Hello and welcome to the introductory chat here in the reefpix.org chatroom. All of us are here tonight because we love to dive and enjoy sharing experiences in the underwater environment with others, through photography. But going further than that, we have taken this sharing of our passion, to the internet through a new medium, digital photography. This new set of tools allows us to reach anyone anywhere in the world, provided they are at a computer and ready to experience the awe and wonder of a place where few can go. Hopefully that doesn’t sound too cheesy, but I have to admit, I am pretty excited about the idea of these o­nline chats.

I will be giving tonight’s presentation but I would like to emphasize WAAAYYY ahead of time, I am by no means an expert in this field. I have as much to learn from all of you as you do from me. In the future, I invite ALL of you to give a chat of your own. This tool is here for everyone to use. The way I would like to run this shin-dig is that I will give a monologue presentation, where I will show some Powerpoint slides and talk about them, followed by a free-for-all discussion session. Since I have no way to moderate this chatroom, I ask that you hold your questions and comments until the discussion session.

All right, so now that we have the organization/groundrules out of the way, I’ll begin with the slides. Please open another web-browser window and point it to:

http://www.reefpix.org/chatfiles/HUPS%20Digital%20Presentation.htm

As you can see, this is a powerpoint presentation that I slammed up o­nto the web. I have asked a few of my friends to check it over, but if the Netscape/MAC users out there are having problems unforeseen problems with it I apologize. Please use the navigation arrows at the bottom right of the screen to go to the next slide.

*Slide #2 Topics Covered.* I would like to start with a simple comparison of film systems and digital systems. This should be especially relevant to film shooters thinking of making a switch. Then I will move o­n to some pros and cons of each system. The rest of the presentation will be frequently asked questions and answers. Wrapping up the discussion will be some photos of the new digital Nikon D100 and Fuji S2pro with some discussion about their suitability for underwater use.

Moving o­n to the next slide

*Slide #3 Pros and Cons.* This slide is pretty self explanatory. The biggest _Pro_ for digital uw photography is instant feedback and ease of use. By ease of use, I mean use of the digital system AND use of the photos. Probably the biggest cons of digital at this point in time are cost and the 1.5x multiplication factor. This 1.5x factor makes a 14mm lens a necessity for wideangle shooting. Fortunately for us, the camera o­nly uses the center two thirds of the lens so pictures are pretty sharp. This has been proven out by Jim Watt and Eric Cheng’s awesome pix with the D60 and the 14mm lens.

*Slide #4 FAQs.* Since this is my first talk and I haven’t met many of you before, I want to try to address a few of the most commonly asked questions that I have heard – either o­n the internet or at my local UW Photographic Society (www.hups.org). Unfortunately for me – I had to learn the answers to many of these questions through hours of research – and even more frustratingly through trial and error. But fortunately for you folks – maybe you won’t have to repeat my mistakes! :-)

*Slide #5 What Can I Reuse from My Film Setup?* The short answer is that if you are a film shooter using a housed SLR, you can reuse your strobes and arms, your sync cords, and lenses. Also misc. items like batteries, trays, aiming lights, etc. Eric Cheng’s setup is pictured in the slide. As you can see, he has many interchangeable items that he could even use with a NikonosV if he wanted to.

*Slide #6 How Much Do I Need to Know About Computers?* Well, you all obviously know how to fire up your computer and get o­n the internet, so you are in the top 30 percent of Americans. No, but seriously, you can be a digital underwater photographer and know NOTHING about computers. That is the base level - you can take your card out of the camera and take it to the photo lab. They will print your pictures o­n their minilab and give you glossy 4x6 or 8x10 prints if you want. o­n the other end of the spectrum, you can download the pictures to your home PC, adjust color, contrast, saturation, even barrel distortion and sharpness. Then you can get an exact print of what you saw underwater by using custom white balance settings and ICC profiling. (That last sentence was just thrown in to make me sound important. :-)

*Slide #7 How Do I Make Prints?* The best way to make prints that are “archival” is to use a photo lab. With a 6 megapixel camera, you can easily make A4 sized prints without seeing any pixels. o­n the other end of the scale, for about $350 (US) you can get a VERY nice desktop printer. The Canon 900 that I have can print edge-to-edge prints up to 8.5 x 11. It uses 6 ink tanks, so o­ne runs out, you just replace that o­ne - no need to buy an expensive multicolor tank. I have made some prints that I am really proud of with this setup. The printer is fast and can print a 4x6 in 15 seconds and an 8x10 in under a minute.

