Split Above Water/Below Water Shot

I am looking to take the underwater/above water shot with my Olympus 5050 and was wondering what I would need to do this. I talk to film guys and they always mentioning dome shots and split diopters. Anybody with an Olympus been able to take such a shot and if so, what was your rig and settings? Thanks!

First thing you need is a BIG dome port. Next, a fisheye lens helps.

Then you can start thinking about split neutral density filters.

Cheers

James Wiseman

Take a look at:

http://www.clubcamedia.com/photo/gallery/r...r1_kirei_1.html

I thought I would be needing a dome lens and much else, but from what this guy is saying(in Japanese), it doesn't seem that he used anything. He mentions taking many shots trial-and-error, but he mentions no special lenses or anything. In looking at his pic, the corners don't show any distortion that you would expect to see with a fisheye or dome lens...

I have a wide conversion lens for my Oly5050 and was wondering if it would be possible to pull it off with that alone. I would need to get a dome lens through Inon as well as the wide lens and the combination would be $500 or so just to get an above-below shot...not worth it. Wondering if anyone has actually pulled off an above-below with an Oly5050...Thanks!

Just wait til you try it. This is not an easy task (to get a good shot) with a small dome or add on lense. Like James said you really need a large dome especially if you're doing this in the ocean. If the water is glassy then it will be a lot easier. I was trying this in the pool the other day with my small dome on a A5000 and with just my nephew making a few waves endded up giving up.

Gotcha...I have tried it before with just the regular camera in housing and it was impossible. I wondered if the Wide Angle Lens would help any on it. I was thinking about getting a dome lens, but I need to get the Inon wide angle lens as well, so I might hold off and try with my existing WAL. Thanks for your input!

--John

I'm a big fan of split level images. Key ingredients are a domeport and the widest lens you can get. I still do all my split levels on 35mm because of the increased coverage of the lenses relative to my DSLR.

Digital offers some interesting advantages for split shots - such as exposure adjustment of each half of the frame from the same RAW file - or by shooting each half seperately and joining them in the computer. This is the best way to get the shot with a non-SLR digital.

Split levels are one of those shots you just have to have the right kit for. If you have the right kit they are easy - without the right kit then getting the shot if pretty tough. Sorry if this all sounds a bit pessimistic.

Alex

I never use split dioptres - too restrictive unless you have a particular shot in mind. Below is a digital split level of a starfish and a guy on a jetty. D100 + 16mm. I guess James recognises where this is! This shot is OK - but is inferior to what the same photographer would have got with a 35mm camera and the same lens.

Alex--thanks for the post! That is a sweet shot! Looks like the Bahamas. Saw a gazillion star fish there last month! I will probably get the dome port on my next trip to Japan. It just hurts because I spent 2 or 3 hundred bucks on the UN WAL when, if I had known the INON Dome Port needs the INON WAL lens, I would have gotten the INON WAL. Oh well. Something to think about in the next month, anyway. I am looking at dropping 1K on a Ikelite strobe/tray/arm at the same time, so I need to think it over reaaaally well for now. Thanks for your input!

Not to argue the point that having a 10ft IMAX dome and split neutral density filters would make your task a little easier but here are a pair of shots I just recently took with my Olympus 5050 and the Sea & Sea WAL.

These shots are far from perfect but they might give you enough hope to want to experiment a bit with what you've got before you go spending thousands on a new system.

Baby turtle.. Image rotated about 30 degrees and cropped.

No manipulation to the image. Straight from the camera. I would have sworn there

was a little baby turtle in the middle of all that Sargassum seaweed when I took

the picture -- there are two at the far right.

Very cool Laz!

I bet the Inon domeport would do the trick instead of the IMAX dome...:-)

But your shots show that it can be done with standard equipment (read not >$300 for the stinkin' dome)

Cheers

James