Canon S95 Underwater tips

[Nemrod]

I don't think I helped that much, I could do better and occasionally do, lol.

I think the "fixation" on settings comes from the macro side where it is possible to often use a single setting or a few cook book settings. However, for general shooting, most casual and semi-advanced shooters would be better served to use an auto exposure mode like Av and then bias the exposure with the built in exposure control, the S and G series are especially easy to shoot this way.

N

 

[dhaas]

fncrow,

Check your Ikelite instruction manual. M mode on a S95 turns the TTL flash OFF and thus your AF35 sensor trying to duplicate it doesn't work

Shoot Av mode, f4.5 for general shots (wide angle too).

For MACRO start in AV mode, set your MACRO icon enabled, zoom in a bit (maybe 1/3 of OPTICAL zoom, meaning NO DIGITAL ZOOM should be activated!) and set f-stop to f8.

Read how to "Save" these settings to the "C" or CUSTOM mode on your top dial. I't detailed how in your S95 manual.

Then all you have to do is shoot in Av mode at f4.5 for general shots or turn your top dial to "C" and it AUTOMATICALLY goes into your macro mode

Fix your ISO to 100 for MACRO and maybe 200 for reef shooting early or late in the day.

Your Ikelite AF35 should always have the back dial on AUTO. Then only adjust up to 10 on side dial for more flash or down to 2-3 for macro when you're on top of things.

Do a search for my posts using Canon S90 (predecessor of your S95) and AF35 strobes. These are settings I used for my representative shots.....

All the guides recommending M mode while well intentioned assume your flash in MANUAL mode will be powered down and just trip some other brand fiber optic sensor type strobe. The Ikelite AF35 works to duplicate your S95 TTL flash output.

I shake my head at archaic "M" shooting modes being recommended when the technology to automatically get good exposures frees you up to concentrate on composition instead.

Give it a try......

dhaas
David Haas Underwater Photography

 

[Nemrod]

fncrow,


I shake my head at archaic "M" shooting modes being recommended when the technology to automatically get good exposures frees you up to concentrate on composition instead.

Give it a try......

dhaas
David Haas Underwater Photography

And, it is not as if you have to give up the ability to control your exposure, good grief, most auto exposure modes give the ability to bias exposure up to plus or minus two full stops and most strobes as well have the ability to increase or decrease output while still retaining the POINT and SHOOT ease of operation. I rarely see the need to go to manual modes. I do, regularly bias my camera exposure system or strobe or both to get what I want at the moment. Usually shoot more than one shot if possible and of course RAW gives the shooter even more range and flexibility to alter an exposure to their liking.

N

 

[ozziworld]

Nemrod, Dhaas,

Appreciate the comments about Av and sTTL. I have tried it and in fact it does work reliably as it does on land. The problem I have with Av mode, is that it forces me to use 1/60 when the strobe is set to "ON". It stays at 1/60 no matter how I adjust the +/- exposure.

It is easy enough to do one setting (Manual 1/500, F8) when doing Macro as the strobe/camera/lens distances do not change that much and I just vary the power of the strobe to lighten or darken. Have had successful results - especially with subjects that stay relatively still giving me enough time to "tweak" strobe power.

I find the Av mode helpful doing WA as the differences in back ground, distance vary greatly. I just wish there was a way to shoot at faster shutter speed than 1/60. Even when I go to a higher ISO, shutter speed is almost always at 1/60. Concern here is blur from motion.

When I use the Tv mode and set shutter to 1/125 or even 1/250, the S90 tends to select aperture that is wide open at F2 or F3.5 making DOF very narrow.

Is there something I am missing when shooting in either of these modes? I have started shooting Manual even when shooting wide angle, that way I get the motion blur and the dof under control. So far Manual seems to be the only way to shoot at 1/250 and Aperture smaller than F5.6. Sometimes I increase iso to 200 as well. Seems with Wide Angle - photo opportunities can be fleeting and by the time I am able to 'tweak" exposure the right moment has often passed. I often do find myself shooting wide angle on Av mode but admit that I do worry about motion blur because of the 1/60 shutter speed.

 

[dhaas]

ozzi,


You are absolutely correct that the sTTL modes on "other" brand strobes (ha ha, meaning not Ikelite) can synch quasi-TTL being "tripped" by a camera's flash. The problem lies in the "M" mode of the Canon S95 (and previous S90, Canon G11, and G12) cameras.......

All of these great models can synch flash up to 1/500 shutter speed BUT in MANUAL shooting mode no TTL flash is possible like on SLR models

While the 1/60 lowest default SHUTTER SPEED in Av mode and TTL flash isn't great electronic flash "freezes" most critters other than super fast moving fish.

Shooting in Tv mode going to 1/250 and even boosting ISO means the f-stop underwater (even in the brightest conditions) will open your lens to a wider (lower number) f-stop.

But even for wide angle shooting these little sensor cameras at f2.8 exhibit a great depth of field.

