Recommendation for a Beginner

[cspringer]

Hi there,

I like to take pictures, but I'm more of a point and click kind of girl. I don't need anything fancy. I've actually never taken pictures underwater and would love some recommendations. I want to see if I really enjoy it before investing in a class or an expensive camera. Does anyone have any advice?

 

[fisheyeview]

How long have you been diving? How many dives do you have? How is your buoyancy?

If your bouyancy is good, and you are comfortable in the water then you might try renting a camera for a couple of dives.

 

[SteveAD]

The sealife reefmaster mini is a relatively inexpensive basic camera. It is what I use. Works fine topside too.

 

[ScubaSteve]

First of all, my suggestion is to become a more expereienced diver before taking to underwater photography. IMO, the biggest reason is Buoyancy. You need great buoyancy control to shoot pictures underwater because you not only do not want to shoot to the surface but you also cannot touch anything underwater. Take a test......take a picture on dry land and watch as you frame the shot....you hold your breath. This is very common and a potential problem beneath the surface. The second biggest reason is task loading. You do not want to take on too much while you are still learning.

After you get your experience level up and believe that you can take on photography, you have many options. AThere are tons of things you can do inexpensive if all you want is momentos and memory triggers. If you do not want to blow up magazine quality photos on your wall you can go somewhere like BH Photo Video and buy a premade kit. This will not produce the best shots ever but you will be able to get good shots once you figure it out. Also, read the links in Alcina's signature. There is a tremendous amount of information there.

Take a look, find a camera or two and then ask more questions. In the end, it is all about what you want.

 

[sylpha]

go diving!

that's the best advice, your profile says you have done between 1 & 24 dives which is not a great deal. At the moment you are still following an instructor around and even with the best of instructors it's easier to take photos if you find the stuff yourself especially as he/she could be finding stuff for a whole group.

the more you dive the better you get, your bouyancy control improves, your air consumption decreases, you gain confidence (and an appreciation of what could go wrong) and that joy of discovering the underwater world gets even better as you actually start seeing more.

the other thing to do is to buy some books on underwater life, learning what they are & how they interact helps in finding subjects to photograph and how best to photograph them.

renting a camera is a good idea and buying a cheap compact & housing on here or e-bay as you progress. if you can find a pool where you can practise (over here most clubs have access to pools in which we can dive) & take a camera in the pool (you can get some really interesting reflections at the surface) before spending a lot of money on what could be disapointing at this stage in your diving.

good luck

 

[cspringer]

This is all great advice. Thank you. I will work more on my buoyancy control. I've signed up for a class to try to get better at this. Practicing in the pool is an excellent idea. Thanks so much!

 

[paulmila]

Hi there,

I like to take pictures, but I'm more of a point and click kind of girl. I don't need anything fancy. I've actually never taken pictures underwater and would love some recommendations. I want to see if I really enjoy it before investing in a class or an expensive camera. Does anyone have any advice?

Hi Beginner,
I teach BASIC UW photography to new divers & new photographers, and I developed a teaching manual of simple techniques for those who want to take nice photos but who aren't ready for f-stops, arpertures, shuter speeds & such. My email address is on my website, below my sig. Send me an email & I will email you the manual.
If you don't want to make a big investment I would recommend looking at the SeaLife cameras. They are affordable and do a nice job for their class. But whatever you do, invest in an external strobe. You need more light underwater, no getting around that.

I see someone wrote about learning good buoyancy control. Yes, yes, and yes. Very important, not only for safe diving but also for good photography. Nothing spooks fish like a diver out of control.

 

[AquaticImages]

Hi,

This month's (January '09) member gallery on the sfups dot -org site shows what can be accomplished with an point and shoot in teh hands of a talented person. Thease are some stunning images that when I first looked at assumed they were taken with a professional housed SLR.

 

[Straegen]

Along with the other suggestions, I would check out

Underwater Photography web magazine

Free magazine for just such a topic and is loaded with great info.

 

[Web Monkey]

Hi there,

I like to take pictures, but I'm more of a point and click kind of girl. I don't need anything fancy. I've actually never taken pictures underwater and would love some recommendations. I want to see if I really enjoy it before investing in a class or an expensive camera. Does anyone have any advice?

I'd suggest diving with a more experienced diver who already owns a camera and just point at cool stuff when you want a picture.

Right now, dealing with a camera is just too difficult and will cause you to neglect other things that really require your attention like buoyancy control, depth, time and trim.

I can't tell you the number of times I've watched new divers with cameras run out of/low on air, lose buoyancy control or plow into or kick a delicate coral while trying to take pictures.

Terry