Underwater - My Options

3rdPlanetPhotography

Greetings folks,

I have a "trash the dress" shoot coming up in a few weeks and we've decided on a clear water "quarry" shoot.

The problem! I don't have underwater equipment. I'm shooting my Canon 5d and I'm looking for options or technique on how to capture some underwater shots.

I don't need to be scuba diving to shoot, I just need to get below the surface of the water enough for my lens to see in the water. The water is very clear.

Any ideas? :dunno

ziggy53

Realize that anything underwater is risky and the following is completely at your own risk:

A very "cheap" way is to use an aquarium as a "dry zone" to get you just underwater. Shoot RAW as the color balance will be unpredictable and aim is by guess unless you use a right-angle viewer/magnifier.

A variation is to use an aquarium with a front-surface mirror set inside at 45 degrees and you shoot into the aquarium. This requires more setup and usually a helper, but it keeps the camera high and dry.

Be carefull about waves and splashing, of course.

Barring that, there are places that rent underwater cases specific to your camera.

3rdPlanetPhotography

Thanks Ziggy, I didn't even think about renting something. Otherwise I'm too afraid to get off the bank with my camera

ziggy53 wrote:

Realize that anything underwater is risky and the following is completely at your own risk:

A very "cheap" way is to use an aquarium as a "dry zone" to get you just underwater. Shoot RAW as the color balance will be unpredictable and aim is by guess unless you use a right-angle viewer/magnifier.

A variation is to use an aquarium with a front-surface mirror set inside at 45 degrees and you shoot into the aquarium. This requires more setup and usually a helper, but it keeps the camera high and dry.

Be carefull about waves and splashing, of course.

Barring that, there are places that rent underwater cases specific to your camera.

ziggy53

3rdPlanetPhotography wrote:

Thanks Ziggy, I didn't even think about renting something. Otherwise I'm too afraid to get off the bank with my camera

http://www.underwatercamerarental.com/rental/rent_price.html

I'm sure there are others.

I did not see that the rental houses we mention at DGrin have that equipment, but it might be worth a call.

chetsgroi

One possible option to consider out of the box for UW photos.
Howdy!

One possbility might be the 10 megapixel Olympus Stylus 1030 SW point and shoot or it's predecessor the 7 megapixel Olympus Stylus 770 SW cameras. Both are waterproof out of the box (without the need of an UW housing) to 33 feet and can be dropped from 5-6 feet. Their dry picture taking ability is just "so-so" at best with some noise present but their still shots; however, in a clear shots in a clear underwater environment the quality is actually pretty decent. Both cameras also have an UW mode that is also operational under the water's surface. The 1030SW retails for about $399 and the 770 SW for around $320. Both are pretty decent tough little cameras that can get wet (also froozen and dirty) but the downside is that their photos are just average (although they make up for it in their ability to take good uw pics and video).

There is also another decent point and shoot digital camera which is produced by Pentax (Pentax Optio W60) that can go under the water to about 8 feet (I think) which gets decent reviews but I've never used it.

Just one possbility. Not professional grade but might meet your needs. Research it (and if you decide to buy or borrow) play around with it and get used to its' features and mode of operation.

Regards,

- Chester

3rdPlanetPhotography wrote:

Greetings folks,

I have a "trash the dress" shoot coming up in a few weeks and we've decided on a clear water "quarry" shoot.

The problem! I don't have underwater equipment. I'm shooting my Canon 5d and I'm looking for options or technique on how to capture some underwater shots.

I don't need to be scuba diving to shoot, I just need to get below the surface of the water enough for my lens to see in the water. The water is very clear.

Any ideas?