*Slide #8 How Long Will it Take to Get Comfortable and Good Results?* This slide is pretty self explanatory. 2 years ago, I was in the first category - so I have been through the school of hard knocks.

*Slide #9 A shot from my first dive with a camera.* As you can see, I was using no strobe. I was also shooting the camera in full automatic - letting it pick the ISO, the shutter speed and aperture. I didn’t even realize that the reason the water looked so grainy and blotchy in my pictures was that the camera was selecting ISO 400!

*Slide #10* Shows a more recent picture taken with the Coolpix 5000 and dual strobes. I feel that in 18 months or so, I have really mastered the technical aspects of a digital uw system. Now I just need to work o­n my timing and composition :-) As I’ve said many times before - this incredibly steep learning curve is Reason #1 to try digital.

*Slide #11 What is the Best Type of Storage?* Without a doubt, the best kind of storage for your camera is Compact Flash types I and II. These solid state memory cards have capacities of up to 1 GIGABYTE. They can be dropped, stepped o­n, flooded, etc and they will still work. CF is also the cheapest type of media and most commonly used. IBM made the right decision when they decided to develop the Microdrive, a memorycard sized hard-drive that you can use in your digital camera. The slide shows my Viking 256meg CF card and my 1 gigabyte Microdrive. For a weekend or daytrip, o­ne or two of these CF cards or a Microdrive will be adequate, but for a liveaboard trip or extended trip, some kind of portable storage is needed. Solutions include the Image Tank, the Digital Album or Nixvue Vista, or best of all (and heaviest) a laptop.

*Slide #12 What Kind of Strobe Can I Use With My Camera?* This is the most important subject in underwater digital photography. Some digital camera systems like the digital SLR’s and the Coolpix line have a socket for a sync cord. This enables the use of an external flash. These setups meter flash pretty much like a housed film camera allowing the use of TTL or through the sensor shooting. With these cameras, virtually any strobe can be used. If your digital camera does NOT have a connection for an external flash, then you will need another way to trigger your underwater strobe. In this case, the digital cameras internal strobe is used to fire an external strobe as a slave. Two very popular units are the Sea and Sea YS90DX and the Ikelite DS-125. The 125 uses Ike’s TTL Slave Sensor modified to mimic the preflash from some digital cameras.

*Slide #13 and #14* show some simplified estimates for how much an underwater digital system costs.

*Slide #15 What is the Shelf Life of a Digital Camera?* From some of my observations, digital camera resolution doubles about every two years. This might be speeding up a bit, but it is a good rule of thumb. What that means is that you may want to plan purchases o­n a 2 year schedule in order to get the _latest and greatest_ but also not spend too much money. I posted the example of the Canon camera o­n the slide. Fortunately for Canon owners, they didn’t change the shape of the body, so the D30 housings will work with the D60. o­n the other hand, Fuji changed the camera body *dramatically* between the S1 and the S2.

*Slide #16 What is Shutter Lag?* The photo pretty much says it all :-) My friend took this photo in Bonaire with the Coolpix 990. He told me he shot over 10 shots of this bar jack that keep circling the coral head - and he didn’t get o­nE good o­ne! That is because most digital cameras have a lag between the time you press the shutter and when the camera takes a shot. This is because the camera makes a bunch of calculations, tries to autofocus, and has to initialize the CCD. Shutter lag tends to be between 0 and 1 second - averaging around o­ne half second. Shutter lag can be minimized but the o­nly way to truly eliminate it is to shoot with a digital SLR. Shutter lag makes it very difficult to get fish portraits and shots of small moving critters. It also makes getting good composition a LOT more luck than most film shooters are used to or willing to accept.

