Newbie with Olympus D-580 and PT-021 housing: Need tips for shallow water photos

Hi,

I am a graduate student who studies marine and freshwater sponges. I'll be doing research in Panama and will be photographing marine sponges in shallow water (typical snorkeling depths of 5-20 feet).

As my budget is limited, I purchased a used Olympus D-580 with a new PT-021 housing for less than $100 on ebay. I needed a camera that I could afford (and that meant CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP) which had a decent macro mode and the capability to use rechargeable AA batteries since all of my field gear runs on them (GPS, 2-way radios, headlamps, etc). For my purposes, this small camera should be adequate to document shallow water sponges.

Since it is pretty easy to sneak up on a sponge and convince it to sit still for a portrait in shallow water, I think I will be just fine pointing and shooting (and there is not very much I can do with manual settings with this simple camera) but I would love some tips on how to get the best shots out of this little older digital camera.

I've been reading a lot here, but still have a few questions since I haven't heard of anyone using this camera.

1) do I need to use silica gel packs every time I load the camera?

2) I am a little confused about white balance / color correction. Do I need to buy one of those orange or red filters for shallow water photography or should I use the flash most of the time? I expect to be no further away from my subjects than 3 feet or so, but I think the flash is automatically disabled for macro mode with this camera.

3) If anyone has any other simple tips for getting the most out of this or similar little digital cameras, or if you know of a good online tutorial, please share.

Well, I got the chance to test the camera underwater in my parent's pool today. It worked very well and I found that I could get shots from 3 feet away with good color using the flash. Macro and "super" macro mode worked well and the majority of photos were in focus and adequately exposed.

All in all, I am happy with this small and simple gear.

I ordered an orange filter, but will have to wait until I am in Panama to test it out. But the flash provided adequate color for shallow water shots in the pool.

I sure wish this forum was a bit faster paced, but I've learned a lot here and hope one day to have some more serious gear. But I am thrilled that I will be able to document the sponges I am studying quite easily and adequately.

Hi Yucca

Yes, you need to use the silica gel packs all the time. The heat the screen produces will create a fog on the lens about 45 mins into a dive on average. Silica should help stop this.

Filter: does the camera have a manual white balance function? if so, then yes the filter will help with shallow stuff. Set the WB with the filter in place and you get the proper colour spectrum back, cuts out some blue and green. I would not use it in conjunction with the flash.

If you want close up details and macro of the sponges, use the flash. If you want wide angle shots of a giant sponge or something, then this would be the time to turn off the flash and use the filter.

Basically, you need to make the decision before getting in the water, wide angle or macro? and then decide to use the filter accordingly.

Hope that helps

Thanks for the advice Mike.

With Olympus dumping so many of their discontinued housings on ebay, I was able to also pick up two housing for the Olympus C-5000 camera which has 5 megapixels instead of the d-580's 4megapixels and has more manual functions, particularly manual white balance that can also be adjusted. I knew I needed to buy more silica gel packs and a couple extra o-rings and found it was actually cheaper to buy brand new housings that included them than to buy those replacement consumable parts.

Many of these new Olympus housings are going for about $10 right now and come directly from Olympus with full warranty. A patient cheapskate ebay bidder like myself could end up with a brand new housing and a lightly used matching camera for next to nothing.

As I think about it and read more and more about underwater photography, most of my shots will be in very shallow water (15 feet or less) and I will be taking them at close range, so I will use the camera flash most of the time. I may just carry two cameras into the water with me so I can have one setup with the color correction filter and another setup for flash macro and close range shots.

Sure, these are not quite pro quality gear, but to have adequate gear that I can afford and is cheap enough that I won't cry if I destroy it in the field is a graduate student's dream come true! When it comes down to it, photos for journal publications or sponge species identification do not have to be pro-quality anyway (but I am sure I'll get some shots I am proud of)

On a side note, I'll be able to keep one housing dedicated to underwater use and another for use while exploring caves here in Alabama (you would not believe the kind of mud and muck caving gear must endure!)

Hi,

 

I am a graduate student who studies marine and freshwater sponges. I'll be doing research in Panama and will be photographing marine sponges in shallow water (typical snorkeling depths of 5-20 feet).

 

As my budget is limited, I purchased a used Olympus D-580 with a new PT-021 housing for less than $100 on ebay. I needed a camera that I could afford (and that meant CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP) which had a decent macro mode and the capability to use rechargeable AA batteries since all of my field gear runs on them (GPS, 2-way radios, headlamps, etc). For my purposes, this small camera should be adequate to document shallow water sponges.

 

Since it is pretty easy to sneak up on a sponge and convince it to sit still for a portrait in shallow water, I think I will be just fine pointing and shooting (and there is not very much I can do with manual settings with this simple camera) but I would love some tips on how to get the best shots out of this little older digital camera.

 

I've been reading a lot here, but still have a few questions since I haven't heard of anyone using this camera.

 

1) do I need to use silica gel packs every time I load the camera?

 

2) I am a little confused about white balance / color correction. Do I need to buy one of those orange or red filters for shallow water photography or should I use the flash most of the time? I expect to be no further away from my subjects than 3 feet or so, but I think the flash is automatically disabled for macro mode with this camera.

 

3) If anyone has any other simple tips for getting the most out of this or similar little digital cameras, or if you know of a good online tutorial, please share.

Here are my notes on uw digital basics.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat...thread=24867785

I did a quick bit of reading on your camera. I could be wrong but it looks like you can't do full manual/custom white balance. If so, then it's tragic but a good red filter might help you out. I suspect that you'll need to learn some post processing to get accurate color. If you have full manual white balance you don't need a flash or filter and get great shots.

>> 1) do I need to use silica gel packs every time I load the camera?

Be VERY careful with these. See my notes. You really don't need to use them at all but DO shut your camera off when you're not using it - and it probably will not fog up. If you leave your camera on the whole time then yes it will fog.

Good luck!

Jeff