Anacapa: 1st time camera setup, 2nd time photographer

[Starboard Tack]

How's it going. I haven't figured out how to quote folks yet, but I wanted to reply that I second everything Scott said in reply #5 and wanted to add one thing. Take a look at your strobe aiming. I find that shooting under crevices and the like you have to really watch how you aim the strobe so you don't cover the light.

Incidentally, the shots are great. I especially like the Sea Hare. Thanks.

 

[headhunter]

How's it going. I haven't figured out how to quote folks yet, but I wanted to reply that I second everything Scott said in reply #5 and wanted to add one thing. Take a look at your strobe aiming. I find that shooting under crevices and the like you have to really watch how you aim the strobe so you don't cover the light.

Incidentally, the shots are great. I especially like the Sea Hare. Thanks.

Hi Starboard Tack,

Welcome to ScubaBoard! :happywave

To quote someone, you select the button that says "QUOTE" at the bottom of the message that you want to quote instead of "Q-REPLY". It does it for you automaticallly.

Hope that helps!

Christian

 

[Empty V]

How's it going. I haven't figured out how to quote folks yet, but I wanted to reply that I second everything Scott said in reply #5 and wanted to add one thing. Take a look at your strobe aiming. I find that shooting under crevices and the like you have to really watch how you aim the strobe so you don't cover the light.

Incidentally, the shots are great. I especially like the Sea Hare. Thanks.

Thanks Starboard Tack. I first wanted to get to know the camera, I think strobe position will be my next step. The Sea Hare is my favorite

Billy

 

[SoCalAngel]

Billy.... you ARE coming to the wrinkles dive tomorrow, aren't you????

 

[Empty V]

Billy.... you ARE coming to the wrinkles dive tomorrow, aren't you????

So much pressure!!! I'm getting calls from Robert and Mr. Rickster and now you! What to do what to do. If the weather turns out to be okay and I can get clearance from my Fiance, I might make that really really long gas guzzling trek to Laguna. We'll see if the stars align.

Thanks for asking Laurel, if I do show up I will be wearing that chest protector

Billy

 

[JMdiver]

Hey Billy I'm going & I'm not even diving, come on down.

John

 

[SoCalAngel]

So much pressure!!! I'm getting calls from Robert and Mr. Rickster and now you! What to do what to do. If the weather turns out to be okay and I can get clearance from my Fiance, I might make that really really long gas guzzling trek to Laguna. We'll see if the stars align.

Thanks for asking Laurel, if I do show up I will be wearing that chest protector

Billy

Hi Billy!

I hope you had a great time! I wanted to stay and dive, but alas, couldn't. At least, you didn't need to use your chest protector, eh?

Hope to see you soon!`
Laurel

 

[tie]

I shoot a Fuji F810 but without an external strobe (just internal flash TTL), so my advice may not be great.
1. Shoot in RAW. The huge raw files are awful (they can be losslessly compressed mildly if you convert them to DNG), but it is well worth it. The abalone would likely be salvageable if shot in raw.
2. Shoot Aperture priority or manual. Shutter speed isn't important if flash is determining the exposure. The abalone is overexposed and the lobster underexposed because the abalone is close and the lobster far away. For very close subjects, close the aperture down or your strobe will be too powerful; for subjects far away open it up because your strobe isn't powerful enough. In other words, adjust the aperture based on subject distance; for very close subjects close down to f8 and for far ones open up to f5.6 or even f4. Also adjust the strobe power according to subject distance. After you take a shot or series, put the settings back in a neutral position (e.g., f7.1) ready for the next one.
3. After you have this down, then switch to manual exposure mode. Here, you can open the shutter for brighter ambient and close it for darker. If you want a black background, use a short shutter (and a small aperture, if possible). For a lighter background, balanced with the strobe-lit foreground, use a longer shutter.
4. Leave the ISO at 80, I think you should only need to bump it if you are attempting available light shots (perhaps to avoid backscatter).
5. Post more shots! I'm also curious how you like the nano strobe.

 

[Starboard Tack]

Hi Starboard Tack,

Welcome to ScubaBoard! :happywave

To quote someone, you select the button that says "QUOTE" at the bottom of the message that you want to quote instead of "Q-REPLY". It does it for you automaticallly.

Hope that helps!

Christian

Ahhh! So much better! Thanks Christian.

 

[Empty V]

Hey Tie, good advice. I was shooting in manual mode except for the larger more scenic shots. I found that I got a better result in Aperature Priority mode.

Here are a few shots I took this past weekend in Laguna. Since in RAW mode I could only get 50 pics out of a 1GB card I grabbed a 2GB card off of ebay for super cheap. Now I just have to do some deleting during the dive to be able to load it up with quality shots. It's nice to have a backup card too. Eventually I'm probably going to accumulate 4 or 5. It's amazing how much more control you have over an image in post when shooting RAW.

The Nano Flash is the first strobe I've used, what a difference. So far I dig it a lot. Anything is better than not having one. I had it leak because I failed to lubricate the o-ring the first time out. I think the moisture might have killed the batteries. I replaced them, oiled the o-ring, and the strobe was a champ for the next dive. ScottFiji told me about the flash and swears by it. I'm leaning toward his position very fast.

Let me know what you think of these.

Billy