S2 Novices initioal attempts

This is from one of my first dives using the S2 in the ikelite housing. Fitted with a Substrobe 50. Nikon 60mm

Never done underwater stuff before this dive trip.

Taken in the Taurao Marine park Thailand

I am looking for critue please, especially subject choice, framing, lighting etc

Nice Colours exposure and a great shot of the hoover-end of a sea cucumber. However, it may have added to the image if it were shot in a vertical attitude rather than horizontal, to get the whole of the main subject in the framework.

Attention Bob Jarman - Your next suit and gloves should be made from Sea Cucumber skin!!!

Your exposure looks very nice. Were you shooting TTL or manual?

Attention Bob Jarman - Your next suit and gloves should be made from Sea Cucumber skin!!!

ROFLMAO!!! Now why didn't I think of that.

The shot was taken using TTL and aperture priority

I actually have a very nice shot of the busines end of the a cucmber which was coming up the the lip of a prominant rock and so allowed me to be at his level, unfortunately i cannot show you that yet as the micridrive with those photos on is still in my camera which my wife has with her diving the Similans at the moment, but i shall put that one up in a couple of weeks or so.

I did wonder if having two distinct subjects within the same shot. i.e sea cucumber and pincushion star iscausing a distracting split in the shot

I did wonder if having two distinct subjects within the same shot.  i.e sea cucumber and pincushion star iscausing a distracting split in the shot

In this orientation maybe the cushion is too intruding, hence the vertical advice, but alas, sometimes we do not get a choice.

This was another shot a did, better angle but not enough dof and inadequate lighting

The lighting and exposure are not too bad, but as you say just a little bit soft.

Big shame this would have been a cracking shot - Next time eh!

Fortunately not all the photos on this trip suffered from the same problems.

was quite pleased with this close up of a scorpion fish.

Yes, Scorpions are always good subjects, but in order to transform the image into a masterpiece the angle is all important for 3rd parties to fully appreciate the subject. Lower, side or front on with a touch of upwards angle makes all the difference. I think there may be a little lag induced motion blur too.

Having said that, it is still a great record and every future trip will see your technique adapt to consider individual subjects and how best to approach and portray them.

Since you did not post the info about your shots, I will mention this just in case. I always shoot macro with the smallest aperture possible (F22, F22, or F22) thus gaining the most DOF possible. Then just pour the light to it and let your TTL do it's job. I found the exposure compensation settings to be very useful with my S2, +0.5 EV for my setup. I'm certainly no expert but quickly discovered that I didn't need to be to get correct exposure. Composition is another matter.

Mr Fish and anybody else that's interested, I just discovered a partial inaccuracy in my last statement. According to the owner's manual, the Nikkor 60mm has no variation of DOF for focus distances less than 12". It has a whopping 1/16" DOF, from 8 11/16" to 8 3/4", at the minimum focus distance of 8 3/4", consistenly through all the aperture settings. At focus distances of 1' and above, the DOF begins to vary through the f-stops, increasing with smaller aperture.

This caught me by surprise and goes against everything I thought I knew. I would guess that most of my photos are taken at 1' or more since the end of my port takes up the first 6-7".

Mr Fish and anybody else that's interested, I just discovered a partial inaccuracy in my last statement. According to the owner's manual, the Nikkor 60mm has no variation of DOF for focus distances less than 12". It has a whopping 1/16" DOF, from 8 11/16" to 8 3/4", at the minimum focus distance of 8 3/4", consistenly through all the aperture settings. At focus distances of 1' and above, the DOF begins to vary through the f-stops, increasing with smaller aperture.

 

This caught me by surprise and goes against everything I thought I knew. I would guess that most of my photos are taken at 1' or more since the end of my port takes up the first 6-7".

I verified the data in the owners manual but I think you need to go with what you know. DOF is a function of magnification and aperture.

Here are two pictures take (poorly) of my wall at minimum focus distance with the 60mm. First is f/2.8 and second is f/32.

Here is the same test taken with the 105mm instead:

These were taken with ambient light at ISO 1600 with a shaky tripod, so the quality isn't so good. It does demonstrate the point that DOF does vary with aperture even at the highest magnifications of these lenses.

Craig, those are excellent examples. They clearly show the difference. I will definitely continue to shoot the smallest aperture possible.

I was floored when I read that in the manual. It is clearly inaccurate.

Interestingly, DOF isn't a function of focal length, either.

Someone wrote than manual and at least one person reviewed it. Makes you wonder.

Interestingly, DOF isn't a function of focal length, either.

1) But it is. Focal length is a part of the formula

2) Nice job on the demonstration. All other factors being constant, f-stop must alter DOF

3) Although these are fixed focal lenght primes. The focal length is not fixed, especially with the 105mm.

here is the DOF graph for the 105mm

the y-axis is DOF (in mm) and the x-axis is the focus distance in meters

and here for the 60mm. Note, ratios are different for both lenses, so 0.5 meter is not the same ratio for 0.5m on the 105

All data comes stright from the manual. I think the imperial measures in the 105 manual are wrong as they are not the same as the coverted metric ones.