I have seen some amazing underwater shots from the Olympus 790 and 850 on FAOL. I have the 850 but am having trouble getting clear pics underwater. For those of you have have used this feature, what setting are you using? Any tips or advice you can pass along. Mine always come out blurry. I believe I am using the Underwater macro setting, but they come out bad.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Glenn
Glenn -
I’ve tried three of the four underwater modes on the 850SW. The only one that has worked reasonably well for me is the “Underwater Wide2” mode.
I tried two of the other three modes and couldn’t get a pic worth saving. Haven’t tried the “Underwater Macro” and most likely won’t ??
One thing I found taking pics of hooked fish - it has worked well with all the species of trout around here - is to play the fish a bit longer than usual and then kneel very quietly in the water when you get them fairly close in. I’ve been able to grasp the tippet a foot or two above the fly / fish and lead them around slowly into position for a pic. Not sure why they act so calmly, almost docile, in that situation, because when they are released it is obvious that they are not worn down ??
John
I have taken quite a number of underwater photos with mine, but I must admit that I don’t chooses any specific settings. What I have found helpful is to tilt the camera around underwater to get rid of water bubbles that forms on the lens when you first submerged it before you take the photo. Out of dozens of photos that I take maybe one would be useable.
Change ISO to 100 or even 64 in really bright light…
Much better picture.
JohnScott
" Haven’t tried the “Underwater Macro” and most likely won’t ??"
I have taken a number of nymph shots in the underwater macro mode that are startlingly good photos and I expected nothing special…
art
Loved you Pictures Morneb. Yours too John. What a great sport we have.
thanks everyone, I guess I just need to try more pictures and the tip about the bubbles on the lens might also help. Can’t wait to try it out! I will try it on the other underwater settings and see if that makes the difference.
Glenn
I had my best luck with the available light setting.
Ive tried the action mode since most of my fish are crazy steelhead, and have got one or 2 ok photos… But just got the camera a week ago so Im still learning with it…
Great pics John and Morneb! I had a Cannon I used for years and couldn’t get it to take decent underwater pics until the dealer told me to make sure I utilized the shutter button for what it’s intended; meaning that one pushes it down halfway for a moment in order to get the focus on the subject before depressing it all the way to take the picture. After doing this I found that most of my pics came out almost flawless with the exception of normal operator error - normal for me anyway…
Good luck. I’d like to hear if this solves your problem as I haven’t used the particular model camera you’re dealing with.
I have the 790SW and like others, about 1 out of 10 underwater pictures turn out the way I would like them. I think whils snorkeling or swimming they would be much better. One of the problems is sticking the camera under water and trying to guess when the fish or other subject is in the frame and when to time the shutter release. Most of my underwater shots are more or less guesswork.
Here’s one of the ones that I think turned out pretty good. It was taken at Big Spring in Idaho right outside of West Yellowstone.
Hi Guys,
I also have an Olympus 790SW that I got last year. But a little scared to submerge it. I owned a few other camera’s that I carried throughout the fishing season and most of them were trashed from rain or dropping in the stream. But this time I decided to buy something waterproof. So far its proved to be rain proof. My question is after you shoot an underwater shot what preparation do you give the camera for drying out?
RE: special prep:
With my 790SW, so far, I haven’t done anything special for drying out. I leave it powered on until the water drops dry out on the lense. I’m not real jazzed up about turning it off, which closes the lense cap, when it’s still wet. I just blow on the lense a few times to move the water out. If it’s still wet, or looks smudged, I use a soft cloth to blot the water off (don’t want to rub just in case there is some silt or grit in the water) and then turn it off and put it back in my vest pocket.
I’ve had mine for almost 2 years now and no problems. I’ve spent a lot of hours on the water with it and, so far, no complaints.
Jeff
I haven’t done any thing special on stream. I just shut it of and put it in my vest for next time. When I get home I rinse it in clean water and leave it on for the lens to dry. I then use a “camera pen” to lcean the lens and the view finder with.
Jeff,
Thanks for the tips. I’ll put the camera to the underwater test this season.