Surf Photography

housings (the good ones) are usually as expensive if not more than the camera. its unlikely you'll get a leak in one of the nicer ones, but i don't think the insurance covers the actual camera

 

thank you everyone for your help. im actually not sure what i mean by 1/2000 thats just what the company says. for begginer photography do you think this will work?
im not lookin to drop a lot of $ and just entry stuff for now.http://http://www.google.com/products/catalog?pq=kk+z981+shutter+speed&hl=en&cp=11&gs_id=1f&xhr=t&q=kodak+z981+review&qscrl=1&nord=1&rlz=1T4ADFA_enUS357US368&biw=1366&bih=553&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&ion=1&wrapid=tljp1317337716157226&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=4664404202405089063&sa=X&ei=kfqETv6xHu2M4gTAqZibDw&sqi=2&ved=0CEgQ8wIwAg#

 

if your camera's shutter speed is 1/2000 that is the capability that is has to perform to, the shutter speed can be slowed to to as slow as 1 second usually.

 

I've posted many pics on this site and while I'm not a professional, I've upgraded recently to the Canon 60d and so having gone from my old Pentax with a 1/4000 top shutter speed to the new 1/8000 shutter speed and it's been incredible. I don't know what camera you have that only has 1/2000 shutter speed because the link didnt work, but I did look at your images and they didnt look too bad. You really notice the difference when you shoot close-up shots as I found out when I shot some of The Dew Tour this summer, if you send me a message I can help you as much as I can.

 

On another note, I've used my 1/8000 speed on overcast days and it works also as long as I put the ISO on auto or a higher setting

 

Shutter speeds are incremental from "B" bulb setting for long exposures (you count off the seconds in your head) to 1 sec, and then in fractions of seconds up to 1/4,000th of a second with some cameras. The faster the shutter speed, the higher the number of the fraction. Shutter speed is only one part of the scale of exposure. . . on the other side of the scale is lens aperture, ƒ 1.2, 1.4, 1.8, 2.0, and so on typically up to ƒ 16 or even ƒ32 depending upon the lens. Higher shutter speeds freeze action but allow less light onto the sensor screen, while lens apertures adjust the amount of light getting to the sensor screen via a variable diaphragm or ƒ stops with ƒ1.2 allowing in the most light, and ƒ32 letting in the least amount of light. If you want to stop action, you use a fast shutter speed and a wide open lens ƒ stop, like the 1.2. It's all a trade-off, lenses at full aperture (ƒ1.2) are notoriously less sharp than at smaller apertures (ƒ32) because when more glass is involved (using the whole glass surface with a wide aperture) you are more likely to encounter more abberations and flaws in the glass than when using just the center of the glass.

Photography, even modern digital photography, is subject to so many variables from movement to lighting, to subject, to depth of field (how much is in focus), to light source and a host of other issues that a camera has to be completely adjustable to best control every situation. The photographer's job is to read the conditions and situations and choose the best combination of settings to take the best possible photo. Point and shoots can only do so much, but while that's the case, a fully adjustable camera is just as useless if it's a "point and shoot" photographer that's using it. Photography, or should I say good photography, requires considerable knowledge of both your subject AND your equipment. Get out your owner's manual and start reading, and then move on to other books on photography. It's not easy, but then it was never supposed to be was it? Just like surfing. . .

For the record, most surfing can be shot with good results (unless you aren't using a tripod or monopod) @ 1/500th of a second shutter speed. You can still shoot with the ƒ8 rule, i.e. in full sun you can typically set your camera lens @ƒ8, and your shutter speed (depending upon your ISO/ASA setting) @ 1/500. Or any corresponding combination of lens and shutter settings either up or down. If one goes up, the other has to go down one step, and vice versa. Learn your craft before you go out and plunk down a grand or two on a water housing. Your money and time will be much better spent.

