Questions about Canon G10 and U/W photography

[Rashidi]

Hi guys Been a while since I last posted and in that time I have logged 100 dives, and considering taking up the rescue diver courses, hopefully I don't make a jackass outta myself. There was a great deal of good advice offered to me when I first joined and I hope that some of my queries can be answered here. . . Recently I decided to try my hand at U/W Photography, since I'm not a great wizard at this I thought I'd ask for help. The damage has been done and I've gone on to get myself a Canon G10 for my b'day. The next step is figuring out what else I need to take decent pictures U/W. . . I'm making several assumptions here...firstly if this is the first time I'm doing this, should I stick to trying to take pictures at shallower depths where I can take advantage of better light? The deeper I go shouldn't I have to consider using a red filter or strobes? If I were to do that what would be a simpler set up for me? . . The goal here is not to have a bulky rig, but something that is manageable. Should I stick to taking pictures without a strobe now, get a rig that allows for expansion, and only buy a strobe when I'm a lot more comfortable? I'm kinda of leaning towards the last option. . . More importantly, that G10 wasn't cheap, but now I have to consider housing. Should I consider the proprietary one from Canon, or go for something else? the Ikelite, while solid is big. My goal is really to take macros and landscape. There is little or no possibility that I will shoot at night. Is the Canon G10 housing enough, considering the fact that my dive profile indicates a preference to start at around 30m. . . If I do end up looking at strobes...What kind of a strobe light should I be looking at? . . My mind is cluttered with information I've gathered off the forums, and I'm just looking for some illumination. Cheers

 

[gogums]

Hi Rashidi -
I recently purchased the Canon UW housing for my girlfriends G10. Didn't consider the Ikelite housing as she wanted the rig to be as compact as possible. Of course men are genetically wired to only partially listen so I got her the more compact Canon housing then added an Ikelite AF-35 strobe to the gift parade. Not so compact any longer...but still smaller than most other rigs!

The Canon UW case will block some of the on board internal flash, especially when you have the lens zoomed to the wide end. This looks ugly in the image, unless you can convince people that it was 'creative lighting'. Then it's art.

I don't know if the same is true of the Ikelite housing for the G10. But because of this and the fact that most people tend to believe on board flash is not very good (backscatter, weak power output, etc.) I decided to get the external AF-35 strobe. It's not cheap (very few things in UW are...) but the AF-35 worked really well with the G10 and Canon UW housing on the one dive I used it with (fresh water cavern dive in Tulum, Mexico). Since the strobe is off to the side and flexible there were no issues with the Canon housing blocking the light.

Now I went against conventional diving wisdom and used this UW rig with very little practice. Well...really no practice. Didn't know the G10, and never used a strobe UW. Plus I'm a relatively new diver. I admit to all this in the spirit of full disclosure. Not to promote swimming against conventional wisdom. But I did. I was on vacation, doing one dive in a unique environment (cavern) and I allowed my self to go against the grain and bring the UW equipment with me (there were two DM's, both cave certified...I wasn't solo or diving without a guide).

You asked for a "manageable" setup. Well I think the setup I used was very manageable. But again, I'm basing that against no other rigs. I have a bit of photography experience so that helped give me confidence to adjust settings even though I was unfamilar with the button layout and strobe. I'd suggest practicing in shallow water while snorkeling with good ambient light just to become familiar with zoom controls and button layout/function. Don't worry about the strobe until you feel like spending the money. However you'll find you'll need to use flash, either on board or external, sooner or later.
Enjoy!

 

[Johnny Kain]

I have been looking at the Ikelite setup for the G10 as a replacement for my S50 UW rig with the Canon case. For what it's worth the main reason I want to upgrade is to be able to add an external strobe with TTL flash metering. When you start to take UW pics you will soon see that getting enough light out there is a big issue.

I'd add to gogums excellent post that the the Ikelite case does NOT support the internal G10 flash at all so you will definitely need to add an external strobe if that is the route you choose.

I have never had any probs with my Canon case but am going to shell out the cash for the Ikelite case as it is more solid and supports TTL flash metering. There is a really good post that has been running regarding external ports for the Ikelite housing you should check out if that is the route you decide.

 

[cybercord]

First of all , get Extrememly familliar with the camera on land. I mean REAL familliar. You don't have time in the water to learn. Experiment UW yes, but you'll waste alot of air leaning UW.

1. Learn all of the features of the camera on land.
2. Take the Peak Performance class, and then the Dig Photo Class.
3. Take as many pictures as you can and study the different settings that brought the best pictures.
4. Stay shallow at first and be patient.
5. Repeat stpes 3 and 4 over and over again while also doing normal diving.

Enjoy and have fun.

