G9 Pictures From Palau

[GSB_Diver]

Hey Guys,

Recently got back from a couple weeks in Palau -- It was amazing . After about 12 years of diving, I finally decided to give underwater photo a go. I definitely loved it, and wound up taking close to 6,000 pictures. This was my first attempt at photography, let alone underwater, so I'd really appreciate any comments/feedback you guys could give me.

I shot with a G9 in an Ikelite housing with a Z240 strobe. Almost every picture below was shot with the short port and Inon close up lens. I had a lot of trouble getting anything decent without this lens, even with a W-20 wide angle lens. All in all I was pretty happy with the camera, given the price. The two big negatives I found with the setup were: Graininess above ISO100 and slow/poor auto focus (I found to get really sharp focus on anything moving, I had to use manual focus and take a bunch of shots until I got lucky).

Anyway, here are the pics:

Clownfish #1:

Jellyfish Lake:

Clownfish #2:

Turtle:

 

[GSB_Diver]

Xeno Crab:

Baby Jelly:

Orangutan Crab:

Black-Tip (not underwater, but I like it):

Garden Eels:

 

[GSB_Diver]

Sun Coral:

Porcelain Crab:

Another Clown:

Confused Remora:

Remora Again:

 

[GSB_Diver]

Last One:

 

[FunkyDiver]

I would have to say WOW!, especially for your first attempt. I especially liked the first 4 pics that you posted, and in particular the jellyfish against the surface that you made into your avatar.

Very nice job!

 

[diverrex]

Nice shots! I always like to see what kind of shots people can get with what kind of equipment. Makes me lust after that G9. Thanks for sharing.

 

[under water]

Very very Nice.
Can I ask what settings you were using generally?
And what was it that you were not getting when you didn't use the close-up lens?
Thanks

 

[GSB_Diver]

Usually started out with ISO80 - 1/125 - f8 - cloudy WB - manual focus. Primarily controlled exposure with the strobe.

The macro lens allowed me to more easily fully frame a subject. With the macro lens I could zoom in just a bit and take shots from 4-5" away that otherwise would require being 1-2" away with the standard port. I also found that the images were turning out sharper (but maybe that is just because I had to crop those taken with the standard port for comparison). With one strobe, and the inability to go over ISO100, I got pretty frustrated with anything other than macro. So after the first 1000 shots or so, I decided to keep the macro lens on full-time.

 

[penywisexx]

Amazing photos! I'm a canon guy also (haven't shot underwater with one yet, but do shoot professionally above water. I've always been afraid of flooding my SLR so am holding off on a case. Now that I've seen your photos with the G9 (which I was already looking at) I think you've got me sold on it.

What is the lag time on the G9 and how many photos can you pull out of a battery?

Congrats on the great photos!

 

[tuner fish]

First dive trip with a camera? I think you are doing a fantastic job! The only thing I see in several shots is an underexposed background. It can be quite dramatic, does well in several of your shots. I'd say read up on shooting wide and getting even exposure in the background.

PS nice fish "faces"