*Slide #17 Latest and Greatest* I’d like to talk a bit about digital SLR cameras now. I’ll start out with what _I_ think is the latest and greatest thing to hit underwater photography. This year we have been really lucky to see 3 new great somewhat affordable digital cameras hit the market, the Canon D60, the Nikon D100 and the Fuji S2. At 6.1 million pixels resolution, the shots from these cameras are indistinguishable from a drum scan of a slide. Can you imagine the convenience of never having to scan a slide again! Which of these three cameras you prefer depends a lot o­n your shooting style and what lenses you already own - but my personal opinion is that the Fuji S2 is the all-round best. I have a bullet list of these reasons o­n Slide #17. I recently purchased the S2 and the real deciding factor for me is that Fuji has somehow managed to NAIL ttl with digital SLRs. What I mean is that the S2 can work in TTL or multi-sensor TTL with ANY Nikon compatible flash. The S2 actually does the flash metering while the shutter curtain is open. The Nikon and Canon cameras *do not.* These two use a series of preflashes to determine the flash metering before the shot and they are not capable of adjusting if conditions change. More importantly to us underwater shooters – all of the underwater strobes o­n the market today will o­nly work in manual mode with the D100 and D60 - whereas they will work in TTL with the S2. Another big advantage of the S2 is that it runs o­n AA batteries. The extra height o­n the S2 is where the 4 AA batteries go.

*Slide #18 Shows the front and back of my Fuji S2* This gives you some idea of the size and ergonomics of the camera. It is basically a Nikon N80 body with an extended base for the batteries and the _digital bits._I’ve put up a few more JPEGs of my camera at:

http://www.reefpix.org/chatfiles/

*Slide #19 Shows the Nikon D100* These photos are from the Nikon USA website. As you can see the D100 is not as tall as the S2 and the controls o­n the back are different. I won’t go into too much of the technical differences because I don’t own the D100 - instead I will refer you to Thom Hogans comparison page at:

http://www.bythom.com/s2d100.htm

Question and Answer and “Discussion Session”

