Blue pictures with DX-1G

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Wamae24

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Messages
16
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Location
Bothell, Wa
# of dives
500 - 999
I have recently purchased a DX-1G w/DS110a strobe. I have about 20 dives in the green water of Washington. I can shoot pictures in dark/low visability very well but when I took a trip to the blue waters of Cozumel I had alot of problems with my pictures turning out all blue. I tried using "Sea & Sea" mode and "Auto" but unless I was less than about 2 feet away from my subject I got alot of blue tent. I was with alot of DSLR photgraphers and I have a feeling that I was listening to them too much. I was told that I needed more light so I turned the flash to "on" rather than using the "auto" flash setting. I have a tip planned to Fiji in 2 weeks and would really appreciate some tips from the Sea & Sea people before I leave so that I do not waste another trip just trying to figure out my camera.
 
DSLR advice was OK... but to do as they do you need to be REALLY close ("touching close").
A Wide Angle adapter is VERY recommended to achieve this as you will be "competing" with their fisheye or extreme wa lenses, which allow you to get this close.

No matter what's your flash power, beyond 1m away you are already loosing lots of color.
The good images in tropical water should retain the naturally blue water with all the coral colors of the corals close to you. A WB setting in the depth will on the other side kill much of this nice background blue you miss in your home green shots.

Good Luck
 
use RAW (if you want nice and blue images) and get closer to your subject...

The only negative aspect using RAW is that you have to wait 5 seconds until you can shoot the next picture. Otherwise I'd stick to JPEG.

Don't use the TTL Setting on the flash- it just doesn't work correctly (imho).
Use Manual 1 and work accordingly to what these guys tell you
(UW Digital Podcast 0003).
It worked for me and I am satisfied.

Wish you luck :)
 
One quick additional comment - the DX-1G should be set to forced flash (lighting bolt icon) for every picture and not auto as you mentioned, this will enable the camera's onboard flash to fire each time and also fire the strobe. This should be used in 99% of conditions unless you plan not to use an external strobe for artistic reasons.
 
I agree that you need to select force flash so that your camera flash always fires. I would also second Mariozi's suggestion that you get a wide angle lens especially if you are going to Fiji. The wide angle lens allows you to get very close you the reefs with more light exposing the color. You might want to experiment with taking the diffuser off the front of the strobe. This will allow more direct light on the subject as well; however, the diffuser will be very helpful if you are shooting macro images. I set my "ADJ" lever to allow me to switch between multi-focus and spot-focus. I use multi-focus when shooting reef shots and the spot-focus for shooting a specific subject (i.e. small critters, etc). I also agree that you need to set your white balance and I would suggest the "cloudy" setting.

Where are you going in Fiji? We traveled to Beqa Lagoon Resort for 10 days in 2007 and are returning in 2010. The diving was fantastic and the colors were amazing. If you click on my "photos" link you will some pics that I took in Fiji. If you are staying Beqa Lagoon, you should consider doing the shark dive. I have been on several shark dives but the Fiji dive is the only one that attracts up to 8 different kinds of sharks during each dive.

Regards,

Bill
 
Paula, I listened to the podcast you provided a link to and was very interested in the information it provided. Your post noted that you were happy with the results you've got using the suggestion presented in the podcast. Have you used their system for both wide angle and macro shots? Did it work better for one or the other? Did you get just the right amount of light for both types of shots?

Regards,

Bill
 
Hammerhead Man, your photos are very nice! Are you using a DX-1G or something else? If you use a DX-1g do you use 1 or 2 strobes?
 
I have the DX-1G and use two strobes. However, just so you understand, the pics that you saw have been cropped and enhanced using Photoshop Elements.

Regards,

Bill
 
Hi Bill,

sorry for not answering quicker...I didn't take a peak into the forum yesterday...
It works good for both macro and wide-angle. If you want my settings, I can post them here. But anyways have a look for yourself:
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7025_1226927787727_1065017967_710792_4080153_n.jpg

7025_1226924547646_1065017967_710779_6831446_n.jpg


7025_1226924587647_1065017967_710780_420610_n.jpg


If you want more examples; I have cold water exmaples too. It takes a little time to get used to, but once you get the hang of it, it gets easy.
As far I can remember, I didn't have one overexposed shot from a total 1000 pictures taken in one week.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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