Olympus E-3 Manuel utilisateur

The Fascinating

World of

Underwater

Photography

The

Fascinating

World of

Underwater

Photography

Olympus Underwater Library Vol. 1

Disclaimer: While every endeavour has been

made to provide accurate information, no

liability will be assumed for typographical

errors and omissions or technical inaccuracies.

Concept, editorial and production: united communications

GmbH, Berlin • Print: Druckhaus Haberbeck, Lage/Lippe

Introduction 4

The equipment you need 6

Underwater photography tips 8

Differences between photography

on dry land and under water 10

Light 10

Colours 10

Particles 11

Using the flash 12

General shooting 14

Getting captivating macro shots 16

Taking wide-angle photos 18

Capturing fish and other fast-moving marine life 20

Creative aspects 22

Make a check and don’t forget 24

Make a check before you get wet –

preparation of camera and

underwater housing 24

Don’t forget 24

Maintenance & support 25

After each dive 25

Avoid storing the case

in the following locations 25

What to do if a leakage is detected

or the case breaks and needs repair 25

Maintenance 25

Olympus Support 25

Taking pictures underwater has become easy! 26

Olympus outdoor & underwater products 27

Outdoor Cases 27

Underwater Cases 27

D-SLR Underwater Cases 28

Further underwater accessories 28

Contents

Introduction

The realm found below the water’s surface has

captivated people throughout the ages. It’s host

to a seemingly endless variety of marine life

that comes in all shapes, sizes, and colours.

Luckily, scuba diving and snorkelling are today

more accessible than ever. And thanks to new

technology, even hobby divers now have the

chance to capture images of those unforgettable

sights and share the unique experiences with

those who stayed above the water’s surface.

To help you to make the most out of your under-

water photography experience Olympus has put

this short guide together.

The equipment you need

What you need depends largely on what you

aim to achieve. If you just want to take snapshots

while snorkelling, an outdoor case from Olympus

will be the thing to fit the bill. They are water-

proof up to several metres and also protect your

camera from other contaminants. Alternatively,

you could go for one of the waterproof and

shockproof Olympus cameras, which can be

taken up to several metres underwater, even

without a special protective case.

For scuba divers, an underwater case will be

required because of the greater water pressure

the cases will need to withstand. Underwater

cases from Olympus are waterproof up to 40m

or 60m* and allow the camera to retain its full

scope of functions. Olympus offers at least

one solution in every price and performance

class for underwater photo graphers – from

snap shooters to professional D-SLR users.

*depending on the model

Underwater photography tips

4. Shoot upwards – Alter-

natively, you can make

good use of available light,

by aiming the camera

slightly upwards while

taking care not to shoot

directly towards the

lighting above.

2. Move slowly – This will prevent you from

stirring up the water and agitating the

floating particles. Furthermore, fish are

rather shy animals, so moving slowly

around them decreases the risk of scaring

them away.

3. Use light from the back – Generally, better

results are possible if the light comes from

behind the photographer (unless you want

silhouette shots).

1. Get close – Less light is available under-

water. This means you have to get closer

to your subject for optimal exposure.

With increasing distance floating particles

can diffract light beams and affect picture

quality.

5. Stay shallow – Taking pictures at low depths

generally yields better results, as more natural

light is available and colours generally come

out better.

6. Stay off the ground – Disturbing the ground

causes unwanted particles to float up, which

could spoil photos. Furthermore, it may be

harmful to marine life.

7. Hold your breath when taking the picture –

The air bubbles caused

by exhaling can scare

fish away and holding

your breath also gives

added camera stability.

8. Keep the camera steady

– To minimise the po-

tential effects of camera

shake, try holding the

camera with both hands while

pressing your elbows to your body.

9. Enter the water slowly – Don’t jump

into the water with your camera as

it puts an unnecessary amount of

mechanical strain on your camera

and the outdoor or underwater case.

10. Prepare the camera before going under-

water – Do this in a dry area well in

advance and have the silica gel pack

in the outdoor or underwater case for

some hours before underwater use.

colour will be completely washed out. Bear in

mind that if using the flash, the light must travel

to the subject and back, thereby effectively

halving the maximum distance.

Particles

Water is more or less full of floating particles.

The amount of these depends on various factors

including how clean the body of water is, the

time of year and the current or turbulences at

a given time. The particles are generally larger

than those present in the air and are therefore

more likely to have an effect on the outcome of

shots. Most common effects are reduced contrast

and clarity (dots showing

up in the photo) as well as

a decrease in the available

light, as the floating particles

also diffract light beams.

General tips:

• If possible, go diving in

clear weather

• Bear in mind the filtering

effect on colours as

distance increases

• Make use of your camera’s

exposure bracketing

function (if available)

• It is often indispensable

to use a flash

Differences between photography

on dry land and under water

Colours

The further light travels down in the water, the

more colours of the spectrum get lost. This starts

with colours that have long wavelengths (red at

a depth of around 3 – 5m)

and proceeds to colours with

short wavelengths (blue at

a depth of around 20m).

