newbie and underwater photography

[zuma022]

Hello everyone, I'm new here. I have been a diver for many moons and have always really enjoyed it. I never really cared for underwater photography, mainly because of cost and a lot more equipment to lug around.
Within the past year I've really gotten into photography on land and I feel like I know enough about photography to attempt it underwater. We are planning a trip to Yap and Palau early next year and it seems like an amazing place to take some shots.

I use a Canon XSi (soon to be replaced by the 7D) and a variety of lenses, including wide angle (canon 10-22) and macro (100 f2.8IS). I looked at the housing, ports and strobes and it's not cheap. As I don't know if I really get into it I'm considering to rent. Do any of you know any places that would rent this stuff? I'm in Canada, but will be travelling internationally anyway.
We'll do a liveaboard in Micronesia, do you think I can learn while there? I don't have a drysuit anymore, so local diving is out. Any tips, words of wisdom you can share?
Thank you!

 

[h204fun]

Hi,
I do know that backscatter (you can search google for them, but their website is the same as their name) has rentals. Not sure that they will accomadate a package that fits your camera. You can contact them. I shoot Nikons with Ikelite housings and strobes. What I discovered was that for a week of traveling the rental was going to be almost as much as the Ikelite housing. The difference is they are renting a much more expensive brand of housing. With that said, I have been shooting the ikelite since 2004 and it has performed very nicely, so I just have upgraded again with Ikelite for the D700. The whole package is still pretty pricey, but much cheaper then the next brand up.
Just some quick information to ponder.

 

[victor]

Things to consider
Task loading when taking photo's underwater is considerable.
When you are taking photo's you will miss seeing other things

Now I would recommend a Cannon G10 / G11 and cannon housing plus a strobe.
Don't plan to take the camera on more than 1/2 of the dives
Don't take the camera unless you have dived the site, or one simmilar before.
Practise in a pool before taking the camera on a trip maybe 4 or more times to get buoyancy, distance, framing, etc.
Better if you can do practise dives in an aquarium.

 

[victor]

Have a look at Gilighan's threads to see what can be done with this type of configuration
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/underwater-photography/335466-may-16-bohol-pics.html

 

[slowhands]

.. I've really gotten into photography on land and I feel like I know enough about photography to attempt it underwater. We are planning a trip to Yap and Palau early next year and it seems like an amazing place to take some shots.

I use a Canon XSi (soon to be replaced by the 7D) and a variety of lenses, including wide angle (canon 10-22) and macro (100 f2.8IS). I looked at the housing, ports and strobes and it's not cheap. As I don't know if I really get into it I'm considering to rent. Do any of you know any places that would rent this stuff? I'm in Canada, but will be travelling internationally anyway.
We'll do a liveaboard in Micronesia, do you think I can learn while there? I don't have a drysuit anymore, so local diving is out. Any tips, words of wisdom you can share?
Thank you!

As others have said, consider starting with a small simple rig like a Canon S90 in Canon housing. The reason is to ease into underwater photography for about $500, which is less than the price of a good strobe for a bigger rig. You can do a lot with just this camera and housing. Many of us still use point and shoots because they are the best combination of compactness and performance for travel diving.

A lot of people get into this, get a fantastic expensive first rig, then dive twice with it and eventually sell it at a terrific loss. (I know this because I just bought such a rig with two dives on it). For whatever reason, it did not work for them. Start simple, master master buoyancy, the etiquette of UW photography, dealing with developing your pics in your digital darkroom, and other skills, then upgrade when you are ready.

And when I said a simple S90, I really understated its capability. It is a terrific camera and lens. You will love it for land use too. You can use it in idiot mode and take great pictures, or go full manual, shoot RAW, the works and it's good for that too. You can see lots of pics here shot with an S90, check it out.

 

[zuma022]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I didn't think about getting a p&s, but it makes perfect sense and it seems I can get a pretty neat setup for the price of renting stuff for my existing gear. Gilighan's photos look fantastic.
I've been meaning to get a decent p&s for when I don't want to bring the slr anyway. Perfect idea, thank you guys.
What would you recommend as far as strobes go? I hate the on camera flash on land, so I doubt I want to use it underwater. I read that the canon housing don't allow for TTL, how hard is lighting under water?

 

[slowhands]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I didn't think about getting a p&s, but it makes perfect sense and it seems I can get a pretty neat setup for the price of renting stuff for my existing gear. Gilighan's photos look fantastic.
I've been meaning to get a decent p&s for when I don't want to bring the slr anyway. Perfect idea, thank you guys.
What would you recommend as far as strobes go? I hate the on camera flash on land, so I doubt I want to use it underwater. I read that the canon housing don't allow for TTL, how hard is lighting under water?

There are strobes and then there are strobes. Inon is a good maker, and their tiny S2000 works well with most point and shoot cameras. It actually mimics the camera strobe in so called STTL mode. In other words, it does TTL, but using an optical link, not an electrical cable, to control the strobe. Bulletproof. Cost is about $470 though. But a good strobe outlasts your camera, if you upgrade. It's usable on the next system too, so a good value.

You can go with a cheaper manual strobe, that triggers off your camera but sets its own output, either full or half or more EV steps. Costs vary, from the simple manual-only Intova ISS2000 at about $160 including cable and stay, to a many better models in the $200-400 range. As I said, there are many choices.

 

[zuma022]

I've googled the S2000 and it seems to get tons of good reviews.
I'm still not quite sure I understand STTL mode though. Can you explain that again? How will the strobe get the exposure. Is it like a slave to the on camera master? If so when the on camera flash goes off would you not have the backscatter problems again.

Is an arm to connect the housing and the strobe the only other thing I would need?

Oh and I was also wondering, I read that the wider the better. Would a 28 (equivalent) of the canon high end p&s be wide enough?

Thanks so much for taking the time to help this complete noob.

 

[victor]

Zuma
My C-8080 goes from 28mm to 140, more than enough. I only use the zoom in macro situations. see wet lenses below.
Two problems with it are the autofocus is not great in low light, I need to use a focus light.
The lens changes length when going from wide to zoom, making the housing very big, and therfore buoyant.
In macro it focuses down to 5cm which is very useful, not quite 1:1 but close, but the slow autofocus and very shallow depth of field makes it very difficult to use this close.

The new YS-1 or YS-2 is another option for a strobe, very compact.

Another thing to investigate is wet lenses, some housing accept them great for switching between wide angle and macro.

Be warned, it is a fabulous hobby but addictive.

 

[victor]

Zuma
When you use a fibe optic cable to fire the strobe you block the camera strobe with an opaque cover. Thus only the light from the strobe lights the target. However the camera does not know this and fires the camera strobe as normal.
Some point and shoot cameras have the light sensor on the body, not through the lens, and these may be blocked by the housing.
Underwater strobes do not overcome the laws of physics, they can only light subjects that are close by, e.g. less than 10 ft. Red is still absorbed first so if you want to see the reds then you need to be closer still.
Housing
Have a good look at the mount for the tray on the bottom of the housing. This needs to be strong as the strobes are heavy, mine was a metal plate held on by 4 small screws and failed as the screws pulled out of the plastic.

Oh yes I mentioned addictive I forgot expensive