E-PL1 Users Group

[Scubie Doo]

Finally got one of these guys! ISO 200, f11, 1/60 at 38mm with the macro conversion lens

Nice detail, those can be tricky. That new camera is working out nice for you

[LCF]

Oh, Jenn, that's FANTASTIC!

[fmerkel]

Remarkable!
You are using the external 'wet' lens, right?
Is the depth of field pretty narrow on that?

I've just been playing around with the 'dry' 40-150 lens and some external diopters I got that go on it. Focusing is quite difficult. I have to get it in a very narrow range before focusing works at all. Depth of field is narrow even in plenty of light.

[Jan K]

Great shot of the slug ! They are soooo difficult to photograph in mid-water.

[enchantmentdivi]

Thanks everyone! I've been trying like heck to get a shot of those for years, so I was pretty happy yesterday.

Fritz, wet lens/macro conversion lens--yes. At f11, the DOF is not really that narrow.

[Tom Nic]

OK, here is my first request for help.

On my two dives with my E-PL1 one of the most frustrating things was not being able to see my subjects very clearly in LCD screen, which seemed very very dark. The first dive I didn't have my can light (had put an old battery in by mistake) and just used the focus light. My second dive I had the can light for help. At first I thought that my focus light was crap and not strong enough. It was a little better on the second dive using my can light, but not much. The video below (shot by my buddy Bassman) shows that is clearly not the case and that the focus light is putting out more than enough light, yet in my lcd screen the image is still dark and difficult to see. Why? This can't be "normal"!? Half the time I was having trouble finding my subject, let alone zooming in on it!

My settings were manual, f11, 1/160, and I think the ISO was automatically 200

I have a hard time believing that what I was seeing (or not seeing, actually was "normal". What was I doing wrong?

[youtube]http://youtu.be/RvPoFk56iTc[/youtube]

[Scubie Doo]

Tom, I suspect you need to manually adjust the LCD brightness. My cameras had an auto feature turned on that dimmed it. I don't believe it was the settings.

[enchantmentdivi]

Tom, I haven't had that problem, but I remember something in that link that Dusty posted a few days ago.

Here it is:

2) Live View Boost - this is very important so that you can see your LCD underwater. This mode disables the live view of exposure settings, since underwater shooting with a strobe, usually results in dark settings in the camera. This function will brighten your LCD so it is always at a good viewing brightness. Note: the LCD does not accurately reflect the exposure settings for the camera.

Custom Menu -> D: Disp/PC -> Live View Boost -> On

Let us know if that solves the problem.

[Tom Nic]

Thanks Jenn and Jesse. Found the custom menu and turned the live view boost on. I will give it a try Thursday and see if it works.

And wow... Following that article was like going through the looking glass and down the rabbit hole all at the same time!

[LCF]

Tom -- were you looking at the screen without pushing the button down to focus? The screen lights up when you push the button halfway.

The book warns against using the Live Boost for the viewscreen, because it can make judging your exposure difficult.

[Tom Nic]

Tom -- were you looking at the screen without pushing the button down to focus? The screen lights up when you push the button halfway.

The book warns against using the Live Boost for the viewscreen, because it can make judging your exposure difficult.

I don't think so Lynne, but I will double check next time. Perhaps an experiment in a darkened room would simulate the conditions underwater enough for a test?

[Scubie Doo]

I read that too somewhere, about the LCD brightness. I have my turned all the way up. My thought is that your eyes/brain will get used to what a nicely exposed photo looks like on the screen. The first few dives might look good on the screen but darker on the computer. However, after a few dives you will know that a slightly overexposed looking photo on the screen, turns out perfectly when downloaded. Also you can work with a slightly underexposed photo. But working with an overexposed photo is much more difficult, IMHO.

[LCF]

It's interesting that you have that take, Scubie Doo. I've had two instructors warn me that the darkest parts of the photo have the most noise, and that if I'm going to make an exposure error, do it toward slightly overexposed, because when you tone it down in LR, you don't get more noise, but if you increase the exposure, you amplify all the noise.

Tom, I would guess a dark room would work.

