Over-exposed and washed out pictures

[Shipwreckscanada]

I purchased last month the Sealife DC1400 Pro set and used it in Belize for the first time last week (between 30 and 80 feet deep). Not being familiar with the camera, I used the Easy Set-up Mode as recommended in the Manuel and set it to Camera + External Flash (es). I also set the Flash Auto mode to the #1 position and the Brightness Control Knob set to auto. I also set the Pre Flash switch to 0.

Despite all this I still had a serious problem with my pictures being over-exposed and washed out. Not being able to fix the problem, I simply did the rest of my photography with my flash off.

My understanding is that this mode set-up is supposed to prevent this problem.

Is my camera defective?
Am I doing something wrong?

A diver aboard the boat said I need a diffuser, if this is true, why is one not included in the kit?

I’m still waiting for SeaLife to answer my email about this problem.

 

[supergaijin]

Diffusers soften the light, removing some harsh shadows. You don't need them, but they do help.

Try posting some example photos with the 'specs' ie. format, shutter speed, aperture etc. If these words do not make sense yet, take a few hours and read and absorb:
Underwater Photography Guide
Underwater Photography & Video: DivePhotoGuide.com

Is my camera defective?

Probably not.

Am I doing something wrong?

Probably.

I’m still waiting for SeaLife to answer my email about this problem.

I doubt you'll get much more than a cursory reply- like mine IME adding a strobe is akin to adding an extra object to a juggling act. Firstly you're diving, then thinking about exposure and DOF, then you add another light-source. If you're starting from scratch, then this is a very steep learning curve.

It took me the best part of 100hrs underwater to cope with just natural light. A few days ago I bought a strobe and it feels like I've taken 3 steps foward and 5 steps backwards.

 

[dmoore19]

I suggest referring to the manual for both the camera and the strobe. You may need to turn the power down on the strobe. I have an older DC800 and I set the strobe on the lowest setting when using it in the auto mode.

The camera can also be used in manual mode. You may want to set the camera up to shoot with manual settings. You can control exposure with the shutter speed, aperture and ISO settings. That is the way I use my DC800. I learn something new every time I use the camera. If you are familiar with a SLR and film the information translates to the same things using the DC1400 in manual mode. I have found that using a good processing software like Lightroom helps a lot. I have also found that if the pictures are underexposed you can process them and "fix" them. Good luck!

 

[KeithG]

A diffuser will reduce the amount of light from the strobe, but that is not a proper solution. If you are getting 10 times too much light, then cutting it to 5 times too much does not solve the problem.

I suggest you read your manual to understand what the controls do and gain some experience by using the camera with different setting combinations. Locking yourself in a nice dark closet will give you a suitable locale to practice flash photography and learn how your camera exposure is affected by various changes in the settings.

 

[ivakdiver]

When I used the SeaLife strobes, the rear control knob could be used to power down the light intensity. When you notice you are getting overexposures, just dial down and try again. How close are the subjects?

 

[deeper thoughts]

The strobe is very strong. I second turning down the power

 

[CT Sean]

Post an example with the shot settings (aperture, shutter speed, ISO, etc...) otherwise everyone's just guessing what may be the issue

 

[Shipwreckscanada]

Post an example with the shot settings (aperture, shutter speed, ISO, etc...) otherwise everyone's just guessing what may be the issue

Here are three photos with their info files. You are right that I am new at photography, I did take the PADI photography course but with a different camera. The Manuel said that if I use the settings stated at the start, the exposure should be automatic, but it did say to use the power button on the flash if the exposure was bad. I tried but with eight divers in the group I had very little time to play with any manuel functions. That’s why I trusted the auto mode.

I also understood that the exposure button on the flash was only for manuel mode so I did very little experimentation.

 

[Shipwreckscanada]

A diffuser will reduce the amount of light from the strobe, but that is not a proper solution. If you are getting 10 times too much light, then cutting it to 5 times too much does not solve the problem.

I suggest you read your manual to understand what the controls do and gain some experience by using the camera with different setting combinations. Locking yourself in a nice dark closet will give you a suitable locale to practice flash photography and learn how your camera exposure is affected by various changes in the settings.

Do you think that with a diffusor the back scatter would have been a lot less?

The first one was with a flash, the second one without the flash.

 

[Larry C]

I am not at all familiar with SeaLife settings, but I see 2 problems in your EXIF info. First, the auto settings are putting your aperture at maximum (f2.8). In bright sunlight, the aperture should be more like f5.6, f6.3, f7.1 for the ambient light. Second, the camera is not detecting a strobe return. Do you have a ttl setting on the camera which will detect a strobe return and adjust the aperture to accommodate it? Your background color looks pretty good, indicating that the camera's 1/100sec shutter speed is about right, but your foreground is washed out by the strobe, indicating that your aperture setting is too wide. One solution to this is to go manual, now that you've seen results. Keep the 1/100 the camera gave you and close the aperture down until your foreground looks good. If you still have over lit areas, adjust your strobe level down until you maintain color but the blown highlights disappear.
If you have a monitor setting that will show you blown highlights, use it to check your light levels. If you have a histogram, look for color areas that go all the way from one side to the other for blown highlights.