Ikelite
6808.1 iTTL Underwater Housing for Nikon D80 Digital Camera - Rated up to 200'
And a real steal @ only $1,075 from www.bhphotovideo.com

 

I have a 7D which can shoot at 8fps and a 10-20mm wide angle lens, but im too broke to afford a really good water housing for it. Im also sort of scared to ruin it if some how the water housing takes in water. I would rather try it on my 550D but that only shoots at like 3fps and most of the guys that shoots underwater tells me its critical to have a camera that has a high fps rating.

 

there is a lot of variable in to that. but at 1/2000 of a second you will be able to freeze the surfer and the wave. on a really sunny days its not hard to achieve 1/2000 shutter speed. If its not that sunny and you absolutely need that 2000 you can bump up your Iso, which affects the camera sensors sensitivity to light, but you sorta always want to keep iso pretty low, because when you bump your iso too high the image quality of the picture begins to degrade noise will start to appear or in the film days this was called grain? so you have another choice which is the aperture which you will see ie. f1, f1.4, f2, f,2.8, f4, f5.6, f8, f11, f16, f22.... the higher the F number the smaller the aperture which is the hole that lets light through. when the hole is smaller less light is getting in so your shutter speed will go down, because youre halving the light source, but youre also getting more things in focus. so you open up which means decrease the f number by decreasing the f number the aperture blade opens up allowing more light to get in which means a higher shutter speed but can decreases the dof. this also depends on your lenses capability. Some lens can only achieve f5.6 usually these lenses are cheap lens and they are usually bundled now a days with kits. lenses that have a f number of 1.2 are usually referred to as fast lenses, because the can open up really wide letting in a lot of light giving you a good boost in shutter speed, but these "fast lenses" can also be quite expensive. ...Yeah? make sense? hahaha

 

I upgraded to the 7D as well from a 40D. Was looking at the 60D but I didn't like the plastic housing plus the downgrade in FPS. 40D = 6.5 fps, 60D = 5.3 fps, 7D = 8 fps. That was really the breaking point for me. The FPS.

I would pick a 40D over a 60D because of the metal alloy body and the fps. Unless of course you want to shoot video. But, getting to the water housing...if you get a good one you should have no worries at all, as long as you take care of it. They cost about the same as your camera and a bit more...but totally worth it if you really want to shoot in the H2o. I had one with my 40D....But, rarely used it. When there's waves I rather surf then shoot.

So total waste of money for me.

 

I think I may be able to help you guys out a little bit. As far as SPL goes they are the industry standard, they make a great product and have an amazing reputation. That being said there are a few less expensive alternatives as well. But don't be fooled and thinking your shooting water with out spending at least $1000. My recommendation for a good alternative is http://www.hcwhousings.freehomepage.com/ yeah the website blows but they guy is solid with fair prices iv had mine now for 4 years.

Next is the camera it self, I would say don't get anything that shoots less then 5fps. Lens wise a few have mentioned the Tokina 10-17, I normally stay a way from 3rd party lens manufactures like Sigma and Tamron. But the Tokina is the lens most staff shooters are using, again I'v had this lens for about 4 years and love it.

Just remember getting into surf photography is super expensive so if your going to do it, do it because its something that you love not something that you want to make money on. Because thats not going to happen. Check out my work www.mikehwilliams.com let me know what you think.

 

That was my same downfall. Originally I took up photography to shoot surfers. That was the reason I got a 7D rather than a 5D, but every time there was some kind of wave. I was out in the line up instead...

 

I leave it as is. From what I have seen most fisheye water shots normally don't look super distorted because your shooting something already round (if your shooting emptys). now if you have someone upclose in the barrel that might is a little different but normally not a big issue, at least for me.

 

Hi Jackson,

Sorry if I'm too late in replying to your post... Shooting from the water is a blast and will keep you super fit. I've been water shooting for 15 years and have shot with most of the major makers housings- Auquatech, SPL, Barbish, and Liquid Eye... My recommendation is to go with Liquid Eye... His housings are light, strong, simple to use and by far the most affordable.

Best way to start imo is with a fixed wide angle lens on something like a Canon 7D... get yourself some fins and get out there and shoot your mates. http://www.liquideye-whs.com/

Hope this helps,

Cheers,

Lex