Underwater photography help please
spam@thanks.com Tim
I need to find a relatively inexpensive (as I doubt I'll use it that much)
underwater camera, something that I can use diving in the Caribbean - I've
never dived before so the depths will be shallow I guess - I might do a PADI
course while I'm there but don't anticipate anything too adventurous
Oh and bearing in mind there have been handbags swinging in
rec.travel.caribbean over reef diving etiquette I'd like to say I'm reading
up on it
http://www.sailhawaii.com/coral.html
http://www.american.edu/ted/SCUBA.HTM
I've not had much luck Googling so far, found the links below the Sea & Sea
seems like a good option and the price is in budget but the Fuji looks like
a good option too although it's about £200 more than I really wanted to
spend :-(
http://www.greatdigitaldeals.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=52&products_id=677
Can anyone help me with some ideas please?
Oh and will I even need a strobe if all I'm doing is swimming in shallow
Caribbean water?
Thanks
Tim
Rich
Fuji's F10 would be a good choice I guess. If the light is low down
there.
The colour cast of the underwater environment invites noise and the
Fuji
should be good at supressing it when you use higher ISO settings.
Of course, if your diving is confined to the shallows, reefs at depths
of around
10-25 ft, light shouldn't be an issue. A P&S camera would be a must
owing to the LCD,
no need to put your eye up to a viewfinder.
Phil Stripling
sp...@thanks.com> wrote:
> I need to find a relatively inexpensive (as I doubt I'll use it that much)
> underwater camera, something that I can use diving in the Caribbean - I've
> never dived before so the depths will be shallow I guess - I might do a PADI
> course while I'm there but don't anticipate anything too adventurous
I snorkle in the Caribbean and use an Ewa Marine bag on my existing
Nikon CoolPix. I don't much like the bags, but they're a cheap
compromise when you snorkle once a year for a couple of weeks. :->
Check their website for depth limitations - not a problem for
snorkling, but may be for SCUBA.
Get one well ahead of time and check to confirm your camera fits. My
first bag would not hold the camera, so I exchanged it a different one,
and the camera fit. :-| C'est la vie.
--
Phil Stripling | email to the replyto address is presumed
The Civilized Explorer | spam and read later. email from this URL
http://www.cieux.com/ | http://www.civex.com/ is read daily.
Deep Reset
news:100620061129473189%phi...@alumni.rutgers.edu...
> In article <ExAig.83878$wl.4...@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk>, Tim <
> sp...@thanks.com> wrote:
>
>> I need to find a relatively inexpensive (as I doubt I'll use it that
>> much)
>> underwater camera, something that I can use diving in the Caribbean -
>> I've
>> never dived before so the depths will be shallow I guess - I might do a
>> PADI
>> course while I'm there but don't anticipate anything too adventurous
>
> I snorkle in the Caribbean and use an Ewa Marine bag on my existing
> Nikon CoolPix. I don't much like the bags, but they're a cheap
> compromise when you snorkle once a year for a couple of weeks. :->
>
> Check their website for depth limitations - not a problem for
> snorkling, but may be for SCUBA.
>
> Get one well ahead of time and check to confirm your camera fits. My
> first bag would not hold the camera, so I exchanged it a different one,
> and the camera fit. :-| C'est la vie.
EWA bags are generally rated to 10m - I've had mine to a little under 15m,
but the squeeze may press more buttons than you had intended!
Deep.
JimK
If you're not going very deep, you might consider a disposable - the
Kodak Max underwater disposable is good for down to 50' and has ASA 800
film. On my PADI resort dive, I don't think I went below 30'. I've since
foresaken diving (bad ears) - I just snorkel - and the disposable is
perfect for me.
Regards,
JimK
Mike Fields
"Tim" <no sp...@thanks.com> wrote in message
news:ExAig.83878$wl.4...@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
> Hi
>
> I need to find a relatively inexpensive (as I doubt I'll use it that
> much) underwater camera, something that I can use diving in the
> Caribbean - I've never dived before so the depths will be shallow I
> guess - I might do a PADI course while I'm there but don't anticipate
> anything too adventurous
>
Couple of points in addition to what others have said:
1) don't take anything into the water you can't afford
to replace if it floods -- salt water does baaaaad things
to electronics.
