mx-10 question

[Anubis]

Hello all,

I have been reading lots of postings to find an answer to a question. I will be going on a cruise this sunday to the eastern, southern carribean, rotan, cozumel, belize. Anyway, I was going to do some diving. My wife purchased a sea and sea mx-10 for my wedding gift last year and I do not have any accessories. From what I read I need at least the strobe and the wide angle lense. However, just like everyone else I am short on cash and have to make due with what I got. I have taken pictures with it before however, I have not been totally satisfied with the results. Reading this forum has really helped me out as far as doing a better job at shooting the pics. So I would like to thank everyone for their input. Now for the question.
Since I will be in the carribean with the mx-10 with no accessories what film should I use. 100, 200, 400, 800? Should I use the built in flash or just make due without it?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Jim

 

[herman]

Unless the newer MX-10s can handle different film speeds than the older ones, it only has setting for 100 or 400 speed. I have used 200sp in mine, set it to 100 sp and used a higher F-stop than the camera wanted. I had fairly good results doing this. Without a strobe, I would suggest that you use 400 sp and NOT use the internal flash, it causes more problems than it solves UW. I am assuming you intend to use it diving, for snorkling 100 is fine. A strobe would def be my suggestion for your first accessory but for me, the macro lens would come next. The choice on lens is a personal one, I like close up stuff.

 

[herman]

As I reread your post I noticed you are a new member, welcome to the board.

 

[Dee]

The MX-10 is a very nice u/w camera, I used one for years! As for film speed, 100 is really just fine. The difference you'll see in the 100 and 200 is minimal and not worth the hassle of adjusting your f/stops our of character. If you use 400, you'll gather a bit more light but you'll also gretly increase the graininess of the film. That's fine for black and white films but for color can really mess up an otherwise good shot.

If I had your limitations I'd go with 100 speed film, get as close as possible and still keep your focus, shoot up instead of down on your subject whenever possible, and buy a strobe as soon as possible. OH...you're going to Cozumel? You might want to drop in to Island Photo. They are located next to El Cid Hotel, next to the cruise pier. Armando rents MX-10's. He will rent you a strobe for your camera. Check them out....Island Photo Center. Drop him an email and he'll set you up....good guy, too!

Also...don't forget those stunning silhouette shots! You don't need or want a strobe for those. The black silhouette of your dive buddy, (no danglies, please!) or even the dive boat on the surface, against the spotlight of the sun.....very dramatic!

 

[alexeames]

Hi Jim,

I bought an MX-10 last year in response to a private ad on 2ndhandscuba.com.

The full kit, as sold new for about $1000 cost me only 400 GBP (~$600)...

MX-10
Strobe
Macro lens
Close-up lens
Wide angle lens
The ubiquitous yellow case

...of course it was a risk, but I ended up with a great deal more kit than I would have been able to afford new...

I was lucky that this item was for sale only 1 hour's drive away. I wouldn't have bought it second hand without inspecting first.

I think the best accessories are strobe and wide-angle lens. Best use is for wide angle close-ups. You have such good depth of field with a wide angle lens that you're almost certain to be in focus.

I found the close-up lens had such small depth of field that I couldn't get it right for focussing.

I tried 100 and 400 film with strobe but found the 400 film rather grainy for my liking.

Some of the results with 100 film are at...

http://www.tranfree.com/holiday/

...but the real photos are a bit better than the scans.

 

[diverkim]

Welcome. Seems like you have already received some excellent advise here.
As Dee wrote get close to the subject. With no strobe you have no other choice. Even with the attched strobe on the MX-10 the effect when shooting too far from the subject is usually inferior.
Therefore the MX-10 is not so great under low viz conditions. Maybe some others might advise me on this. I find the results with 400 film better; this is especially true under low viz conditions.

 

[Anubis]

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I am so looking forward to this trip. I have never been on a large cruise ship before. I have been on four Blackbeards trips before and absolutely loved it. I will post the pictures when I get back and maybe everyone can give me some pointers.

Jim

 

[Dee]

diverkim once bubbled...
Welcome. Seems like you have already received some excellent advise here.
As Dee wrote get close to the subject. With no strobe you have no other choice. Even with the attched strobe on the MX-10 the effect when shooting too far from the subject is usually inferior.
Therefore the MX-10 is not so great under low viz conditions. Maybe some others might advise me on this. I find the results with 400 film better; this is especially true under low viz conditions.

It's hard to get decent shots from ANY system under low viz conditions!

 

[diverkim]

Dee once bubbled...


It's hard to get decent shots from ANY system under low viz conditions!

Yes. I didn't know I have to be so specific. But what I meant was that the MX-10 performs relatively worse under low viz conditions than other higher end cameras because of the backscatter. The attached strobe strobe doesn't give much flexibility for overcoming the backscatter.
However, I am not a photo expert so I will demur to my more experienced colleagues.

 

[Dee]

diverkim once bubbled...


Yes. I didn't know I have to be so specific. But what I meant was that the MX-10 performs relatively worse under low viz conditions than other higher end cameras because of the backscatter. The attached strobe strobe doesn't give much flexibility for overcoming the backscatter.
However, I am not a photo expert so I will demur to my more experienced colleagues.

We need a toungue-in-cheek smiley! I knew what you meant. And you're right....it's the fixed strobe on the MX-10 that causes such bad backscatter. The strobe light goes straight out and straight back...every particle bit in between the camera and the subject is highlighted.