to flash or not?

[Madkitty]

hahahaha got ya there :D

 

ok so off next week to stingray land with my underwater housing in tow (which I must add am convinced is going to leak LOL), should I be using the flash wne taking piccies and any other hints for me?

[10X]

If you're diving, then use the flash. If you're snorkeling, then set the flash on auto and let the camera determine if it's needed. That way it might flash if suddenly got cloudy but might not if it was suddenly sunny, thus never under or over exposing your pictures..

 

You're housing is not likely to leak if you follow the rules for using it. Remember to clean and lightly lubricate the o-ring seal before every use. Make sure it is absolutely free of any sand, hair, or other small particles that are going to cause you grief. When the housing is underwater, and subjected to water pressures, even something as small as a single grain of sand can cause a leak.

 

Also, remember the grease you put on the o-ring does not seal the case, the o-ring does. Therefore, lubricate the o-ring very lightly, only enough to that you can barely feel the grease on it.

 

Also, I always rinse my camera case in the shower before I ever remove the camera. I make sure that all the salt water residue is removed before I ever open the case. That way no salt ever gets inside the case or on my camera.

 

I ALWAYS follow the proper procedures before taking the camera in the water. I do this for my camera and for my wife's camera. We have taken them in the water dozens of times and never had a leak.

 

Denny

[Madkitty]

brill thanks - what would you recommend I do as we have a trip booked afterwards and I wont get time to rinse the case before heading off and dont really want to keep the camera inside it?

[scubaran]

hahahaha got ya there :D

 

ok so off next week to stingray land with my underwater housing in tow (which I must add am convinced is going to leak LOL), should I be using the flash wne taking piccies and any other hints for me?

 

 

Hi,

 

this is one of those "depends" questions. The three deciding questions are: depth, clarity and equivilant ISO (I assume Digital).

 

Depth - red disappears around 10ft. So anything red (which stingrays are not, will not come out). So if you see, or suspect red, orange or yellow creatures or landscape and you're deeper than 10 ft., probably flash.

 

Clarity - flashes give you horrible "backscatter". If visability is down you and you see lots of white dots on your viewscreen underwater, I'd turn that sucker off.

 

Equivilant ISO - recommendations by most underwater DIGITAL photographers is ISO 200, white balance set to "cloudy". If this gives you good bright images, no flash needed.

 

I have an external strobe (but I took pictures for years before I got it) and now I use it on almost every picture. But I've found in shallow water sometimes it best to shoot without it to capture the wave reflections and the "atmosphere" of the dive. However, my dive buddy's not blue so there are occasions with person interactions when the flash pays off.

 

Hope this helped,

Randall

[cruzegirl]

brill thanks - what would you recommend I do as we have a trip booked afterwards and I wont get time to rinse the case before heading off and dont really want to keep the camera inside it?

 

 

All of the above is great advice from folks that have been there, done that...... I also always check my housing without the camera. I have a deep sink and fill and then submerge my housing checking for leaks.

You need to really rinse the housing before removing the camera. If any salt water gets in, it can mess up the housing. Most dive boats have rinse tanks to put the camera in between dives. If your snorkeling, ask them about a rinse tank/bucket before you leave on your excursion. I would think they would have them too but you never know. Just put it in the tank submerged with slight swirling action and then push all the operational buttons while submerged. You want to get the salt out of the gears of the buttons.

As far as "to flash or not flash"......lol... It's dependant on the depth and the visibility. I did Stingray City in April. It was less than 25 feet and medium visibility. I did a flash test and I would have been completely washed out. So no flash that day. However, most everything was green on auto.... But you lose colors so that happens. But if there had been flash, you wouldn't have seen a thing.....

Hope all this helps.........

[Madkitty]

why do you normally rinse between dives - is it to stop the salt eating the o-ring?

 

Im really nervous about using it - so much so that I havent even done a trial dunk in the bath LOL

 

I have heard mixed comments though about greasing the o-ring - some say all the time and some say only when needed so a little confused.

[scubaran]

why do you normally rinse between dives - is it to stop the salt eating the o-ring?

 

Im really nervous about using it - so much so that I havent even done a trial dunk in the bath LOL

 

I have heard mixed comments though about greasing the o-ring - some say all the time and some say only when needed so a little confused.

 

The salt won't 'eat' the o-ring but if the camera is left sitting in the sun the salt could form crystals between the external switches and controls causing them not to work on the second dive (one time I checked out all my switches but the view/take pictures switch. Underwater I ran out of pictures and went to delete a few (in the view pictures mode) to find out it wasn't switching. Of course just then a huge grouper went by. The picture's only in my mind, not on my picture page :( ).

