wwb@ihuxn.UUCP (Walt Barnes) (07/15/85)
A while back I asked for info about UW photography. Heres a summary
of what I received:
0) Are you sure you want to do this? Evaluate your desires
and pocketbook before beginning this hobby.
1) Start with a very basic (cheap) camera like an instamatic
in a case or the 110 Minolta Weathermatic.
2) Don't waste money on cheap equipment. Get the very best
you can afford and expect to spend A LOT.
3) Practice a lot in swimming pools and then open water.
This works best if you have your own darkroom.
I have decided to rent equipment for a while and see what my
preferences are. I plan on trying both cheaper cameras in housings
and the Nikonos V. This will allow me to evaluate both the hobby
and the equipment without investing $500+.
The text of the answers I received follows:
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Nikonos cameras are nice, but they are really expensive. A friend
of mine has an older one which he wanted to use for normal (surface)
photography. He found that lenses were VERY expensive (so he
didn't buy any) and that the viewfinder isn't particularly useful.
So, he ended up buying another camera for dry-land work.
If I were going to get back into all this, I wouldn't use a Nikonos.
IR autofocus cameras won't work in a housing - I think that they will
try to focus on the front of the housing rather than the subject.
If they didn't, they would be ideal.
I have done some underwater photography - I did it the cheap way:
1) Used a good-ol' Kodak instamatic 104 (these were fantastic
cameras, the optics were really good - I don't think that
anybody ever made as good an instamatic afterwards. My
father is still using it for business photog. though
occasionally he uses my AE1)
2) Got a plexiglass housing for it (cost 3 times as much
as the camera)
3) Hand made (though you can buy one) external flash cube base.
It was really funny - here I was with this little camera in a case and a
jury-rigged flash cube thingie on it. The cube itself was open to the
water. When it flashed (and it did 80-90% of the time), I would have to
take the cube out and turn it 90 degrees.
Worked quite well even though I had to file the contacts of the flash
cube base after every dive.
Since it was an instamatic, I didn't have to focus either and the results
were pretty good (considering the visibility of the water).
I think that you will find that it is safer and cheaper (and the results
aren't much different considering the light levels and visibility distances)
if you take the cheapest reasonably good camera you got or can get and get
a housing for it. I wouldn't recommend a flash cube arrangement, but a
strobe inside the housing would work quite nicely. What might be a good
idea is to get a instamatic with built-in flash and use that along with
a housing. Or, buy that bright yellow 110 camera that is waterproof
(how waterproof I don't know - it may only be good for 30 feet or so).
Some people use plastic bags for their (cheap) cameras. That won't work
particularly well if you are diving deeper than 20 feet or so.
I'd never put my T70 or AE1 inside a housing! The results of a mistake
are too expensive! Leave the Nikonos and expensive cameras in cases
to the pros., especially til you find out whether you are going to do
much underwater photog.
Chris Lewis,
UUCP: {allegra, linus, ihnp4}!utzoo!mnetor!clewis
BELL: (416)-475-8980 ext. 321
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My first recommendation is that you soberly evaluate how much
photography you are planning on doing, and then decide if the equipment cost
is worth it to you. Obviously, this is a subjective point which you have to
decide for yourself. In my case, I got started in u/w photography when I was
in college. I spent $2,000+ back in 1979, and ended up with quite a nice
collection of equipment. Then, I went to work for the world's #2 computer
maker, and the stuff has been sitting in a closet at home ever since (-:!!
At present, I average about two rolls of film through the camera per year.
So, like I said, you have to decide that for yourself. Even though I hardly
use the gear, I'm still happy that I bought it when I did.
The second recommendation I make is that when you do decide to
purchase something, make sure it is the best quality you can afford. Even
if it means having to save a little longer to purchase it. My rational here
is that the stuff is probably going to last you for the next 20 years, so you
might as well buy something that will be worth something 20 years from now.
At the time I was buying, I would have purchased a Hassellblad with the
Hassellblad u/w housing unit if I could have afforded it. Instead, I went with
what is probably the next-best unit: A Nikonos. Mine is the Nikonos III.
