Starting out... how?

[benwal]

Hi,

I'm thinking of picking up diving and foresee myself doing it quite often in the future. I've never done any underwater photography before and have no clue on the camera and other equipment that comes along with it.

Right now, I'm a Black & White film person. And I saw a retro and cool Nikonos 5 and the orange color got me holding my breath. Possible to give the verdict on this camera anyone? Is it any good?

What would your advise be for a start up kit? Would film be ok underwater or is digital the way to go?

Thanks!

Cheers...

 

[Andyc8470]

Hi, maybe u should go get urself a OWD 1st. Take a look and feel the underwater world. How water take away colors.

I still remember the 1st time i got my PnS camera down, so excited. but alot of pic turn out blur, underexpose, or overexpose. Underwater and on land is alot different, a slight current or a particles can spoil the whole picture.

Just a newbie sharing my $0.002 cent of experience.

 

[antacid]

pick up diving first and make sure you are comfortable in the water. the photography part is still far away. if you screw up while diving, it's lots of pain and time in the recompression chamber, or even death.

you won't be taking any good pictures if you are not comfortable in the water, and can manage your scuba equipment without conscious effort.

one step at a time!

 

[diver-hloc]

1 step at a time.... don't dream to be a F1 driver before you even get your driving cert.... :think:

 

[benwal]

Alright guys, sounds like a good advice. Will take it a step at a time then.

 

[diver-hloc]

Alright guys, sounds like a good advice. Will take it a step at a time then.

No worries... get your OW or AOW cert.... then start snapping once you are sure of yourself

 

[antacid]

as a rough guide, for a compact camera set up and a decent strobe, be prepared to spend about $1500.

nikonos will probably cost more, maybe around 2k? depends on how much you can get the camera and lenses for, actually. then factor in about $800 per strobe. the ideal number of strobes is at least 2, some people get by with 1 if they are on a tight budget.

see you underwater! the season is starting soon, so its a good time to go shopping for Open Water courses.

 

[stonefish35]

Before you even think of bringing down any toys, make sure you are very comfortable underwater first. Then make sure you can maintain your bouyancy during the safety stop and is able to hover 30cm off the seabed without any issues and without hitting the seabed or corals. And also learn how to do reverse finning, eg, the reverse gear for finning out of tight corners, without pushing yourself off the coral or seabed to get out of the tight corners

And also, secure , secure , secure all your stuff. And be prepared to ditch whatever camera equipments you bring down,even if it means ditching a 10K system, in order to save your life. A leaking housing underwater can be a deadweight pulling you deeper into the sea when the housing is taking in water.

 

[MartinS]

Hi benwal,
Apart from the other advice already given here, I would suggest you forgo the Nikonos system. Yes it looks retro and cool but your learning curve will be a lot smaller and better if you get a digital PnS with a suitable housing.

Keep film for for the surface, digital is the way to go for u/w. At some point you will want to get some books on the subject. I highly recommend "The Underwater Photographer' by Martin Edge.
Other than that all the best as you embark on this wonderful scuba / uw Photography adventure!

Martin

Hi,

I'm thinking of picking up diving and foresee myself doing it quite often in the future. I've never done any underwater photography before and have no clue on the camera and other equipment that comes along with it.

Right now, I'm a Black & White film person. And I saw a retro and cool Nikonos 5 and the orange color got me holding my breath. Possible to give the verdict on this camera anyone? Is it any good?

What would your advise be for a start up kit? Would film be ok underwater or is digital the way to go?

Thanks!

Cheers...

 

[benwal]

Thanks a lot Martin. Appreciate the advice and info.

Hi benwal,
dvice already given here, I would suggest you forgo the Nikonos system. Yes it looks retro and cool but your learning curve will be a lot smaller and better if you get a digital PnS with a suitable housing.

Keep film for for the surface, digital is the way to go for u/w. At some point you will want to get some books on the subject. I highly recommend "The Underwater Photographer' by Martin Edge.
Other than that all the best as you embark on this wonderful scuba / uw Photography adventure!

Martin

 

[GRbenji]

I'm not sure if there really is someone that started off with DSLR/SLR underwater, but I know of none. I guess mainly is cost, and second is it's slightly more challenging to manage when one is new to diving.

Most start off with a compact or PNS system. A compact system with manual controls over aperture and shutter will give one more control over the way one wants to shoot.

Happy diving and shooting, and of course sharing your shots here.

 

[2evans]

As others have pointed out, get certified, get experienced diving first and then think about getting gear.