Photo Clinic, Part 3

Equipment:
     Is there a perfect camera setup that's great for every type of scuba photo? No. You can't have both full creative control and ease of use. The Sea&Sea cameras let you change lenses underwater -- you can take your whole "photo studio" down underwater with you. So you can take a wider variety of pictures. But you pay for that convenience with reduced optical crispness. And you don't have as much control over the camera, so you can't "fine tune" those pictures as much as you could with either a housed SLR or the Nikonos V.

Some cameras have more versatility than others. With a Reefmaster, you're getting a great price, but the type of picture you can get is very limited. With the Nikonos V (as shown at left with a closeup kit), you can add extension tubes for macro, a closeup lens, an extra strobe, or a wide-angle lens -- but you're pretty much stuck with whatever setup you have as you enter the water. If the Great White cruises by while you're putting your macro framer around a Spanish Shawl, tough cookies.

Housings for "single-use" cameras aren't that cheap compared to a simple camera such as the Sea&Sea MX-10 (at right). And you won't be happy with the picture quality of a housed single-use camera. If you want good pictures, invest in good equipment.

     In general, cheaper units are simpler to use, while more expensive cameras give you greater control over your picture. Your level of expertise in on-land photography is a good indication of your underwater ability. If you can't set the focus distance, aperature, and shutter speed properly on your land camera, you'd best use a simple underwater camera.

     Frightened by the cost? Rent a camera. If your local dive shop doesn't rent, many dive boats have rental equipment on board. It's a bargain.

The minimum requirement for underwater photography is a camera and a strobe. The MX-10 and Seamaster Pro EX can use their internal flash. This is nice if you're just packing a camera in your BC pocket in case something interesting pops up. But for serious photography, you need to get the strobe away from the lens. (An on-camera strobe lights up the water in front of the subject, decreasing picture quality.)

     As you begin using your camera, you'll realize there are some pictures you simply can't get. Try taking a picture of a Spanish Shawl nudibranch with your standard camera lens. Can't even see it. So, having spent more than you could afford, you order more photo gear.

The lens. The 35-mm lens is the standard "fish portrait" and moderate-sized animal lens. It yields a natural perspective, and can also be used topside. This picture shows the Nikonos V with the standard 35-mm lens. (I install my lens upside down so I can read the numbers by just tipping the camera up.)

     Lenses are described by "focal length," the distance from lens to film for perfect focus. The longer the focal length, the more the magnification. And conversely, the smaller the "number" of the lens, the more of the world it crams onto the film. On land, a 55 to 60-mm lens provides a fairly natural perpective for taking pictures of people. (Portrait photographers use 75-100 mm lenses. Most "el cheapo" cameras use a 30 to 35-mm lens, so they get more in the picture.)  But because objects in the water appear about 25% closer and 33% bigger (remember your basic certification course?), a 35-mm underwater lens gives the same natural perspective as a 55-mm lens on land.

     Wide-angle lens. Most common sizes are 15 mm, 20 mm, and 28 mm. The lower the number, the greater the amount of "fisheye" effect. The wide-angle lens lets you get closer to your subject, so there's less water between you and the subject. This gives better colors, less murk, and fewer particles in your picture. A viewfinder must be added to the top of the camera to show the picture area. Unlike the standard 35-mm lens, you can't use your wide-angle lens to take pictures out of the water. Wide angle lens adapters are also available for less expensive cameras such as the Sea&Sea MX-10 -- and are corresondingly MUCH cheaper than wide angle lenses for the Nikonos.

This is the Nikonos V with a Sea & Sea 20-mm lens. Use wide-angle for diver shots, reefscapes, and large animals. I'd recommend the 20 mm, if only because the 15 mm costs more than I paid for my first new car. For further information and sample photos, read the wide-angle photo section.

At left is a Sea & Sea MX-10 with the 20 mm conversion lens installed. Because of the additional lenses and the water between the lenses, a conversion lens doesn't give you quite the crispness of a dedicated 20 mm like that on the Nikonos above. But for the casual photographer, it's a good tradeoff for flexibility and reduced cost.

     Macro tubes. This is probably the first extra piece of equipment you should buy. It's easy to find an anemone, stick the framer around it, and -- with your brain turned off and the strobe set on TTL -- click, you have an interesting picture. The longer the tube, the greater the magnification. And the greater the flash power required. If you're using the 1:1 (highest magnification, smallest framer) tube, you may need to take the strobe off the camera and nestle it down next to the slimy critter you're shooting. (See the discussion of TTL -- through-the-lens light meter control of the flash -- in another section.)

The macro extension tube is placed between the camera body and the lens. A wire frames the area that will appear in your picture. The focus is critical -- the subject just be within the "goalposts." For further information and sample photos, read the macro photography section.

To take extra lenses for the Sea & Sea camera underwater with you, you can attach a lens caddy to your strobe arm. Shown here is a 20 mm lens and a 2T macro lens attached to a YS-60 strobe on a Seamaster Pro EX camera.

