Using G2 in Underwater Photography

[dougsturgess]

I would like to speak with anyone who has used the Powershot G2 underwater. I recently purchased an Ikelite housing for the G2 and have read a couple of books on underwater photography, but these books discuss 35mm cameras, not digital.

If someone else has used the G2 underwater, I'd really be interested to learn how your photos turned out, specifically, using the flash, color turnout, if you calibrated the white balance for snorkeling pictures, etc.

I'm going to the southern Caribbean in a few weeks and would appreciate any tips. Thanks!

[Ashaman]

Hi doug,

I have a G1, not a G2, but that won't make much differance. :) I also have the Ikelite case, and the Ikelite DS-50 strobe.

I just got back from a dive trip to North Carolina. This was actually my first trip with the G1. The photos turned out fairly well, but I am still learning. I ran most of them through Auto-Levels in Photoshop, and they looked much better, for the most part. Some of the deep blue backgrounds became too red using Auto-Levels, I need to figure out how to do that better.

The water was pretty clear, and I kept the strobe fairly far from the camera, so I don't have much backscatter. I was mostly around 100', but the water was clear and the sun was bright, so I didn't need the stobe in all shots, it was probably doing more fill-in than anything else.

I didn't think about white-balance much, just left it on Auto. Given the limited bottom time at 100', I wasn't going to calibrate down there. Next time, I will probably set it to Cloudy or something...

As for other settings, I just left it on Program mode, ISO 200 or 100, Large size, Minimal compression.

My photos are currently posted at FotoTime, you can check them out here: http://www.fototime.com/inv/AE67EF756EDBF6E
The only edits I have made is Auto-Levels, but additional editing suggestions would be appreciated. If you want, I will upload an untouched image or two, and we can talk about how to better adjust them.

[dougsturgess]

Thank you for sharing. Can you answer some questions for me?

Did you have any trouble holding the camera still enough to get good pictures? I was wondering with the current and maintaining neutral buoyancy.

Did you have any condensation in your camera case? I've bought some silica gel packs in case. If you didn't use your internal flash, you probably didn't have a problem with heat buildup in the housing.

Were you able to take pictures without the strobe when the natural light was bright enough? If so, what depth was that?

What type of card did you use? Any trouble? I'm going to be using a microdrive.

I think after doing much reading and asking questions, I'm going to try shooting in RAW and worrying about the white balance later. I can't wait. We're leaving Saturday for Aruba, Bonaire and Curacaou for a 2 week cruise. Hopefully lots of diving and snorkeling.

Let me know any problems you encountered so I can prepare. Thanks again!!

[Ashaman]

I'm pretty good at buoyancy, so that wasn't an issue, but I did tend to drift a little with the current. My bigger problem was fish that move away just as I try to snap the picture.

I did use the internal flash: the DS-50 is optically triggered, it has a sensor that is pointed at the top of the housing, and the housing has a deflector that re-directs the built-in flash towards the sensor. However, I didn't notice any condensation issues. I generally sealed the camera into the housing while in an air-condidtioned environment, where the humidity was low.

I took a few shots at 15-30 feet, and no strobe was needed there. I didn't take much in between that and 100', but you could probably go to 60' without a stobe. It will depend heavily on the water conditions and the sun position. If you try to use the built-in strobe, I can guarentee backscatter problems unless the water is super clear. Remember: without a stobe, the only available light will be very blue, so you won't get good colors. I'd strongly recommend getting an external stobe for your next trip.

Oh, and don't forget the color correction filter that came with your housing! If you aren't using a stobe, that filter will help restore the color balance, but it will also reduce the available light. You might want to increase the ISO setting if your exposure time gets too slow.

I had a Kingston 256MB flash card in the camera, with a microdrive as a backup. No troubles. I could probably have switched to RAW mode without problems. I downloaded pictures to my laptop each evening, and never filled the card during a two-dive boat trip.

Sounds like a good trip, have fun!

[dougsturgess]

Thanks for the advice! I'll be sure and send you some pics after the trip.

Good diving,
Doug

[Rustle]

Hey Doug,

Here's a link I found awhile ago which might prove useful to you. It's Canon's Digital Camera Underwater Photography Guide.

http://www.canon.co.jp/Imaging/uwphoto/index-e.html

Russ

[dougsturgess]

Thanks!