Underwater photography help please

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 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/p...roducts_id=677

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...goryNavigation

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

Tim wrote:
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 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/p...roducts_id=677

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...goryNavigation

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

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.

In article , Tim
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.

"Phil Stripling" wrote in message
. ..
In article , Tim
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.

Tim,
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

Tim wrote:
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

"Tim" no wrote in message
. 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

"Tim" no schreef in bericht
. 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 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/p...roducts_id=677


http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...A=details&Q=&s
ku=407376&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigatio n

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

"Tim" no wrote in message
. 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

"Tim" no wrote:
"Tim" no wrote in message
. 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

A disposable snorkeling camera gets amazing pictures in good light and
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.

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 ;-)

"Tim" no wrote:
"Tim" no wrote in message
. 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

A disposable snorkeling camera gets amazing pictures in good light and
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.

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