Why am I getting this

[chocolate]

Anyone could share w/ me in terms of avoiding those "water marks" in the picture below?
Also, any hints to how to get a sharper image?

Thanks.

 

[ShakaZulu]

It's the flash bro, that why the pro's in this forum are going to tell you to mount an external flash away from the camera.

 

[alcina]

I think the little circles you are seeing are backscatter. You can reduce this by 1) using external strobes; 2) getting closer to your subject; 3) changing the angle you are shooting from - if your eyes see sparkles in the water, your camera will, too, check where the sun is. You can avoid it even more by shooting with no strobe and setting your white balance. Sometimes, you can't avoid it - that's where a software program like Elements, PS or similar come in...you can clone stamp or use the healing brush etc to get rid of it.

From this shot, I'd say you need to get closer to get sharper. HTH

Do you have more images? Love to see 'em!

 

[Marriard]

Anyone could share w/ me in terms of avoiding those "water marks" in the picture below?
Also, any hints to how to get a sharper image?

Could be many things - but most likely backscatter (basically you have lit up the particles in the water) normally caused by a strobe/flash pointed in the same direction as the lens. You see this all the time with people using the internal flash of their camera.

It is the #1 benefit of external strobes - you can change the angle of light on the scene. In actual effect you are lighting the side of the particles which are less likely to be seen by the lens.

Crystal clear water could also solve this problem, but that is asking too much almost anywhere.

I'll assume you have cleaned the lens, ports, etc, etc.

I have also seen this with wet-add on lenses when they were added on underwater or topside and the water has not covered the whole lens.

Sharper images - well that depends - what camera equipment are you using here?

M

 

[chocolate]

Could be many things - but most likely backscatter (basically you have lit up the particles in the water) normally caused by a strobe/flash pointed in the same direction as the lens. You see this all the time with people using the internal flash of their camera.

It is the #1 benefit of external strobes - you can change the angle of light on the scene. In actual effect you are lighting the side of the particles which are less likely to be seen by the lens.

Crystal clear water could also solve this problem, but that is asking too much almost anywhere.

I'll assume you have cleaned the lens, ports, etc, etc.

I have also seen this with wet-add on lenses when they were added on underwater or topside and the water has not covered the whole lens.

Sharper images - well that depends - what camera equipment are you using here?

M

Thank you guys. It seems like this problem can't be solved w/o an external strobe.

By the way, what shall I use to clean the "lens" of my houseing? (I'm refering to the lens-equivalent of my camera, or whatever you call it)

I'm using a C5050, a pretty decent camera from my point of view, but still think the pictures could be sharper. I realise that getting closer to the subjects would help, but that's not always doable.

 

[Dee]

Thank you guys. It seems like this problem can't be solved w/o an external strobe.

By the way, what shall I use to clean the "lens" of my houseing? (I'm refering to the lens-equivalent of my camera, or whatever you call it)

That's called the lens port. I use a dry piece of real leather chamois to keep mine clean. Every time you get the housing wet, make sure you dry the lens port before the water has a chance to dry. Even 'clean' water has minute mineral deposits that can dry and 'etch' the lens port. I rarely shows up when wet but why take the chance. After you dry the lens port, polich it with the chamois, making sure, of course, that the chamois is free of any dirty particles. I keep mine in a seperate zip-lock bag and only use it for this purpose.

To expand on Marriards comment about the wet add-on lenses, these spots can also be caused by small air bubbles caught between the lens and housing port. That one reason you attach the lens in the water, to make sure there are no bubbles.

 

[fpoole]

Yeah, Backscatter... from the flash..

With the 5050 you can probably shoot without the flash.. and it'll come out pretty good.. no flash, no backscatter... pretty kewl..

I like to think of backscatter and relationship to strobes/flashes is like the sun and the moon.. full moon, sun is right behind earth... full reflection off the particles... sun off to the side and it lights up only a quarter or less... same idea for flashes...

But try turning off the flash and hold the camera steady for a still shot... I was surprised and liked the pics I came up with.. .heheh... learned cause my strobes weren't working... #$%* wet plugs... can't clean them for a good connection.. files, fluids etc... erasers..

Sharpness - could be camera not focusing fast enough or a setting of general compared to spot focus - play with the settings... I also use a focus light in darker conditions as the camea can't find the subject to focus on... a simple "Mini-Sql 4"light attached to the tray or camera somehow works fairly well...

Hope that helps...

 

[Wolverine]

I agree with fpoole. You might want to check on you focus area. I discover sometimes the default is to the nearest item, not necessarily the item in the centre of the viewfinder. As for the backscatter, no choice: eternal strobe, and mounted away from the camera.

 

[justleesa]

I'm using a C5050, a pretty decent camera from my point of view, but still think the pictures could be sharper.

Check and see which ASA your camera was set to for the pictures (you can check that in the properties of the photo)....that makes a big difference too