There is likely a DOF (depth of field) difference from f2.0 to f8, but not much from f2.0 - 5.6 IMHO.......

Trying to offset the higher shutter speed by boosting ISO and still have TTL flash (which works in P, Av and Tv modes) will lead to more noise on these tiny sensors I haven't tried going as high as ISO 400 on a S90, S95, G11 or G12 so can't tell you personally. I rarely shoot any little sensor camera above ISO 200 and mainly at ISO 100.

Personally I'd rather have a better EXPOSURE from TTL even at 1/60 Shutter Speed and shoot lots of shots then have to guess on flash output and miss a shot.....

Or just use my Canon 60D in the Ikelite housing with TTL circuitry even in M mode where I can control both shutter speed and f-stop

dhaas
David Haas Underwater Photography

 

[ozziworld]

dhaas,

I have not used my WA lens as much as I would like since I dive mostly Anilao and Macro. I have considered using Av mode on WA as I mentioned earlier I think changes in lighting conditions and subject distance varies greatly and quickly and it is very easy to miss the moment. having read through this thread, I decided to practice and work with Av mode next few times out with the WA and see if i can consistent results on Av mode. As I use a single Inon S2000 with my FIX S90, I will see how it affects battery life in this mode. The S90 battery life isn't the best to begin with and shooting Manual with 1/3 power on the on-board flash tends to help with battery life. I hope on Av mode that it will not be firing full power each time resulting in even less battery life.

This has been an interesting thread and has prompted me to re-consider shooting in Av mode vs. manual (at least with WA). For macro, manual isn't that much of a hassle.

 

[PatW]

I don't use the S95. I shoot a G11 with an IKE housing and the DS51.

I shoot RAW for the greater flexibility in post processing and the ability to modify white balance in post processing.

I shoot ISO 100 almost exclusively. I like to avoid the noise one gets in the small sensor at higher ISO.

I tend to shoot my F value at 4 or less. The sensor is small. With a small sensor, diffraction limitations will limit your resolution at any F stop over 3.

I try to never shoot at a shutter speed of less than 100. It is too easy to fuzz out the image at lower speeds than that.

 

[fncrow]

fncrow,

Check your Ikelite instruction manual. M mode on a S95 turns the TTL flash OFF and thus your AF35 sensor trying to duplicate it doesn't work


Your Ikelite AF35 should always have the back dial on AUTO. Then only adjust up to 10 on side dial for more flash or down to 2-3 for macro when you're on top of things.

All the guides recommending M mode while well intentioned assume your flash in MANUAL mode will be powered down and just trip some other brand fiber optic sensor type strobe. The Ikelite AF35 works to duplicate your S95 TTL flash output.

David Haas Underwater Photography

I appreciate the tips but i have questions on what you said above. Im not against using Av mode but why use it when you can do the same thing and have control over shutter speeds in manual mode? I hear what your saying about TTL but couldnt i just adjust the strobe manually and not use its auto function for the same if not better results?

Here are two pics from last time diving. Using M mode, 1/160, F5.6, ISO200 and i had the AF35 strobe set to -1. I tried making an effort to get as close as i could 1-3 feet but there is usually to much coral in the way to get anything other than a facing down shot on the subject.

 

[dhaas]

fncrow,

When you set your S95 to M mode the flash can be set to 1/3 , 2/3 or FULL power. OK, so you set it to 1/3 to trip the AF35 sensor and then "guess" at the right MANUAL setting on the BACK dial of the strobe.

Shoot a shot, look at the LCD (which all lie due to your chosen LCD brightness setting, ambient light bouncing around on the housing back and S95 LCD, etc.) You should really look at the histogram for an evenly distributed curve. Then you'll have a digital file you can fine tune highlights, shadows, color, sharpness, contrast and noise reduction.

If you practice and like Ozzie says shoot sessile (bottom dwelling practically immobile) creatures I'm sure you can get some good exposures shooting manual flash.

My take after diving for 41 years shooting underwater photos from my first Kodak Instamatic 126 FILM camera with FLASHCUBES (LOL) to full blown SLR digital SLRs is automatic flash is the best way to gain leverage over the dynamic constantly changing environment we are trying to capture.

As I said before there is no real huge advantage with a small sensor camera f-stop changes except MAYBE from f2.0 to f8. Higher shutter speeds if shooting with strobes MIGHT help but I think my photos show that isn't necessarily true.

Good luck and you should try both settings and then use whatever works best for you.

Good shooting!

dhaas
David Haas Underwater Photography

 

[Nemrod]

Macro and extreme closeups where one is trying for the dark or black backgrounds, then switching to manual is the only way to get that effect, the auto exposure system just will not cooperate with that.

I guess I am fortunate because I can shoot the camera in manual mode but leave my D2000 strobes in EA mode and get auto flash exposure. I am just not a macro shooter however, just do it rarely when the water is too poor for anything else.

N