New Film Camera

[fast5frog]

Hey guys, I just got a MX-5II Sea & Sea film camera for Christmas. I know Digital is the way to go but money was also an issue...soo, does anyone have any feedback on this camera. I am new to UW photography so I guess it is an OK place to start as well. Any tips would be very helpful. Thanks alot -Ron

 

[pir8]

Have your Buoyancy spot on before you bother with the camera. The MX 5 is a good starting camera.

 

[joewr]

Hey, Fast5Frog,

Welcome to the world of uw photography. Many, many of us got started with gear just like yours. It will work just fine.

I suggest you find one of the classic books by the Churches (even ones on Nikonos cameras) and/or by Norbert Wu and absorb what they write. I think you will find one piece of advice that will stand you in good stead: get close--then closer.

Probably the most difficult issue facing a new uw photographer is depth of focus, i.e,. avoiding out of focus photos. One way that will help is to use a film with a high iso number. Iso 400 is readily available. There are some issues with using high iso films, but they are of minimum concern to most photographers.

I hope this helps.

joewr

 

[fast5frog]

Thanks alot. I do take all advice to heart. I'm just starting out so I will listen to anyone who lends some advice...I have tried my camera out in the YMCA swimming pool on my kids and alot of times above water it gets very black in the background but my son is really clear. Underwater, it takes very good pictures, the colors are great! I had a bad reflection from the flash on the one, I think it was because I was striaight in line with the bottom but when I moved a bit to the side, the next picture was great. Hopefully, I will get to try it out on Jan 21st at Dutch Springs. Weather permitting....Thanks again -Ron

 

[Warren_L]

One tip - with a camera like that, your best results are going to generally be from shots that are up closer rather than farther out, especially when using a flash. So get in nice and close when possible.

 

[fast5frog]

Ok...I will really try to get some good pictures with it in a couple of weeks. My only question is on the camera, it says 4' is best on land and a minimum of 3' in the water...however, you are absolutely right...the closer I was to the object the better the picture. Why would they put that on the camera? Clearly you can get closer and still take better pictures?

 

[Warren_L]

I don't know the camera you have, but it may have something to do with the minimum focusing distance. At any rate, the reason why you need to get close for underwater photography is because water is working against you. Being a differential filter of light, water filters out the longer wavelength light frequencies (reds, oranges) moreso than the shorter wavelengths (blues and purples). This is why things that are further away underwater tend to have that bluish hue to it (or green, depending on the water).

So, for underwater photography, it is ALL about getting close. Close means less water filtering the light. To get close, a good wide angle lens allows you to get close and still have a reasonable angle of view of your subject. This means less filtering. It also means less particles in the water, and as a result, the you get better quality of light hitting your film.

 

[fast5frog]

Thank you for that info. Very clear and easy to understand! I looked at your website, so I know what your talking about! Very nice pictures. Thanks again -Ron

 

[herman]

Getting really close is improtant with the MX-5, esp if you are using it with just the internal flash. As is, your mimimum focal distance is about 2.5 ft from your subject, IOW 2.5ft is as close as you can get and still have the subject in focus. Problem is with just the internal flash, thats just about the limit of it's useful range. I would suggest you look at the optional close up lens. It will allow you to get a lot closer, around 14 inches. This will give your photos more color and if you choose your backrounds carefully, it will help reduce backscatter (snow looking spots in your photos). http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...s&Q=&sku=240220&is=REG&addedTroughType=search

 

[fast5frog]

Now I am really looking forward to using it next weekend! Hopefully I can get some decent pictures...we'll see!