strobe lighting for shallow water 4-10ft

[riss]

hello everyone..
does anyone know of an affordable strobe light or a dive light that would work for this depth? what would work better?...yes im very new i really just want to get rid of the cyan color and make everything look vibrant, but at this depth shouldnt it be easier to obtain without the super expensive strobe lights or dive lights?..i should mention i need a light that can stay on constantly since my uw housing doesnt have any external connection (it was a really great deal!) can strobes do that? do they put out better color then dive lights? maybe an LED dive light with a red filter?
please let me know your thoughts!!
thanks!
mk

 

[bvanant]

At those depths, look at the magic filter solution. No batteries needed and they work exceptionally well.

M A G I C - F I L T E R S

Bill

 

[riss]

ok great thanks ill check it out... though will the focusing be fast enough ?.. i thought with lights the camera can focus on quick moving objects much easier?

MK

 

[Wisnu]

Riss

I don't know what condition of water you have there - but for shallow water up to 10 ft - you may not need strobe - though strobe will help you at certain condition- but strobe will not help you to focus on quick moving object or make your auto focus faster. To help AF at min. light condition you need focus light.

What camera you have ? best to have camera with manual, Av Tv mode; manual WB and RAW

Sure magic filter will enrich the color but if you don't have you still can improve your shots with manual white balance - or use RAW and adjust later.

There's lot of useful information in this website Underwater Photography Guide

The following pictures was taken using old camera oly sp-350, without strobe at 15-30 ft, manual WB only, no filter (yes, if I have magic filter the color will more vibrant, but will reduce the light 0.5 - 1 fstop)

 

[riss]

thanks so much for taking the time to write ....i have a canon t1i camera and it has those modes..actually i thought i had posted that i was going to be in a indoor pool photographing kids but i think i confused the posts (since i had initially wrote about it in the greetings/introduction page).. if you have time and if its not too much of a bother check out www.urchinrock.com ..i know zena holloway uses subtronic strobes which are pretty expensive but i thought since im so shallow perhaps a diving light or a strobe light that can stay on would work? or what would be a focus light exactly?.trying to create an underwater studio of some sort please let me know what you think thanks again!...
oh and those photos are amazing!!...you gave me a lot of hope hehehe maybe i can shoot with just correcting the white balance and see how they come out? ...your very experienced....
and just out of curiosity..you really live in seria?or its where you typically dive? (it still amazes me how technology can bring people from all over the world to the same spot!)

 

[Wisnu]

Riss

So far, I'm just a compact camera user for UW. Limited experience with DSLR for topside only - no idea with underwater studio.

So, I don't think my advise is appropriate - just ignore if does not make sense.
For shallow water/pool - if artifiacial lighting is required, I will look the possibility to put normal flash in low cost underwater container such as made by ewa-marine or DIY. I have Oly E-620 and Metz 58AF-1 flash and quite happy with wireless/RC/Slave features.
I know there's cheap topside wireless flash in the market.
The possibility to use Several units under water plus color filter will only be limited with your creativity.

Indeed we live in seria - There's few good dive sites around here; viz. mostly not very good due two big rivers bring everything to the sea. Fortunately, the region has the best dive site in the world where I really enjoy.

Cheers

 

[riss]

hey there!
well i sure appreciate your honesty!... i should look at a wireless external flash for my canon since my uw housing doesnt have any way to connect it internally...but what focus lights do you recommend that are bright enough to go 4-10ft( i dont really know what are good brands,led?halogen?) ..i think changing the white balance and having a focus light for my camera to focus fast would do it...and then perhaps a dry light above the water......also do you think it is better to add red / yellow to the photos after like in photoshop instead of getting a magic filter?..just wanted your opinion
..well thanks again for taking time out to write ..i really do appreciate it...