Recommended Starter Settings for UW Photography (North Atlantic)

[CharlieDontDive]

So far I have been relying on automatic settings and I want to start experimenting with manual. I have a SeaLife DC2000 with a strobe. I mostly dive off NJ and enjoy wreck photography even though obviously it is very challenging in those conditions.

I'm looking for a good starting point with regarding to manual settings: aperture, ISO, shutter speed, etc.

My goal is to gradually make adjustments with each dive and hopefully walk my way into the ideal settings for Northeast wrecks.

Cheers.

 

[Shortsonfire79]

I'm new to photography and pretty inexperienced with it. I started shooting in aperture priority (basically stay wide open the whole dive) because it's what I knew. A lot of the time my pictures would come out with motion blur because I didn't have enough light and the shutter speed was low.

Now when I shoot fish, I shoot shutter priority and am at no less than 1/125" with auto aperture and ISO (max 800 on m43 sensor) and things usually come out ok. Keep an eye on your histogram if you have one. When I shoot macro I have good light because I'm closer so in manual I shoot f/8 (f/16 ff equiv), 1/250", ISO 400. This lets a good bit of my subject be in focus as well as no motion blur and fairly low noise.

 

[Chris Ross]

What are you shooting - whole wrecks or critters on a wreck? Or divers around a wreck? Depending on your strobe power a whole wreck is a big ask. Strobes only illuminate from right in close out to 1m or 2 at the very very most away. Do you have the wide accessory lens - the standard 31mm lens is not very wide and forces you to back up to fit in large objects which makes illuminating them with flash problematic and is more suited to smaller details and inhabitants on the wreck. If you want to do wrecks as a whole and divers the 0.5x dome lens accessory may prove very useful.

I would start at f5.6 as you have a 1" sensor and maybe 1/125 ISO100 or so. Do you know what ambient light settings give a decent exposure?

You have to think of exposure in 2 parts flash and ambient. You want enough flash power to illuminate the subject even if it's dark. This is set by aperture, flash power and distance to subject. On land take a picture of an object in a darkened room in manual f5.6, 1/125 ISO125. Increase manual flash power until a subject about 30cm away (filling much of the frame) is well exposed. This is your starting flash power for that f stop and distance. Use those settings to take an UW image and vary the shutter speed until the Background is also well exposed. Also check that colour and exposure of your subject (in close) is correct.

 

[Chris Ross]

cancelled

 

[CharlieDontDive]

What are you shooting - whole wrecks or critters on a wreck? Or divers around a wreck? Depending on your strobe power a whole wreck is a big ask. Strobes only illuminate from right in close out to 1m or 2 at the very very most away. Do you have the wide accessory lens - the standard 31mm lens is not very wide and forces you to back up to fit in large objects which makes illuminating them with flash problematic and is more suited to smaller details and inhabitants on the wreck. If you want to do wrecks as a whole and divers the 0.5x dome lens accessory may prove very useful.

I would start at f5.6 as you have a 1" sensor and maybe 1/125 ISO100 or so. Do you know what ambient light settings give a decent exposure?

You have to think of exposure in 2 parts flash and ambient. You want enough flash power to illuminate the subject even if it's dark. This is set by aperture, flash power and distance to subject. On land take a picture of an object in a darkened room in manual f5.6, 1/125 ISO125. Increase manual flash power until a subject about 30cm away (filling much of the frame) is well exposed. This is your starting flash power for that f stop and distance. Use those settings to take an UW image and vary the shutter speed until the Background is also well exposed. Also check that colour and exposure of your subject (in close) is correct.

I try to shoot as much of the wreck itself as ambient lighting will allow. I generally use a wide-angle lens.

I less frequently take picture of sea life but I won’t pass it up if I see something near.

 

[doctormike]

I think that you should try to illuminate your foreground subject (usually a diver) and also show the background of the wreck for context and scale. The strobe illuminates the subject, it won't affect anything beyond 4-6 feet away, so fisheye lenses are helpful in letting you get close to the subject. Ambient light illuminates the background, so this can be a problem with deeper wrecks or on overcast days.

You want a high ISO and a relatively slow shutter speed for northeast conditions. Once you have the background exposed as you want it, you then dial in your subject exposure by playing with your strobe output. Aperture will affect both.

Here is the Algol. ISO 1600, f8, 1/80 of a second exposure:

 

[CharlieDontDive]

I think that you should try to illuminate your foreground subject (usually a diver) and also show the background of the wreck for context and scale. The strobe illuminates the subject, it won't affect anything beyond 4-6 feet away, so fisheye lenses are helpful in letting you get close to the subject. Ambient light illuminates the background, so this can be a problem with deeper wrecks or on overcast days.

You want a high ISO and a relatively slow shutter speed for northeast conditions. Once you have the background exposed as you want it, you then dial in your subject exposure by playing with your strobe output. Aperture will affect both.

Here is the Algol. ISO 1600, f8, 1/80 of a second exposure:

View attachment 531122

Oh man, this is exactly what I'm looking for. Thanks!

I've got some NJ wreck photos here: www.instagram.com/charliedontdive

 

[CharlieDontDive]

I think that you should try to illuminate your foreground subject (usually a diver) and also show the background of the wreck for context and scale. The strobe illuminates the subject, it won't affect anything beyond 4-6 feet away, so fisheye lenses are helpful in letting you get close to the subject. Ambient light illuminates the background, so this can be a problem with deeper wrecks or on overcast days.

You want a high ISO and a relatively slow shutter speed for northeast conditions. Once you have the background exposed as you want it, you then dial in your subject exposure by playing with your strobe output. Aperture will affect both.

Here is the Algol. ISO 1600, f8, 1/80 of a second exposure:

View attachment 531122

Also, what kind of strobe/strobe settings did you use for this photo? On the last dive (Gulf Trade) I tried turning the ISO up to 400- previously Auto- and the strobe flash seemed to wash all the pics out. I wasn't sure whether the strobe was too strong (5/10) or the ISO too high...

 

[doctormike]

Also, what kind of strobe/strobe settings did you use for this photo? On the last dive (Gulf Trade) I tried turning the ISO up to 400- previously Auto- and the strobe flash seemed to wash all the pics out. I wasn't sure whether the strobe was too strong (5/10) or the ISO too high...

Well, whether or not the subject is washed out is dependent on a combination of the strobe power, the ISO, and the aperture (not the shutter speed). You turn up strobe power when your subject is further away, with maximum strobe power at the limits of strobe penetration (about 4-6 feet). But you need to be careful about positioning around here with all the particulate matter in the water, to prevent backscatter...

These are dual Inon strobes (that photos was with Z-240s, I now have Z-330s).

 

[CharlieDontDive]

Well, whether or not the subject is washed out is dependent on a combination of the strobe power, the ISO, and the aperture (not the shutter speed). You turn up strobe power when your subject is further away, with maximum strobe power at the limits of strobe penetration (about 4-6 feet). But you need to be careful about positioning around here with all the particulate matter in the water, to prevent backscatter...

These are dual Inon strobes (that photos was with Z-240s, I now have Z-330s).

Would you recommend that I use my flash diffuser?