Powershot S100 and water case

IGADIZ

IGADIZ

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I just bought a PowerShot S100 and Canon WP-DC43 watertight case

As I am taking this combo to Thailand for some scuba photos, (Nothing mayor, just memories for my wife's PADI open water course) I have some questions.

1-Is there anything I should be concerned about? (leakage, condensation and such)

2-The underwater filter and WB settings... can the be used together? are these settings any good?

3-Also, has anyone used this combo for (proper) underwater photography? and if so can you point me to some (underwater) samples?

Regards
 
I used an s100 last year, albeit not with the canon housing. Most of the underwater shots on my flickr were with these, but were shot using strobes

Care wise, the biggie is o ring maintenance. It needs to be absolutely spotless with a tiny among of o ring grease applied. This procedure is critical so take your time.

My method is to go into an air conditioned room, check the o ring groove on the housing Is perfectly clean - 1 hair or grain of sand cam cause a flood. I then was the o ring under a tap and shake it dry. Next is a tiny amount of grease applied to the o ring - there should be just enough for a light sheen, barely visible. The grease does not aid the sealing, it's to keep the o ring supple.

Add a silica gel pack into the housing, double check the o ring for perfect cleanliness again, put it in the groove then close the housing.

It sounds a lot but be methodical and it's actually pretty simple.

Shoot raw to White balance in pp, without strobes it's easily the best option.

Compacts underwater excel at macro rather than fast moving subjects, and when you think you are close enough, get closer. The least water between camera and subject will give the sharpest images.

And the golden rules above all else is stay safe and dont bash the reef!

Hope that helps a bit, anything else look on Wetpixel.com

Mike
 
Thank you Mike.
When it comes to UWP, I have always relied on others with far more experience than me. This will be the first time I take a camera underwater and the first outing for the S100 (which I bought for this purpose) so, I am a bit apprehensive!.

PS: Don't worry about me bashing the reef ;). I never touch anything on my scuba adventures! :thumbs:
 
Just had a look at your Flickr set... Some cracking shots there Mike.
I thing I might have underestimated how good this little camera is in the right hands ;)
 
I'd agree with Mike apart from the air conditioned room part. Obviously depending on where you are in the world, especially if its somewhere humid, this can cause condensation on the inside of the housing when you then take it closed outside the room. Mike I know you said to insert silica gel in the housing, which would probably combat the condesation but not all of them allow much room for this (I only have the canon wp-dc43 housing so can't comment on other makes). Personally I don't like to risk any type of moisture in the housing :shake:

The only 2 tips I can offer...

1. ALWAYS do a simple dunk test in the boats dip tank for a minute or two (seeing bubbles trickling from your housing when you're already descending isn't fun!)

2. NEVER leave your camera in the boats dip tank. You'd be amazed at how boat crew can dump cameras on top of cameras, dive lights, torches etc etc! Don't let yours be the one at the bottom getting bashed about. Just cover it with a damp towel and keep it in the shade somewhere safe.

I normally swap the battery after each dive as the 100 tends to eat them up! Obviously this'll depend on how many shots you take. Aftermarket batteries are cheap and work great. One other thing you might consider is buying a spare O ring, if you knacker one while abroad you might not get another very easily so no more holiday shots!

Enjoy it, they are fantastic little cameras :thumbs:
 
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I've use an S95 with and without external strobes pretty extensively under water (as well as a number of other compacts) and from my experience you need to do one or more of the following:

Get CLOSE, then get CLOSER and use the FLASH - if you want vibrant photos you need to take your own light (and underwater they don't have much range and any sand/silt in the water will cause backscatter - GET CLOSE).

Use the sun to backlight a shot - silhouettes work wonderfully well and if you can also light the subject with a strobe then all the better.

Get low and shoot upwards.

Don't bother using a camera until your buoyancy is COMPLETELY under your control.

What you find is that your pictures don't really get better due to your equipment and not much better due to your photography skills but what will make you a great underwater photographer is your diving skills.
 
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Lee - obviously everyone does whatever technique works for them, but I've found that small plastic housings such as the canon ones are susceptible to fogging. By setting up in an air conditioned room, you're using 'drier' air Si there is less moisture in the housing to fog up.