[Scubie Doo]

It's interesting that you have that take, Scubie Doo. I've had two instructors warn me that the darkest parts of the photo have the most noise, and that if I'm going to make an exposure error, do it toward slightly overexposed, because when you tone it down in LR, you don't get more noise, but if you increase the exposure, you amplify all the noise.

Tom, I would guess a dark room would work.

Interesting indeed. That is why photography so fun. Everyone has their own opinions and strategies. Personally, I feel many UW photographers avoid deep/dark shadows, due to the fear of excess noise. However, I enjoy photography with darks and shadows. When I line up a shot 80% of my thoughts are on shadows and 20% on the subject. I am ok with a slightly underexposed shot, because I want more dramatic shadows. But I cannot argue going a little overexposed on a P&S system, that produces more noise. In fact the reason I went with the G10 is due to better noise control in dark environments.

With that said. Tom, I am excited to see your results once you get your settings dialed in

[cardiver]

You are the, "Shadow Master" Jesse......

[LCF]

Had fun at Cove 2 tonight. The viz was spectacular, but there wasn't all that much in it to shoot, so I played with some pseudo-WA shots involving metridiums and my buddy:



Shot at 1/160, f7.1, ISO 500; I should have opened the aperture a bit more to keep the background from being black, but it was rather late in the day, and there wasn't much light in the water, anyway.



This guy was crawling very actively -- I had the opportunity to sit and play with strobe power until I got the exposure I wanted, and I'm pretty happy with the resulting picture. (ISO 200, 1/160, f7.1)

[Peter Guy]

A. I tried "Live Boost" (or whatever it is called) for the first time UW today. I found it very useful because I had the same issues described above (very dark screen and thus hard to ID what I was seeing). I was afraid, because of what I had read, that the review image would also be boosted, BUT IT WAS NOT. If the shot was underexposed, on review it was underexposed. Yes, you won't see the "live view" dark but I don't WANT to see the live view dark!

Here are two from tonight (I was diving close, but not with) Lynne -- my buddy tonight was K.A. Both of these were shot using the macro wet lens.

[enchantmentdivi]

Nice shots LCF and Peter Guy!!

[Tom Nic]

OK, divying up my posts for ADD's sake.

**The live boost worked great yesterday. Had no problems seeing my lcd screen underwater, so problem #1 solved. Thank you thank you!

[enchantmentdivi]

**The live boost worked great yesterday. Had no problems seeing my lcd screen underwater, so problem #1 solved. Thank you thank you!

YAY!

[Tom Nic]

Ugh.

5 dives and my pictures suck.

Part of it (I hope) is my single inadequate strobe, an old Olympus UFL-1.

Part of it (I hope) is my settings.

Time to read some more.

And I need to go diving with someone who is successfully using this camera and get some wisdom. I'm not trying to scam and shortcut and avoid reading and taking classes, but...

[cardiver]

What are your settings, Tom?
You really should be able to set it at F 5.6, 125th, iso 100, and just shoot away. Adjusting your strobe power for exposure of course.
Post some pics along with your settings if you have some time.

[LCF]

I tend to use ISO 200 for macro, 1/160th, and f-stops between 5.6 and 10, depending on what I want for depth of field. But I have a pretty good strobe, and I can vary the power on it.

Tom, you have some weekday time available, right? I'd be happy to meet you at the Coves for a dive or two to work on the camera stuff. I'm a novice, but I've been using this one for over a year.

[cardiver]

I tend to use ISO 200 for macro, 1/160th, and f-stops between 5.6 and 10, depending on what I want for depth of field. But I have a pretty good strobe, and I can vary the power on it.

Tom, you have some weekday time available, right? I'd be happy to meet you at the Coves for a dive or two to work on the camera stuff. I'm a novice, but I've been using this one for over a year.

I was just throwing a random example out there.......

[Scubak]

This is certainly a learning curve with this camera. I think that in the long term, I will love it. I just need to use it and dive with it.
Right now I am trying to figure out how to get the TTL to work with my Sea&Sea YS-01 and the Oly. It says it will work, I just can't figure out how/settings...
Kirsten