I also purchased several strobes. They are the Oceanics (I think) 2000,
2003, and 2003 slave. What this gives is the benefit of being able to size
up the equipment to the particular shooting needs. That is, if I want to do
close-up work with some extention tubes, I really don't want some gargantuan
strobe with multi-jointed arms, etc., getting in the way. On the other hand,
if I want to photograph somebody on the inside of the ship, I can bring down
my "Big Bertha" strobe, and light everything up. Finally, I have a slave
strobe because it allows me to balance my lighting rather nicely.
If you are going diving in any area which has some turbidity,
I then recommend that you acquire a good wide-angle or super-wide-angle
lens. I use an "add-on" lens from Aqua-craft. It does an acceptable job
for nowhere near the cost of the Nikon 15mm lens. Telephone lenses are
generally useless except for above-water shooting.
Finally, my last piece of advice is: Practice! More so than above-
water photography, u/w photography requires that you be skilled with the
equipment, and know how the image you see with your eye will translate into
the image on the film. If you don't have a home darkroom yet, this would
probably be a convenient excuse to get one started. I would start out with
b/w film (tri-x is good), and I would head down to the local swimming pool
to practice my shooting. Note that I said a swimming pool, not a lake. The
reason being is that most swimming pools offer much better visibility than do
most lakes. Consequently, the environmental conditions will probably be more
forgiving for your first couple of rolls of film. Once you can get good
results, I would move into a lake and try it. After you get good in the lake,
I would move back into the pool, this time to practice with color film. The
big thing to watch for here is to learn to see colors the way film will, and
not the way your brain automatically translates them. Finally, move back into
the lake. At this point, I would recommend tha acquisition of a good color
correction filter to place over your camera lens. Also, I would probably
start investing in some different strobes. Ideally, one multi-power strobe
which can light up an entire swimming pool on "high", and a hand-held slave
strobe.
Anyway, I hope this letter will be of some usefulness to you. If
you have any more questions, please feel free to send me a note.
Bill Laut
UUCP: ihuxn!ihnp4!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-glory!laut
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Some simple advice: DON'T economize by using a disc camera with housing.
I spent $25 on the disc camera, $60 or so on the housing, and would be
glad to let anyone else have the same experience for 50 cents on the dollar.
Make that 30 cents.... no, 25. I'll even ship it to you....
Take my camera, please..
ihnp4!uw-beaver!tektronix!hplabs!nsc!voder!apple!dave
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I'v talked to my instructor about your Nikonos prices and he said to
be very careful about getting stuck with a gray market camera or not
getting the SB 103 Nikon flash unit, or any Nikon flash unit for
that matter.
About focusing, there is something on the market which allows you to
avoid focusing at all. It's call a dome port lens. Something about
not taking a picture of the object, but of the image, allows you to
do this. I think there was a short article in a Scubapro magazine
on the subject. If I find it I'll let you know. Ikelite developed
the dome port as I understand it. It's price is well under one
hundred dollars which puts it well within reach. The lens works
with Ikelite underwater camera housings. This is where I might
lose you since you probably don't wish to subject your $$Lieca$$ to
the depths of the deep blue. Evidently, a dome port lens combined
with a 28mm SLR lens adds up to easy under water picture taking with
good results.
I own a Nikon FG, which is not even half of what your Lieca costs, so
I'm going to investigate the dome port some more. So far it appears
that, cost wise, the Ikelite under water camera housing is a little
less than the Nikonos V system. On the other hand, the Ikelite
housing is bulkier and harder to handle.
If you are more familiar with, or have already gone through the
pro's and con's of, under water housings and the Nikonos V system,
please let me know what you have found out.
Thanks,
Rick Stuart
...!ihnp4!tellab1!stuart
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I don't know how old this news was by the time I read it. You
see, I'm as new to usenet as you are to scuba photography.
I've had some good results in the past with scuba photography,
although I havn't gone diving in a while.
I whole-heartedly suggest that you start out with a simple
outfit. I started out with a small 110 camera with built
in flash and plexiglass housing.
This might sound like a kiddy outfit, but it's just about the
best thing that a person can start off with. It doesn't have
a battery of complexities to deal with. You'ld be surprised
by the shots you'ld get with it. It gives you a good chance
to get a better understanding of underwater photography without
spending lots of money on an outfit.
Don't depend on what you know about in-air photography. There
are many similarities, but there are enough differences to make
a nightmare out of a photo. I suggest a good book on the
matter.
mark,
seismo!philabs!sbcs!nyit!mark
New York Institute of Technology
Old Westbury, NY.