Underwater Newbie Question

[tomhooper]

While I am very comfortable with land based photography, I have very little experience underwater. Almost none. I will be in Cozumel in 2 weeks and was hoping some of you could give me a few tips. I will be using a Rebel XT with 18-55 zoom. I have no underwater flash and don't have time or desire to buy one at this time. I will be using a Fantasea housing so the on camera flash will not work. Any suggestions as to focal distance, aperture and shutter speed, and ISO settings would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.


Tom Hooper
Gary, Texas

[Zig]

Hello Tom,

Here's a great page full of information to help get you started ---> http://www.uwphotographyguide.com/under ... -beginners

Also, when shooting underwater, it's beneficial to get close to your subjects in order to produce sharp photos. Although you may be using a zoom lens underwater, you will most likely get better results if you get closer to your subject and fill the frame.

Here's an article on diving in Cozumel, and includes what you can expect to see, and some underwater photography tips. ---> http://www.uwphotographyguide.com/cozumel-diving

I hope this information helps. Have fun in Cozumel!

Cheers,
Michael

[tomhooper]

Thanks for the response. I have been diving in Cozumel since the late 80's, just never did any photography. Thought I needed to try my hand at that too.

[bvanant]

Tom:
Shooting ambient light photography underwater is quite tricky but the results can be quite good. Start at f8 and 1/100 second and see how it looks and remember to shoot in fairly shallow water; going deeper means lot less light. Shoot in manual mode if you are comfortable there, other wise I would recommend shutter priority at 1/100 so you won't get blurry pics.

Bill

[tomhooper]

Thanks Bill. I will be in manual and on manual focus also. Do you have a suggestion on ISO?

[Zig]

Thanks Bill. I will be in manual and on manual focus also. Do you have a suggestion on ISO?

I would suggest base ISO, which on the XT is ISO 100. Work your way higher if you are not able to achieve a shutter speed at least as fast as 1/100th, per Bill's suggestion. If you shoot Shutter Priority mode, your ISO will adjust automatically.