New to UW photography

[Robalo51]

Hi All
Just starting out with a panasonic DMC-TS2, ikelite case, DS51 strobe and a 20wide angle.
Tried out the camera in Kona. I know my flash is working but damn all the pictures are blue.
Resorted to CS5 photoshop to fix, also all pics are a bit fuzzy. Is this normal?
I've followed the ikelite instructions for the camera: Normal Picture, ISO 80, AF Macro,
Forced flash, AF set to 1-AREA, AF assist lamp off and red eye off.
There is no setting for RAW. Can I increase the iso for sharper capture?
Do I go back to square one? When I shoot on land with an SLR+ flash. I can freeze
the image, UW they all seem out of focus...change the iso? Like a said no raw setting
available, should have checked before buying this outfit.

Thanks Much ...Bill

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

what you want to do is set your camera settings so that as little ambient light gets into the picture as possible. So ISO 80 would be roughly right, but set the camera to Tv and set shutter speed to 1/500 if possible. Let the aperture be set automatically based on lighting condition. The high shutter speed should also freeze the picture more.

 

[smellzlikefish]

Your AF set to macro may not be right, either. Your turtle example looks like it focused on the nearest object to the camera which in this case was the turtle's flipper. I'd only use the macro setting when taking macro shots.

 

[BluewaterPhoto]

Hey Bill - it's normal for people who have their settings completely wrong.. your camera is only letting in ambient light. You should try to get a lesson in person with an experienced underwater photographer. This article on getting great colors may also help . Good luck! - Scott

 

[Robalo51]

Thanks All for your comments. I went by ikelites recommendations and as per your feed back I need to make adjustments. Scott
even though my flash was firing all the pictures look like they are shot without one, Thanks. Will try again.

 

[Robalo51]

Well ...playing around with settings. Found, though the strobe went off, it was timed for the preflash. Even though
panasonics 200 page user manual does not mention one. Apparently 99% of the point and shoot digitals have one.
So I set the AV controller to allow for the preflash and vola! Not only is there light , but I had to cut backthe power.
There is also an Iteligent exposure and resolution setting, but in macro and normal it shows no effect. I also set the
shutter to 1/125 minimum and kicked the ISO up to 200. I'll see how that works out.

Bill