Fisheye pitfalls?

[northernone]

Finally getting my d90 underwater, and purchased the Tokina 10-17mm to go with a 5 inch dome port.

Any common sense tips I may overlook in my new funhouse warp experience?

What techniques work particularly well with the fisheye distortion as to not overdo it underwater. Just took 500 or so shots dry land with it today, maybe a handful the distortion isn't detracting from the shot.

Advice welcome.

Regards,
Cameron

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Download a Hemi plug in.
Fisheye-Hemi Plug-In review

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

There is almost no straight lines underwater, so most subjects won't look like it is in a fishbowl. But on some of those subjects that ends up looking like they are in a fishbowl (e.g. fish taking full frame taken from inches away), it is part of the effect.

 

[bvanant]

Shooting with a fisheye for the first time can be challenging but underwater is where Fisheyes work best (not so much on land). With the 10-17 that basically focuses on the port, CFWA shots can be extraordinary but you need to remember to keep your strobes back, behind the handles of the housing otherwise you will get flash spots on the dome port and yes I mean the strobes behind the housing handles not just behind the dome. Remember for CFWA shots shoot up into the blue and if you don't like the fisheye look you can get defusing software and some add ins for lightroom.
Have fun and show us some pics.
Bill

 

[northernone]

Thank you for reassuring me! And I gave the plugin a try for my land photography, it's remarkably powerful.

As for getting it underwater, I can't wait!

Excellent tip about the lighting, saved me some lost shots for sure!

It's snowing right now and I'm a wimp so my drysuit is hung up for now... cozumel next month to get to know the lens.

I'll drop in with pics if I get some good ones.

Also doing more with UV and biofluorescence so that should be interesting.

Any other things I need to know shooting with a fisheye and dome are welcome! New territory for me.

 

[bvanant]

be careful with your dome since you might be very close to sharp coral which is fundamentally incompatible with an unscratched dome.
bill

 

[Storker]

Be prepared for a period of cussing and swearing due to backscatter from the strobes. Particularly in low-ish viz. I've had my FE for about a year now, and I'm still struggling a little to find the right strobe placement.

IME, the base case is lens-subject distance roughly equal to lens-strobe distance, and the strobes pulled a little behind the dome