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EQUIPMENT REVIEW
By Terry Reynolds
Canon EOS 300D 6.3 million pixel SLR & Ikelite Housing
Prices from £1,600 for camera and housing
Available from Cameras Underwater 08700 660384
The Canon EOS 300D was an upgrade to my Olympus compact camera and housing. I was looking for quicker shutter reaction times often described as shutter lag. The 6.3 million pixel sensor gives room for some cropping of the picture without losing to much detail and produces very nice prints even at A3 size. As well as program modes you have among others aperture priority this one is the most used underwater. Giving control over depth of field in the pictures and helping to control the amount of light from the manual flash guns.
I chose the Ikelite housing with dome port at the same time as the camera. One obviously needs the other and prices of cameras and housings need to be considered as a package. The Ikelite housing allows you to use almost every button on the camera and is rated to 60m. It also weighs in at a hefty 7.5kg
I chose two lenses for underwater use, a Sigma 8mm fisheye and a Sigma 50mm macro lens. I had to buy a flat port for the 50mm macro lens as it's much longer than the 8mm lens.
What isn't always realised is that Digital lens sizes are always described as if fitted to a 35mm film SLR. So the 8mm becomes a 13mm and the 50mm becomes an 80mm. So unless you have a full 35mm frame sensor you need to multiply the lens size by 1.6 even when it's a digital lens.
The 8mm fisheye lens does give quite a bit of barrel distortion and a circular vignette. But a very clever plug-in for Photoshop corrects this. Check out the cameras underwater website www.camerasunderwater.co.uk for more details on how to use it and where to get this free plug-in.
This is must-have software if you use an extreme wide angle lens. You can get much closer with an extreme wide angle lens, helping to reduce the water column which in turn improves the colour and detail in your photos.
I was about 2m from the bottom of the wreck and I still got it all in with the Fisheye Lens.
It also allows me to get very close (less than 15cm) and still get a lot in the picture great when there are lots of particles in the water to ruin your photo.
A wide angle lens is also the only way to get a split shot like this one.
The 50mm macro lens is great for when you want to get a bit closer. The flat port increases the lens size again so a 50mm macro goes to 80mm then to 110mm with the flat port.
Anemone shrimp about 15mm long.
The 50mm also allows you to take photos from further away and still get a tight shot. I was approx 90cm from the moray above.
Dual Sea & Sea flashguns give a nice even exposure especially with the close-up photos. They work in manual only with this setup but I have not found this a problem. The Ikelite housing works very well, the controls are easy to use even with gloves on. I have a torch mounted on the base of the strobe arm to help the cameras auto focus in low light conditions (most UK dives) and this also keeps my hands free for photography on night dives!
These pictures were all taken on a recent trip to the Maldives. This was my first real chance to play with the camera and lenses. I was very pleased with the results.
You can see more of my photos on my web site www.divewithterry.com
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