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Due to the power required to operate the camera flash and
LCD screen it is a good idea to start each dive with a fresh set of
batteries
Some cameras reset their flash to AUTO when the camera is
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urned on If you prefer another setting be sure to select it
As soon as you enter the water take a moment and check the
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ousing to see that it is properly sealed
Next check to see if there are any bubbles on the face of the
lens port If there are take your finger and remove them If
there are bubbles on the lens port they can produce soft focus
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pots in your photographs
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If you are shooting with the camera’s builtin flash and the
cameras lens is set to the widest angle you may need to zoom
the lens slightly or a shadow may appear in the lower left
corner of closeup photographs The lens port may block some
of the light Installing the flash diffuser will help to eliminate
the shadow
(You can test this above water)
To shoot photographs closer than feet (m) you need to
use an external strobe such as the DS or DS With an
external strobe you can position it so nothing blocks the light
path between the strobe and the subject
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Some of the controls have a short shaft and cannot be pulled
out exposing the shaft for lubrication In the unlikely event one
of these controls sticks or becomes difficult to operate you can
remove the control from the housing and lubricate it or return
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he housing to Ikelite for maintenance To remove the control
loosen the set screw in the knob (allen wrench required);
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emove the knob If there is salt or dirt buildup on the exposed
control shaft clean the shaft Open the housing and gently slide
the control shaft out of the control gland Clean and lightly
lubricate the shaft including the end of the shaft Slide the
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haft back into the control gland and gently slide it back and
forth a few times without fully removing the shaft from the
gland Replace the knob NOTE the flat area on the shaft the
set screw in the knob should tighten down against the flat area
on the control so the knob does not turn on the shaft
Loosen set screw
(allen wrench required)
Flat
Tighten set screw down
against this area when
replacing the knob.
housing
gland
control
shaft
Lubricate end of shaft
before reinserting into
gland
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The number one rule in underwater photography is eliminate as
much water between camera and subject as possible Get as
close as you can to the subject then use the zoom If you are
using flash subjects beyond feet (m)will not have much
color
The camera’s builtin flash is very close to the camera lens The
flash can light up any suspended particles in the water and they
can be recorded in your picture This effect is called backscatter
To eliminate as much backscatter as possible photograph close
Photograph in clear water; do not stir up the sand or silty
bottom If backscatter becomes a problem in the environment
you are photographing an external flash will help eliminate
much of the backscatter
Digital cameras have a slight lag time between when you press
the shutter release button and the camera actually takes the
picture Hold the camera steady a second or two after pressing
the shutter release button
Do not shoot down on subjects as they will quite often blend
into the background and be difficult to see in the photograph
Shoot subjects straight on or shoot up at a slight angle using
the blue water as a contrasting background
Underwater flash is used to restore the warmer colors filtered
out by the water as well as to illuminate the subject When
photographing underwater set the camera to use flash on
every shot If the camera’s flash is set to AUTO and the sun is
behind your subject the camera may see enough light that it
does not fire the flash With the sun behind the subject the
subject is shaded (dark) and needs flash for a good exposure
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When using daylight or flash if your camera consistently over
or underexposes the image you may want to adjust your
camera’s exposure compensation settings Many cameras allow
you to adjust both available light and flash exposure with an EV
control in the camera’s menu
Many photographers transfer their images to the computer
where they can fine tune the appearance of the image Many of
the image manipulation programs make you think you can
magically correct any image taken and make a good picture
One thing to remember when using image manipulation
programs if the image is overexposed much of the color is
missing If the color is missing you cannot adjust it If images
are slightly underexposed the color is there it is just dark and
you can adjust it to some degree So if you error in exposure it
is better to have the image slightly underexposed than over
exposed