lighting/lux ?? low light, etc...help!!!

[Bobb]

Capable of shooting in low light as low as 8 lux ??? ok, so what does this actually mean? how low is 8 lux? for u/w photography? I mean, what kind of viz are we talking? thanks in advance for any replys...
Bob

 

[devilfish]

Bobb, 8 lux is equal to the light produced by 8 candles. That is not much light. Keep in mind that camera lux rating means that the camera is capable of recording an image in dim light, in your case light produced by 8 candles. However also keep in mind that the image will not be pretty, out of focus, dark and very very grainy, just barely visible. Its llike the limit of vis underwater, at the edge of vis you see the fuzzy image of your buddy, that it. But also, the lower the cameras lux capability it will produce much brighter better images with good light. I hope this helps. Good shooting.

 

[Bobb]

AHHHHHH, but how does one keep 8 or possibly 9 candles lit underwater? ?
I just bought a camera/video and the ad said low light 8 lux..I was just wondering if I now had to buy a lighting system...or maybe just use my dive lights? probably not huh?
Bob

 

[devilfish]

In shallow caribbean water 15 ft max or so on a sunny day you might get away without lights. Anything deeper than that without lights everything will be blue. Some use the orange color correcting filters. I personally do not like them, colors are not natural. Lights and a lot of it is the way to go for quality video underwater. Keep in mind that when we talk of visibility 100', 200' we think it is great, and it is. But if there was 100' visibility on land they would close down the airports. That's the soup that we are shooting pictures in. Gota have lights and just a dive light in most cases will not produce good pictures.

 

[RPanick]

While it doesn't work when you get to real low light, one thing you can do to help correct some of the pictures is to take a picture of something known to be white at the same depth. I use my dive slate for it.

Then when you get back shoreside, use software to adjust the colors of the white item. Record the settings the computer made and use them to adjust all your following pictures made at that depth. Its not perfect but you can make some amazing adjustments.

Reality check here, grainy, blurry, slow shutter, etc... are all problems with the technique. It does work nice in 30-40 foot depth or shallower in clear water with a bright sunny day. Works for things that don't move much, but forget about many fish.

I use this sometimes with my digital point and shoot, it gives some decent snapshots when I don't want to bother with all the gear. Also saves on batteries. Rough translation, when I'm playing tourist and taking pictures of my friends more than the environment.