Underwater Photography

I'm not an expert in digital photography, but during the last dive trip to Manado and Sipidan, I have learnt loads from other divers within my group who are avid underwater photographers. First thing first, the basics of camera functions. In today's digital world, most of us have digital cameras that basically point and shoot. Advance users move a notch up to SLRs.

Most digital camera have 'p' , 'auto' and 'm' modes. 'p' and 'auto' modes works fine in air but when it comes to differing low light conditions underwater, 'p' and 'auto' modes does not deliver satisfactory pictures. In order to maintain control over the picture quality, I would recommend 'm' mode.

When using a strobe, two basic control you will need to take note. F/stop and shutter speed. F/stop or aperture which controls the amount of light into digital film . the smaller the f/stop the bigger the aperture i.e f/stop 2.8 is bigger than f/stop 8, allowing more light in. The shutter speed controls the speed of the shutter. i.e 1/200 is faster than 1/4. try playing with these controls and check out the picture quality.

The other control is the 'iso'. I strongly do not recommend iso 'auto' as the camera sensor does not function correctly underwater. Set it to iso 80 or 100. If its set to iso higher than 400, you will have fine grains on the photo.

I have noticed that most of my shots turned out great using f/stop 2.8, shutter speed 1/200 and iso at 80.

Of course varying visibility and light conditions underwater would require tweaking of these controls I have discussed.


Happy shooting !!

Dennis Low