What setting to use with my D70

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rlusher

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I purchased a new D70 this year and will be taking it in the water for the first time next month. I am a bit of an amature as this is my first SLR camera and I was hoping you guys could give me a little advice on which mode and settings I might want to start with. I will be using a Nikon 60mm lense, an Ikelite housing, Flat Port and two DS-125 strobes. Any advice at all would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Rod
 
For macro....shoot in manual mode.....start with 1/125 at f22.....strobes at 1/2 power.....

For fish portraits....start with 1/125 @ f11...strobes at 1/2 power

Shoot, review, adjust....shoot again

Karl
 
I keep the image size on mine at "M", which is 2240x1488 and the quality set on "FINE", which is JPEG fine with a compression ratio of 1:4. That gets me a bunch of images with very good resolution and very good color.

I am not convinced that images at "L" (3008x2000) are any better, although I am still experimenting.

Shooting handheld, I could probably go to an image size of "S" (1504x1000) with little loss in real world resolution. I have plenty of memory so there is no reason to do that.

I am also still experimenting with "RAW" and do not use it much as yet. So far, it seems that the main advantage to RAW is in manipulation of the image later.
 
Don Burke:
I am also still experimenting with "RAW" and do not use it much as yet. So far, it seems that the main advantage to RAW is in manipulation of the image later.
Click to expand...

I have a D100 and D70s that I have been using for some time. I do not have a housing for them to use underwater however I shoot only in RAW due to the ability to a make changes to exposure and WB w/o loss to the file.

Alex
 
Congratulations, you are really going to enjoy this! The previous posters probably know more than I, but since I too, am a novice, I will add my bit. I sometimes shoot in Program mode and note which settings the camera chooses and then change to Manual and experiment. It gives me a baseline when I do not know where to start (most of the time). Also, I found it helpful to put some little sticker cheat-sheets inside my housing. For example, the shutter speeds and f-stops recommended by the above posters can be written on the sticky-side of a label and placed, facing out, on the inside of your housing. (pick an unobtrusive area) This is helpful for me as I get very "task loaded" down there and it is helpful to refer to these settings. I need one that says "hey, stupid, CHECK YOUR AIR, and your BUDDY!"

I get some decent shots, especially with the wide-angle, shooting in Program mode, especially when there is a lot of action and I cannot take the time to change variables.

Have a great time and be on alert to your diving, because, from now on it is a different world down there!
 
kdietz:
For macro....shoot in manual mode.....start with 1/125 at f22.....strobes at 1/2 power.....

For fish portraits....start with 1/125 @ f11...strobes at 1/2 power

Shoot, review, adjust....shoot again

Karl
Click to expand...
Thanks Karl, this is exactly the kind of info I was looking for. This may be a dumb question but I haven't played with the strobes yet. With an iTTL housing and strobe do I still need to adjust strobe power or does the camera do it? Does that change from one mode to another?
 
catherine96821:
Congratulations, you are really going to enjoy this! The previous posters probably know more than I, but since I too, am a novice, I will add my bit. I sometimes shoot in Program mode and note which settings the camera chooses and then change to Manual and experiment. It gives me a baseline when I do not know where to start (most of the time). Also, I found it helpful to put some little sticker cheat-sheets inside my housing. For example, the shutter speeds and f-stops recommended by the above posters can be written on the sticky-side of a label and placed, facing out, on the inside of your housing. (pick an unobtrusive area) This is helpful for me as I get very "task loaded" down there and it is helpful to refer to these settings. I need one that says "hey, stupid, CHECK YOUR AIR, and your BUDDY!"

I get some decent shots, especially with the wide-angle, shooting in Program mode, especially when there is a lot of action and I cannot take the time to change variables.

Have a great time and be on alert to your diving, because, from now on it is a different world down there!
Click to expand...
Hi Catherine
Thanks so much for your suggestions. I checked out your web site and if you are a novice they may need to invent a new category for me a couple dozen steps down the ladder from novice.
Rod
 
kdietz:
For macro....shoot in manual mode.....start with 1/125 at f22.....strobes at 1/2 power.....

For fish portraits....start with 1/125 @ f11...strobes at 1/2 power

Shoot, review, adjust....shoot again

Karl
Click to expand...
Karl,

I see from you tag line you have the D200. NICE!! What is your impression of the camera so far? From what I have read, it sounds like a VERY sweet outfit!!
 
AlexRodriguez:
I have a D100 and D70s that I have been using for some time. I do not have a housing for them to use underwater however I shoot only in RAW due to the ability to a make changes to exposure and WB w/o loss to the file.
Click to expand...
Some of the film habits I have not shaken are bracketing, not mixing light temps, and using a grey card.

I will eventually be dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century, just not today. :)
 
rlusher:
Thanks Karl, this is exactly the kind of info I was looking for. This may be a dumb question but I haven't played with the strobes yet. With an iTTL housing and strobe do I still need to adjust strobe power or does the camera do it? Does that change from one mode to another?
Click to expand...

If you shoot with iTTL, the camera will adjust the strobes to match your shutter speed and aperture choices within the limits of the strobe. This works great with macro because usually the entire scene is lit by the strobes only...no other light influence. iTTL doesn't work as well for WA shots because of the influence of ambient light...ie: background or natural light. These shots require balancing the ambient light for the background and your strobes for the foreground subject. The cameras meter can get fooled with these conditions and yield less than desirable results.

For macro...iTTL is great!...I would still use the camera in manual mode in order to control DOF and shutter speed.

Karl
 
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