G16 Settings Help

[Basheirt]

I know there have been a few threads that have touched on the issue... but I could really use a bit more "hand-holding" than I'm finding in other areas....

I just purchased (and received) a new Canon G16 camera with Fantasea housing, along with the YS-D1 strobe. It's quite a kit and I've enjoying playing around with the camera around the house. I'm leaving for Florida on Friday (July 4) and plan to dive a bit in the Central Gulf Coast area.

I am not new to the digital camera scene -- or the DSLR scene (which I know is different than the camera in question) -- so terms/setting-concepts are not foreign to me. HOWEVER, I've never used anything but the GoPro 3+ underwater, so I'm a bit confused by so many different "suggestions" floating around online regarding proper settings for taking underwater pix/vids with the G16.

I'd love to have someone who has real-world experience with this setup give me some well-detailed setting advice for both pictures and videos underwater. For the sake of this conversation, let's presume Gulf of Mexico water (Florida coast), with good viz (maybe 65-100 feet), at depths of 30-45 feet.

I have the following:

Canon G16
Fantasea housing
S&S YS-D1 strobe on 30cm arm
Fiber optic cable
S&S tray
also have the correct red filter for the housing (though it seems I shouldn't use it along with the underwater setting... which is better to use???)

Thanks for any advice you can offer.... I won't have too much time for error since I'm only getting in 2x 2-tank dives this trip.

Jeff

 

[deeper thoughts]

Interested, my wife has this setup also

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

I'm am pretty much a complete idiot when it comes to camera settings so don't fool around with it much. I recently purchased the G16 with Fantasea housing and used it on a two week trip to Bonaire 2 months ago. All I did was set to the stock UW (fish symbol) setting and just fired away.

I do have a tray along with two Fantasea Blue Ray Radiant 1600 Lumen lights. Here's some of my video with the G16 in basic UW mode......


[video=youtube;ZdGphgnsUNw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdGphgnsUNw[/video]


Here's a link to where I purchased the lights, tray and arms.

Fantasea Radiant 1600 Video Light at LeisurePro

 

[uspap]

I typically set my G16 to manual. 1/125 F4.0 as a basic wide angle start. I have a ys110 Alpha strobe that I have on lowest setting and then work from there. For macro I set to F8. These are basic settings I start with. White balance I set on auto. I also just got double LaLuz 1000 lights and they make a huge diffrence. I'm still working on video and am not too sure about all the settings. I've learned to pan slowly and keep the camera as steady as possible. I would like to see if there is a way to set the exposure in video mode. Here is a link to my photo page. The pictures have the settings used. The camera is great for macro and a little lacking in the wide angle department compared to DSLR but acceptable. https://www.flickr.com/photos/73739720@N00/?details=1

 

[MrEvanJ1]

usap, to manually adjust exposure in video mode you need to set it before starting to record. Press the Auto Exposure button, marked with a * and a small line with a marker in the centre will appear. Use the front dial to move it up or down to increase or decrease exposure. Once you like the way it is looking press Set to lock it in. It will stay with this exposure compensation for the length of the video, so be mindful you may need to stop and reset it if you move into dramatically different light conditions.

As for the op's question, don't be afraid to read guides for settings on the G12 or G15 camera. Might have better luck finding guides on those out there since they've been around longer and the G12 is is a popular UW cam. The settings should translate well to any of the later g series canons.