Photo help please (+)

[Aeolus]

It is already too late for this trip, but I am going again in Novemebr. I just returned from Akumal, MX where I dived the ceynotes (caverns). Here is my problem. The things to photograph are large, therefore, I must be fairly far away to be able to get it in frame. I set the camera (Nikon Coolpix 5000) to f 2.8 (as low as it will go) and a shutter speed of 1/60, but all I got was a black image, ocassionally a slight white spot from the flashlight. What else can I do? I was using a DS-50 strobe, so I guess that the only option is to get BIGGER strobes. I have seen other photos of the same area, but I have no idea how they were done.

This is quite an adventure trying to take pictures during a cavern visit. You quickly run out of hands. Let's see one for the dive light (required to be onn all the time), two for the camera, one for the BC control; all the while trying to not touch anything during the time of peering at the view finder and looking into the darkness, trying to get a picture.

Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks.

 

[justleesa]

A WAL (wide angle lens) would do the trick for you. You could be closer and get more in the frame and because you are closer your strobe would have more effect.

 

[azcaddman]

A WAL (wide angle lens) would do the trick for you. You could be closer and get more in the frame and because you are closer your strobe would have more effect.

Coolpix 5k, what housing?, if its the ikelite you can use the wide angle adapter making it a 19mm (or thereabouts), which will let you get closer.

After that , its a matter of finding a happy medium from balancing f-stop/iso/shutter speed .. and having the biggest strobes you can carry (afford).

take a look at my Gallery here for some pix from the caverns (and beyond.. full cave certified.. DO NOT go past your training level, no photo is worth it).

The latest batch of cave photos were all fuji provia 400 slide film, pushed to 1600, f-5.6, 1/60 sec... with 2 strobes, ikelite ai/n and 100a.

the old ones (at end of folder) were with fuji press 1600 print film, similar camera settings.

the "temple of doom entry" photo shows a friend lowering my camera to me in the cenote.

We are also going back in november (as well as in 3 weeks)

 

[Aeolus]

Coolpix 5k, what housing?, if its the ikelite you can use the wide angle adapter making it a 19mm (or thereabouts), which will let you get closer.

I do not expect that I will be doing a lot of cavern diving and the setup is certainly adequate for what I need for now. I was just trying to figure a way to get better results with what I have.

Any idea how much degradation occurs with changing the ISO on digital cameras? Thanks.

 

[BadFish]

I used a WAL with my Oly C4000Z/PT-010 and a Inon D-180 when i was in the cenotes.
I got a few good shots out of it.

 

[pete340]

Any idea how much degradation occurs with changing the ISO on digital cameras?

Try it.

 

[f3nikon]

It is already too late for this trip, but I am going again in Novemebr. I just returned from Akumal, MX where I dived the ceynotes (caverns). Here is my problem. The things to photograph are large, therefore, I must be fairly far away to be able to get it in frame. I set the camera (Nikon Coolpix 5000) to f 2.8 (as low as it will go) and a shutter speed of 1/60, but all I got was a black image, ocassionally a slight white spot from the flashlight. What else can I do? I was using a DS-50 strobe, so I guess that the only option is to get BIGGER strobes. I have seen other photos of the same area, but I have no idea how they were done.

This is quite an adventure trying to take pictures during a cavern visit. You quickly run out of hands. Let's see one for the dive light (required to be onn all the time), two for the camera, one for the BC control; all the while trying to not touch anything during the time of peering at the view finder and looking into the darkness, trying to get a picture.

Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks.

Before you go out and buy a larger strobe or a wide angle add on lens and changing ISO settings. Place the camera in its housing with the external strobe on, at exactly the same settings you had during the cavern dive f2.8-1/60sec.

Go into a dark room and start taking pictures. How are the pictures turning out? If too dark you may have the same problems as this diver.

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=96018

That DS-50 strobe can light up a subject that is more than 10ft away at f2.8! More than enough light for your distances.

This is the tell tale sign of why I don't think the DS-50 is in sync with the camera's flash: "but all I got was a black image, ocassionally a slight white spot from the flashlight."

The light from the DS-50 is more than 20 times stronger than that flashlite, why were you able to see the flashlight but not the light from the strobe?

 

[Aeolus]

F3NIKON,

I will try that as soon as I can. If it is a sync problem; how do I resolve it? Is there something in the setup that I can change. I am still very much on the steep uphill side of the learning curve. I would have thought that there was plenty of light from the strobe, as well. I have not been very happy with the results from this configuration, as yet. It may be that under "normal" lighting I am just primarily getting ambient light.

 

[gert7to3]

Setting/testing the strobe: Assemble your rig; aim it at a mirror, not directly, but at an angle where you can see the DS-50 strobe. Take pictures using all of the different synch settings for your strobe's controller. I am assuming you have the manual controller for the DS-50. On your camera, turn off red eye reduction and any preflash focusing illumination.

What you will look for is an exposure where the flash is fully on. There could be some synch settings where the flash is partially on, so this is why you should check every setting. Double check this underwater on your next dive.

 

[Aeolus]

gert7to3,

Thanks for your suggestions. The strobe only has three positions: TTl OFF MAN. As far as I know I was in TTL mode since that is the only one I have ever used. I guess that it is possible that with the task overloading of the ceynotes, I could have put it in MAN mode by mistake, but I do not think so. We dived three different ceynotes and I would have had to make tha same mistake each time. The camera was set to use the flash all of the time and without redeye settings. It does sound like it could have been a sync problem, but I do not know enough about that to be sure. I am going to experiment with it over the weekend to try to find out what is up. The strobe did seem to operate, but just not well enough. It is also possible that I was just too far away, but I do not think that this is the only issue since there were a couple of times, like trying to get a picture of the signage, that I was closer and it still did not work adequately.