How to take good photos with only the A570?

[SCU5]

Hi All,

I'm new to photography and bought myself an A570 w/ DC12 underwater housing a few months ago to shoot with on vacations. I realize that some of my questions below have been asked and answered so any links or websites with tips will also be very appreciated. I don't plan on upgrading w/ strobes in the near future as budget and luggage constraints make it difficult.

Macro (shot in underwater mode)
- I've been able to get some ok pictures macro pictures.
- A common problem is that if I don't use the flash the pictures are lifeless and without color. But if I use the flash it overpowers the subject and washes everything out.
- Shooting distance. I saw someone taking macro shots but he had his camera 6 -10 inches away from the subject. Any recommendations for distance from subject?

Wide (shot in underwater mode)
- Of course the dreadful green/blue water pics. How can I avoid this without external strobes?

Camera settings
- Any advice for settings to make the camera shoot better underwater in either macro or wide?

Thank you in advance!
Jim
Any other tips or settings are of course appreciated!

 

[herman]

A couple of thoughts, first if the camera will shoot in manual mode (you select F-stop and shutter speed) learn to use manual, it is way better than any auto mode and not as difficult as you might believe.

Turn off the flash when shooting wide angle reef shots and shoot them only at shallow depths.

If your camera has a histogram mode, learn to use and understand it, it is your friend. LCD screens will lie to you, the histogram will not. It also makes learning how to set up the camera in manual a lot easier.

How far to shoot when shooting macro depends on a lot of things. Is your flash power controlable? What is the minimum distance your camera will focus and is there a minimum distance you can shoot at which the lens of your camera/housing does not interfere with the flash (a dark area, usually below and to one side of the frame).

If your camera will shoot manual, set up an object to shoot outdoors in the late evening and practice using the controls. Late evening light (but before sunset) does a good job so simulating UW light levels. The ratios of F-stop, flash and shutter speed will be different but the procedures are the same and it's a lot easier to shoot and review on land than during the dive. If it will go full manual I can give you a link to some examples of shooting in manual that I posted a while back.

 

[deltaVPR]

I have the same set up as you...the a570 can take some really nice pictures with just the internal flash...you do have to be shooting in manual though.

If the flash is washing out your pictures this is a good thing! Increase the f stop, this will let less light in but it will also increase the depth of field so more things will be in focus in your macro pictures. You can also increase shutter speed if you are unable to hold the camera still enough. In darker conditions you may have to shoot with a faster shutter speed and decrease your f stop. You can also account for this by increaseing the ISO to make it more sensitive to light. But be carful, ISO higher than 400 and the noise starts to be obvious, shoot 100 or 200 if you can.

Let me know if you want to see any pictures. Play around with the settings on land to get a hand of it. All the auto mode did for me was adjust ISO, this wont cut it. Good luck.

 

[Choyster]

Here's a link to a similar discussion from a few months ago. Hope this helps!

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/canon-corner/235103-canon-a570-help-please.html

 

[M_Bipartitus]

I used this camera last year and agree with the comments above.

I'd add that to get better wide angles, use frequent custom white balance (WB). Unless you use the hacks to get RAW files (see sticky in canon sub-forum), you need to get the white balance close when you shoot. This isn't as much of a problem with macro using flash as the color is quite consistent, but without the flash the color changes with depth. If you get a RAW file out it is easier to correct the color problems. When taking shots without a flash I would use a new white balance every 5-20 feet of depth, depending on the visibility. I was fortunate on many dives to have a buddy with white fins, but most of the time I'd use a white slate. It could also help if you can back up away from the white source for custom WB, so that the camera can get the best correction for the photos your taking. For example, if I were to take a wide shot of a coral that is 5 feet away, it would be best to use a white object about 5 feet away at the same depth for custom WB.

Lastly, practice on land and any chance you get underwater.

 

[diver 85]

For starters, I would try it AV mode, use lowest ISO of 80 all the time, macro all the time, use flash below 10 to 15 feet, start with Fstop of ~ 4.5--go lower down to 2.6 as you go deeper & lose ambient lite ....That's basically what I've mostly used (of course there's the white balance vs their builtin UW filter--either will work for starters)...Look @ some of my pics below in my sig........good luck---let us know what works best for you.....


EDITtlmainer from below reminded me).......I always use the diffuser.....

 

[foxe]

I got the same camera a few months ago and love it -- I think it's great that as a complete amateur I can afford an UW set-up that takes pretty decent pictures! I've seen some great shots taken with the A570, so I know it's capable of it; any performance issues I've had are due to my own lack of skill...

Like you, I'm still very much learning my way around underwater photography; and I agree with the posters above that (on the occasions when I manage to get it right and it hasn't taken me so long to do so that the subject's swum away!) shooting in manual mode with custom WB produces better pics. (And on the other occasions, my auto pics come out better -- I often take one in auto and one in manual, then compare. That way at least I have a shot that I can look back on and recognise what I was trying to photograph, LOL.) Practice practice practice!

Regarding macro distance, you may already know this but it took me awhile to figure out that the macro focal distance varies depending on how "zoomed" you are. At the wide-angle (ie least zoomed) end of the range, you can get up much closer with the macro; at more zoomed-in settings, you have to go further back and the macro tends not to work so well -- I often find it hard to find the right focal distance for the macro setting when I'm zoomed in, and my pictures come out all blurry. My general method of using macro is to get as close as possible and not use the zoom at all... obviously only works for things that will stay still and let you get really close!

Good luck with it, look forward to seeing some of your pictures!

 

[lmorin]

You should also know that you can take nice UW pictures without the flash if you use the CHDK software (see the sticky on this forum) and save in RAW format. You will not have to adjust white balance while underwater. Rather, you can do it easily in software afterward (I use Picasa because it is so simple).

 

[tlmainer]

Did you use the diffuser? Did you try turning the flash power down? I'm curious to know. I just got the same camera for Christmas and will use it for first diving trip this Sunday in Playa Del Carmen/Coz.

 

[diver 85]

I got the same camera a few months ago and love it -- I think it's great that as a complete amateur I can afford an UW set-up that takes pretty decent pictures! I've seen some great shots taken with the A570, so I know it's capable of it; any performance issues I've had are due to my own lack of skill...

Like you, I'm still very much learning my way around underwater photography; and I agree with the posters above that (on the occasions when I manage to get it right and it hasn't taken me so long to do so that the subject's swum away!) shooting in manual mode with custom WB produces better pics. (And on the other occasions, my auto pics come out better -- I often take one in auto and one in manual, then compare. That way at least I have a shot that I can look back on and recognise what I was trying to photograph, LOL.) Practice practice practice!

Regarding macro distance, you may already know this but it took me awhile to figure out that the macro focal distance varies depending on how "zoomed" you are. At the wide-angle (ie least zoomed) end of the range, you can get up much closer with the macro; at more zoomed-in settings, you have to go further back and the macro tends not to work so well -- I often find it hard to find the right focal distance for the macro setting when I'm zoomed in, and my pictures come out all blurry. My general method of using macro is to get as close as possible and not use the zoom at all... obviously only works for things that will stay still and let you get really close!

Good luck with it, look forward to seeing some of your pictures!

Don't use the zoom UW....always in macro and get as close as possible---???can get as close as couple inches......look @ this little seaweed blenny