CANON S1 IS/WP-DC20 - Advice. Setup (West Palm Beach, FL)

Hello. I'm just starting to get into u/w photography and enjoy everyone's great advice.

I currently have a CANON Powershot S1 IS with the CANON U/W Housing (WP-DC20). I've been testing taking shots underwater (50') and so far have improved my shots by adjusting the whitebalance to the "cloudy" setting, setting it to IS0 100, and not using the flash.

Here are the questions I have:

1. When I use the flash I get the reflections off of the particles (so I turn it off), does using a strobe fix this or make it worse?

2. Any advise on a strobe that would work for this camera?

3. CANON doesn't make a lens cover for the housing, has anyone been able to find one made by others?

4. Is a diffuser necessary for the camera flash? If so where is there one available? I read in one of the posts that a piece of paper would be sufficient, not sure?

5. I'm still getting the heavy blue/green tint, can the white balance be customized by shooting at white material underwater

Any other hints/advise would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for your help.

-------------------------

Harvey

Canon Powershot S1 IS

Canon WP-DC20

First off I am semi new to underwater digital photography so you might get better advice from someone else but I thought I'd give it a shot.

1. When I use the flash I get the reflections off of the particles (so I turn it off), does using a strobe fix this or make it worse?

Using a strobe will help eliminate backscatter (from the suspended particles in the water) You will want to get a deflector or block out camera flash for the best performance.

2. Any advise on a strobe that would work for this camera?

Don't know about the strobe. But from others recommendations I'd say the Ikelite DS50 with a TTL sensor would most likely work with this camera. You can ask Ike for confirmation, but I believe it works with the preflash system. I also believe inon makes a compatible strobe.

3. CANON doesn't make a lens cover for the housing, has anyone been able to find one made by others?

What exactly are you referring to? A protective lens cover?

4. Is a diffuser necessary for the camera flash? If so where is there one available? I read in one of the posts that a piece of paper would be sufficient, not sure?

Some people like to use a diffuser for less harsh shadows. Sometimes it’s desired but not necessary.

5. I'm still getting the heavy blue/green tint, can the white balance be customized by shooting at white material underwater

Shooting without a flash at depth will yield the heavy blue/green tint, some white balance correction can be made but a strobe will be your best bet to really bring out the colors. If you camera has the capability to shoot RAW this allows you to make some color corrections while preserving quality.

I hope this helps and if someone has a correction, or my thinking is wrong feel free to jump in.

Sounds correct to me. If you're looking for accessories for your housing, check out www.inonamerica.com as I think they make some.

There is no way to manually white balance off of a white card when using flash. If you are in shallow water and not using flash, this may work, but a better solution is to shoot in RAW mode and correct your white balance later, on the computer.

HTH

James Wiseman