First off -- Its rare I ever take any decent pictures above ground... so why would underwater be any better
A Colorado bud who is a real photographer wrote a nice article on SB about the how-tos of underwater shooting; I'll try to find it, or ask him. One of the points I do remember is learn to shoot on land, then use those skills underwater. I bluffed more with my earlier dive cameras, but actual study of the manual and practice are really essential. If you can't shoot decent pics on land, don't bother getting it wet.
Now I don't know if it was the low lights or what but no matter what "Sea" settings I tried everything came out very dark and also out of focus. The viewport on the back looked pretty good .... but not the pics
Low light is the biggest challenge. Did you try enhancing the pics on a computer program? I go thru mine one by one with Adobe's 3.2 Free Elements and prefer the manual fixing to the auto.
Now I didn't expect magazine quality pics -- In a couple weeks I am up in the Puget Sound again so I will try it in real world environments and see what happens.
:lol: Newbie, poor camera skills, Puget - nah!
Good possibility. I've messed up by not soaking my camera before a dive. When the housing cools, the moisture inside tends to precipitate - worst on the coolest part, the lens!
Rule number 1, you really do need the external strobe.
With less than 24 dives?
I suck at photography too but I still come back form a vacation with several thousand pictures to go through
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Start out by using the camera on land and make sure you can take a picture that is in focus and well lit with the flash. If you can, then that is good. It means the camera works.
Yeah, me too - but it's still fun. Hasn't stopped me from sharing thousands of pics and hours of video. And, I really agree with the rest of your suggestions here...
When putting the camera back into the housing, always do it in a cold and dry place (in front of an air conditioning vent is usually good) and make sure to run the cold/dry air over it before you seal the housing. This should help prevent the interior of the camera from fogging up mid-dive. If it comes back with no water in it then that means the housing works...that is good.
Then, if your dive count is correct at 0-24, put the camera aside and focus on diving and gaining more experience. I am only sort of kidding. Diving requires a heck of a lot of attention when we are starting out and adding an incredible distraction such as photography.....not necessarily a good thing. One of the most important things to good underwater photography is near-perfect buoyancy. Working against you is the fact that almost zero new divers have this and it take some 25, 50, 100, 350 dives to master it. You need to make sure that you can hold yourself still in the water column before trying to take pictures. Then you need to be aware that it is natural to hold your breath when lining up the picture. I think we can all agree that this is a NO NO in diving. Try it on land and you will catch yourself doing it. You need to get past that so you can control it and have it not happen.
But since most people do it anyways, you need to take a step back to when shooting pictures underwater. If the camera works well and give in focus shots on land, I would say it is one of three things: 1. the housing is fogged and thus the camera is not getting proper focus, 2. your buoyancy is not good and what you are seeing as out of focus is actually motion blur or 3. the water is too dark for the camera to properly focus. To fix these:
1. Assemble the camera housing as I described above and maybe put a moisture muncher in if there is room
2. Put the camera away and perfect your diving skills
3. Buy a strobe and a focus light.
Hopefully you can take something helpful from this.
+1
I follow the "Scorched Earth" philosophy of photography. That is I take a million shots and hope 100 turn out.
As it happens I am seeing an increase in the percentage of good shots as I go, until I read the pic threads here and...well don't be discouraged, just keep at it.
Yeah, use large cards, fresh batteries, shoot shoot shoot, cull later.
Yes I agree - I do need more dives but my buoyancy is decent enough for playing around.
One of the people at the pool trying to use the camera was an instructor -- His buoyancy is amazing and his pictures looked like he had the shakes
I am hoping it was just the weird light in the indoor pool -- In a couple weeks when I hit the water I will have more instructors try out the camera. Its just funny that a fellow diver with a cannon camera and no strobes can get decent pictures ... so I expect the Sealife camera to at least get the same.
If I have the settings right thus I will go thru the manual again before I try again or have the instructors give it a try.
Skip the Instructors and learn from the buddy who is shooting. Many Insts don't.
Do you dive with a pony? Really easy to lose a buddy in Puget waters. Most of my visit included diving with experienced locals in trios with the others watching out of me even with my pony, but my last day was with one local for a bud - both of us following our cameras, so we kept losing each other in the murk. I strongly suggested he start slinging one as camera shooters can be the worst buds.
As helpful as a External Flash can be, I did dive Puget without mine as I was just not totally confident in my combined skills - and I got in close enough to get some fun shots.
Not to be forgotten! Who have you insured the camera with? I like State Farm's Personal Article policy far more than Depp's or Dan's equipment coverages. All cameras flood, it's just a matter of time - but new owners are more at risk for losing theirs.
Have fun, don't give up, keep diving - and take the camera on the easist dive.
