lot of grain. 800 is bad and 1600 is horrible. 200 is probably about the best light to grain compromise, but you have to have the light for it.

2. Films vary in color balance. Fuji films tend to show more red and for underwater photography I prefer Fuji as it helps to slightly offset the effects of the light absorbed by the water, either ambient light or light that is lost from the strobe to the subject and back to the camera.

3. Slide film has much better color saturation - but it is far less tolerant of less than perfect exposure, so it is not real ammenable to lower end cameras that lack really good metering or TTL strobe functions.

4. And HID can work to light the subject, but it has lots of UV light - not all of which may be filtered out in macro photography. It is also slightly bluer than sunlight so it will have an impact on color balance.

5. The UV issues and a general concern for the long term impact on low light vision caused by exposure to intense light in the blue white range where an HID peaks leave me less than enthused with the idea of relying on one to light the subject. It won't exactly fry your retinas in the short term but it will certainly not be good for them over the long term either.

As an aside, I have my old Nikonos III with a SB103 strobe for sael in the classified and I may still have some macro frames for it somewhere as well. It would solve a few problems for you.