Underwater Camera settings

Underwater Camera Settings

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Underwater Camera settings

So you just purchased a new camera system.  Are you overwhelmed on what to do with all those buttons when you get underwater?  Here are a few camera setting tips to get you going.

Even though not all cameras have all the modes listed below, yours should have at least a couple two choose from.

Set your camera to shoot in RAW if available!

If you’re not using a strobe and are shooting Jpeg files,  be sure to “Custom White Balance” your camera every 15′ – 20′ of depth.  Read this article on Custom White Balance & Underwater Photography

What do these controls do?

  • Shutter Speed – Controls image blur.  1/125 is fast enough to stop most motion (camera shake and fish tails)
  • Exposure Compensation – Controls background exposure
  • Aperture – Controls depth of field and foreground exposure
  • ISO – Controls your camera’s sensitivity to light
  • White Balance – Calibrates your camera to the proper color spectrum while shooting ambient light images underwater

Here are some setting tips to get you started

  • (P) Program Mode
    • Set EV (Exposure Compensation) to –1/3 or – 2/3 on sunny days (Use to adjust background exposure)
    • Set ISO to 100 (Sunny day) 200 – 400 (Cloudy day)
    • Set Strobe on TTL or desired power
    • Set white balance to AUTO (if using a strobe)
  • (AV) Aperture Priority Mode
    • Set EV (Exposure Compensation) to –1/3 or – 2/3 on sunny days (Use to adjust background exposure)
    • Set F/8 aperture (F5.6 is fine for digicams)
    • Set ISO to 100 (Sunny day) 200 – 400 (Cloudy day)
    • Set Strobe on TTL or desired power
    • Set white balance to AUTO (if using a strobe)
  • (TV) Shutter Priority Mode
    • Set EV (Exposure Compensation) to –1/3 or – 2/3 on sunny days (Use to adjust background exposure)
    • Set Shutter Speed to 1/125
    • Set ISO to 100 (Sunny day) 200 – 400 (Cloudy day)
    • Set Strobe on TTL or desired power
    • Set white balance to AUTO (if using a strobe)
  • (M) Manual Mode
    • Set F/8 aperture (F5.6 is fine for digicams)
    • Set Shutter Speed to 1/125
    • Set ISO to 100 (Sunny day) 200 – 400 (Cloudy day)
    • Set Strobe on TTL or desired power
    • Set white balance to AUTO (if using a strobe)

Aquaventure Dive & Photo Center 10024 County Rd 81 Maple Grove, MN 55369 (763)424-8717