2) From the sounds of your post, you are not overly
experienced in the water -- the simpler the camera is
to operate the better off you are.
3) Sun block on the back of your legs in particular -
real easy to have so much fun floating around on the
surface looking at stuff and taking pictures to not
notice very severe burning of the backs of your knees
in particular (been there done that - not a pleasant
experience).
4) best time of day is around noon where the sun is
overhead and gives the best light - as the angle goes
away from 90 degrees, light drops quickly and your
colors also start to fade and shift -- of course, that is
the worst time for #3 above ;-)
5) have fun !!!
mikey
Lucas
"Tim" <no sp...@thanks.com> schreef in bericht
news:ExAig.83878$wl.4...@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
I would advise to first learn how to dive, and worry about uw-photography
later. Remember that man isn't made to be under water, first get used to the
new environment, then worry about camera and pics.
When I first started diving about 12 year ago, I took a camera with me, and
made lousy pics and didn't do a good job of diving either. Now, after about
750 dives without camera, I'm ready to try all over.
Good luck!
Lucas
spam@thanks.com Tim
> news:ExAig.83878$wl.4...@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
>> Hi
>>
>> I need to find a relatively inexpensive (as I doubt I'll use it that
>> much) underwater camera, something that I can use diving in the
>> Caribbean - I've never dived before so the depths will be shallow I
>> guess - I might do a PADI course while I'm there but don't anticipate
>> anything too adventurous
>>
>
> Couple of points in addition to what others have said:
>
> 1) don't take anything into the water you can't afford
> to replace if it floods -- salt water does baaaaad things
> to electronics.
Yep! Will be taking a D70s with me but have decided against an underwater
housing for it as it puts all my eggs in one basket - risky!!!
> 2) From the sounds of your post, you are not overly
> experienced in the water -- the simpler the camera is
> to operate the better off you are.
You're right, I swim a lot but that's not diving, as Lucas pointed out there
is the danger of doing both things badly, another reason for not taking the
Nikon. Although I'm anticipating that most of the underwater photography
will be when I'm swimming/snorkeling. JimKs suggestion of a disposable isn't
a bad idea if all else fails but something digital would be nice.
> 3) Sun block on the back of your legs in particular -
> real easy to have so much fun floating around on the
> surface looking at stuff and taking pictures to not
> notice very severe burning of the backs of your knees
> in particular (been there done that - not a pleasant
> experience).
Wise wise words, I hope I remember them.BTW can anyone recommend a good
waterproof sun block while we're on the subject
> 4) best time of day is around noon where the sun is
> overhead and gives the best light - as the angle goes
> away from 90 degrees, light drops quickly and your
> colors also start to fade and shift -- of course, that is
> the worst time for #3 above ;-)
Thanks for the tip
> 5) have fun !!!
Thank you I'll do my best
Thanks everyone for your advice
Tim
Rosalie B.
>> "Tim" <no sp...@thanks.com> wrote in message
>> news:ExAig.83878$wl.4...@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
>>> Hi
>>>
>>> I need to find a relatively inexpensive (as I doubt I'll use it that
>>> much) underwater camera, something that I can use diving in the
>>> Caribbean - I've never dived before so the depths will be shallow I
>>> guess - I might do a PADI course while I'm there but don't anticipate
>>> anything too adventurous
>>>
down to free dive level. I don't think it would hurt it to take it
deeper, although I wouldn't take it down to 100 feet. And if it did,
you wouldn't have lost much
>> Couple of points in addition to what others have said:
>>
>> 1) don't take anything into the water you can't afford
>> to replace if it floods -- salt water does baaaaad things
>> to electronics.
>
>Yep! Will be taking a D70s with me but have decided against an underwater
>housing for it as it puts all my eggs in one basket - risky!!!
>
>
>> 2) From the sounds of your post, you are not overly
>> experienced in the water -- the simpler the camera is
>> to operate the better off you are.