 

If you're worried, do like I do if my enclosure has set for awhile. I grease the o-ring, close the case, WITHOUT THE CAMERA, submerge it, let it sit for 1/2 hour in my sink and then check the inside to make sure it's dry.

 

Always, each time you open the case, remove the o-ring, put a small amount of grease between two fingers and run the o-ring through the grease (not too much grease as this will be a magnet for particulates. just a dab will do ya). Keeps it soft and helps keep the seal watertight. Also each time you should inspect it for sand, salt, small hairs, cracks and anything else other than o-ring and grease.

 

Also unrelated to seals, I also put a desecation packet in mine to minimize fogging. The camera heats up as you use it underwater and sometimes the cooler air will cause the lens to fog. A packet keeps the air dry in the enclosure (you can find them everywhere and I've found most manufacturers will work in most cases so it doesn't have to be a Canon pack in a Canon enclosure, an Olympus pack will also work in a Canon enclosure, etc.).

 

Finally to minimize the moisture in the air in the case, put your camera together in your cabin, hotel room, etc. and not on the dive boat. The air will be drier in your room. I also make a point of having long lasting batteries and large capacity cards so I don't have to open the case between dives to switch any of these out.

 

Randall

 

I've got 100 dives on my case with nary a leak!

[10X]

To add to what SCUBARAN said, here is what I did to help protect the external switches from salt crystal corrosion. (BTW, I also do everything else he said)

 

I went to local dive shop and bought a spray bottle of food grade silicone. It's made by Trident Diving Equipment and comes in an 8 oz., non-aerosol spray bottle that is red/white/blue in color. It's label says, "Food Grade Silicone for all Water Sports Equipment". It cost me $6.10. The government's cut on this expediure here in Michigan added about 25 cents to the price.

 

I spray the external buttons of my camera case with this product to help keep them lubricated and protected from corrosion. Since it is not a petroleum product it won't contaminate the water once submerged.

 

Madkitty,

 

When it comes to cleaning and greasing the o-ring I do it every time. My question to those who only do it "when needed" is, How do you know when it is needed, if not every time?

 

By not doing it every time assumes that you are able to see every grain of sand, every small hair, and every other particle that might cause your camera case to leak, without ever inspecting the o-ring. Sorry, but I don't have x-ray vision so I continue to inspect the o-ring. It takes me no more than about 10 minutes to do both my and my wife's camera case, so I don't find that taking the time to grease and inspect an o-ring is burdensome.

 

If you want to test your camera case in the bathtub, simply add a small (soft) weight inside the case and submerge it. That way, if it leaks there isn't any harm done to your camera.

 

Denny

[booth22]

if it's sunny and you are staying shallow/snorkeling, set the white balance once you hit the water- then you won't get the bluish photos, and you won't get the backscatter from the flash going off. simple solution!

[Madkitty]

ok I know I can change the white balance on mine but what is that for and do I increase or decrease it?

[scubaran]

ok I know I can change the white balance on mine but what is that for and do I increase or decrease it?

 

Hi,

 

White balance set's the "white" color on your camera. If the general lighting has color to it (yellow light from house light bulbs, blue from florescents, etc.) when you look at something white it takes on the color of the light. Put a white sheet of paper under a house light it will have a yellowish tone instead of white. As such, the camera has the capability of "canceling out" the color tone and make the paper white again on the picture. In order to do this, you set your white balance to manual, place something white in front of it, and push whatever button "sets your white balance". The camera detects any color tones on the object and cancels out the color so the object looks white again on the shot. It does this by adding an opposite color filter to the shot. Light is made of the primary colors red, green and blue,

by adding more of the opposite color it detects it cancels the coloration and makes the white object look white again

. This means that you need to either carry a white object with you in the water or find a white patch of sand to focus the white balance on. You can practice at night with a white sheet of printer paper and your house lighting to see how this works.

 

Sorry for the complicated details but you asked. :)

 

Randall

[Madkitty]

ok so where I have the settings such as cloudy, tungsten light etc are they presettings for different white balance or something different altogether?

[scubaran]

ok so where I have the settings such as cloudy, tungsten light etc are they presettings for different white balance or something different altogether?

 

 

Hi,

 

Yeap, they're pre-defined settings for different light colors (cloudy takes out grey/blue, tungsten, bluish). Manual lets you do all other colors (actually you know this works above water as well. I was in a mansion that had very yellow light, did a manual white balance, everything went white. BTW, don't forget to change it back to auto, or rebalance once the light changes, or when you get out of the water.

 

Randall

[booth22]

basically, once you get in the water set the white balance using the sand below you (if it isn't too deep since you're snorkeling, and assuming the sand is white) this will color correct your pictures... I'd suggest practicing at home to get a feel. white balance off a white wall in your house with different lighting, or inside vs. outside. it's best figured out while actually trying it.