Help, any Panasonic TZ1 owners?

[grassyknoll]

I just purchased my first camera and housing, nothing fancy just a point and shoot Panasonic TZ1. The problem I have is that I ordered the housing from a company that shipped it from overseas; thus, none of the instruction are in English. I have had no luck tracking down a version in English and was hoping someone on the board might have a copy.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[alcina]

Moved from the Marketplace so hopefully someone will be able to help.

Have you Googled? Pretty much everything can be found using a search engine if you can figure out what to search for LOL (I suck at finding things this way, but have friends who are fabulous at it - several here on SB!)

 

[undefined]

I used to have this camera and housing. I do not have the manual anymore, but I read it several times to familiarize myself with the housing - if you have any questions, I'd be glad to help.

 

[grassyknoll]

Moved from the Marketplace so hopefully someone will be able to help.

Have you Googled? Pretty much everything can be found using a search engine if you can figure out what to search for LOL (I suck at finding things this way, but have friends who are fabulous at it - several here on SB!)

Thanks Alcina, Googled-looked-beat head against keyboard-looked some more-threw in towel and posted here. Unfortunately, Panasonic has a fairly incomplete library of on-line references.

I used to have this camera and housing. I do not have the manual anymore, but I read it several times to familiarize myself with the housing - if you have any questions, I'd be glad to help.

Undefined,

I may take you up on your offer if I can't get my hands on a copy of the manual. Most of the instructions have pictures to go along with them and it seems to center primarily on ensuring the integrity of the o-ring.
Overall, if I might ask, what were your impressions of the camera?

 

[undefined]

grassyknoll,

You probably don't want an answer to your last question. I was not pleased, in general, with the UW photos. Here is my very limited advice, having taken about 600 UW photos on our last dive trip before selling the TZ1.

1. Ignore the Underwater mode. Put the camera in "Macro" mode and set the White Balance manually using a gray card. The underwater mode made the vast majority of my photos appear washed out and green, not blue. If you want examples, PM me and I can show you.

2. Keep OIS on. I like Mode 1, but Mode 2 is slightly better for image quality.

3. The flash has a tendency to blow highlights. I don't know what to recommend on this one.

4. Anything above ISO 200 is a noisy mess to my eyes.

5. Set the AF to "Center".

6. Spot metering works pretty well, as you want to expose based on what is in focus most likely.

Now, there are some things that I liked about the camera - the video mode, in widescreen, is excellent. The OIS works while in video mode, as does the optical zoom.

As for the housing, lube the o-ring just a little (till it's glossy, no more), install it and test the housing in a tub or sink. After that, put the camera and a desiccant sachet in and get to shooting. I never opened the housing outside of the air conditioned room to prevent fogging - not once did the housing fog! I had mine down to 138fsw without issue.

 

[grassyknoll]

Undefined,

Thanks for your reply. I know the camera I chose has a few shortcomings (but then, so do I). Being that I really just wanted a basic point and shoot to get my feet wet in UW photography it should fit the bill. I will definitley take your suggstions to heart regarding what adjustments you made to get the most out of the camera.
PS-I sent you a pm for examples of you before and after photos.

 

[driftin' by]

grassyknoll: Did you need the manual for the housing or camera? I can't imagine needing one for the housing since they're pretty straight forward. Here is the manual for the camera if that is what you were looking for.