Basic photography question

[Greg G.]

I used an Aquashot for several years and really enjoyed it. For the price, I got some good pics. Then I took a giant leap forward and bought a Sea & Sea Pro Ex. Now I have 3 settings to think about; focus, aperture and shutter speed. Until I get to understand these settings better, what would be the settings to use so that it is the same or similar to those disposable 35mm cameras used in the Aquashot? IOW, I need to learn to walk before I can run, and I would like to just have some fun with it before I get into the more complex uses for the different settings.

 

[old_mike]

if you are going for macro shots, i would use an aperture of F-16 to F22, depending on the output of the strobe. Wide angle stuff requires metering capability for the best results, but on an overcast day in say, 30 feet in the tropics, i would typically end up using a shutter speed of 1/60 at say, F8 to F5.6 for ASA 100 film. You will have to bracket the shots a bit before you develop an eye for what works. When i bracket, i generally alter the F-stop before i alter the shutter speed, unless the subject is swimming fast. There are many ways to learn U/W photography so keep an open mind and always experiment.

 

[Greg G.]

Thanks. I should have clarified that I wanted to know what settings to use to make it pretty much point-and-shoot for non-macro shots. I can learn to "fine tune" it later. Those disposable 35mm cameras have a fixed shutter speed and aperture settings, do you happen to know what they are?

 

[old_mike]

i'm not sure that all disposables have the same shutter speeds and apertures but i know that a great many use speeds of 1/60 sec to 1/90 of a second, which happen to be very good speeds for available light photos (non-macro/w/strobe). The apertures may be fixed at around F8 but again, that may vary. All i can really say is this: film is really cheap, but that big school of barracuda or that big friendly jewfish that's right behind you? you'll not see them again for a while, so bracket those shots like crazy!!! i bracket like crazy with my housed F3 and that is essential to getting good shots, even with my fancy-schmancy (and ancient) rig!

 

[John Reinertson]

First, the point and shoots get their exposures by using fast film with small apertures (higher fstop numbers).
Your EX will only work automatically with 50, 100 or 400 ASA film.
To simplify, use 1/60th, F11 or 16, and 400 ASA film.
If you're at thirty feet depth or shallower on a bright day or distance is under five feet, go to F22.
That will get you in the ballpark, and print film is fairly forgiving for exposures, and the TTL is pretty good.
Start your shooting, however, with learning to at least roughly set your focus. 18 in= closeup, 3ft=closest focus before the click, and about 6 feet for everything else.
Now that I've given you a rough guide, two sites with outstanding instruction in basics of exposure are http://www.DAVEREAD.COM
and http://www.utahdiving.com/photos/pic-clas.htm
Once you get comfortable, the shots get to be more fun when you expose them better.
A practice roll or two of 100 ASA in daylight, choosing flowers and plants (or cooperative critters) will give you some cheaply won familiarity and probably amaze you with what the camera can do on land close up.
Have fun, and celebrate the freedom the settings give you!
John

 

[old_mike]

hey, thats some good info J.R. ! i tend to shoot the pro slide films and completely forgot that most point & shoots are geared towards print film! Also, that part about shooting land subjects is a great piece of advice! I used to look through my rig with its various ports and focus on my thumb or a magazine cover just to get an idea of the focusing distances before i got into the cold murky water.

 

[John Reinertson]

One of my better candid pics ever was an iguana on land but very close in Bonaire, with an MMIIEX, when I was poking around practicing.
Slide film has a latitude (margin of error) of 1 stop or less, where print film has margin of error of 2 stops , or three in a stretch.
I scan my pics and edit them and reprint off computer, so prints are easier for me. If you're just getting the hang of Fstops and the MMII, the latitude of print film is almost essential to avoid having a yield of one good pic per roll, which was my beginning percentage. when you're more comfortable with precise exposure, slide film is cheaper but it is less forgiving.
Dave Read really is sold on the Kodak Royal Gold print film, and his pic quality is darn good.
The 400 ASA has a little more grain, but the depth of field you gain will cover up your beginning focusing errors, or at least it helped for me. I still use it on deep dives, because it effectively lengthens strobe range for skittish subjects.

Have fun, shoot often
John

 

[old_mike]

not to get off the subject but Kodak Supra is good stuff also. has great color representation! only problem though, is that its 15 bucks a roll! I use the stuff when making prints off of slides.

 

[John Reinertson]

Thanks for the info on supra, especially when copying from slides. I've been looking for good film to do that. (Ihave a really ancient Minolta slide copier bellows that I've resurrected)
http://www.porters.com or http://www.bhphotovideo.com are good outfits for mailorder film if you want cheaper Supra.
I live in a rural enough area there's no good nearby photoshop to support.
John