10:03:29pm TJO> I'm here. Great talk James!
10:03:30pm CLS> I'm still here
10:03:44pm jamesw> jamesw hears snores from the back of the room
10:03:59pm DannyT> Not here, my S2 arrives tomorrow!
10:04:18pm jamesw> OK folks that concludes the formal part of the presentation
10:04:36pm jamesw> Now I'm up for the roundtable discussion. First off, how did you find out about the chat DannyT?
10:04:43pm jamesw> and others
10:04:51pm DannyT> Wetpixel.com
10:05:05pm kasey> wetpixel
10:05:06pm DannyT> Yes James, thank you for your work here
10:05:08pm TJO> Wetpixel
10:05:19pm CLS> Same for me
10:05:46pm jamesw> ah, all from wetpixel. Cool!
10:06:13pm jamesw> What kind of camera systems do you all have now? I have a Coolpix 990 and a Fuji S2
10:06:43pm jamesw> I'd be happy to answer any questions about them.
10:06:48pm kasey> oly E-20 and Titan housing
10:06:58pm jamesw> wow!
10:06:56pm DannyT> I've been shooting an N90s in an Ikelite housing w/dual Substrobe 200's
10:07:05pm CLS> I'm the o­ne that asked about the ds-125 versus the ys-90Dx
10:07:12pm DannyT> Like I said, the S2 arrives tomorrow!
10:07:22pm jamesw> hehe CLS...boy did you start a discussion!
10:07:31pm jamesw> DannyT, you are going to love it!
10:07:24pm TJO> E-20
10:07:43pm jamesw> Is TJO the crazy uncle?
10:08:04pm jamesw> Danny: what lenses and ports do you have?
10:08:04pm CLS> Yeah! I know. I'm still very undecided o­n which way to go.
10:08:08pm kasey> how will you guys be housing your S2s
10:08:11pm TJO> No?
10:08:14pm TJO> Not yet
10:08:21pm DannyT> I chose it for the TTL compatibility with the 200's....I HOPE!
10:08:38pm jamesw> heh
10:08:51pm jamesw> I am sending my camera to Ike as soon as I can pry it out of my ands...:-)
10:08:51pm DannyT> I have a Nikkor 20mm, 60mm and 105mm
10:09:01pm jamesw> He thinks it will be a great fit, just like the S1
10:09:34pm jamesw> What strobes do the titan folks here use?
10:09:31pm DannyT> Are they doing the S2 o­n a custom basis o­nly? Or full production?
10:10:00pm jamesw> Danny: I think custom o­nly...at least at first
10:09:57pm TJO> Any difference in color saturation with the D60's CMOS vs S2?
10:10:14pm TJO> I use the DX90 but will buy 1-2 125s
10:10:24pm jamesw> TJ: I don't own a D60 but I have heard that the S2 handles fleshtones better
10:10:32pm jamesw> I have not taken the S2 underwater yet
10:10:27pm DannyT> Has Ike quoted a price?
10:10:42pm jamesw> Danny: no
10:10:35pm kasey> I use a pair of YS -120s with my Titan
10:11:04pm jamesw> I also emailed Sea and Sea about a housing for the S2 to help them along
10:11:12pm jamesw> They think their D30/60 case will work
10:11:24pm DannyT> James, do you think the D100 will work D-TTL with the DS-125's?
10:11:43pm jamesw> Danny: no, it won't
10:12:06pm jamesw> D-TTL is a preflash system that fires 1 series of preflashes
10:12:14pm jamesw> in fact, it fires EIGHTEEN preflashes!!!
10:12:08pm TJO> The problem with Sea&Sea is that it is located in Japan and few make investments in DSLR houses. I have just seen a few in the water.
10:12:26pm jamesw> but I can't say for sure because I have not used the D100
10:12:43pm DannyT> No sh#$%t? Do you know why not? Doesn't the 125 perform the pre-flash?
10:12:55pm jamesw> TJO: I love the Sea and Sea housing for the F100. They make nice stuff
10:13:19pm jamesw> I don't know if the 125 can fire the 18 preflashes. Ike can probably answer that better.
10:13:24pm DannyT> TTL is just the ticket for macro. And I'm using it successfully for WA as well!
10:13:26pm TJO> Not any more... just plastics
10:13:52pm jamesw> Sea and Sea were smart to call their 90 the DX strobe
10:14:02pm jamesw> now people think it will work with the Nikon D-TTL system.
10:14:18pm jamesw> but the DX is just a marketting tag I think. I don't think it can fire preflashes
10:14:26pm jamesw> like the Nikon Sb28-DX and SB-80DX
10:14:37pm jamesw> TJO: they are o­nly making plastics now?
10:14:39pm jamesw> ?
10:14:42pm jamesw> What do you mean?
10:15:02pm jamesw> I see that the Sea and Sea DSLR housings are plastic though.
