How to improve these DC1200 Pcitures?

[gustele]

Hi Iox. I agree with EevelMonkey to forget about the external strobe when you are shallow. Use the strobe when you are deeper. But instead of the custom Sealife setting for the white balance I would use the Manual White Balance. Gives a better result because it is based on the actual lighting at your current depth. This works to about 50 feet although it is increasingly difficult to get good results below 40 feet. Also then you need post processing.
Check my recent article on my website: Curacao diving Paradise Underwater photography - Getting better results - Underwater Photography - Photography

Indeed a pity that you cannot easily practice. I have the privilege to live in Curacao and be able to dive several times per week.

 

[lox]

Hi Iox. I agree with EevelMonkey to forget about the external strobe when you are shallow. Use the strobe when you are deeper. But instead of the custom Sealife setting for the white balance I would use the Manual White Balance. Gives a better result because it is based on the actual lighting at your current depth. This works to about 50 feet although it is increasingly difficult to get good results below 40 feet. Also then you need post processing.
Check my recent article on my website: Curacao diving Paradise Underwater photography - Getting better results - Underwater Photography - Photography

Indeed a pity that you cannot easily practice. I have the privilege to live in Curacao and be able to dive several times per week.

Yes I do believe I'll leave the strobe off for shallower shots and definitely set the WB manually.
Flicker does show the EXIF data, just click on the camera name below my user name and presto! This camera use's the old EXIF standard so it doesn't tell if the flash actually fired, just that it was set to.

I've done some post processing on the first 50 shots (mainly just getting rid of the blue cast), if EVERYONE would be so kind as to comment on the processing I'd appreciate it. Have not read many diving mags/books so I'm not too sure what results people find pleasing . But that will be changing as I'm now officially hooked on diving, even if I have to travel thousands of miles when I want to dive

Nice primer gustele, you must have EXTREMELY steady hands to shoot at 1/42' especially underwater !!!
You don't bring a 100% white or (if using film) a 70% grey card with you for reference? Just use a white sandy bottom or?

Thanks my fellow Divers and Photographers

 

[gustele]

Nice primer gustele, you must have EXTREMELY steady hands to shoot at 1/42' especially underwater !!!
You don't bring a 100% white or (if using film) a 70% grey card with you for reference? Just use a white sandy bottom or?

Iox, thanks. I take a white slate with me. It is clipped to my BCD. I use it when taking video because in video the white balance is difficult to correct during editing. Currently I have a Sea&Sea DX1G and am shooting Raw-images. I correct the white balance in the post-processing in the RAW-module (Photoshop CS4 or UFRaw). But that is something to keep in mind for your future camera.

 

[didi440]

Hi Lox. I shoot a DC1000 but you might want to do some setting adjustments. First set your pixel count to the largest the camera has to save more data. SeaLife shoots in JPG which is a compressed format. The more pixels you save, the more data you have to work with during clean up. Set your resolution to Superfine which is the highest the camera has on the 1000. Set your EV (Exposure Value) to -2. This will help with clean up and color preservation. Set your ISO to 200 and leave it there. Any thing that is much higher will start to give you noise and backscatter.

If you are shooting in shallow water with tons of ambient light, don't use the strobes or the internal flash. If you are deeper than 10 - 15 feet, use the strobes. Personally, I use 2 SeaLife strobes. I have mounted them on Ultra Light Arms to give me more extension and control. The strobes don't illuminate much beyond 8 feet, so it's important to get close and then get closer.

I use the manual strobe settings because I can adjust the f/stop and the aperture on a limited basis. I also have a tec diving wrist slate that I use to record depth, settings and water temp. I dive in the NE so our water is temperate and green.

One of the best things to do is to get in the pool and practice. Buoyancy control is critical as is being able to operate the camera in your sleep. If you can get to Beneath the Sea or one of the other large scuba shows, sign up for courses. In fact, take the underwater course at your local dive shop. Shooting on land is very different from shooting underwater because water will magnify things and absorb light which is the reason we have color loss at depth (that's why reds look green at 50 ft).

Finally, get Martin Edge's book on Underwater Photography, 4th edition. It's huge, but it gives you lots of tips and food for thought. It's available on Amazon.

 

[lox]

Hi Lox. I shoot a DC1000 but you might want to do some setting adjustments. First set your pixel count to the largest the camera has to save more data. SeaLife shoots in JPG which is a compressed format. The more pixels you save, the more data you have to work with during clean up. Set your resolution to Superfine which is the highest the camera has on the 1000. Set your EV (Exposure Value) to -2. This will help with clean up and color preservation. Set your ISO to 200 and leave it there. Any thing that is much higher will start to give you noise and backscatter.

If you are shooting in shallow water with tons of ambient light, don't use the strobes or the internal flash. If you are deeper than 10 - 15 feet, use the strobes. Personally, I use 2 SeaLife strobes. I have mounted them on Ultra Light Arms to give me more extension and control. The strobes don't illuminate much beyond 8 feet, so it's important to get close and then get closer.

I use the manual strobe settings because I can adjust the f/stop and the aperture on a limited basis. I also have a tec diving wrist slate that I use to record depth, settings and water temp. I dive in the NE so our water is temperate and green.

One of the best things to do is to get in the pool and practice. Buoyancy control is critical as is being able to operate the camera in your sleep. If you can get to Beneath the Sea or one of the other large scuba shows, sign up for courses. In fact, take the underwater course at your local dive shop. Shooting on land is very different from shooting underwater because water will magnify things and absorb light which is the reason we have color loss at depth (that's why reds look green at 50 ft).

Finally, get Martin Edge's book on Underwater Photography, 4th edition. It's huge, but it gives you lots of tips and food for thought. It's available on Amazon.

I used to do pro land photography many moons so I'm aware that light(amount/color), composition and buoyancy are going to be the keys to a good shot.

I'm having a hard time understanding how you guys are using this camera in manual mode, and honestly what the advantage would be with this camera? The SL1200 has 2 f/stops of adjustment and up to 1/500s for shutter speed, that's it!
No TTL metering, so how the heck do you figure out your exposure unless you have an external light meter and know the guide number and flash output power on each of the ten manual settings on the strobe?

TIA

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

You just keep shooting until you find the settings that work for you. It took more than a year for me to work out decent settings for most of my dives, and I learned to set the camera by feel in order to keep my eye on the shot and set the camera for the correct exposure.

I shoot the DC600

 

[lox]

Nice Shots !!