The loss of colours not only

happens vertically, but also

horizontally. So if you are

taking a photo of a red

subject from a distance of

over 5m – even if you are

close to the surface – the red

Light

Because part of the light beams are reflected

when they hit the water’s surface, less light is

available underwater than on dry land. The lower

the angle at which they hit – such as during early

morning or late afternoon – and the rougher the

water surface, the more the light beams will be

reflected. Best results are therefore achieved

during calm seas and around noontime when

the sun is at its highest. Also, don’t forget that

due to the density of water, the deeper you go,

the darker it gets – right up to the point of

complete darkness.

The altered conditions

underwater make distances

appear shorter by a fourth.

This means something that

seems like it is 3m away is

actually 4m away. Remember

to take this into account

when using the flash under-

water and judging the

distance to the subject.

Tips: • For mixed-light shots (using a combination

of both the natural light and flash), aim the

camera slightly upwards toward the subject

to use natural light for the background and

the flash to light up the main subject

• When photographing subjects just below the

water surface, the flash can generally be turned

off because a lot of natural light is available

at these shallow depths

Using the flash

Unless you are only taking photos at shallow

depths where a lot of ambient light from the

sun is available, you will most likely have to use

the flash to take well-exposed pictures. Luckily,

most cameras nowadays feature a built-in flash.

Even those found on compact cameras are gene-

rally sufficient for the most common shooting

situations. However, under special circumstances,

such as night diving, wide-angle photography,

shooting at large depths, etc., it’s often necessary

to use an additional source of lighting (such

as an underwater torch) or, if available for your

camera, an external flash unit.

While various Olympus cameras can be con-

nected to an external flash (if a corresponding

underwater case is available), the option of using

a slave flash is also available for models not

having a regular external flash connection.

The slave flash is triggered by the built-in flash.

It attaches to a lighting tray which can be

connected to the standard tripod socket found

on the bottom of Olympus underwater cases.

• A diffuser for the flash helps improve results –

all Olympus underwater cases and most out-

door cases feature this

• When purchasing a slave flash, remember to

check that it is designed for use with digital

cameras (called digital slave flash) and works

with yours (many digital compact cameras

emit two flashes each time – one for setting the

white balance, the other as the actual flash –

and the slave flash must be able to handle this)

camera systems enable photographers to change

the lenses they are using to perfectly suit their

specific needs.

Tips: • Optimal shooting distance in most cases is

from 60cm to 120cm

• Use your camera’s pre-defined underwater

scene modes as often as possible (if available:

Underwater Wide, Underwater Macro, Under-

water Snapshot, etc.)

• Zoom in or out to frame your subject (but

bear in mind the issue of colours diminishing

the further away you are from the subject)

General shooting

Most compact cameras today come with a stan-

dard zoom lens that’s able to deal with a good

variety of shooting situations. Besides sponta-

neous snapshots, you can also capture motifs

such as portraits of single marine creatures,

small schools of fish, pictures of other divers

or a colourful coral reef to name just a few of

the possibilities. For the great majority of shots

this will be sufficient – especially if using the

camera’s underwater scene modes (if available).

Nevertheless, there

are several shooting

situations where

specialised techni-

ques and even extra

equipment could

come in handy.

For such instances

some underwater

cases allow for

the attachment of

conversion lenses

to facilitate better wide-angle or macro shooting.

For even more professional requirements, SLR

Tips: • Use the appropriate scene mode on your

camera, if available (many Olympus compact

cameras have a special macro mode, some

even have an underwater macro mode)

• Take note of the minimum focusing distance

of your camera and don’t go any closer

(otherwise you will only get blurred results)

• If your camera offers manual aperture control,

close the aperture as far as possible (high

F-stop, e.g.: F5.6) to obtain a larger depth

of field (which means a greater area of the

picture will be in focus)

• For macro shooting of moving subjects, it’s

best to use the continuous autofocus mode

(if available)

• Macro photography is a good choice in bad

weather

Getting captivating macro shots

Taking frame-filling shots of subjects at close

range is referred to as macro photography.

In most instances it is comparably easy to get

good close-up underwater pictures. The relatively

short distance between photographer and subject

means that the colours will be rich and there will

be fewer particles floating in the water affecting

clarity. Furthermore, use of the flash will ensure

a good level of exposure and correct colour

reproduction.

But while it is fairly easy to take the macro shot,

it may take a lot of time to find the perfect motif.

However, considering that the subject of a macro

shot will take up most of the frame and is there-

fore unquestionably the star of the composition,

your patience in finding the right subject will

certainly bring rewards!

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