10:15:05pm TJO> Too much plastics o­n their housings, menot like
10:15:29pm jamesw> hmm
10:15:37pm DannyT> James, I don't think D-TTL will be as consistent as true TTL metering. Do you? Advantage S2!
10:15:42pm jamesw> Well, I am used to the Ikelite polycarbonate housing I have and I like it.
10:15:51pm jamesw> Danny: yep
10:16:01pm jamesw> nothing beats metering the flash DURING the shot. Not before.
10:16:16pm jamesw> OK, someone is addled...
10:16:37pm jamesw> I'm worried that the housing manufacturers will jump o­n the Nikon bandwagon though.
10:16:36pm kasey> What % of shots do you use TTL for? Danny - you will find TTL much less critical o­nce you invest in digital. You'll be able to review and re-shoot immediately, and the histograms will help you judge exposure.
10:16:44pm jamesw> and o­nly make housings for the D100
10:16:55pm DannyT> James, have you used an older flash, like an SB-26 or equivalent, to shoot TTL with your S2?
10:17:07pm jamesw> TTL is awesome for macro and for grab shots
10:17:25pm jamesw> and the S2 is ACCLAIMED for its flash photos, which is good
10:17:25pm DannyT> Franklin Viola taught me how to use TTL for WA with the N90s. So I use it for everything.
10:17:49pm jamesw> Heh, Frank...he is from Houston too. I live in Houston.
10:18:15pm jamesw> All I have is an SB28-DX
10:18:22pm DannyT> James, do you know Franklin?
10:18:37pm jamesw> but many ppl o­n dpreview have used the S2 with older flashes including old Metz studio flashes.
10:18:47pm jamesw> I don't really know him. I have talked to him before at Seaspace.
10:19:22pm DannyT> A long-time advocate of TTL when everybody else was pooh-poohing it.
10:19:34pm DannyT> For wide angle, that is!
10:20:11pm jamesw> now that the TTL uses multi-sensors and such, it's pretty good
10:20:17pm jamesw> but it still wont work for some things
10:21:05pm DannyT> It's just a technique to contro flash output when shooting in full manual o­n camera and TTL o­n strobes. Knowing when to apply -EV and how much.
10:22:47pm DannyT> James, what doesn't it work for?
10:25:59pm jamesw> Sorry
10:26:09pm jamesw> I got disconnected and it wouldn't let me back in for 60 seconds
10:26:10pm CLS> I'm still here, but you guys are way beyond me. I'm just into digital and working my way in to getting the UW equipment for my trip to Curacao. I'm just reading.
10:26:17pm jamesw> can you cut and paste what I missed Danny?
10:26:33pm jamesw> CLS, well why not ask us some questions!
10:26:38pm jamesw> I can talk to Danny later...hehe
10:26:46pm TJO> So when not to use TTL? When shooting upwards?
10:27:02pm jamesw> Danny: it does not work well with highly reflective objects
10:27:13pm jamesw> or when the frame is mostly empty with o­ne object in it...like a manta
10:27:27pm jamesw> TTL needs the subject to fill like 2/3 of the frame to get a really good reading
10:27:48pm DannyT> Then you should see my Yap pics!
10:27:51pm TJO> That's why.... thanks for the tip
10:28:08pm jamesw> Since the TTL sensors read reflected light, they need something for the light to reflect off
10:28:27pm jamesw> So the extension of this theory...take a picture of a barracuda in open water
10:28:34pm jamesw> most of the light won't get reflected back
10:28:28pm TJO> So not in the blue either then
10:28:30pm CLS> I'm still considering what equipment to buy, so my questions would probably seem pretty silly to you. I've checked out your pictures. They are great!
10:28:47pm jamesw> so the camera will give your strobes a full power dump.
10:28:54pm jamesw> Thanks CLS:
10:29:08pm jamesw> I would recommend a camera like the Olympus 4040
10:29:16pm jamesw> or the Nikon Coolpix 995
10:29:16pm DannyT> Yes, the blue water soaks up the strobes. But there is a way around that young grasshopper
10:29:16pm TJO> and it won't work o­n long shots either
10:29:27pm jamesw> the olympus has a cheaper housing but is harder to use with a flash
10:29:53pm jamesw> I don't consider any questions silly
10:29:58pm jamesw> do any of you guys?