Mike
 
Whilst the air may be drier as you say, I probably tend to have the Ac so damn cold (Indonesia mostly) that as soon as I walk out of the room it's condensated the housing. I normally leave mine open of a night outside of the room now to combat this.
 
Ps to the OP if you're interested in adding wet lenses to the housing the Inon stuff is worth a look
 
IGADIZ said:
I just bought a PowerShot S100 and Canon WP-DC43 watertight case
Click to expand...

Just bought the same set up to go to Egypt. Couldn't stretch to underwater strobes, hope I don't regret that. Anyone got any ideas how deep I can go and still get reasonable pics with the built in flash? Assume its reasonably clear water and sunny :)
 
If you shoot close to your subject, and I mean within about 2 feet, then depth isn't that much of an issue. It's all about being as close as possible.

Natural light wise I'd guess no deeper than 20 metres, ideally 10 metres, the shallower the better and always shoot RAW.

That's only a very rough guide though, unless you see something great, macro with the flash is the best starting point for that setup.

Mike
 
You can shoot at any depth with the onboard flash you just need to be CLOSE - camera in macro and lens port 10cm from the subject close.

All these were taken with onboard flash and all below 20m (probably with a Canon Powershot A620)

Spot the seahorse!

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Sipadan%2520%252888%2520of%2520145%2529.jpg


Marsa%2520Nakari%2520%252846%2520of%252050%2529.jpg



Marsa%2520Nakari%2520%252844%2520of%252050%2529.jpg
 
Managed some decent memories on our first dive. Sadly I was struck with descent sinus barotrauma on my second and the rest of my planed dives for the day had to be aborted. Has anyone here suffered from this And if so, how long does it take to clear? This happened at midday ( local time) it is now 05:45 and I still have one hell of a headache!
 
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Urgh not nice... Only thing I can suggest mate is some decent decongestant and dose up on painkillers. I always suffer with chronic ear infections so I sympathise with you.

@ Nawty, lovely shots. The Pygmy is nice but the lion fish is the one!
 
IGADIZ said:
Managed some decent memories on our first dive. Sadly I was struck with descent sinus barotrauma on my second and the rest of my planed dives for the day had to be aborted. Has anyone here suffered from this And if so, how long does it take to clear? This happened at midday ( local time) it is now 05:45 and I still have one hell of a headache!
Click to expand...

Oh dear, that could be the end of your diving for the week. Yes decongestants and pain killers can help but it is farm animal stupid to dive with broken sinuses.

Lee S said:
Urgh not nice... Only thing I can suggest mate is some decent decongestant and dose up on painkillers. I always suffer with chronic ear infections so I sympathise with you.

@ Nawty, lovely shots. The Pygmy is nice but the lion fish is the one!
Click to expand...

Thanks :)

The lion fish was taken in the Red Sea down at nearly 30m - you can see the top of the reef which shows how good the visibility can be!
 
Can I ask where the Mandarin was shot? Been after trying to get a decent shot of one for about 5 years lol. Finally got one I'm half happy with in May. Will stick a couple of pics up later
 
The Kapalai resort at Sipadan has a couple in the house reef - difficult buggers to snap as they don't sit still, particularly when doing their mating dance!
 
Sinus was clear, I was well hydrated and rested and the first dive went acording to plan. One hour rest and on my second dive, about 5-6 meters a sharp pain on my left temple. I indicate a problem and surface, instructor says I am not equalizing properly and I must descent slowly... at 5-6 meters the pain returns with more intensity. Again I surface to be told the same thing but, I know something is not right and decide to abort. One hour latter, the left side of my head feels like is going to explode from the inside out, the pain was umberable. The doctor said it was descent sinus barotrauma but, I have read that you bleed into your mask and I had no blood just very intense pain and swelling on the left side of my head /face. I am a bit concerned because 33 hours later the headache refuses to go. It would be reassuring to hear from someone who has expericed this particular problem.

I was doing my advanced and my wife her open water (first time diver).. she got pretty darn scared and has now aborted the course. Needless to say diving before I see an english diving doctor is out of the question!
 
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Hi Brian.
Thank you very much for the link.
I am now back in London.
Headache still with me will be going to specialist tomorrow.
 
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