Underwater Photo tips for Olympus TG-4??

[Seastardiver625]

Hey guys,

I just bought the Olympus Tough TG-4. I don't have an external flash or macro lens so it's just the camera I will be taking on my dive this weekend. I am diving in a max of 20 ft at Blue Heron Bridge in West Palm Beach.

Any tips or recommendations on what mode to shoot in for the best photos or if I should take a flashlight to act as an external flash or maybe not use the flash since its only 15-20 ft? Hoping to video tape some as well. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[tursiops]

The camera works quite well for macro without any additional lens.
Use it as much as you can on land before taking it underwater; the brain stops working underwater, and you can't read the manual.
Set the SHOOTING MODE on UNDERWATER in MACRO (for BHB), but you might want some WIDE 1 or 2 as well.
Shoot in RAW+JPEG; you may never use the RAW but you can't go back and get it.
Use as low an ISO as the amount of light allows.

You can never have too much light, but holding a flashlight nearby is pretty much useless, as it provides either a bright spot kin the middle of the picture, or not enough light spread out over the scene.
The internal flash might work for you, it's worth a try, but it will only be good within a foot or so of the subject.

Try some video, but don't move the camera quickly or your viewers will get seasick. Hold the camera steady.

Be prepared for a LOT of time in post-processing, both for stills and (especially) video.

Basic underwater photography course:
If your buoyancy skills are poor, leave the camera at home.
Get close, then closer. 1-2 ft is as far as you ought to be away.
Shoot upwards to simplify the background.
Focus on the subject's eyes.
Use your strobe/flash if you can (for motion stopping and for color).
Make sure your shutter speed is 1/125 or faster.

And a cool idea for composition: find a nice, colorful background, get your exposure all tested and set, and wait for a fish to swim into the frame.

Have fun!

 

[tursiops]

.....

 

[Seastardiver625]

The camera works quite well for macro without any additional lens.
Use it as much as you can on land before taking it underwater; the brain stops working underwater, and you can't read the manual.
Set the SHOOTING MODE on UNDERWATER in MACRO (for BHB), but you might want some WIDE 1 or 2 as well.
Shoot in RAW+JPEG; you may never use the RAW but you can't go back and get it.
Use as low an ISO as the amount of light allows.

You can never have too much light, but holding a flashlight nearby is pretty much useless, as it provides either a bright spot kin the middle of the picture, or not enough light spread out over the scene.
The internal flash might work for you, it's worth a try, but it will only be good within a foot or so of the subject.

Try some video, but don't move the camera quickly or your viewers will get seasick. Hold the camera steady.

Be prepared for a LOT of time in post-processing, both for stills and (especially) video.

Basic underwater photography course:
If your buoyancy skills are poor, leave the camera at home.
Get close, then closer. 1-2 ft is as far as you ought to be away.
Shoot upwards to simplify the background.
Focus on the subject's eyes.
Use your strobe/flash if you can (for motion stopping and for color).
Make sure your shutter speed is 1/125 or faster.

And a cool idea for composition: find a nice, colorful background, get your exposure all tested and set, and wait for a fish to swim into the frame.

Have fun!

This is great info!!! Thank you so much!!!!

How do I set the camera for Underwater in Macro? Not too familiar with these fancy underwater cameras because I used to have a regular point and shoot before.