3 easy Questions on Cameras

[sheahanmcculla]

I have a cannon WP-DC3 case for my powershot 630. The buttons stick, and I have read 2 old threads on how to put silicon on the buttons. But I am not sure of what brand of silicon to get. Any recommendations? And can I use the same stuff for my dry glove o-rings?

And another question…do wide angle or fisheye lenses help very much? They are available for most cases, but is it worth the $$$?

And the last question…why do strobes cost so stinking much?

Thanks
Sheahan

[cardiver]

I know that the silicone to lube the housing o ring works just fine for the buttons. Be sure to use a very small amount though.

[Dusty2]

First a good soaking in warm water with a mild dish soap before lubing will help. The silicone that comes with the case should work fine but any food grade non aerosol silicone should be fine.

As far as extra lenses I can't advise on wide angle or fish eye except to say they will usually cause dark areas at the corners of your pictures but I can say that macros don't do much. I would say unless you can actually try them on your camera don't waste your money. Extra lenses tend to reduce the amount of light getting to the ccd and underwater we already have enough light problems as is.

As for the strobe question.... One word pretty well sez it. scuba. Your are paying for a specialty item that doesn't sell in large volume and you are paying for an underwater case as well as the strobe.
There are good usable strobes out there that won't break the bank. Check out the Fantasea nano strobe and also the Sealife sl960-d. These are good entry level strobes that work well and don't cost mega bucks. (less than 2 scuba units) I have used both and they work fine but you will want the fiber optic cable to insure that they fire evey time.

Check out B & H photo for a very extensive list of underwater strobes. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/shop/5238 ... robes.html

[Sockmonkey]

I've had the same problem with my canon camera housing. I probably don't actuate the buttons often enough when I'm rinsing. I used a very thin silicone lubricant in sparing amounts to fix my button problem. When I mean small amounts I mean way way less than I thought I needed.

I tend to use the underwater o-ring grease I can get from work. Some people steal post-its but I glom tubes of silicone grease. The primary one I use is quite thin and comes in a tube. Down Corning 4 is what I carry in my save-a-dive kit and I use it for all my scuba o-rings. It's cheap and one tube will last you a lifetime.

-Eric

[boydski]

And another question…do wide angle or fisheye lenses help very much? They are available for most cases, but is it worth the $$$? Sheahan

Wide angle ports and fisheye lenses allow you to get very close to larger subjects, which helps reduce backscatter and can be used for some stunning images. However, it is a more specialized type of underwater photography, and tends to be a lot more difficult than macro photography.

An example of a photo taken using a point-n-shoot camera with a wide-angle lens attachment over the body (with a single strobe):



Using a domeport in conjunction with a fisheye lens (the lens may cover 180°) can allow you photograph very large objects from only a few feet away. Like this whaleshark photo or this interior wreck shot that is taken in Lake Washington in very low visibility:



I rarely shoot macro any more, but many photographers prefer it.

As far as lubricating sticky buttons, I've always lubricated them from the inside of the housing by pushing the button down and then using just a small dab of silicone (from a syringe) to the shaft of the actuator. When the button is released, the grease is pulled back up into the o-rings from the inside. However, I am curious as to how others lubricate their buttons?

[sheahanmcculla]

Ok so I think I got it on the silicon for the buttons, thanks for the link Eric.

And on the wide-angle lense issue, it just looks so cool. The pictures seem to have more depth in them. However I am just a novice, so if it’s for the more advanced, maybe I should wait. The cheapest one I found for my camera was 325.00 (More then the camera and case combined)! Your photos are always awesome Boydski!

Thanks for the link on the Strobes Dusty2, those look pretty good. Most strobes go off of the cameras flash, so I would not need any certain brand, correct? Also if the goal of the strobe is to reduce backscatter, then what happens with the cameras own flash, do you need to divert, or block it?

I really appreciate all the help.

[cardiver]

You would cover the cameras flash with a black mask. This is usually done in conjunction with the fiber optic cable that fires the strobe.

[boydski]

And on the wide-angle lense issue, it just looks so cool. The pictures seem to have more depth in them.

They do in fact have more depth to them. When shooting Macro, the depth of field in the image is usually only a few inches at best (i.e. how much of critter is in focus). This is why most good Macro photographers focus on the eyes of the critter (so they are crisp), then you won't notice that the back or tail of the critter is a bit out of focus.

Wide angle depth of field can be nearly infinite if the camera is set up correctly (like the whale shark image). In other words, everything from 3' away to infinity may be in focus if using a high f/stop with a lot of available light.

Check out some of John Rawlings "close focus, wide angle" shots if you really want to see a master at work! :hello2:

[Dusty2]

On the strobes, just make sure that it has settings for preflash (the A630 uses one preflash) As long as you use a diffuser on the flash it usually is ok but the black out is a good idea if your shooting wide angle and plan to use the strobe all the time. Just remember most of the lower price strobes max out at about 6' underwater especially up here in our murky green waters