New to U/W Photography

[skinfish]

I am a novice diver and heading for the Caribbean in the spring, namely the Caymans, Roatan/Bay Islands, Cozumel, and Belize. I would like to take pictures as I dive through each county's reef's & wrecks but I do not know where to start.

I do not get the chance to dive very often and do not see much more opportunity in the next few years to dive so I am not looking to invest a lot for U/W photographic equipment. I am looking for a way to take photos that will not be totally blue w/o spending a ton of money on equipment that will get minimal usage after this trip.

I do have an Olympus C4000 Digital Zoom 4 megapixel camera but am not sure if there is a type of underwater case that can be used with this camera. If not, I need any suggestions that are out there. Do dive places rent cameras? If so, any suggestions on cameras to rent

Thank you in advance for your help,

Doug

 

[DesertEagle]

You will probably be better off if you rent a camera system for your trip. I say system because you should either be doing macro or wide angle. Macro is great for showing the small parts of the reef and can be very easy. Wid angle photos are what shows your audience how the reef actually looks. My advice is to rent a wide angle system for a day. That would consist of a camera with wide angle lens and a separate strobe. A 20mm lens is ideal to begin with. Don't worry about film or digital- using the right tools is what matters most.

To get good photos, here are two tips:

1. Get close, very close to your subject. Try to fill the frame. Realistically you should be less than 3 feet/1 meter away.

2. Try not to shoot looking down at something when shooting wide angle. This is a very common phenomonon for new underwater photographers. Instead try to shoot at an upward angle. Take a look at a diving magazine and you will find most shots composed this way.

Good luck!

 

[Gilligan]

skinfish the Olympus PT-010 housing for the 2000, 3000 and 4000 series Camedia cameras is out of production but you can still get one on the internet (do a Google search) and on eBay direct from a Quinlan in Japan for just over $200. with shipping. I bought one from him recently with no problems so as to have a second housing.
I strongly urge you to get one for your C4000 as it takes great photos, even with the built in flash. Why wouldn't it since it is a 4MP camera! Just familiarize yourself with the camera/housing so you are ready to take it underwater.
Read the websites that talk about using manual settings on the camera which give much better quality underwater pictures and the process that was talked about on this forum for color correcting photos taken w/o a flash or strobe. I put a lot of that info on my PT-010 helpful hints site.
Believe me that $200. is money well spent. You can always add a strobe later on. You couldn't rent a quality camera setup for the money that housing will cost you. And besides, you are already familiar with your camera and the Olympus PT-010 housing has the same controls.

 

[divemed06]

I have to agree with Gilligan...I bought my pt 010 housing for my c4000 from Quinlan in Japan. for $189US...excellent service! I ordered it Tuesday night and had it in my hands on Friday night. 3 days for processing payment + shipping from Japan to Canada! Even if you don't dive all that often, the housing can be used for any other outdoor adventure you might have (ie. skiing, watersports etc...). IMO it's a good investment; especially since you already have the camers.

BTW Gilligan, do you know where I can purchase an English Owners Manual for the pt 010? Your website is great and very informative but I just like having a manual at hand.


Thanks

 

[Gilligan]

divemed06 I doubt there is an Olympus English version of the owners manual as the housing is a "gray market" item. I looked that Japanese manual over and a lot of the photos are about extraneous things anyway such as how to attach the wrist strap etc. There really isn't much to the "nitty gritty" stuff. I have looked at some of the online instructions for the PT-010 and they are all so-called translations from Japanese to English. They all have photos like my PT-010 site does. My best suggestion to you is to make your own checklist. Use small easy to read font, print it, and fold the paper up and put it in the housing so it's there every time you go to load the camera. You don't need the photos for that and it would conform to your own step by step procedures.