| Digital Underwater Photography
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Using Canon S-Series and Housing WP-300 |
After our Nikonos V flooded beyond repair in 2002, we decided to go digital for our underwater photography after having used various digital cameras in the past few years. Unfortunately, no affordable housing was available for our Nikon Coolpix 950, so we sold the Nikon and switched to a Canon S30 with the WP-300 underwater housing. At 200 Euros for the housing, the WP-300 is a low cost solution for underwater photography. With 3 megapixels, the camera still provides good resolution and all necessary manual controls to get decent underwater pictures. And the best of all, the camera still stows away in a BCD pocket. Also, Canon continued to build the S-series models in the same case, so the S30, S40, S50 all share the same housing and thus incur no additional expense when upgrading to the next camera generation.
| S30 series + WP-300 |
| Pros |
Cons |
- Low cost of housing
- Almost all controls fully operable under water
- Fits in a decent size BCD pocket
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- Right wipp button cannot be operated therefore no menu selection possible under water
- View finder cannot be not used as it is partially covered by the lens tube of the housing
- Battery life
- No diffusor for flash built into housing
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Got a better idea how to solve one of those problems? Let us know!
| Getting color correction right |
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This is most essential skill to master. The loss of red light has to be corrected under water because the AUTO mode does not properly adjust for this. However, the S series offers a good way to compensate using the manual white balance function:
- In any mode except AUTO, press the WB button to the left of the screen twice
- Press the multi-mode button once on the left side to move the selection to the outer right symbol (custom white balance)
- Press the shutter button to perform the white balance scan
- Push the multi-mode button down to exit the menu
This is best practiced on land to be able to do this almost blind and without thinking as this exercise needs to be repeated at least whenever you change your depth more than 5 meters from where you took the last metering. Between 5 and 15 meters I got best results adjusting white balance even more often.
Take your measure no further than 2-3 meters from the reef or wall. If you are in blue water, just stick with your last metering as the lack of reflection from an object will give you a bad reading.
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| Use the internal flash |
The effect of exponential loss of light is significantly increased by the density of water. Therefore, there is no point in using the built-in flash for lighting things more than 1,5 meter (3 -4 feet) away. If you need more light, you need to get an external flash (i.e. Ikelite which offers a kit for digital camera housings using an optical connection).
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| Preparing your flash for macro photography |
To prevent your macro picture from being entirely white, 2 measures have improved our results:
- Tape a piece of white tissue over the flash with clear tape which functions as a diffuser
- Underexpose the shot depending on distance by 1-2 f-stops (only experience will teach you what is right; 1,5 is a good place to start)
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| Extend your battery life |
The LCD monitor is the highest consumer of battery power and there is nothing more annoying than having the battery die on you during a dive or having to switch batteries on a dingy (or other ill-equipped vessel you may be diving from). Rather than switching the entire camera off between shots, simply turn off the monitor by pushing the Display button until the screen is black.
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| Keep the O-ring clean |
Be extremely anal about keeping that o-ring clean. Even with great care, a risk of flooding remains but with no care, it's only a matter of time. Clean the o-ring with a non-fuss cloth or tissue like those found in camera stores. To remove the O-ring, no tools are necessary. With your thumb and index finger push the o-ring out (see picture).
Re-lube with a small amount of silicon gel - you don't want to drown it, so a small amount is sufficient. The lube is intended to keep the o-ring flexible, not to seal the lip!
Please note: This at your own risk - Canon advises that only certified dealers should replace the o-ring. Decide for yourself.
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| Overblown whites |
Underexpose 1-2 stops to get nice blues or if shooting against up against the surface.
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| Flash leaves black areas |
For extreme macro photographs, you will notice that one half of the image is quite dark (the lens tube of the housing prevents the light to spread evenly). Take the dark side into consideration when composing the picture.
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| Preventing condensation |
Especially in humid and warm climates, it is easy to trap humidity in the camera. As the battery expels heat inside while colder water is surrounding the camera on the outside, this humidity will sooner or later appear as condensation on the inside of your housing lens in the worst possible moments (shark, ray, dolphin…).
Remedies in order of my preference:
- Assemble to camera in the air-conditioned hotel room after the camera and housing have acclimatized to the environment.
- Put a small pack of Silica gel into the housing
- Turn off the monitor to prevent the camera from developing too much heat whenever you don't use it.
Note: I found the Canon supplied anti-fog solution to be clouding the lens and pretty much useless.
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© 1998-2008 Björn Meyer & Jacquelyn Lincoln
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