>
>You're right, I swim a lot but that's not diving, as Lucas pointed out there
>is the danger of doing both things badly, another reason for not taking the
>Nikon. Although I'm anticipating that most of the underwater photography
>will be when I'm swimming/snorkeling. JimKs suggestion of a disposable isn't
>a bad idea if all else fails but something digital would be nice.
>
I gave my daughter an underwater camera that's good down to about 50
feet but it is a film camera - I think it is a Cannon. But I think
for someone just learning to dive, a camera is a mistake and a
distraction. And I say that as someone who is never without a camera
and who takes pictures of everything all the time and who feels naked
without a camera with her.
>
>> 3) Sun block on the back of your legs in particular -
>> real easy to have so much fun floating around on the
>> surface looking at stuff and taking pictures to not
>> notice very severe burning of the backs of your knees
>> in particular (been there done that - not a pleasant
>> experience).
>
>Wise wise words, I hope I remember them.BTW can anyone recommend a good
>waterproof sun block while we're on the subject
>
I don't rely on sunblock. First of all I hate it. I wear a dive skin
whenever I'm in the water. If I'm going to go twice in one day and
the dive skin is too wet to put back on, then I'll wear a very big
long T-shirt type beach coverup - goes down to my knees and to my
elbows.
My hair covers my head - my husband has to worry about his bald spot
and the back of his neck in addition. I don't know if that's a
problem for you or not.
spam@thanks.com Tim
Thanks I hear what your saying, still need a camera to take sailing,
swimming etc though.
Do you have a website of your pictures??
BTW here's mine if you're interested, mainly stuff I shot in SF last year
with a Sony P&S
www.timdenning.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk
>>> 3) Sun block on the back of your legs in particular -
>>> real easy to have so much fun floating around on the
>>> surface looking at stuff and taking pictures to not
>>> notice very severe burning of the backs of your knees
>>> in particular (been there done that - not a pleasant
>>> experience).
>>
>> Wise wise words, I hope I remember them.BTW can anyone recommend a
>> good waterproof sun block while we're on the subject
>>
> I don't rely on sunblock. First of all I hate it. I wear a dive skin
> whenever I'm in the water. If I'm going to go twice in one day and
> the dive skin is too wet to put back on, then I'll wear a very big
> long T-shirt type beach coverup - goes down to my knees and to my
> elbows.
>
> My hair covers my head - my husband has to worry about his bald spot
> and the back of his neck in addition. I don't know if that's a
> problem for you or not.
Thanks for the info - I think I'll start a new thread and see what people
recommend.
Thinking of dive skins, what is the risk of bumping into jellyfish, and how
bad exactly is that???
Cheers
Tim
Rosalie B.
You can use the disposable for the swimming stuff too.
For sailing, I use either the regular digital or a film camera that is
water resistant (point and shoot type)
This is a link http://www12.virtualtourist.com/m/4a9c6/ to my travel
pictures. Most of what I have taken with underwater disposable
cameras is a copy of a copy but you can get an idea from this
http://p.vtourist.com/668757-Snorkeling_at_Hol_Chan-Belize.jpg
and this is to my boat pictures
http://home.mindspring.com/~gmbeasley/id1.html
Anything prior to about 2002 is film
spam@thanks.com Tim
> news:ExAig.83878$wl.4...@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
>> Hi
>>
>> I need to find a relatively inexpensive (as I doubt I'll use it that
>> much) underwater camera, something that I can use diving in the
>> Caribbean - I've never dived before so the depths will be shallow I
>> guess - I might do a PADI course while I'm there but don't
>> anticipate anything too adventurous
>>
>> Oh and bearing in mind there have been handbags swinging in
>> rec.travel.caribbean over reef diving etiquette I'd like to say I'm
>> reading up on it
>> http://www.sailhawaii.com/coral.html
>> http://www.american.edu/ted/SCUBA.HTM
>>
>> I've not had much luck Googling so far, found the links below the
>> Sea & Sea seems like a good option and the price is in budget but
>> than I really wanted to spend :-(
>>
>>
> http://www.greatdigitaldeals.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=52&products_id=677
>>
>>
> http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&s
> ku=407376&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation
>>
>> Can anyone help me with some ideas please?
