new to underwater photography HELP!

[GSchept180@aol.com]

Hi, I just bought the MPK-PHA underwater housing for my Sony P10 and have never taken underwater pictures before. I did not buy the red filter lense, is that really necessary if I am going to the Carribean? i am going on vacation and would just like a few tips from you guys. For example I have heard stuff about the O-ring and how important that is and also to manually adjust the exposure settings... I am brand new to Underwater photography so could you guys please give me some tips and pointers on how to start out. Thanks so much

[Tony Dwyer]

There was a recent discussion in another thread on this, have a look at:

http://www.bsacforum.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?p=4268#poststop

You might find this of interest too.

http://www.basildonsubaqua.com/gallery_frame.htm

Don't worry, it ain't rocket science, though it can be frustrating, challenging and immensely rewarding.

regards

Tony

[GSchept180@aol.com]

ok thanks any other tips would be greatly appreciated

[Rick]

ok couldnt resist in light of my recent troubles shouldnt we suggest a more non-mail related user name? :)

[JimW]

Hi, I just bought the MPK-PHA underwater housing for my Sony P10 and have never taken underwater pictures before. I did not buy the red filter lense, is that really necessary if I am going to the Carribean? i am going on vacation and would just like a few tips from you guys. For example I have heard stuff about the O-ring and how important that is and also to manually adjust the exposure settings... I am brand new to Underwater photography so could you guys please give me some tips and pointers on how to start out. Thanks so much

Hi:)

Simplest and best advice is to keep it simple at first and let the camera do the work by setting to auto.
DON'T try and monitor your results underwater:p as you are paying for this bit of your holdiay and you have a limited amount of time underwater and plenty of time to look at photos later.

The key point to make this last advice work is to not limit the number of picture you take as much as possible. This means buying the biggest memory card you can afford and shooting the lot each dive.

Only shoot at the highest resolution (you can always downgrade for Email/web but you can't go in the opposite direction very well!:eek: )

Most Carribean Hotels and even dive centres will offer a service to burn memory cards onto CDROM/DVDROM so you can download your results each day and start with a fresh card the next.

Sony is certainly the most expensive format of memory card for cameras currently :rolleyes: but there are still cheap sources for original or generic cards at online shops such as the 7dayShop http://www.7dayshop.com/ and sales of items less than £18 also have the benefit of being VAT Free:D

YES keeping the 'O' ring clear and LIGHTLY greased (a shine not visible globs) IS important.

Final tip is don't forget that there will be a lag between hiting the button and the photo being taken (but you can delete all those blue sceens later!:D :D :D )

Have fun!
Jim

[Wreckferret]

Hi ,

Check out:
www.yorkshire-divers.co.uk (photography section)
www.digigreen.net (cold water photography).
www.wetpixel.com (Blue water photos)
www.digitaldiver.com (lots of expeirenced photographers)

Have a go at these sites & see how you get on.

[ChristianG]

To answer a question no-one else has addressed: NO, red filters are a total WOFTAM (Waste of - insert favourite expletive here - Time And Money). I won't go into the details, but don't go there, there are lots of better things you can do with your money.

As for O Rings, a reasonably (I'm biased, I wrote it) detailed list of Dos, Donts and Howtos can be found here:

http://www.diverforum.co.uk/cgi-bin/anyboard.cgi?fvp=/diverforum&cmd=iYz&aK=52751&iZz=52751&gV=0&kQz=&aO=1&iWz=0

Cheers,

Christian