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Underwater Photography Primer
As for housing an AF for underwater photos, I don't believe that is possible due to light absorption
properties of water. As reds and soon the yellows are absorbed in the first 5 to 10 feet of water, the
camera's autofocus system will have difficulty focusing on anything. Even in macro ranges, there may
not be enough light getting to the sensors to properly activate the AF system. Then, if the water is turbid,
the AF gets even worse. Maybe someday
Please remember -- don't touch the coral, they are macroscopic organisms -- even "lightly" with your
finger is like you being "lightly touched" with by with the weight of a small house.
-- Michael Donis, June 30, 1999
I started serious photography under water, then moved topside. It's no easier dry.
The Nikonos V ended up as my main tool, with a 20mm UW Nikkor as I couldn't afford the 15mm,
together with Ikelite 150 on TTL. I also used an OM2 in Ikelite housing, though less successfully and it
was bulkier. The Ikelite housings are less costly than the fancy ones and work well.
Aquatica seems to make nice housings for Nikon / Canon -- if I were doing it over again, this plus a
Nikon F3 with the big screen sportsfinder and 20mm lens would be a top choice. Forget AF as it is all
wide angle or macro anyway, plus there are complex lighting problems as noted above.
All this stuff will leak if you are not super careful about O-rings, maintenance, washing in fresh H20,
etc. It is expensive or impossible to fix once flooded. Count on losing stuff to occasional disaster.
Being a good diver with bouyancy control is very helpful. (Consider wearing wetsuit pants so your legs
don't sink.) Gently lowering the whole camera rig off the side tethered to a line and picking it up after
you enter the water is also handy, reverse the same procedure exiting the water. Just remember to haul it
in after the dive ;-).
-- Charles Mackay, September 11, 1999
Underwater photography isn't for everyone. However, lots of people really enjoy it as a hobby, artform
or profession. Other's couldn't be bothered with all the equipment hassles and would rather spend their
time looking at cool stuff. Nothing wrong with that, but eventually somebody asks, after a dive trip,
"what did you see?" and then there is no substitute for photography. A Nik5 and 35mm lens? Many
outstanding images have been created with less than that. Of course, a wide lens has lots of advantages
underwater. The depth of field is really useful with a manual focus camera and getting close to the
subject often results in better color rendition since water absorbs red light so much more quickly than the
rest of the spectrum. How about a disposable camera in a housing? Nothing wrong with that. The Fuji
Endeavor in an Ikelite housing is a great tool for U/W, without taking a second mortgage out on the ol'
homested. A housed SLR? Nice, flexible system. Autofocus. A parallax-free viewfinder. All kinds of
lenses at a fraction of what the few available Nikonos lenses cost. Complex and bulky, but attractive
http://www.photo.net/underwater/primer (12 of 23)7/3/2005 2:18:13 AM