Underwater photos

kng · 15th April 2003

Hello all divers and other nature lovers

Here are some photos taken with the A40 in the canon u/w housing and using the built-in flash. Post processing with Corel photopaint. Hope to be able to afford a strobe in the future.

cheers
kng

Grey reef shark

Lion fish

Baby manta

kng · 15th April 2003

Dog tooth tuna

Scorpion fish

Nudibranch

dannynys · 15th April 2003

Wow.., interesting. This is probably one of the places that is still out of bound for me now! So they got a waterproof case that goes with the camera too? Hmm, what did you tweak in the paint program?

fruitybix · 15th April 2003

am a total "kosong" with underwater photography, and am enquiring for a diver friend who is keen to start out. so between the A40 and the expensive "see n sea" cameras, how is the quality? Thanks!

Wolfgang · 15th April 2003

Slightly soft but i know nuts about under water photography so i don'e really have much ground to critique or comments. FOr the fact that it's novel to me, i would say that these shots are pretty much, an eye opner for me...

Makes me want to take up diving...

But as it is, thank you for posting and sharing your shots.

Keep shooting and posting!

Sk8te · 15th April 2003

The macro shots are really nice....I really like the color from your A70...not to vivid but still colourful....but the normal shots look kinda washed out.... did you apply a red filter on your cam? cos when you are deeper in the water, the red level get cuts off.... I have a red filter for my sony P1 casing...

sehsuan · 15th April 2003

*takes an oath to get another camera for diving*...

good work, kng!

kng · 16th April 2003

Thanks guys for the kind words and encouragement.

Fruitybix, I would say that a digicam in a u/w housing is prob the most affordable way to start u/w photography cos of ease of use, relatively high success rate and free 'film'. I wld recommend the A70 with an u/w housing as prob the best value for money setup in the market at the moment. As I've mentioned in an earlier post, the significantly longer battery life from 4xAA batteries is a big practical advantage. The other camera worth considering is the Oly 5050.

The sea & sea when used properly is better than the output from most digicams but it is apparently v difficult to reach that level of expertise. The sea & sea's are manual focused, no "LCD" screen (trust me, its v hard to peer through any viewfinder when wearing a mask) and no photoshop to 'rescue' poor shots.

Sk8te, yes, some shots are taken with a red filter, but not for the macro ones. The built-in flash is enough to illuminate close range subjects for accurate colour, so no red filter required. For anything larger than a triggerfish, a strobe will be needed.

Hope i didn't ramble on for too long. You can Pm me if you have specific/detailed questions.

Sk8te · 16th April 2003

Hmmm okay... maybe cos the pics look a little soft to me... but I really like your macro shots...well done!

toasty · 17th April 2003

Hi kng,

nice underwater pics, esp, the manta!

Where were you diving? The tuna + Manta makes me think it's sipadan or Layang Layang. Find it hard to believe you didn't have a strobe! I guess these subjects must have been lit by the A70's on camera flash.

How close are you to the Manta, Reef Shark and Tuna? Most of the photos I take of such creatures (only ever seen manta once) turn out much more blue than that, even with a strobe.

It's because I can't get that close to them. I suppose you removed the blueness with post-processing on the computer?

kng · 17th April 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by toasty
How close are you to the Manta, Reef Shark and Tuna? Most of the photos I take of such creatures (only ever seen manta once) turn out much more blue than that, even with a strobe.

It's because I can't get that close to them. I suppose you removed the blueness with post-processing on the computer?

Hey toasty, nice mantis shrimp avatar!!

These were taken in Maldives and Indonesia. Its incredibly difficult to get good pix of mantas cos the water is usually thick with plankton, the animals are moving and I don't have a strobe. All the animals in the above photos were no more than 1.5 armlengths away.

For those considering buying a u/w digital setup, I would dare say that a cheaper camera (eg A70) with a strobe (eg. S&S YS90DX) is a far superior solution than an expensive 5mp camera w/o strobe. W/o a strobe, everything is blue - ever seen a turtle with a blue face??

Yess

had to drastically reduce the blue in photopaint!

Can I ask what strobe are you using and is there a cheaper alternative to the Sea & sea ones for digicams?

sehsuan · 17th April 2003

from what i've read, for those digicams with preflash, apparently only SnS' 90DX and 95DX can accomodate the "double-flash", by correctly fooling the camera to a correct exposure.

check to see if your camera has any preflash system. oh, you can check around at www.wetpixel.com/forums too

beivied · 12th May 2003

wa .... very good pictures! I myself have an a40 and sadly my underwater photos arent this good. partly because i was diving in silt covered water and partly because i am an idiot . what was the depth you took your pictures? esp for the nudibranch, cant believe you didnt use a strobe.. i would have thought you used double strobes! is it a70 or a40 you used?? never heard that a70 has an underwater casing....

anyone knows where to buy cheaper strobes? it is even more expensive than the camera and casing combined....

denizenx · 12th May 2003

mscolor
a70 $505
casing $285

think alan photo ard this price too...

Wai · 12th May 2003

wow...how u manage to take pic of the shark?

are u locked in some cage that submerge into water?

cheechee · 13th May 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by Wai
wow...how u manage to take pic of the shark?

are u locked in some cage that submerge into water?

Yalor.. although grey reef shark aint one of the five most dangerous sharks in the world(if what i recall is true), it still attack if provoked.

Wah seh.... Brave man.

And nice shots u have

, made me more tempted to borrow a uW camera for my dive trip later on.

kng · 21st May 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by Wai
wow...how u manage to take pic of the shark?

are u locked in some cage that submerge into water?

Ha ha.. not that brave actually. Sharks are 99%? of the time afraid of divers and generally swim away. The difficulty is usually getting close enough to one to photograph it.

