U/W filter for CP5000 WA dome port

Does such a thing exist? If so, has anyone used one? How does the CP5000 perform with manual white balance?

Guess I could have mentioned Ikelite housing if it wasn't obvious...

Haven't use MB white. I've used auto and cloudy (which I like) Why use an UW filter (though a split diopter is an interesting idea) Those UW correcting filters are for shallow water avalible light only and varible in their effect depending on light, clarity of water and depth. You can get the same effect with PS and have control over it. Indeed you can set your function button to WB and rapidly try different ones to see which would look best for each shot.

I used my 5000 and Housing exclusively in shallow water.

I always manual white balance using a white card that I bring along with me.

Actually I had it connected to one of the handles and could easily pull it

down in front of both my ports. My experience was not to favorable.

I found that I could not white balance the camera while it was pointed

at the white card .The card always would be extremely red in color in

could not make it white. I tried different types of white card materials

and textures but the card always look red.

Looking back at something I did not try was to Lower the shutter speed.

I’m not sure this would have helped but I read another person post about

low light situation and not being able to manually get a proper white balance.

I always kept my camera in shutter priority and a minium shutter

speed of 250th of a second. I wonder now if it would have made any difference

if I would have lowered it to a slower speed to let more light in?

Anyway I wasn’t to in pressed with the overall low light capacities of the

Nikon 5000 and that’s why I sold it. I now have on order a Fuji S2 Pro

and I'm sure I won’t have that problem with It. I forgot to mention that I

owned a Nikon 950 and Still have my 990 in the same housing and

never had any trouble white balancing ether of them underwater.

Marc

I usually dive with family and friends so I tried to get some shots like this. Obviously, the strobe is ineffective at these distances. I thought a filter like the one that comes with the housing would work in this case. I don't plan on shooting without the 19mm lense so I am interested in one for the dome port. We also used a Canon S40 with a WA lens, UR Pro filter, manual WB and no strobe. The colors were outstanding. I'll post an example when I digest the pics from that camera. In the mean time I guess I need to brush up on my PS skills. I just got 7.0. Any tips?

I have almost entirely used the 5000 in what would be considered low light conditions. I have not tried to use manual WB. Auto and cloudy have given results that I would say are as good, color wise as I get with my F100. I haven't used other digital cameras to compare it too.

The image you post could probably be shot with the 19mm lens close enough to use a decent strobe (within 6 ft.) The strobe will make the colors more natural and the closer working distance will reduce that water collum that reduces the colors and clarity of your image. What I am getting at is that with the 19 mm lens you can get close enough to get the kind of shots you are describing and will be able to use a strobe to enhance the image. This will give you better shots than what a filter will give.

As far as tips for PS work with hues and saturation and maybe color balance. For starters you might look at the new book by the Drafahls, Digital Imaging for the UW Photographer.

If you want a filter I bet you could make one. Look at what the conklin filters do. You might be able to create a similar filter for your dome port.

I think you will find that for "snapshot" type photos you will find that that 19 mm lens can get about any shot you can imagine. I have a full set of lenses for my F100 and I would have to take down 2 cameras to do what that lens will do. With the 1.5x multiplier for the digital SLRS I have to think long and hard about giving that up to go back to a camera that does less that what my F100 can already do.

Well, I am not looking to hang any "snapshots" like this on my wall so it's not a big deal. I had excellent results with my DS125 and 19mm lens under 6 feet. I agree that effective lighting produces the best shots. I read the gurusnetwork.com link about color correction using curves. It will go a long way to correct photos like this. I am simply curious about using a filter for snapshots like this while using a strobe for serious shots without changing any other hardware.

Rather than bother people with my incessant rambling and very partial opinions, I frequently e-mail a response just to the inquirer. Can not be done in this situation because Krash does not list his e-mail. So............

We do have a URPro filter #6441.42 that is about 1/8" too big in diameter that customer could shim onto the optional port for Coolpix 19mm lens. This is shown on the Ikelite Video Index Page

Didn't mean to imply that a "snapshot" was a less than worthy goal. I've been looking for a long time for a camera/lens combo that I could take down without having to set it up for specific situations and just take pictures of what ever I want.

That is what I ment by "snapshots" I think this 19 mm lens lets you do this and get quality results better than any other combo I have ever seen. You can get so close with the 19mm lens I think you could get the shot you posted and use a strobe. The camera, ike housing, and 125 are so light that it would be easy to carry for that type of dive.

I would be interested if you can make an effective filter. I tried that technique of setting the camera focus at a fixed dx (30" in this case) at a beach volleyball tournament and got some great action shots. Makes me think you could set the camera this way and get dolphins or sealions.

beach volley.JPG

Ike,

I rather enjoy your rambling, please do so more in the future. =)