I have recently had a bunch of surf friends ask me to take pictures of them surfing. I am not really sure how to go about prepping the camera for this. I have an Oly 5050 and have taken shots in the water and then some out of water. The problem is that the housing lens port gets wet and naturally blurs up the shot. Since I am probably going to go out into the breakers to take the shots, I'm curious as to how I can keep my lens from streaking so much when I go from in-water to above-water. Any ideas or experience out there? Thanks!
--John
Put rain-x on the port. Just before you want to take a shot, dip the housing in the water, then pull it out and take the shot right away.
I can't claim credit for the technique, and haven't tried it, but I hear it works.
HTH
James
To quote Martin Edge from the Visions conference at the weekend "I've tried rain-x, I've tried licking the port, I've tried licking rain-x and none really work!"
The key for these sorts of shots is a large dome port - then the droplets are small and don't ruin the shot. Not easy with a Oly 5050. Like so many underwater shots without the right (read most expensive) kit many shots are really tough. Rain-x or saliva can help - an alternative would be to take a chamois leather cloth out with you to wipe the lens between shots?
Best of luck,
Alex
Thanks both of you! I will look into rain-x. I am buying the Inon Dome Port and WAL while I am in Japan this week. I found it on sale for about $600 for the both of em...I wanted it for above/below shots as well, so it should get some use. Thanks!
--John
What is rain-x?
I had better luck dipping the dome in the water, then taking the picture quickly before the droplets formed. The large domes are good for closer focus as well.
I know someone who has a small squeegie attached to his lanyard!
Great. I sent email to the guy to see what he uses. He's on Oahu, too. Seems he only has two posts, so I'm not sure if he is around on the board much anymore...
--John
Rain-X is flamable so I doubt it would be good on acylic ports.
I checked with Sean Davey from the earlier post and he has been kind enough to recommend spit and a big dome. Just as I thought. But the great news is I just ordered the Inon UWL-100Type2 and the Dome Port for right at about $614 including shipping and tax here in Japan. Yippee! I await Kuro Neko with bated breath...