>>
>> Oh and will I even need a strobe if all I'm doing is swimming in
>> shallow Caribbean water?
>>
>> Thanks
>>
>> Tim
>>
>>
>
> I would advise to first learn how to dive, and worry about
> uw-photography later. Remember that man isn't made to be under water,
> first get used to the new environment, then worry about camera and
> pics.
> When I first started diving about 12 year ago, I took a camera with
> me, and made lousy pics and didn't do a good job of diving either.
> Now, after about 750 dives without camera, I'm ready to try all over.
>
> Good luck!
>
> Lucas
Hi
OK forgeting the diving photography bit I've been looking for a camera that
I can use on the beach, windsurfer & in the shallows etc and found the
Olympus Mju 720SW which seems to fit the bill nicely
Anyone have any bad things to say about it?
TIA
Tim
spam@thanks.com Tim
Tim
Mike
I had a Canon S50 (nice Point & Shoot) and found that Canon also offers
an underwater case for it. I suspect the S50 is no longer available,
but you can probably find somethign equivalent. Nice thing about this
is that, away from the water, the S50 makes a perfectly good general
purpose camera. You can see some shots using the S50, including some
underwater, at my web site. www.hammocktree.org/ms/trips.html Check
the photo album from the Sept 2004 trip to Turks & Cacios. Tne
'dryland' phots were taken witn a Canon 20D, the water born wer the S50.
jo
use the strobe for the photos on this site, currents were a challenge on
some of my dives and I just didn't bother with it. Clearly, I would
expect better lighting/colors with the strobe. Also, the setting was
just left on the auto mode and it was my first trip out with this
camera. In other words, I wouldn't normally be cross-posting these on a
photo newsgroup ;-) http://community.webshots.com/user/seabeads
The blue tangs were shot with a disposable on a snorkeling trip in St.
Croix and the photo of me swimming with the sea turtle was shot by a
friend with a Sony T-something - everything else was taken with the
Sea&Sea on my Mexico trip. I like the camera, I wanted a new compact
sized digital anyways and I now use it topside many times as well. It's
great to have the housing for snorkeling, boating, the beach, wet
weather, and such. The disposables do ok for shallow and sunny, but
it's always nice to get the immediate gratification of a digital.
IMO, If you have less than 20 to 40 dives under your belt, it is far
better to leave the camera on the boat. Concentrate instead on learning
perfect buoyancy and feeling at ease with all of your scuba equipment
before you add a camera to the works. Shallow dives don't necessarily
equal safer dives. It would have been great to do at least the "written
part" of a dive course at home before heading off to the caribbean.
Keep in mind that the quickest/least expensive dive course is not always
the best bargain in terms of quality or safety in the long term.
spam@thanks.com Tim
Thanks for the link - wasn't familiar with the term Lampworking so Googled -
then spent ages looking at work by Roger Parramore so I now don't have time
for a decent reply!!!
Thanks for the post - more later
Tim
AlJ
a Nikon 4300 in a case by Fantasea. Happy with the camera out of the
case too even though I've got better ones.
http://www.alandsuejohnson.com/caye%20caulker%20snorkeling%202006.html
The link at the top of the pictures will take you to a short discussion
about the camera.
Zia
under $300 and is JIS Class 8 Waterproof. I am a avid kayaker, and I
take the older model (Optio WP) out with me everywhere I go without
fear of it getting wet or damaged. Very slim and has a 2.5 LCD screen.
No need for a case or anything.
Amazon has some customer reviews here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...lance&n=502394
spam@thanks.com Tim
Thanks Zia and everyone else for your ideas & suggestions
The Amazon reviews pushed me towards an Olympus 720SW
Hopefully the shock resistance and extra water resistance will mean it's
money well spent
With any luck I'll let you know in about 5 weeks
Cheers
Tim
Ter
I chose this after gaining information from two sources
the first being at www.dpreview.com
then at www.digitaldiver.net
DDN has been a tremendous help in information and sharing knowledge many
posters there are professional marine photographers
and willingly share their knowledge gladly
I'm the registered Ter on there
feel free to post me anytime
Ter
"Tim" <no sp...@thanks.com> wrote in message
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