Noob U/W photographer here: is this right?

[WarmWaterWeenie]

Hey gang,
I posted this in Canon Corner but thought I would also ask here.

I am diving off Lana'i and Mau'i next week. I have a Canon S70 with the Canon U/W housing. This will be my first attempt at U/W photography. Based on reading books and the advice here on SB, here's my game plan:

1 Shoot in RAW and process for white balance in PS CS afterwards (one less thing to worry about U/W)
2 ISO 50 and leave it there
3 Use histogram to adjust for correct exposure
4 Shoot up whenever possible
5 For macro shots, use macro mode, wide angle setting, manual starting at f8 and 1/100, flash on. Adjust either aperture or shutter speed based on histogram
6 For portraits, get close, wide angle (28mm) manual starting at f5.6 and 1/100, flash on. Again, adjust either aperture or shutter based on histogram
7 For wide angle (reef shots, silhouettes, long distance), wide angle, no flash, shoot up, manual starting at f5.6 and adjust shutter speed to get the correct background color

8 Focus: this is my biggest concern. The auto focus on the S70 isn't that great, particularly in macro mode. I have had the best luck on land using manual focus, but I don't think that's practical U/W (I want to keep things as simple as possible). My game plan is to shoot in wide angle and as smallest of aperture size as possible to maximize depth of focus, and hope for the best.

I'd appreciate any thoughts, advice, comments. TIA!

 

[Warren_L]

All that sounds fine to me. It's a lot to remember, especially if this is your first outing with your camera underwater.

I wouldn't get too caught up on specific settings, though. The beauty of digital is that you have some instant feedback so that you can adjust easily on the fly. Choose your baseline settings and just go from there. Conditions that you dive will vary from dive to dive, and sometimes even during the same dive, so adjustments as you go will pretty well be inevitable. However, practise with your rig and getting familiar with what adjustments you need to do will go a long way. Put your camera in it's housing and practise shooting pictures with it on land - changing your settings, etc. This way, you're not figuring it out while underwater and will at the very least have a degree of familiarity with how the controls work in the housing.

Lastly, take your time and review your shots and adjust as you go. I would try not to change too many things all at once as it is easier to understand the effects of your changes if you don't change too many things all at once.

Have fun and post some of your results for us to check out!

 

[bladephotog]

Warren always has great advice and this is no exception. The only thing I'd add is to make sure you keep an eye on your pressure gauge. It's so easy to get caught up in the thrill of trying to make a great picture that you forget to keep track of the important things like your air and your buddy. Also, with many, myself included, the breathing rate has a tendency to increase when shooting photos. Especially if you're chasing fish. So make sure to watch your air, your buddy and as Warren said, have fun!

 

[WarmWaterWeenie]

Great advice. I have been practising with the camera in the housing. I've got the main adjustments down. Macro button, flash button, aperture and shutter. No menus to navigate. But I agree it's still a lot to remember and I'll try to keep it as simple as possible. For that reason, I plan to keep it dialed on manual control the entire time so I don't have to worry about the shooting mode dial. In fact, I expect most of my adjustments will be on subsequent dives as I see the errors I made on a computer screen afterwards.

I'll definitely focus on not forgetting about things like buoyancy control, pressure gauge, dive buddy and group. My dive buddy is my wife; if I neglect to pay attention to her and her diving, the best pictures in the world won't make up for the pain I will feel later. :11doh:

I will post pics when I get back.
Thanks!