help with settings

[salty_dog_68]

I have a Canon P.S. A640 and I am trying to ween myself off the "auto" setting and use apperature and/or shutter speed priority for taking photos. I am diving Cozumel and don't want to miss shots while I am fussing with the camera. So...I am looking for a starting point. What is a good range of apperature values to use when trying to keep a decent depth of field but take a photo of a moving fish? What is a minimum or maximum shutter speed that I will be able to use?

 

[herman]

IMO, unless you can go full manaul, I would not bother with shutter or apperature prioirty. The camera is going to try to adjust the other parameter to get a well lit shot and more than likely your shots are going to be worse than in full auto, esp if you are using an external strobe. The only reason I can think of is to keep depth of field as wide as possible is when shooting macro, otherwise it's usually wide enough for UW shots anyway.

 

[Nemrod]

Av and Tv modes are auto modes but you can use the EV adjustment plus or minus. I do shoot much of the time in Av with my Inon D2000 strobes(s) in external auto mode and Canon A570. I set the f stop value usually between f2.6 to f4.0 and set my strobe to a matching F stop. Then to vary exposure I adjust the strobe up or down. The Inon D2000 strobe has an internal exposure system of it's own.

Shot in Destin, Florida in Av, f4.5@1/125 sec.

Shot in Destin, Florida, Av, f3.5@1/60 sec.

Shot in Destin, Florida in Av, depth 85 feet, f4.5@1/60 sec.

Destin, Florida, Av, strobe OFF, f2.6@1/60 sec.

Destin, Florida, Av, f3.5@1/500 sec.

Canon A570, Inon D2000, Inon 165AD FE lens. There are no magic settings. The low(er) viz, soupy emerald green water makes photography a challenge.

N

 

[diver 85]

I use my A570 in Av on lowest ISO, in macro, with F-stop between ?2.6 to about 5(whatever the numbers are, the deeper I am the lower the setting--don't have camera in front of me right now)......camera flash on(no external strobe)--except for 1st 10 feet or so & use ambient lite then, ie no flash.....In reality I'm adjusting only the F-stop, to me important in the 'heat of battle'.....See my below linked pics in my sig.....Good luck & let us know your results---have a great trip.....


Currently getting my Dominica pics ready---btw, that place kicks CZM & Roatan for instance a new 'one'---Was the groups opinion(of about 15 experienced divers to CZM & Roatan) that it would take 4 dives to them to equal 1 dive in dominica......a MUST trip for any diver----& haven't even talked about the topside stuff to see(Pirates of the Caribbean Part II was filmed there----WOW on the topside scenery)....

 

[UnderwaterAsia]

Hi Salty Dog,

I'm pretty sure your A640 has manual mode with aperture from 2.8 - 8.0?

The right settings depend on the situation and amount of light - and the trial and error of getting it right is all part of the fun. Chances are the camera won't do a great job in auto, so I wouldn't worry to much about missing a great shot. The best way to learn is to play with the settings yourself and review the results. You'll be much more proud when you get it right using the manual settings and your photography skills will be much the better for it.

That said, you could maybe use these settings as a generic starting point as they should work for most situations:

With a flash or strobe, try an aperture between 4.5 & 5.0 and shutter speed of 1/160 - 1/250. That should produce reasonably consistent results with your camera.

If you are quite shallow, you could also try turning the flash off and manually setting the white balance. You'll need more light without the flash, so you'll probably need an aperture around 3.5 and a slightly slower shutter speed - try 1/100.

For something more creative, if you are close enough to a subject, turn the aperture and shutter speed up and see what happens.

As I say, it depends on so many factors and even for experienced photographers there is always an element of trial and error - jut enjoy the learning curve and stick to easy subjects that you can photograph over and over again.

Hope that's helpful. Feel free to post some of your photos back if you want some feedback and enjoy your trip.