Rule of thumb on backscatter reduction?

[Slick6]

Hi all. I'm new to both diving and U/W photography. Just looking for a rule of thumb on how far to have the strobe away from the lens to avoid backscatter.

Thanks,

 

[MarkH]

Hi all. I'm new to both diving and U/W photography. Just looking for a rule of thumb on how far to have the strobe away from the lens to avoid backscatter.

Thanks,

It depends on how far away you are from what you are photographing and how wide an angle your lens covers. For close-up/macro, the flash can be as close as a few inches from the lens (when the subject is a few inches away). The farther away you get from the subject, the farther the strobe should be from the lens. I would guess that with most underwater photography when the subject is within 1-3 feet away, the strobe should be about 1-2 feet from the lens. This is just my opinion. The idea is to picture the light coming out of your strobe as a "cone". The subject is supposed to be lit by the bottom edge of this "cone". This leaves the space between your camera and the subject unlit by the strobe and therefore without backscatter. In the real world you'll have to settle for trial and error.

 

[cdiver2]

Hi all. I'm new to both diving and U/W photography. Just looking for a rule of thumb on how far to have the strobe away from the lens to avoid backscatter.

Thanks,

http://www.daveread.com/uw-photo/strobes/aim.html and

http://www.kelpfish.net/strobe.swf

Hopte this helps

 

[Slick6]

Thanks. My fisrt try at U/W photography was full of backscatter. Of course, the camera I have (Bonica Sea King II) has a built in flash which is like 2 inches from the lens. Debating whether I want to just go for a better camera or get the external strobe for it. Don't really want to throw good money after bad if the camera isn't going to cut it.

 

[Chad_Ordelheide]

I'm using a Canon A80 without a strobe. What are the best settings to catch a far away shoots. I.E. a Shark off the reef, or a turtle? Rationally I set it to F2.8 (the lowest), the flash off and shoot away. Should I change anything up?

 

[ScubaJo]

Wow! Your pictures are amazing Chad! I'm a newbie to underwater photography with just a simple a70 and it's housing. Don't suppose you would mind sharing the settings you generally use? I haven't a clue where to begin once I'm in the water!

 

[alcina]

I'm using a Canon A80 without a strobe. What are the best settings to catch a far away shoots. I.E. a Shark off the reef, or a turtle? Rationally I set it to F2.8 (the lowest), the flash off and shoot away. Should I change anything up?

Chad - Nice gallery! You are really working that A80 to great advantage!!

I am not a big fan of wide open apertures for the most part, but sometimes that what has to be done. I would experiment with shutter/aperture combos...you'll want to do this in each new type of water you dive as each day out may be a bit different. I try to take "test shots" once at depth...that way I am prepared in advance for those chance encounters. I can see quickly how the water will look etc.

 

[fdog]

Slick6, my general rule of thumb is to have the stobe far enough to the side, that a line between it and the subject is at least 45 degrees off of the camera-to-subject axis. This has minimized backscatter, and still resulted in pleasing lighting.

All the best, James

 

[Slick6]

Thanks for all the advice. I bought a strobe for my camera and am going on a trip to Tobermory in July. Hopefully they'll turn out better than my last trip's pictures. I'm going to shop for a digital and get one around Christmas sometime. I've already spent too much on gear this year. I said I was going to wait on a drysuit until next year. UPS will be dropping off my new drysuit on Tuesday.