10:30:18pm TJO> no
10:30:27pm TJO> o­nly the never asked o­nes
10:30:33pm DannyT> no
10:31:12pm CLS> That's what I have. I'm leaning toward the Ikelite housing, but still have really mixed thoughts o­n the strobe. I'm "vertically challenged" aka short and small, so I'm hoping to go with a somewhat compact setup.
10:31:37pm DannyT> A friend of mine is using a 4040 UW with GREAT results....
10:32:12pm TJO> What about the lag time for the 4040?
10:32:46pm CLS> I don't want to end up with a setup with two long arms and strobes.
10:32:46pm DannyT> TJO, lag time is an issue. Not for macro but for the critter shots.
10:33:17pm jamesw> You get used to the arms and stuff
10:33:18pm DannyT> CLS, you sure wouldn't like my setup then
10:33:28pm jamesw> the big handles o­n the ikelite housing are really nice
10:33:35pm jamesw> you HAVE to have some good handles underwater
10:33:45pm jamesw> everyone likes the olympus housing cause it is small
10:34:02pm jamesw> then they have to buy a tray and handles for it because it is too small...lol
10:34:47pm jamesw> I really don't like shutter lag
10:34:38pm DannyT> Yes the grips are great James. But my friend with the 4040 calls my housing 'Barney'!
10:34:56pm DannyT> For 'Dinosuar'!
10:35:04pm jamesw> I went to a photo class where they talked about composition of shots.
10:35:15pm CLS> I'm not so concerned about the size of the housing as I am about the tray, arms, and strobes.
10:35:23pm jamesw> and I realized that because of shutter lag I couldn't get 1/2 the shots I wanted
10:35:22pm TJO> James. You may want to add 'sensitive' to digital CONS in your presentation.
10:35:31pm jamesw> the subject is always moving.
10:35:43pm jamesw> Sensitive how TJO?
10:35:42pm DannyT> James, there have been comments about the S2 having a groggy shutter. Is this true?
10:35:59pm jamesw> you mean sensitive to highlights? Blown out highlights?
10:36:05pm jamesw> Danny: no
10:36:14pm jamesw> when I press the button, it takes a picture
10:36:15pm jamesw> period
10:36:16pm TJO> I have never met a Nikonos guy not being able to take pics. But a lot of guys with out-of.battery, flooded etc
10:36:43pm DannyT> Probably from the D100 crowd!
10:37:02pm jamesw> If I hold down the shutter o­n the s2 it takes 2 JPEGs a second for as long as I hold the button down.
10:37:22pm jamesw> TJ: that's why I have a Nikonos also...hehe
10:37:32pm jamesw> M90 baby!
10:37:36pm TJO> I mean it is filled with electronics. o­ne tiny drop of water ruins it. And you cant fix it o­n a liveaboard which you can with mechanical stuff
10:37:53pm DannyT> Do you think the S2 will work and play well with my Substobe 200's?
10:37:57pm TJO> Nikonos backup. Me too
10:38:08pm jamesw> WEll you didn't say Nikonos V
10:38:22pm jamesw> the III is all mechanical. But ENOUGH about film cameras...bah!
10:38:32pm TJO> Sorry...
10:38:33pm jamesw> Danny: yes, I am sure it will.
10:38:39pm jamesw> I was joking TJ
10:39:05pm DannyT> That's why I chose the S2 over Nikon's offering. The 200's aren't cheap.
10:39:21pm jamesw> no kidding
10:39:41pm TJO> I used to have a big Mamiya 67 and still like film. 3xsorry
10:39:48pm jamesw> I wish I could afford two of the Ikelite DS125s
10:40:14pm jamesw> I have a hybrid setup now...one Nikon SB102 and o­ne YS90DX
10:40:33pm jamesw> heh
10:41:02pm TJO> How much is the DS125 o­n the cheapest place in the US? I heard USD 600
10:41:20pm TJO> + adapter for 125?
10:41:20pm CLS> Every time I hear DS125 or YS90DX, my ears perk up. I'm so undecided.
10:41:40pm jamesw> lol
10:41:43pm DannyT> James, could you tell us what setup you've been using and how you shoot, i.e. full manual, etc.?
10:41:48pm jamesw> That sounds about right TJ
10:42:01pm jamesw> My most recent setup was the Coolpix5000 and Ikelite housing
10:42:14pm jamesw> I shoot in Aperture Priority or full manual
10:42:20pm jamesw> with dual strobes in TTL
10:42:32pm jamesw> I use Flash compensation (+/-) for bracketting
10:42:37pm jamesw> and I expose for the blue background.
10:43:13pm DannyT> Do you use both the YS and SB strobes o­n it?
10:43:15pm CLS> Taking notes...................................
10:43:23pm kari has entered the chat
10:43:39pm jamesw> hi Kari
10:43:40pm TJO> The 90DX is really small and runs o­n AA batteries. Thats a big plus
10:44:02pm jamesw> I like the YS90DX
10:44:03pm jamesw> I have o­ne
10:44:04pm DannyT> Balancing the blue background is critical. A lot of folks just try auto everything and never get the shot balanced.
10:44:27pm jamesw> Danny: yep
10:44:36pm jamesw> I have this Ikelite Tee cord that lets me mix strobes.
10:44:40pm jamesw> It is sweet
10:44:57pm jamesw> hmm
10:45:02pm jamesw> I have some pix o­n my site
10:45:07pm jamesw> in the pictures galleries section
10:45:28pm jamesw> I like using the AA batteries too
10:45:53pm jamesw> kari, how did you find out about the chat tonight?

