SeaLife DC 1400-Automatic or manual

[jalswager]

i just bought this unit and used it in Cozumel. Unfortunately, the weather was mostly overcast and many of the dives were 70 to 100 ft. Although I'm happy with most of the pictures and video I took I have much to learn. I like to keep things as simple as possible so I mostly kept camera in automatic mode and didn't use lighting for video or pictures even though I have the lights. I wanted to get used to camera 1st. If interested, here is a video compilation I put together at Youtube. The 1st link is not HD because of editing software but 2nd link is:

Here are a couple questions:

• Should the automatic mode give me best results in shooting distance of a group of divers at greater depths?
• Supposedly there is a built-in red-enhancement feauture in camera but most deeper video and pictures still very blue.
• Best way to take advantage of sunlight or not allow it to be a hinderance.
• can a sunny day make a difference at 80 to 100 ft in the Caribbean?
• Does white balance help with color enhancing?
• viewing my videos might tell you something.........Thanks!!!!
• Cozumel Reefs February 2012 - YouTube
• La Francesa Reef - Cozumel - YouTube

 

[jdandvalerie]

I tried to answer most of your questions below and also put in some things that helped me out when I was getting started. I started with a DC 1000, so I can relate to some of the things that I had difficulty with at first.

Manual settings would have been better. And definitely manual WB at depth. If you change depths more than 5' or so, redo the WB. Next time try out different settings and see how they impact the end result. I think there are 6 underwater modes on your particular camera and 4 individual filter settings so learn those topside to assist with your next time diving if you still choose to go Auto. A great resource that I always point to is: ​

Underwater Photography Guide More photography based, but an excellent start for composition/settings/color balance etc...

Even with manual WB and manual settings, as you get deeper, some colors are unrecoverable. (Reds lost at 15', yellows around 40, green at 70 ish). This is why everything looks blue the deeper you go. In clear Caribbean water a sunny day will make a great deal of difference as there is more light from the surface to penetrate further. Time of day also makes a difference with available light. If it's an overcast day, I generally switch to stills with strobes as I know the final video won't be great quality. If possible, keeping the sun to your back is the best idea to capture better color and shooting at a angle upwards to "catch" as much of the ambient light as possible. If you want silhouettes, shoot with the subject between you and the sun (very nice way to start or end a video). Of course, also be zoomed out as wide as possible and be as close to the subject as possible. This will keep as much color, sharpness and contrast that is available to be captured by your sensor. If something is more that about 6-7' away, unless it's something I haven't shot before and want the animal, I know I won't be using the footage.​

Try to minimize camera shake if possible, allow the subjects to swim/move by you, rather than you moving by them. I understand this isn't possible many times, but a steady hand goes a long way to making the final results that much better.
I watched some of both videos, my attention span doesn't last that long for underwater videos, including and especially my own. This is simply my opinion, but I try to limit my edits to under 3 minutes. I did 3hrs of diving last weekend, had 3 cameras going at all times for a dive op promotion which ended up being just over 2 minutes long. My objective is put the best stuff and only the best stuff. Don't be repetitive unless what you have is spectacular. No harm in editing each day into a "highlight reel", that way someone can check out the "best" of that day, rather than a 15 minute video of a week (again, no offense, just my opinion). Watch alot of underwater videos, find out what you like and don't like and keep that in mind when shooting. For just buying the camera and shooting auto, you did very well, just keep experimenting and researching and you will get better each time.

 

[jalswager]

Thank you for the in-depth feedback. Does changing the white balance manually compensate for the excessive blue dominance at greater depths and/or overcast days? One of my deeper dives on an overcast day almost looked like a "negative" besides all the blue. Again, I'm referring to video. Bottom-line, it sounds like at greater depths in addtition to overcast days it's almost impossible to get good video whether it's focusing or a white balance issue? Thank you again for your input!

 

[jalswager]

Sorry, one other question and maybe I'll have to read the manual again..................you commented that I could change manual settings, more specifcally referring to filters. Are you saying I could set a particular filter but still have it in auto mode with that particular filter setting? I do know the initial set-up is quite easy as its either land, less than 25 ft (snorklel) or greater than 25 ft which is the one I always used. Then the options are for the lighting options such as strobe, video light, no light source, etc. I'll look into the filter options. Regardless, thanks for the referral about underwater photography guide.

 

[jdandvalerie]

Manual WB can only compensate for some of the color. At the depths you were at...no true red can be retained, and yellows/oranges are pretty much gone as well. And with an overcast day, the numbers I listed for loss of light are even less, so yes, you will get bluer images.
As for your bottom line, using natural light, you are correct. You may have great video, but poor color (if that makes sense). This is where video lighting come in to play. And with video lighting comes a great deal of money (to light up large animals or reef).

 

[jdandvalerie]

Sorry, one other question and maybe I'll have to read the manual again..................you commented that I could change manual settings, more specifcally referring to filters. Are you saying I could set a particular filter but still have it in auto mode with that particular filter setting? I do know the initial set-up is quite easy as its either land, less than 25 ft (snorklel) or greater than 25 ft which is the one I always used. Then the options are for the lighting options such as strobe, video light, no light source, etc. I'll look into the filter options. Regardless, thanks for the referral about underwater photography guide.

To be fully honest, I am not sure. The DC 1400 has more options than the old 1000 so I can't speak from experience.

Perhaps another user that has a 1400 may comment.

 

[Narcd_dvr]

I would suggest that you invest in at least 1 strobe, two is better, since it will bring back the color that gets lost as you go deeper in the water column.

Now ... let's assume for a moment that you bought 2 Sealife strobes, I would recommend that you set the camera to manual mode with f/stop set to f7.9 and shutter speed at 1/125sec, set the first strobe to half power and second strobe to quarter power. Two things to remember what f/stop and shutter speed do. The f/stop will control the flash-subject exposure, while the shutter speed controls the amount of ambient light that gets to your photo.