New to UW photography

[Tazmom]

While I am a photographer on land this will be my first try at the uw world. I am very excited. We will be in Playacar Mexico and I will be shooting with my new canon s70 and housing. Any ideas on where to dive for great sights would be much appreciated. anyone with photos from an s70 could you please post a few for me to see. thank you so much.

Deb

 

[alcina]

Deb -

You might also ask around in the Mexico section for ideas on where to dive. I am sure it's all good so wherever you end up you'll have lots of choices.

Make sure to read through some threads about getting started and initial settings to help reduce the learning curve UW.

Have a great time and I look forward to your trip report and photos!!

 

[hdtran]

Tazmom,

Let us know what you think of the S70 & WPDC40 housing. I'm thinking about getting it myself.

Thanks!

 

[Shaka Doug]

I love my S 70! It rocks and is very easy to use. I will be posting some pics from it soon. You will have best luck if you shoot in shallow water say 50 feet or less without the flash. Use editing software to bring back the colors. If you use the flash, expect a lot of backscatter, even in relatively clear water. The CF card that comes withthe camera is kind of small to go diving with too. I would upgrade to 256 or 512MB if you can. I'm using 512 and it holds a lot of info. Enjoy and have fun!

 

[Tazmom]

I actually have a 2 gig card I use in my business. I am taking that with me. I also have a small hard drive to store on so I should be set there. I can not wait to try it out. We will be going down over christmas.

thanks all
I'll post photos when I get back.

Deb

 

[isom]

Hey Shaka Doug, how much life do you get out of the stock battery? I just bought the S70 and WP-DC40 myself (haven't even recieved it yet). Also, do you use the weights with the housing or not? Let's see some pics!

 

[Shaka Doug]

I easily get two hour long dives. I try to shut off the LCD screen when I don't need it. I also don't use the flash as much as I used to with film cameras. This saves a lot of battery life. The battery charges rather quickly and I've had good luck with it so far.

I don't use the weights. The camera and housing is a little positive in the water but that helps keep it floating against my chest when I'm between shots. When I'm out of the water, I think the camera/housing is plenty heavy enough and I'm very cautious about it bumping things. I don't think the weights are necessary. I worry about smashing the lens window against my stainless steel weightbelt buckle and accessory hooks on my gear. I am working on a new way of rigging the camera to my body.

I've gotten some great shots with it so far and I'm very pleased with it's performance. Check out my photo gallery if you want to see more shots. Here's three for now.

 

[Tazmom]

I love the pics. You are saying you don't use the flash? I also don't have the weights. Looks like that will be ok. Since I am new to diving How is the best way to secure the camera to BCD? Also Does someone hand you the camera after you are in or do you hold it close and go.? Probably stupid questions but I am really new to this. Just certified in Nov. Looking to do My first shooting over christmas break in Mexico. A little worried about the equipment. thanks for your help.

Deb

 

[sprain]

I love the pics. You are saying you don't use the flash? I also don't have the weights. Looks like that will be ok. Since I am new to diving How is the best way to secure the camera to BCD? Also Does someone hand you the camera after you are in or do you hold it close and go.? Probably stupid questions but I am really new to this. Just certified in Nov. Looking to do My first shooting over christmas break in Mexico. A little worried about the equipment. thanks for your help.

Deb

I personally have someone pass me the camera after I jumped into the water. One of the reason is because with the arm and strobe, the whole camera system can be quite cumbersome.

And I've seen people clipping with to their BCs with carabiners and jumping into the water with it.

I think it's probably what you're more comfortable with that matters.

Cheers!

 

[alcina]

I love the pics. You are saying you don't use the flash? I also don't have the weights. Looks like that will be ok. Since I am new to diving How is the best way to secure the camera to BCD? Also Does someone hand you the camera after you are in or do you hold it close and go.? Probably stupid questions but I am really new to this. Just certified in Nov. Looking to do My first shooting over christmas break in Mexico. A little worried about the equipment. thanks for your help.

Deb

Definitely have some one hand it to you once you are in the water. Hand it back up at the end of the dive.

You should have a lanyard that goes around your wrist and a way to clip the rig to your bc. I simply have a brass clip on one of the d-rings of my bc and clip the tray (or lanyard) to that. Underwater, the camera is almost never out of my hand and it is ALWAYS attached to me or the bc...this is non-negotiable for me...too many horror stories of people "forgetting" they have the camera and by the time they remember it is long gone.

Before you hit the dives, get in the pool with your scuba gear and camera. Practice. Practice using the camera on land in the housing. Get used to it.

Did I mention get in your gear and practice? You'll take home many more good images if you do and you'll find the whole learning curve much less frustrating if your dive skills with camera are good!

Forget the P mode - it will choose a shutter that is going to be too slow a lot of the time. Learn M mode - it doesn't take that long and will dramatically increase your "keepers".