Doc
Registered: 06/29/04
Posts: 2,152
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JTemple
Registered: 10/28/04
Posts: 2,196
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Doc
Registered: 06/29/04
Posts: 2,152
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Reply with quote | #3 |
How'd did the G10 work out?
I had Jen's (and others) advice while buying the critter- it works fine.
I wanted to stay small and with onboard (only) flash, yet still have a custom white balance.
I was moving up from a simple Olympus P&S which worked pretty well, but for that white balance thing.
On land, I was already thrilled with the Canon SX1, but the housing was $800 from Ikelite (only), so buying the G10 and using the Canon housing at $150 was a no brainer.
I bought the close-up lens adapter as Jen directed me, but took a pass on their screw-in macro adapter lens for $90. I bought the same thing from Porter's Camera for $12.
Here are some other images from the new box....
  
It is really only a marginal improvement over the Olympus it replaced in may regards. Relying on a 12meg resolution will not bail you out from a bad image- one that would be just as iffy at 5meg.
Big plusses? It does have a much more powerful flash, the MPEG in HD is great. The amazing flexibility of all of the programmable settings is interesting, but at the fast pace of most photography, it's really not much of an option to be changing settings- and, by then... it's gone!
It did give me that adjustable white balance for the occasional wide angle shot.
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Robert "Doc" Adelman, C.I.D. (Not to be confused with the Doc, aka: RTBDiver)
"It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right. I hope you had the time of your life." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PK2R0IwCiY
http://www.myspace.com/148905954 <- Doc's Opinionated (imagine that!) Dive Tips, Stories and Tales of the Briney Deep
http://s221.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/Doc_Adelman/NOT%20Macro%20its%20MICRO/ <- Pictures of little stuff |
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Aqua_Paul
Registered: 11/02/07
Posts: 168
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Reply with quote | #4 |
I really like my G10. One thing I use a lot is the C1 and C2 programable short cuts. C1 set up for ambient light and C2 set up for flash. With one twist of a knob you can be ready for that shot that might have gotten away other wise. I found out, with Tim's instruction, in the program mode shooting ambient light that you will like your photos better if you use your Photo Bias knob with a -2/3 or -1 or a lot of detail especially light colored stuff gets blown out a bit. I am a little new at the Macro stuff and am having a hard time getting my camera to focus through a macro conversion lens let alone two of them. I have to put my camera in Manual Focus mode and move in or out to find focus. If anyone had a better idea I would be grateful. I went for the pricey Fisheye housing, maybe a mistake now that the G11 is coming out and won't fit in my housing. But I do like this housing a lot. it's a small package and well thought out. I will soon be buying and extra G10 of two for when bad things happen before they are all gone. I also bought a wide angle port and though it is great it can't be changed under water which kind sucks cause you can't zoom with it on either. So when it's on you just kind of look the other way when someone finds a sea goddess or something else small. I live in West Michigan and use it all the time there. It's great here, we dive wrecks in Lake Michigan and the Straights of Mackinaw. So, if I could just figure out that focus thing in Macro. Attached Images:
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Doc
Registered: 06/29/04
Posts: 2,152
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Reply with quote | #5 |
The G11's only real major upgrade seemed useless underwater- the rotating and pivoting view screen.
How to shoot those macro's? Shoot a lot, hope that one comes out. If you look at the above images (all original size, not cropped), the depth of field is maybe three millimeters (the lobster in particular). The subjects by their very nature are incompatible with this limitation.
Because of this, I finally got closer to nailing the Skeleton Shrimp.
They always seem to be happy, smiling and waving, but the cool stuff lives in the current.
__________________
Robert "Doc" Adelman, C.I.D. (Not to be confused with the Doc, aka: RTBDiver)
"It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right. I hope you had the time of your life." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PK2R0IwCiY
http://www.myspace.com/148905954 <- Doc's Opinionated (imagine that!) Dive Tips, Stories and Tales of the Briney Deep
http://s221.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/Doc_Adelman/NOT%20Macro%20its%20MICRO/ <- Pictures of little stuff |
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JTemple
Registered: 10/28/04
Posts: 2,196
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Reply with quote | #6 |
Quote: Originally Posted by Aqua_Paul I am a little new at the Macro stuff and am having a hard time getting my camera to focus through a macro conversion lens let alone two of them. I have to put my camera in Manual Focus mode and move in or out to find focus. If anyone had a better idea I would be grateful.
Using the add-on macro lenses takes lots of practice. The depth of field decreases enormously with each one you put on. Practice on land, with something small lined up against a ruler or tape measure so you can see exactly what the depth of field is based on the settings you are using. 30 minutes of this and you'll "see the light".
Keep it in auto focus, normal mode on the camera (ie not in macro mode), F8 for maximum depth of field, zoom in about 3/4 of the way, or more but not full zoom (you'll need to experiment to find the 'sweet spot"), lock focus on the main subject area (such as the eyes) by half pressing the shutter, then move to compose the shot, rocking in and out as you are doing now to make sure the main subject is as sharp as you can get it.
This how how you achieve a shot like this one, taken w/ 2 lenses:
Hope that helps!
(sorry for the hijack, Doc)
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- Jennifer
CoCo Nut, MSD
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JTemple
Registered: 10/28/04
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Reply with quote | #7 |
Doc, nice stuff. I see you've got the ISO set at 200 - 250. Try the lowest possible on the camera (80? 100?), and increase the shutter speed (maybe 1/500, depending on conditions, and higher when shooting macro with the internal flash -- as high as it will go), and go t to F5.6 to F8. The faster shutter speed will help a lot to achieve sharper focus as the camera captures the image before you move in the water column from drifting/current. Also, the higher shutter speeds will get you darker backgrounds, helping the subject to pop, as the shutter closes before the light reaches the background.
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CoCo Nut, MSD
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Doc
Registered: 06/29/04
Posts: 2,152
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Reply with quote | #8 |
"...as the shutter closes before the light reaches the background..."
That's one fast damned shutter! That's why I keep missing these guys!
Good advice and stuff I'm going to have to try. I think a lot of this stuff is exacerbated by my trying to fill the frame with the final image~ hoping not to enlarge.
Flat critters (or ones that "pose" within one focal plane) are easy:
But the ones with depth? Not so much:
__________________
Robert "Doc" Adelman, C.I.D. (Not to be confused with the Doc, aka: RTBDiver)
"It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right. I hope you had the time of your life." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PK2R0IwCiY
http://www.myspace.com/148905954 <- Doc's Opinionated (imagine that!) Dive Tips, Stories and Tales of the Briney Deep
http://s221.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/Doc_Adelman/NOT%20Macro%20its%20MICRO/ <- Pictures of little stuff |
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Aqua_Paul
Registered: 11/02/07
Posts: 168
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Reply with quote | #9 |
Thanks at lot, I most definitely have a lot to learn and I am grateful for the help. I am going to Coco View in a couple weeks. I am going to take another weeks worth of help from Tim to see if I can figure this and whatever Tim thinks I need help with. I will post a few pics if I think they are worthy.
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cap10randy
Registered: 06/29/04
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Aqua_Paul
Registered: 11/02/07
Posts: 168
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Reply with quote | #11 |
That looks like something you might see if you went the wrong way on the drop off at Newmans Wall. LOL 
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