Hi,
I’m very much an amateur underwater photographer. (Even in land photography I wouldn’t rate myself too much higher though I’ve taken photos for years and gotten some great shots with fairly limited knowledge).
I'm planning a trip to the Galapagos where I expect to be doing a lot of snorkeling.
I’ll probably bring 2 cameras as the one I’ll use for land photography doesn’t have an available underwater housing.
I’m planning on getting an underwater housing for my old Nikon Coolpix 7900 compact digital.
I have not yet chosen whether to go with:
1. A Fantesea Housing which is hard but doesn't give full acess to all controls or
2. A much more expensive hard Ikelite housing which gives full access to all settings.
First question is--For longish snorkeling jaunts (2+ hours), where you are using the LCD screen as a viewfinder, am I correct that it makes sense to go with the more expensive housing, if only because I'll be able to turn off the camera and also be able to adjust settings--for example, turning on and off macro?
Also, I’m trying to decide if, while floating or really shallow diving, I’d be advised to use a filter and, if so, which filter and which strength would be best to purchase. I've recently read about "Magic Filters" and "Auto Magic Filters" but don't know if I need any filter at all.
Any thoughts?
Also, my camera is fully adjustable for white balance.
Should it be set to Auto or something else?
Also, the camera DOES have an underwater “scene†setting which I’ve never used. I presume that it sets white balance to attempt to compensate for being underwater (I HAVE used e.g. the camera’s SUNSET setting and gotten a few spectacular shots. Certainly better than my limited Photoshop skills would have allowed me to correct for). Should I use this "underwater" setting or keep the camera on auto or attempt manual settings?
Should I use the camera’s flash or keep it off?
Do the answers to any of these questions depend on whether I use a filter?
All advice is appreciated!!
Thanks
Stephanie
