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Scuba Forum / Australian Scuba / June 2007underwater camera
I am getting the Reefmaster dc500 and wanted to know about getting a strobe. Many years ago I bought a housing for disposable cameras and a strobe, but I needed it as the disposable camera flash was pretty worthless. I then had a point-and-shoot camera in a pressurized case (a Reefmaster camera) and just used the built in flash, and the pictures were just fair. But now with digital cameras the electronic ISO settings will, I think, be better than a film camera. Of course a strobe is much better than the built-in flash, but how necessary is it for someone who is not a professional and not diving more than once a year? Thanks!! Eddie G > I am getting the Reefmaster dc500 and wanted to know about getting a > strobe. Many years ago I bought a housing for disposable cameras and a [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > Eddie G A strobe will allow you to bring the true colors out without the use of a filter. If most of your diving is going to be shallow, (20ft or so), a strobe is not going to do you much good. Some of the pictures I have taken, are actually more colorful than what *I* actually saw unless I was using a light. Most of the strobes I have seen have a maximum range of about 8-10 ft, depending on water clarity. Another option instead of a flash is a "blue filter". If ambient light at depth is sufficient, a "blue filter" really brings the colors out. > > I am getting the Reefmaster dc500 and wanted to know about getting a > > strobe. Many years ago I bought a housing for disposable cameras and a [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > strobe is much better than the built-in flash, but how necessary is it > > for someone who is not a professional and not diving more than once a year? Short answer is to ask what quality of photos you want to have, regardless of how infrequently you might use the equipment. > A strobe will allow you to bring the true colors out without the use of > a filter. If most of your diving is going to be shallow, (20ft or so), > a strobe is not going to do you much good. Some of the pictures I have > taken, are actually more colorful than what *I* actually saw unless I > was using a light. For digital systems, adjusting of white balance can provide reasonable compensation for the progressive absorption of red spectrum. Once you get beyond around 60fsw or so, there's not really any red left to be boosted in post-processing by the Mandrake method (or similar). > Most of the strobes I have seen have a maximum range of about 8-10 ft, > depending on water clarity. And as a rule of thumb, shorter (4ft; 6ft max). In general, a strobe is preferred over a built-in flash for when the water has particulates in it, its position can reduce backscatter in the final product image: <http://www.huntzinger.com/photo/2007/backscatter.jpg> > Another option instead of a flash is a "blue filter". If ambient light > at depth is sufficient, a "blue filter" really brings the colors out. This is merely cutting down the blues so as to effectively 'rebalance' the spectrum. While it does work, because it is a light reduction technique, the "no free lunch" rule applies: you either have to go to slower shutter speeds, wider aperature or higher ISO in order to expose the shot. Fortunately, digital is getting pretty good for relatively low noise at higher ISOs, particualrly on larger sized sensors (dSLR's). -hh > > I am getting the Reefmaster dc500 and wanted to know about getting a > > strobe. Many years ago I bought a housing for disposable cameras and a [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > Another option instead of a flash is a "blue filter". If ambient light > at depth is sufficient, a "blue filter" really brings the colors out. "blue filter" ?????? Or maybe rather Red for blue water or Magenta for green water? Janusz >>>I am getting the Reefmaster dc500 and wanted to know about getting a >>>strobe. Many years ago I bought a housing for disposable cameras and a [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > > Janusz The filter itself is actually sort of "redish orange", but it is referred to as a "blue filter". I used one on with a Sony Mavica digital camera in an Ikelite housing. Since these cameras didn't require very much light, I actually got some fairly nice pictures at depth just on ambient light. If you try to use a light or strobe with the blue filter on, your subject will be a redish orange color. > janus...@hotmail.com wrote: > >> [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > The filter itself is actually sort of "redish orange", but it is > referred to as a "blue filter". There's what the filter does (filter out...ie, remove...blue), then there's the color that the filter happens to be (reddish; not blue :-). -hh > > janus...@hotmail.com wrote: > [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > there's the color that the filter happens to be (reddish; not > blue :-). and as such is not called blue anymore :-) Janusz P.S. for holiday diving in tropical waters magic filters http://www.magic-filters.com look to be a good choice > But now with > digital cameras the electronic ISO settings will, I think, be better than a > film camera. Of course a strobe is much better than the built-in flash, but > how necessary is it for someone who is not a professional and not diving > more than once a year? I don't use one. I use either natural light or the camera's built in flash. My camera is a Sony Cybershot, 4 megapixels. Many of the pictures on this page, http://www.pathcom.com/~bracuk/underwater/index.htm, were taken with that camera. Anything marked "new" was taken using natural light only (and an orange filter). bracuk@axxent.ca pounded away at his keyboard resulting in: :I don't use one. I use either natural light or the camera's built in :flash. My camera is a Sony Cybershot, 4 megapixels. This is a test to see what happens when I post through my isp. Dan Bracuk If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure. > This is a test to see what happens when I post through my isp. > > Dan Bracuk > If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure. Hey Popeye, did you see that? >> But now with >> digital cameras the electronic ISO settings will, I think, be better than [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > I don't use one. I use either natural light or the camera's built in > flash. My camera is a Sony Cybershot, 4 megapixels. not bad photos what was the casing worth? Depends on your intended depth. I have a reefmaster as one of my underwater cameras, and found that if the water's clear, you can go down about 50 feet and the built-in flash will do "OK", but below that you would have to stay very close to your subject to get any kind of results. Max. >I am getting the Reefmaster dc500 and wanted to know about getting a >strobe. Many years ago I bought a housing for disposable cameras and a [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > Eddie G |
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