any tips on using the SOny DSC T1?

i got a sony dsc T1 with marine case. Anyone have tips on what they do to get good macros and regular pics?

I have a P-10, so no direct experience with the T-1. That said, check your housing to make sure nothing obstructs your flash or framing light.

Test your camera fully, topside even, but with the housing, to get a good feel for the controls. Check the camera's response to various ISO settings. I found that I liked ISO 200 better than auto or any higher ISO speed. for macros the camera's flash may be enough light, but only for the closest subjects. You may even need to set the flash output to a lower level for lightly colored macro subjects.

For non flash underwater photos it might help to set the white balance manually to fluorescent light or if you can set the white balance directly, have a slate or something else white with you. This could change with depth over the course of a dive, so be prepared to reset your white balance multiple times.

Some times you just won't be able to set the white balance well. Try looking at those bad pictures in black & white. You might surprise yourself.

Turning the camera off and on may prolong your battery life. This can also reduce the chances of fogging your housing Leaving it on drains the battery and the T-1 looks like it will have a very small battery.

You don't have to goop up the "O"rings a lot. A very thin coat of grease is sufficient. Look closely at the "O"ring. The smallest hair or thread will be a pathway for water. An external flash offers more flexbility, flash output and prolonged camera battery life.

Good luck

Hi there,

I have a DSC - W1. I have been trying to become 1 with my little camera, although I can never seem to press the right buttons.... so to speak.

I see that you have mentioned that you may need to manually calibrate the White balance using a slate..... do you or anyone else reading this know how this is done on my camera.... I have a few options in the White Balance settings Fluorescent is one of them, I have a cloud icon and a few other icons. Though none seem to give me a manual option. Also what does this ISO business thingo do? My manual doesn't really cater for underwater use and the descriptions for each setting is very vague. Any help would be great!

Camera manuals are poorly written. However, you are in luck, because the folks at www.imaging-resource.com have written a very comprehensive review. Here's the direct address to the Sony T1:

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/T1/T1A.HTM

White balance on the T1 is not manually controlled. That is you can't point the camera at a white target and set the white balance for prevailing conditions. The fluorescent light white balance can throw a litttle more red into your pictures, a very helpful feature underwater.

ISO settings influence the camera's CCD chip sensitivity to light. Higher settings make it more sensitive, but can cause objectionable grain or pixellation to occur. Yet at the same time a higher ISO will let you use a faster shutter speed for moving subjects, or a smaller aperture for better depth of field. You have 4 options with the T1: AUTO, or ISO 100, 200, 400. Try the camera at each setting. Try shooting the same subjects at each setting, then use whichever one is most pleasing to you. You may see some differences between the 100 and 400 settings.

The camera gives you some metering options as well. Spot metering may work better for macro subjects. However you try shooting aq lightly colored fish against a dark background your exposure could be way off unless the spot is right on the fish.

Trying to scroll through these settings underwater could be very difficult. So try to establish a shooting plan and set your camera to needs of the plan.

External, optically slaved flash would be good investment, but much more complex.

Good luck.

I've had the underwater case for the T1 for 1.5 years now. I find it is extremely difficult to take good pictures unless you are very shallow. I have tried using filters with limited success. I love our T1 but its low light capability is just poor. As suggested I find the ISO 200 setting usually best.
The videos on the other hand are often outstanding, imho. I don't know why the low capability is much better in the video mode. To further improve the light capability for the video, I have recently added a 20W UK C8 light and homemade arm to hold them together. This does improve the low light capability. Within 3 ft video works well, even in cave situations.
The photo capabilities I am still working on. My next move is to add an external strobe. Any suggestions out there for an inexpensive strobe that would work for the T1?