     Close-up lens. This allows you to focus close to your camera. This lens is usually placed in front of the standard camera lens. A framer outlines the picture area. On the Nikonos V, the closeup lens uses f-22, making the focus less critical. Your fish can be a little in front or behind the plane of the framer.

But because the closeup lens is most useful for fish portraits, the framer can get in the way. An alternative to the framer is a spotter-light system, where two flashlight beams come together into one at the center point of your picture area (click here to see how it's done). For further information and sample photos, read the closeup photography section.

This Sea&Sea Motor Marine II-EX camera has a switch on the focusing wheel that puts the lens into closeup focus position. No special equipment. If your picture-taking budget is limited, this may affect your choice of camera.

     Strobe. Of course you have one. You can get some very good pictures with a single strobe, but adding a second strobe makes an incredible difference. You'll need a "sync cord" with the second strobe. Or, you may choose a "slave" strobe -- one that fires when it sees the flash from your primary strobe. The strobes should be positioned well above and to the side of the camera, aimed so they hit your subject without lighting up the particles in the water in front of your camera. For further information, read the flash photo section.

A camera with a mobile strobe, like this Sea & Sea Seamaster Pro EX, lets you select the direction of the light to bring out the best in your subject. One big reason why the cheap underwater cameras take crummy pictures is: the flash is too close to the lens!

The strobe arms can be extended another 8 inches on this Nikonos V with two Sea & Sea YS60 strobes. This gets the strobes well away from the lens-to-subject line, so the water (and particles) in front of the subject isn't hit by the strobes.

     Filters. You don't need them. But you can take some good pictures with them, if you know what you're doing. I have a couple, one for ocean water and another for fresh water. I like the realistic colors filters give. But you don't see many magazine pictures shot with filters.

Filters can be useful for specialty shots. But they block a lot of light, so you have to use a really fast film. You may lose contrast and richness of detail. High-quality film is a must. Photo: Mike Engberson meets garibaldi. Nikonos V w 35 mm, red filter, available light using Kodak 800 Max film.

     And Film. Film choice can be complicated, or easy. There's slide film (also called reversal film) and print film. And each comes in different "speeds." Let's consider:
     Film Selection Principle #1: the "faster" the film (high ASA number), the less vibrant your colors will be. So you want to use the slowest film that you can adequately expose.
     Film Selection Principle #2: print film is more forgiving than slide film. At any ASA rating, print film tolerates a much wider range of exposures -- and can still give you a decent picture even when you mess up. In general you should avoid slide film with cheaper cameras (a camera must meter the light to get the exposure right).
     Film Selection Principle #3: magazines prefer slides. They can "read" slides directly into their print setup machines. Magazines can more easily judge the quality of a picture from a slide. Also, good-quality slide film has a finer grain.
     Summary: Beginnners should use print film -- you'll avoid the frustration of underexposed or overexposed slides. Buy good quality. You should start with 100 ASA film. (Exception: with the MX-10, I'd recommend you use high-quality 400 ASA such as Kodak Max film, so you can set the aperature to 8 or 11. This gives you a much better depth of field with this fixed-focus camera.) When you find an old roll that's been in the trunk for 5 years, don't use it for your next scuba photos. Save it for something less important, like your next wedding.
     Special note for Utahns: See our caution about how altitude changes affect the seal of the film compartment of your camera.

Summary of my own cameras:

	Sea&Sea MX-10. Useful camera, but cough up the dough for the YS40 strobe too. Trouble-free, virtually kelp-proof. A good "loaner" camera for your dive buddy. Or stick it in your big BC pocket. (You can attach the flash underwater, but watch out for the latch that opens the back!) Can accept macro lens, wide-angle lens underwater! Autowind, autorewind. Recommend 400 Max film with aperature set to f8, f11 for close subjects.
	Sea&Sea Seamaster Pro EX (Motor Marine II). For some purposes, interchangeable with the Nikonos V, but with less-advanced optics and metering. On-camera strobe lets this camera dive in a BC-pocket. Switch on focus knob for closeup photography is a great idea. Can accept macro lens, wide-angle lens underwater! ASA autodetect. Autowind. Has fewer shutter settings, fewer aperature settings, and less accurate light-metering than the Nikonos.
	Nikonos V. Serious camera, gives great creative control but requires thought and practice. My dive buddies won't touch this unit. I like the metering system, depth of field indicator, and ASA dial. I brought the price of my system down with Sea&Sea accessories. Inability to change lens setups underwater limits this camera's versatility. Superior optics may make this worthwhile for you. The Nikonos is also a terrific camera for above-water photos, having shutter speed up to 1000.

Click here to read a discussion of the differences between the Nikonos and the Sea & Sea!

Click on the garibaldi for the next lesson.

About the author: Bruce Argyle is one of those annoying guys who has to do everything to excess. A former rock and roll musician looking for things to occupy his time, and he's getting carried away with this scuba photo stuff now, too.