New to SCUBA...and new to U/W photography

[NYCNaiad]

I completely agree with the notion that you should wait before bringing a camera with you. It is very easy to get task overload & put yourself in a dangerous position.

I have not heard any diver say they regretted waiting a bit before bringing down a camera. I have heard many divers say they wished they had waited to use their camera so:

• Problems didn't occur
• They became better divers more quickly
• Because they missed so much of their dives

I'd suggest waiting to get many more dives under your belt before moving to a camera. And then, I would start with something a bit simpler before adding strobes & such onto it.

 

[victor]

Please be patient and get some dives under your belt before you take a camera and strobe and add that to your task load.
You have not told us what conditions you will be diving in, tropical, pacific, lake, etc.
Taking photographs under water requires you to get very close to your subject, frequently less than 6 inches. Any where there is current or surge makes buoyancy control very difficult without a camera. Add the need to get close to the reef, both hands occupied, work out camera and strobe settings, and still be a good buddy. It is very difficult to see how the reef, your buddy, and you can stay safe with so little experience.

 

[Skeptic14]

All of uw photography activities aren't equivalent in complexity, task loading, and gear.

If a diver is so task loaded that taking an occasional happy snappy with a point and shoot will put them or their buddy in danger, then IMO they are already pushing the envelope of being an unsafe diver in need of further training and confidence.

If a diver cannot plan their dive based upon environmental conditions like current, surge and visibility and make a decision on whether leaving the camera behind on a particular dive is prudent (or calling the dive for any reason...) then again they are already in need of further training, confidence and are a bad buddy.

Regarding the safety of reefs; there are plenty of pic and vid evidence of beginner divers without cameras kicking, bumping and damaging them so this is unrelated to uw photography and more an issue of poor training and poor diving in general.

Plus, if you've looked at most beginner uw photography no beginner is getting anywhere near as close as they should to the subject

It's very easy to start elementary with uw photography and gradually increase the complexity as you personally feel capable, you know, the same way we are taught to approach diving in general; all of uw photography isn't a dslr in full manual worrying about the appropriate aperture and shutter speeds and the right power levels for multiple strobes to get the best exposure while also avoiding backscatter.

 

[Adam Grose]

Good Morning....

I would agree that it is a good idea to get some experience under your belt BEFORE you start working with a camera underwater. Another thing you might look into is taking a Buoyancy class. Buoyancy was probably THE most valuable class (other than maybe Diver Stress and Rescue) that I have taken in my dive career. Just my 2 cents worth.

Adam

 

[Lorenzoid]

Ha--I saw the title of this thread a week ago and didn't bother clicking on it because I had a feeling I knew what kind of comments I would find. Everyone develops skills at different rates, so all I can say is, as a slow learner, I spent my first couple of hundred dives with nothing in my hands to distract me. I have seen too many divers with cameras who disturbed the bottom, harassed marine life, annoyed fellow divers with their lack of control, and probably compromised their own safety (though I care less about their safety than the integrity of the reef). More recently, finally having acquired the ability to hover relatively motionless, in horizontal trim, just inches above the bottom, and with tools such as the back kick in my pocket, I have finally taken up photography with a very modest camera to avoid taking on too much too soon. I guess I'm the extreme example. As they say, your mileage may vary.

 

[Skeptic14]

Everyone develops skills at different rates

Exactly, and there is a huge spectrum of dive conditions as well that factor into the equation; one size fits all rules are typically not that useful.

 

[Lorenzoid]

@Skeptic14 , great pics on your blog--you're a natural!

 

[Ruxton]

The problem with most of the responses here is simply this: I was looking for information on equipment compatibility as well as equipment performance. I totally understand the issue at hand regarding diving ability and learning that. I mean, learning to dive is like learning to walk. No one would expect a toddler to take excellent photos when handed a camera, right? But once I do start taking pictures...I want to know if it's me screwing up the photos or the camera is just a piece of trash....or maybe the strobe doesn't have the right effect...or the housing that just cost me $300 has an inherent leak issue that no one told me about. That's REALLY what I was looking for. Luckily I was able to find someone who was knowledgeable and gladly passed his knowledge on to me regarding a camera/case/strobe. I'm very grateful. The other statements here, while true, missed the mark of the thread.

But on the subject of "waiting to get more dives under my belt". Why does PADI and SDI list U/W photography as a candidate for Advanced Adventure diving cert...and that cert is the next logical one after the simple Open Water Cert? How is one to even attain that level without a camera? I looked and it sure looks like you have to have a camera for that during one of those 5 dives.

Just to let you all know...my next dives are likely off of Panama City Beach with my instructor who will be supervising my U/W photography portion of my Advanced Adventure Dive.

 

[merxlin]

...........But on the subject of "waiting to get more dives under my belt". Why does PADI and SDI list U/W photography as a candidate for Advanced Adventure diving cert...and that cert is the next logical one after the simple Open Water Cert? How is one to even attain that level without a camera? I looked and it sure looks like you have to have a camera for that during one of those 5 dives.

Just to let you all know...my next dives are likely off of Panama City Beach with my instructor who will be supervising my U/W photography portion of my Advanced Adventure Dive.

Because unfortunately "Advanced" is just the next level of certification, and in no way does it's completion make you an advanced diver, nor do some of the classes available for that certification level always make sense. There are miles of threads devoted to this topic and it will serve no purpose to go into that here. The posters have your best interest at heart. We've read too many stories about newer divers who have paid a price for diving beyond their abilities, and would rather not add to that list.

 

[Skeptic14]

@Skeptic14 , great pics on your blog--you're a natural!

Thanks for the compliment, there's definitely a learning curve, the majority of my photos when I started were pretty terrible... and sometimes they still are!

I was looking for information on equipment compatibility as well as equipment performance. I totally understand the issue at hand regarding diving ability and learning that.
...
The other statements here, while true, missed the mark of the thread.

You should ask a question about a specific bcd and watch the bp/w posts roll in

And to further demonstrate how sometimes one size fits all rules are not always useful and aren't inherently safer, as a previous poster pointed out, they personally didn't feel comfortable bringing a camera along until they had a few hundred dives vs the mere 20ish which somehow magically is supposed to make everyone a competent diver (determination made over the internet without ever seeing the diver underwater).