Underwater Photos

[JimSiam]

Here are some underwater photos I took using a cheap Intova 6mp with the housing it comes with, capable of 35m depth.

I would love to see what others have to share as well.

Edited November 10, 2010 by JimSiam

[cdnvic]

That's pretty decent detail. Do you get many blurry shots or is it fairly easy to hold it still under water?

[JimSiam]

These were taken in shallow water, so the colours are ok, its hard at depth where different colours are filtered out, good strobes are needed. Holding it still isnt too hard unless there is a lot of surge.

[IanForbes]

Just a few with my little Pentax W30 point and shoot.

The problem with the waterproof point and shoot cameras is the delay in the time the camera takes to focus and the little delay after the button is pushed. Fish are in continual motion and the camera has a hard time focusing. I often have to shoot on manual and just guess at the distance between subject and lens. Take a hundred shots and maybe get two or three usable ones. An SLR in a dedicated waterproof housing is much better. Unfortunately, the housing costs as much as a new lens or camera.

[LawrenceAlexWu]

These were taken in shallow water, so the colours are ok, its hard at depth where different colours are filtered out, good strobes are needed. Holding it still isnt too hard unless there is a lot of surge.

Hi JimSiam & IanForbes, 

I just read your post above...good pics...i've been curious about the intova cameras performance...

Depth is not really the issue for bluish/greenish photos. It more a matter of white balance. 

Most cameras now have an "underwater mode" which accounts for the color...sadly though, it is really only set for 1 lighting condition...which ususally is for shallow depths.  Most cameras have built-in settings which can offset  bluish/greenish color up to depths of 30-40meters depending on lighting conditions. Have a look at my sample gallery of UW photos without strobes or flash: 

http://AGuaPictures....ientLight_Only/

Strobes are actually NOT essential for good UW photography either....neither is a fast shutter. 

All my UW photography photos (http://LawrenceAlexWu.com) are done by point&shoot cameras! My workshops for UW photography is also dedicated to point&shoot users. 

In particular, my 1st workshop shows uw photographers how to shoot WITHOUT needing strobes. If any of you are interested, I run regular workshops in BKK too. Check out the workshop outlines & detials here: 

http://AGuaPictures....rPhotosMadeEasy

I have some workshops in BKK in late Nov too...just follow the Facebook links to the Events if you  want to konw more....

Cheers, 

Alex

[IanForbes]

Thanks for your information and comments, Alex. The main problem I've had with good underwater shots is fish that are moving quickly. when at rest the Pentax does quite well. I've heard there are improvements with the Canon and the new Pentax W90.

I've had good success in clear, mountain rivers of British Columbia (Canada), but the fish were either motionless or moving slow enough for the camera to focus properly.

[plahgat]

This is my best underwater shot of a clown fish in a Sea Anemone taken at Surin islands back in 1989, using a Nikon F3 in a EWA Marine plastic bag!

Plahgat

[plahgat]

Here are a few more underwater pictures from the beautiful coral reefs at the Surin Islands!

Unfortunately ttese old slides from 1989 are very blurry!

[bazmlb]

This is my best underwater shot of a clown fish in a Sea Anemone taken at Surin islands back in 1989, using a Nikon F3 in a EWA Marine plastic bag!

Plahgat

Thats a great shot