brammel 3 Posted May 8, 2015 Last week I was scuba diving in Egypt (Hurgada). I normally dive in the Netherlands, so diving in the crystal clear waters and making photo's was already really great. Please let me know which you like & dislike and feel free to give any tips on how to improve my photography skills further. All photo's are taken with my RX100II in a nauticam housing with one YS-01. I didn't use my UCL-165 macro lens. All photos are shot in RAW. The full album is here: https://flic.kr/s/aHska9i3rF 1. DSC04361 by Bram de Roos, on Flickr 2. DSC04425 by Bram de Roos, on Flickr 3. DSC04441 by Bram de Roos, on Flickr 4. DSC04476 by Bram de Roos, on Flickr 5. DSC04585 by Bram de Roos, on Flickr 6. DSC04589 by Bram de Roos, on Flickr 7. DSC04647 by Bram de Roos, on Flickr 8. DSC04674 by Bram de Roos, on Flickr 9. DSC04776 by Bram de Roos, on Flickr 10. DSC04783 by Bram de Roos, on Flickr Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sinetwo 31 Posted May 8, 2015 Great photos! I'm personally new to UW photography so I'm aspiring to similar shorts. I've got the RX100-ii with a YS-D1 and meikon housing (cheapskate!). A few questions if I may: * How did you find the RX100 focusing? * Did you use a guide light? * Do you have it on multi spot or single spot AF? * I presume you didn't use any wet lenses, just the stock zoom? Thanks, SineTwo Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brammel 3 Posted May 8, 2015 Focusing of the RX100II is very good. I didn't have any problems with it. I don't use a focus/guide light, not even in the Netherlands where the visibility is often really bad. For these Picutres I've used multi spot AF, all without any wet lenses. I have two close up lenses (UCL-165). When using these I'll use manual focus. Just move the camera forwards and backwards to get your subject in focus using the focus peaking feature of the RX100. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sinetwo 31 Posted May 8, 2015 (edited) Great stuff, thanks for the info. I'll try out a few different settings. One of the things I found really difficult was the minimum focus distance. Did you do any macro stuff while you were out there? I tried a bit in the pool and I found the minimum focus distance to not be all that close, particularly when zoomed in (obviously). As I can see the nudibranch and the blenni were quite close. But did you crop the images or are they taken as is? Edited May 8, 2015 by sinetwo Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brammel 3 Posted May 8, 2015 (edited) The nudi was not cropped. It was a big nudi I didn't do much macro stuff in Egypt. Here in the Netherlands macro is often the only option because of the visibility. Check this album for some macro foto's with single & dual UCL-165 lenses: https://flic.kr/s/aHsk32jwXC Edited May 8, 2015 by Bram de Roos Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sinetwo 31 Posted May 12, 2015 Hey Bram, Great pics again! Lookslike diving in .NL isn't that bad at all Sounds great. I think I'm only willing to part with enough cash to buy a Subsee +5 or a single UCL-165. Would you recommend a single UCL-165 or dual? Again, not sure if the subsee +5 is directly comparable with the single UCL-165, but I get the feeling the UCL-165 is of better quality? Do you also use DMF or manual focus with focus peaking? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brammel 3 Posted May 12, 2015 I'm not sure, but I think the UCL-165 is about +7. The subsee +5 is I think not enough macro, but it completly depends on your subject. Some nudi's are quite big, some small . For example: single x UCL-165: https://flic.kr/p/pewcYH dual x UCL-165: https://flic.kr/p/s4WiJA Getting the correct part of the subject in focus with a single UCL-165 is difficult, but with stacked UCL-165's is even harder! I use manual focus with focus peaking, but still it is very hard. I'm currently thinking about buying a wide angle lens (uwl-04 or uwl-(h)100). However, they are pretty pricy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sinetwo 31 Posted May 12, 2015 Wow, some pretty amazing pictures there Bram. I particularly love the first one as I've never seen that type before, and you got two of 'em! I think perhaps I should start off with a UCL-165 as I'm an UW newbie. When you do use your focus peaking, do you adjust afterwards? I.e. do you just use it as an indication? As I've read a few places online that it's not wholly accurate... And with the UCL-165, I presume you're completely wide on the zoom? or is there a fixed zoom you need to use? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Steve Williams 0 Posted May 13, 2015 Hi Bram, Looks like you had a ball! I'm liking number 6 a lot. One thing you may want to consider next time is to think about shooting portrait when it's called for. It's easy to get stuck in the horizontal frame of reference. No. 5 might have been more interesting shot in the vertical. Hard to get that magazine cover if we never rotate the camera. Cheers, Steve Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brammel 3 Posted May 13, 2015 Thank you steve. I agree with you that I have to should more in portrait mode to get on the cover of a magazine Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
coinee 17 Posted May 13, 2015 Exactly what I was thinking. Number 5 in portrait mode with the entire dolphin and diver in it, and a hint of surface would have been absolutely amazing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
