Dive Pacific Iss 171 Oct- Nov 2019

Chapter 4:
Back to the Basics Pt.IV (abridged)
A Practical Guide for Beginners by Alexey Zaytsev
By Alexey Zaytsev, exclusively for Dive magazine.
(All photo's by Alexey Zaytsev)
Alexey Zaytsev is well known
amongst Russia’s dive and
underwater photography
community, and has undertaken
professional photographic
assignments in many
places around the world,
including many visits to Egypt,
Sudan, Bali and elsewhere. To
illustrate the book, and also
his own credentials, Alexey is
making available a selection of
his fine photographic work for
this series.
Focus, frame, shoot
Focusing points and focusing areas
You can choose a focusing point with almost all modern cameras that
makes sure the camera will focus where you want it to. But older
digital cameras and cheaper modern camera models do not have many
focusing points. The more expensive the camera, the more focusing points
it has and the more precisely it focuses.
Focusing areas are groups of focusing points which the camera will prefer
during focusing. For example, if a wide-angle focusing area is set, the
camera will choose the largest objects within that area to focus on. But
underwater, the camera may not focus where you want it to. The unpredictability
of automatic focusing makes autofocusing area selection an
unnecessary option, while being able to select a focusing point is a very
useful and must-have option.
“Whale shark” Sail Rock, Gulf of Thailand, Koh Phangan, Thailand.
NIKON D700 15 mm F2.8 and Magic filter (f8; 1/60; ISO800) Ikelite housing
Focusing point selection. Or are there more options?
It is quite easy to choose a focusing
point. There is a controller (Nikon),
a dial (Canon) or a cross-shaped
button on a camera body. By
pressing or turning it we move the
autofocus point around the frame
to place it where we want it to be.
On land this is easy to do because
the buttons or controls are located
right under the thumb of your
right hand. You can use the same
finger to easily change the location
of the focusing point within the
frame while looking through the
viewfinder. But underwater it is
much harder to do, especially with
big rig DSLRs.
Generally, you will not be able
to reach these buttons with one
finger without letting go of the
housing handle. It is even harder
if you are wearing thick gloves.
What to do? Use a separate shutter
release from autofocus! Awkward?
But once you know this technique,
you will forget about autofocusing
problems once and for all!
AF-ON, the saviour button for an
underwater photographer
Canon was the first to add the
64 Dive New Zealand | Dive Pacific