Cyan/red filter for PT-020

[5615mike]

Would greatly appreicate any help I can find in acquiring a filter for my PT-020/5060 rig. I am a real neophite and would like to try this filter when I go to Coz in Oct. I am not shooting with a stobe unfortunately as I do not have the funds to do it. I think when I do replace my rig in a year or so I will make that a real focal point of the purchase process. I am shooting in auto all the time as I do not know how to handle the camera in Manual.......told ya I was a real beginnner.......lol. I have to take a bunch of shots in order to get some decent shots but I have found that I really have the "blues" from my last trip. Just starting to play around with my CS3 and its really over my head but several have suggested that I need to have my monitor calibrated as the pictures are much bluer when developed on paper when compared to my computer screen.

Thanks in advance.

 

[AndyT]

Have a look here - M A G I C - F I L T E R S

 

[herman]

My suggestion would be to forget the filter, learn to shoot in manual and learn to manually set your white balance. There is no need to replace the 5060 until you are better than it is and if you do not shoot manual, you have a long way to go before outgrowing it. Manual is actully fairly easy. Here is some reading to get you started. http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/underwater-photography/214500-help-manual-camera-settings.html

 

[5615mike]

My suggestion would be to forget the filter, learn to shoot in manual and learn to manually set your white balance. There is no need to replace the 5060 until you are better than it is and if you do not shoot manual, you have a long way to go before outgrowing it. Manual is actully fairly easy. Here is some reading to get you started. http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/underwater-photography/214500-help-manual-camera-settings.html

herman,
thanks for the help. I will do some experimenting on my next trip to coz with the manual settings. I appreciate the link to a post you did quite sometime ago. I believe that will give me some insight as to what Im doing with the fstop and depth of field. I just really need more time with it underwater. I just dont get to practice enough...........lol.

Thanks again.

 

[herman]

Don't limit yourself to UW for practice. As you can see from my photos, you can easily practice above water. I like early evening because the light is about the same level as a bright day UW. While the exact settings will not be the same, the procedures and the effects of changing settings are. Also, if your camera has a histogram function learn to use it. The LCD will lie to you, the histogram will not, learn to use and trust it.

 

[5615mike]

Don't limit yourself to UW for practice. As you can see from my photos, you can easily practice above water. I like early evening because the light is about the same level as a bright day UW. While the exact settings will not be the same, the procedures and the effects of changing settings are. Also, if your camera has a histogram function learn to use it. The LCD will lie to you, the histogram will not, learn to use and trust it.

It does have a histogram function and I have no idea how to use it..........rofl

Yes, the LCD does lie quite frequently. Its always brighter than the actual shot

 

[herman]

It's not too hard, the quick and dirty is there are 2 lines on the histogram. Anything to the left of the left line is either very dark in color or underexposed. Anything to the right of the right line is over exposed. So you need to keep your exposure "between the lines" with the exception of dark objects or if you intend for the background to be dark. There is more to it but that will get you started. Take some shots changing a parameter so that you go from way underexposed to way over exposed and watch the change in the histogram. You will quickly get the idea of what it is telling you.

 

[RockyHeap]

Manual white balance is your friend. Learn to use it, works great for wide angle shots where a strobe wouldn't help anyways.

 

[jghflash]

You don't NEED an external strobe to get good shots with the 5060/PT-020. The internal one works fine. Look at the shots in my gallery, all were taken with the internal strobe only. I have an external strobe now but learned a lot by shooting with just the internal.