 

[M_Bipartitus]

cybercord covers alot. I'd add that, you may consider putting the camera in the case and using it topside for a while. (possibly without O-ring if you're worried about damage) you get a little extra practice and get used to operating the camera while in the case.

It generally isn't much different, but some things are a little different. For example, the buttons on the housing generally take a fair amount more force than the buttons on the camera it's self. If they were too easy to push the water pressure would push all the buttons. For this reason, I find I sometimes need to use two hands to change settings that I just change with a flick of the thumb on land.

For strobes, I would avoid the simplest models and get one that can be used with better cameras. Strobes last much longer than cameras these days. While a camera is out of date after a couple of years, the strobes don't change that often. I'd recomend a strobe that works as a slave, but can also take a wire cable if (or when) you have a housing that allows for wired operation. If you were to get the Ikelite case, then an Ikelite strobe is a great choice since it allows automatic flash exposure. Inon strobes are also common. Look around in the Strobes sub-forum, there is a lot of discussion of many types.

If I were buying a new strobe today, I'd get an Ikelite DS-125 used, or an ikelite DS-160 if you don mind paying extra for something new. The DS-160 just recently came out and there are a number of DS-125s for sale used as more serious UW photographers upgrade. Both of these can be used with a slave controller, as well as accept wired connections.

 

[geokr]

Hi Rashidi -
Now I went against conventional diving wisdom and used this UW rig with very little practice. Well...really no practice. Didn't know the G10, and never used a strobe UW. Plus I'm a relatively new diver. I admit to all this in the spirit of full disclosure. Not to promote swimming against conventional wisdom. But I did. I was on vacation, doing one dive in a unique environment (cavern) and I allowed my self to go against the grain and bring the UW equipment with me (there were two DM's, both cave certified...I wasn't solo or diving without a guide).

You asked for a "manageable" setup. Well I think the setup I used was very manageable. But again, I'm basing that against no other rigs. I have a bit of photography experience so that helped give me confidence to adjust settings even though I was unfamilar with the button layout and strobe. I'd suggest practicing in shallow water while snorkeling with good ambient light just to become familiar with zoom controls and button layout/function. Don't worry about the strobe until you feel like spending the money. However you'll find you'll need to use flash, either on board or external, sooner or later.
Enjoy!

Great post and is exactly what I'm currently considering. After getting a complete u/w rig for Christmas I had to return both my Ikelite housing for the Fuji F50 (button didn't line up with the power switch - two units) and the AF35 flash triggered on the pre-flash rather than the main. Talked with Ikelite engineers about both and, though they were very helpful, I don't think I'll be buying from them again. Did like the nice, solid feel of the housing, thought the AF35 was a bit flimsy, especially the plastic mount. Sooo...I'm looking at the G10 with a Canon housing, maybe a YS-110a strobe if it mounts. I'd be interested in seeing any photos you took with your G10 during the shakedown dive.

The other option I'm considering is going to a Sony SR12 if the still feature produces a reasonable photo. Then I would have the best of both worlds - still and video. That's probably a topic for another thread. Great posts and hope to see some pictures!

 

[Rashidi]

Thanks for the replies guys, I've been experimenting a lot with the camera and getting used to mixing things around to get different kind of shots especially macro shots. I'm hoping to get the canon rig and then use an external strobe. Diving well isn't really the issue, taking the camera uw for the first time is. I'll probably take it to the pool first for a couple of weeks and free dive with it and test it. Hopefully it doesn't take me an eternity to get the casing

 

[basiltan]

I just got the whole set 3 weeks ago. The G10, the Canon case, ultralite arms and Inon strobes cost almost RM6,000. Was given better discounts when purchased together. Been playing with it since topside to be ready to take it down in KK next week.

A good strobe is essential, but the bulk consists of the amount of arm sections and lengths you add to the system. The shorter, the compact...but only best for macro. Longer arms give you better flexibility.

Due to the extended front of the housing for the lens extensions, it would obstruct the flash coming through the housing. You can simulate without the housing...go into macro, choose a subject 1" away, take a pic with the flash, and that's what you get.

 

[Jorgy]

I am s G9 owner, so for what is it worth......

The Canon housing is great, works well, it is small and easy to travel with......

Lighting is the key to underwater photography so strobes are a must have. I now own dual YS-110 strobes (YS-110 and YS-110 alpha) they are great strobes, the built-in modeling light is very nice, great for night dive.....

Shoot in manual........save RAW files........

I use Photoshop Elements to crop, adjust and clean-up my photos, I think you'll find that post-dive processing is key to getting those great underwater photos you want......

Hope this helps......M

 

[Rashidi]

Jorgy, When you shoot in RAW, don't your batteries run out much faster?