For those thinking of entering the blue hole of u/w photography, let me say that it has given me a new appreciation for diving and the u/w creatures! Try it - you won't regret!

The A70 housing has a flash diffuser - wld be interested to hear comments on that!!

Hope more pple will post their underwater photos in CS!

matoriv · 21st May 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by denizenx
mscolor
a70 $505
casing $285

think alan photo ard this price too...

woah..
$505.... at 12th may?

AP quoted me $520 on 19th may....
hmm
wonder if i can bring it down to $500?

lanxx · 24th May 2003

kng, nice shots.

IMHO, you could have used a lower F-stop on the scorpionfish, as it blends too much into the background and does not make it stand out.

As for strobes wait for a while. Getting Sea & sea strobe here is more expensive then ordering overseas, unless the distributers knows you damn well. Not worth, somemore the YS-90DX is good, but not fantastic. Wait till I try my strobe, then I let you know good or not. Better functions then sea & sea, cheaper, better made and quite a few more advantages.

15th April 2003	#1
kng Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 551	Underwater photos Hello all divers and other nature lovers Here are some photos taken with the A40 in the canon u/w housing and using the built-in flash. Post processing with Corel photopaint. Hope to be able to afford a strobe in the future. cheers kng Grey reef shark Lion fish Baby manta

15th April 2003	#5
Wolfgang Moderator Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Riddle Realms Posts: 5,831	Slightly soft but i know nuts about under water photography so i don'e really have much ground to critique or comments. FOr the fact that it's novel to me, i would say that these shots are pretty much, an eye opner for me... Makes me want to take up diving... But as it is, thank you for posting and sharing your shots. Keep shooting and posting! __________________ -- "High Wired, Dream Sired"

12th May 2003	#14
denizenx Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: L2TPYSG Posts: 4,514	mscolor a70 $505 casing $285 think alan photo ard this price too... __________________ "I'm... dreaming... of a wide... angle~ Just like the ones I used to know~"

15th April 2003	#2
kng Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 551	Dog tooth tuna Scorpion fish Nudibranch

15th April 2003	#3
dannynys Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Jurong West, Singapore Posts: 186	Wow.., interesting. This is probably one of the places that is still out of bound for me now! So they got a waterproof case that goes with the camera too? Hmm, what did you tweak in the paint program?

15th April 2003	#4
fruitybix Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: West Posts: 698	am a total "kosong" with underwater photography, and am enquiring for a diver friend who is keen to start out. so between the A40 and the expensive "see n sea" cameras, how is the quality? Thanks!

15th April 2003	#6
Sk8te Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 303	The macro shots are really nice....I really like the color from your A70...not to vivid but still colourful....but the normal shots look kinda washed out.... did you apply a red filter on your cam? cos when you are deeper in the water, the red level get cuts off.... I have a red filter for my sony P1 casing...

15th April 2003	#7
sehsuan Deregistered Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Singapore Posts: 6,674	takes an oath to get another camera for diving... good work, kng!

16th April 2003	#8
kng Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 551	Thanks guys for the kind words and encouragement. Fruitybix, I would say that a digicam in a u/w housing is prob the most affordable way to start u/w photography cos of ease of use, relatively high success rate and free 'film'. I wld recommend the A70 with an u/w housing as prob the best value for money setup in the market at the moment. As I've mentioned in an earlier post, the significantly longer battery life from 4xAA batteries is a big practical advantage. The other camera worth considering is the Oly 5050. The sea & sea when used properly is better than the output from most digicams but it is apparently v difficult to reach that level of expertise. The sea & sea's are manual focused, no "LCD" screen (trust me, its v hard to peer through any viewfinder when wearing a mask) and no photoshop to 'rescue' poor shots. Sk8te, yes, some shots are taken with a red filter, but not for the macro ones. The built-in flash is enough to illuminate close range subjects for accurate colour, so no red filter required. For anything larger than a triggerfish, a strobe will be needed. Hope i didn't ramble on for too long. You can Pm me if you have specific/detailed questions.

17th April 2003	#10
toasty Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Singapore, near NUS Posts: 367	Hi kng, nice underwater pics, esp, the manta! Where were you diving? The tuna + Manta makes me think it's sipadan or Layang Layang. Find it hard to believe you didn't have a strobe! I guess these subjects must have been lit by the A70's on camera flash. How close are you to the Manta, Reef Shark and Tuna? Most of the photos I take of such creatures (only ever seen manta once) turn out much more blue than that, even with a strobe. It's because I can't get that close to them. I suppose you removed the blueness with post-processing on the computer?

12th May 2003	#13
beivied Moderator Join Date: May 2003 Location: East, Singapore Posts: 4,213	wa .... very good pictures! I myself have an a40 and sadly my underwater photos arent this good. partly because i was diving in silt covered water and partly because i am an idiot . what was the depth you took your pictures? esp for the nudibranch, cant believe you didnt use a strobe.. i would have thought you used double strobes! is it a70 or a40 you used?? never heard that a70 has an underwater casing.... anyone knows where to buy cheaper strobes? it is even more expensive than the camera and casing combined....

12th May 2003	#15
Wai Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: South Pole with Penguins Posts: 5,133	wow...how u manage to take pic of the shark? are u locked in some cage that submerge into water?

24th May 2003	#19
lanxx Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 897	kng, nice shots. IMHO, you could have used a lower F-stop on the scorpionfish, as it blends too much into the background and does not make it stand out. As for strobes wait for a while. Getting Sea & sea strobe here is more expensive then ordering overseas, unless the distributers knows you damn well. Not worth, somemore the YS-90DX is good, but not fantastic. Wait till I try my strobe, then I let you know good or not. Better functions then sea & sea, cheaper, better made and quite a few more advantages.