Arne

Hi Ryan, I'll actually be diving organized by Jeff! When I'm in Bali he has a photography course elsewhere, so I think I will only see him briefly. I'll be photographing a lot of macrostuff and that doesn't trouble me, but my wideangles are horrendous, which is not a good startingpoint for Mola mola.

Hi Mark, I checked out your C7070 photos and D80 photos but they have the kind of quality I am still dreaming about. Some of your older photos do have the dreaded cyan colordropoff (dreadful in my book), but that's to be expected with colors falling off due to distance from the strobe. Your photos are very clean and evenly lit and that's what I've been trying to accomplish the last couple of years.

Here are two typical examples. Sahuang (above Lembeh) F/10, ISO320, 1/60 17mm. Sigma 17-70mm @17mm behind Ikelite 8 inch domeport. DS-125 left, DS-51 right. Den Osse, Netherlands. F/5.6, ISO200, 1/50 21mm. Sigma 17-70mm @21mm behind Ikelite 8 inch domeport. DS-125 left, DS-51 right. Difference is 2 extra 8 inch arm extension in the second photo (and supposedly a little more found knowledge from me…) for a total of 14 inches distance strobes to camera. I am fairly good at Photoshop, but even I can't save that first photo. Blown at the top and the dreaded backscatter from the flash. Both places did have particles in the water (the second even more than the first, but these are quite extreme. In pool conditions (at the diveclub) I also get the scatter and overpowering flash. When I change de EV dial on the Ikelite, thus manipilating the exposure I get either a blown out white flashed photo or an underexposed photo. I just noticed I've got 20.000 exposures on the D80 so far from Indonesia, Philippines, Japan and Egypt. Lately I've been taking down apertures for wideangles as I noticed more people doing that and letting more light into the camera. (as the Pen does as well looking at the EXIF, but compacts (and the Pen too?) tend to prefer large apertures F/4 and smaller on P and Auto modes. Now compare with this shot: Indoor pool, F/4, ISO200, 1/30 14mm. Olympus Pen E-PL1. Dual Inon S2000 strobes some 6 inches from the housing. Number of shutter releases? This is the 17th photo of the camera! Unedited. Just opened in Photoshop and only adjusted exposure. Olympus set to "Vivid colors". I couldn't take a photo like that if my life depended on it with my setup with my Sigma 15mm fisheye and Ikelite strobes. I can live with that, but I hate getting crap shots from great locations that I don't dive every year. I will be in Bali in a couple of weeks and the sweat and headaches are starting to come from thinking how I should photograph a Mola mola with 15mm fisheye and my strobes. "How to photograph Mola mola" doesn't bring up any hits in Google… P.S. I know the Sigma 17-70 warps in the corners, but I don't care about that. (The 15mm is more suited for the 8 inch domeport anyway) I am just really boggled - after all those years - about strobe position avoiding lightspill and backscatter. My 15mm fisheye shots show the same problems.

A buddy of mine has just purchased the Olympus PEN with the Oly underwaterhousing and 2 Inon S-2000 strobes. His first photos are absolutely amazing. The sharpness and lighting are phenomenal. I've been shooting with the Nikon D80 in an Ikelite housing with the DS-125 and the DS-51 but I am getting lacklaster results. Read all the topics, the books, internet tips, but I am getting quite troubled by my lack of progression. I just can't seen to get rid of backscatter and/or falloff light from the strobes. Recently purchased some extra arms to get the strobes even further away from the camera. Positioned the strobes out, behind the housing. Have been trying all sorts of positions of the strobes, but I just can't get the results that I want or the kind of results that other people get (for instance from Pen) In 3 years time I've managed to take 1 wideangle photo that I am happy about ( ), but I'd like more results in such a timeframe! Why are the Inons so different from the Ikelite strobes? The Inon photos I've seen seem to have much more balanced strobelight? Should I get rid of the Ikelites and transfer to Inon? Or stop the hobby alltogether? I know the Ikelite is capable of good photos and lots of photogs are happy with them, but I want to stop crying after 2 years of underwater photography trials. My macroshots are OK and sometimes good, but I just can't seem to get a grip on whole fish (everything larger than seastar), scenery and wideangle photography. You can check my Flickr stream for disappointing W/A shots. I can purchase a 10mm fisheye lens to minimize water between subject and lens (which helps a lot!), but shouldn't it also be possible to get fair results with the Sigma 15mm fisheye or an ordinary 17mm wideangle lens? http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=sigma&w=99799929%40N00

I have been diving for a week in the Red Sea last week and the conditions were terrible. No sun, lots of wind and even rain. Despite this I noticed a huge quality difference in RAW shots made with D80 and a D300. My setup: D80 in Ikelite housing, DS-125 Substrobe (right), DS-51 (left), ISO200, Sigma 15mm fisheye, iTTL enabled. Other setup: D300 in Hugyfot housing, twin Inon Z240 strobes, ISO100, Nikkor 10,5mm fisheye, TTL enabled. I've read lots on strobes, placement, distance to subject, but my photos were cyany and drab compared to the D300's. D300 was set on A (Aperture) priority, ISO100, f/18, 1/60. My D80 was set in the same settings, but I get a dark underexposed photo. I need to set my camera in M (Manual), ISO200, f/9, 1/80 to get some light in the photos. The D300 manages to get nice clear lit shots and my D80 can't take any photos with the same settings as the D300. Is there a huge difference in the capabilities of the D300 sensor in combination with the Inon strobes compared to the D80 sensor with (at least) a DS-125 and a DS-51? Above setups were tested with Wide angle shots at Shaab Ruhr Umm Gamar at depths of 20 metres or 65 feet with coralhead and fan as subject. Just desperately trying to get more, clearer and better photos from my setup, than I did last week. How can I improve my photos or get more/better light in my photos? You can check out some examples on: http://www.flickr.com/photos/arne/35245400...57617987346056/

Happy holidays to everyone! Ploughing through this thread some great varied shots! Here's my 2008 favorite. One of the first images I ever "made" by planning the shot, going to the divesite and subdueing some luck. Great nightdive where this Sepiola arrived on cue.