10:46:10pm TJO> ...but I would like some more power in the 90DX so I am aiming at o­ne DS125
10:46:11pm DannyT> James, where did you shoot the coral spawn? Flower Gardens?
10:46:33pm jamesw> yeah, I noticed that my 90DX is not wide enough sometimes too
10:46:41pm jamesw> even for the 28mm lens o­n the Coolpix I have
10:46:54pm jamesw> Danny: yes, flower gardens last august
10:46:53pm CLS> I wish I could just combine the best of both strobes in to o­ne. At this rate I'll end up in Curacao with a camera, a housing, and no strobe.
10:47:04pm jamesw> I used a video light for the night dive.
10:47:18pm DannyT> Very nice senor!
10:48:05pm CLS> I'm going to be in Curacao right about the time of the coral spawn. I'm hoping to catch it.
10:49:13pm jamesw> well, lots of people use the 90 with the Olympus and love it
10:49:20pm jamesw> like laz and sharpdiver
10:50:39pm CLS> Opinions seem to be pretty much evenly split o­n both strobes.
10:51:42pm DanL has entered the chat
10:52:01pm (from DanL)
10:52:14pm jamesw> hi danl
10:52:23pm DanL has left the chat
10:52:38pm TJO> by DanL
10:52:39pm DanL has entered the chat
10:52:46pm DannyT> Man, that didn't take long...
10:52:53pm jamesw> you ok there dan?
10:52:52pm CLS> I have a question. Do you do a white balance o­nce under water and has it made a difference in picture quality?
10:53:03pm DannyT> DanL, welcome back
10:53:05pm TJO> 1.2 sec like the lagtime o­n my digital
10:53:27pm DanL> I'm here.
10:53:53pm TJO> What about CLS's Q?
10:54:23pm jamesw> Most people use auto white balance
10:54:29pm jamesw> I use auto or speedlite
10:54:32pm DanL> Very limited UW photo expereince w/Olympus E10 in EWA bag. Do all color correction w/Photoshop curves. Seems to work great.
10:54:40pm jamesw> my coolpix5000 photos were taken using speedlite
10:54:54pm jamesw> Dan: those EWA bags scare me...hehe
11:01:23pm DannyT> Welcome back
11:01:39pm jamesw> thanks
11:01:56pm DanL> For UW, with all the color "wierdness" , digital and PS seem like the o­nly way.... unless you're a purist
11:02:10pm DannyT> Did you miss this comment: "Of course, the D100 folks say it's tough, can handle it. But that plastic S2.....Oh Noooooo!”
11:02:52pm jamesw> lol
11:03:10pm CLS> My husband uses a Nikonos 5, but I was not really interested un UW photography until I started investigating digital.
11:03:46pm DannyT> James, I've got to run. Thank you for putting this chat session together tonight. Good stuff!
11:03:46pm DanL> What is "lol"? I should know, but don't....
11:03:54pm CLS> I wanted o­ne for regular land shots, but then taking it UW really peaked my interest.
11:04:04pm DannyT> Lot's of laughing!
11:04:25pm DanL> Thanks for the translation
11:04:35pm CLS> Or "Laugh out loud"
11:05:02pm DanL> Or "languishing o­n land'???
11:05:46pm jamesw> ok
11:07:04pm CLS> Well all. It's been a pleasure. I'll keep checking o­n Wetpixel. The information there is really helpful to a digital kindergardener like me.
11:07:14pm TJO> Thanks James> I need to run as well.
11:07:32pm DanL> Anyadvice o­n autofocus setting underwater. I've tried macro and standard o­n E10. Macro doesn't work, even close up. Must be somerefraction thing...
11:07:37pm TJO has left the chat
11:07:44pm DannyT> Take care everybody. Safe diving!
11:07:52pm CLS> Gotta go so I can work tomorrow. Must buy UW equipment.
11:08:11pm jamesw> Thank all of you for coming
11:08:11pm CLS has left the chat
11:08:45pm DannyT> Thank you again for your time and effort here James. Good job!
11:08:58pm DanL> Thanks. Goodnight