IndyDan:
Lisa, I noticed you use a Stylus 400/PT-016 camera. My wife and I just bought that set-up and will give it a first run next week. Any tips or warnings for us. We're both pretty inexperienced photographers.
Dan
1) Really get to know all your buttons before you get in the water. Will save you lots of time searching if you want to change to macro, self portrait or movie.
2) Skip digital zoom, the result is only lesser resolution. Someone once said if it is more than 3 feet away, skip it ....
3) Before you take the camera in the water, make sure that you just took the battery off the charger. When I used it UW for the first time I had charged the battery a couple a days before, took maybe two or more pictures and then took the camera down on a night dive and after 2 pictures the battery died and I missed a lot of cool stuff.
4) Mark your casing with name and return data (tape a business card, or something like that, to the inside where it will not be in the way). I have noticed that a lot of people have this set up and it would be a shame to get the cameras mixed up. The extra bonus is that if you loose the camera, who knows in twenty years or so it might find it's way back to you. :icosm14:
5) Before I used it the first time I took the casing down to 90' w/o the camera. As recommend in the manual. A lot of people come on the boat and DON'T do this and nothing has happened. I would just hate to be the first one that it happend to. If you have a day or two before you dive, give it to the dive master to test for you, that way you don't miss out on anything. I'd say that I'd did and do everything that's recommend in the manual, i.e. Don't jump in with the camera, have them pass it to you after you get in the water.
6) I pretty much have the internal flash on for all pictures and 95% of the time it serves me well. If I see lots of backscatter I either cover the flash with my fingers or just turn it off and take the picture again (if the critter is still there). Sometimes I can get rid of a lot of backscatter on the computer. So don't delete, you might be able to save it.
7) Keep the lag time in mind. When you press the button it doesn't mean that that is exactly what you will get at the moment you pressed the button. Sometimes I have to press once, twice or more times before I get a picture at all.
8) Read the thread about O-ring grease (
http://www.scubaboard.com/t45432.html) and my flooded camera (
http://www.scubaboard.com/t44660.html) Got a lot of good information from the folks here
That pretty much covers it...any more ideas anyone??
Good luck
Lisa
