Jayvee Fernandez | Pinoy Tech, Diving, Gadgets » Photography

Finally, it’s complete: Sea & Sea DSLR housing with single YS-110 strobe

Jayvee Fernandez — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 11:52:51 +0000

Procured from parts found all over, I finally completed my first professional housing set up. I’d like to send out thanks to Wowie Wong, Jan Acosta and Jovic Santos for giving really good buying advice (and in Wowie and Jovic’s case … parts!).

This is a professional set up for a Canon 350D. It is a well-preserved second hand setup with a brand new Sea & Sea YS-110 alpha strobe. The lens port I am using houses a 60mm macro lens from Henry’s. As I don’t plan to upgrade to a dual strobe setup soon, I’m using a single sync cable (see the cord) that connects the flash to the camera body hot shoe inside.

It takes 30 minutes to an hour to prepare something like this and I wanted to familiarize my self with how everything goes together before taking it on an actual trip to the ocean. Inside the port I placed a couple of Leak Insure packets as a secondary precaution for accidental leaks. The housing for the body comes with a leak detector that blinks when wet. I wish it had an auditory warning, but that’s as good as this one gets. No worries.

Below, you can see the final single arm set up, ready to shoot macro life underwater. For some reason I can’t tighten the strobe on the arm so it droops down. I guess I need to read the manual. Hehe.

P.S. The photo of the clown fish in the background was taken using this exact same configuration but with a 100mm lens I borrowed.

Imagine lugging around this thing underwater. On land, it’s already very heavy. Underwater I need to deduct 2 lbs of weights to keep me neutrally buoyant. I’m excited. I’m going to keep it like this for a while and practice shooting small objects with the strain of the housing on me. I guess that’s the best way to get used to it!

Let There Be (a Sea & Sea YS-110 α Strobe) Light!

Jayvee Fernandez — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 18:46:24 +0000

The last piece of the puzzle is complete. Been saving up for this (and a sync cable) for a while now. The complete picture is a single strobe configuration for my UW DSLR for shooting close ups.

The YS-110 is essentially my flash underwater. Down there, you need as much light as you can get.

The YS-110α introduces numerous new exciting functions, opening a whole new digital generation. For example, by connecting it to digital cameras with pre-flash function using a fiber-optic cable, the YS-110α can be used in the fully automatic DS-TTL adjustment mode (Digital Slave TTL). Enjoy complete creative control – when you want absolute control over fine light adjustments, you can use a main strobe in DS-TTL mode and a secondary strobe in manual mode or you can set up an advanced lighting system using two strobes in DS-TTL mode. The DS-TTL adjustment function is also available using the light level control dial for fine control of the light amount when taking pictures in DS-TTL mode. You can also choose from 13 levels of manual controls when you do not want to leave the light adjustment up to the camera. The flat, round, 105° beam angle (with diffuser), achieved by the balanced positioning of the 3 flash tubes, and the power of a Guide Number 22 are examples of the excellent performance of the strobe that is sure to satisfy even the most demanding professionals.

Will show the complete picture soon.

Bought from:
Splash UW Imaging
Sea & Sea YS-110 α
PHP 24,500.00

Deciding between 60mm and 100mm macro lenses for underwater photography

Jayvee Fernandez — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 11:24:30 +0000

A Scorpion Fish sits on the Dari Laut wreck, a once floating casino. Photo taken with a 60mm macro lens (manual focus). Apologies for the backscatter — still trying to figure out how to avoid the dust particles.

On the surface, there’s no question about it. A 100mm macro lens would have been an excellent choice for shooting macro. The closer you can get, the better. Underwater, it’s a different story.

I was reading up on underwater macro photography and the two best options presented were the 60mm and 100mm equivalents for both Canon and Nikon (the latter has a 105mm option) and it seems that the verdict, amidst the technical mumbo jumbo is how close you actually want to be with the subject.

You can technically get the same shot with both lenses, with the 60mm being being about a foot closer to the subject. My friend Wowie told me to consider taking photos of underwater life looking at you vs underwater life in their behavior. For instance, shooting a Christmas tree worm in full bloom (below) up close will more than likely get them startled and hide inside the coral. You’re more likely to get behavior shots of the critters when you have a 100mm macro lens.

Below is an example of a squirrel clown fish slowly making its way out of an anemone. If confronted head on, I’ll be getting shots of it becoming aggressive with my camera. This was taken using a 100mm lens, cropped a bit. The “fish behavior” choice isn’t of course all-encompassing but it does make sense.

So with two days of ~~road~~ reef testing for each lens, I had some realizations. It seemed to be easier to shoot with the 60mm because I could go closer to my subjects. Yeah it sounds like I’m contradicting myself but “getting close” is how I roll. Overall, it just felt more comfortable. Secondly, I had better lighting shooting with the 60mm. Attribute it to the strobe positioning perhaps, but my shots seemed more satisfying and well lit up close. It may be different with 2 strobes (I only use one), but I guess we’ll never know until I really make the leap into investing more than PHP 50,000.00 for god damned lights!

Although shooting the 100mm lens seemed more versatile I had to go with the more affordable 60mm macro lens MAINLY because of price. It cost me PHP 18,800.00 from Henry’s compared to the 100mm lens at PHP26,000.00. I looked around for second hand lenses but found that these were prized possessions and it would be crazy for a photographer to let go of them.

There’s another major difference wen shooting underwater compared to top-side. You see, I use a Canon 350D underwater and believe me, it already is tough to shoot with a DSLR. Imagine that you’re viewing your subject from the viewfinder encased in a housing plus you’re also wearing a mask. That means your eyes are roughly 2-3 inches away from the tiny viewfinder! It’s already so hard to shoot a pygmy seahorse the size of a half grain of rice, it’s already second nature to move in closer! The 60mm lens also has a faster auto focus mechanism so the difference in milliseconds matters when trying to get the perfect shot.

Let’s dive! Let’s shoot! In my next entry, I’ll show off the complete underwater photography gear. For my video gear, check this out!

Good Afternoon

Jayvee Fernandez — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 07:07:49 +0000

Preparing the Sony Cybershot DSC W230 for Eagle Point

Jayvee Fernandez — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 06:37:19 +0000

I’ll be doing 6 dives in Coron, Palawan next week. Sony lent me yet another Marine Pack, this time housing a barrel lens Cybershot W230. Unlike the previous camera, this model does not come with a touch screen, hence the numerous manual buttons and dials on the back.

More product photos after the jump.

So I’m taking this to Eagle Point in Anilao tomorrow, alongside a new pair of fins — the Gull Mantis, which I purchased at almost half the price from Eureka, near Powerplant Mall in Rockwell.

Compared to the T700 that was lent to me, the W230 isn’t as portable as the previous in the sense that the case that comes with it will not fit inside your BCD pocket. I predict the photos to be better though. Shots to follow.

From what I know of Sony cameras, the “T” series are usually thinner than the “W” line. Back in 2005 I was a big fan of the W series solely because it was faster in response and cheaper to boot! I think “T” was more of a luxury line (this is my opinion), and hence why they have touch screens at this time. Today however, the rudiments are very different and though I haven’t tried out Sony cameras in a while, I’m even more excited to give this one a spin for the next two weekends. Main reason really — the underwater housing comes with a diffuser which is easily removable, with the strap still attached to the case. It is very similar to the Canon G10 housing.

Full review after the weekend!

Sony DSC T700 with Marine Pack Hands On in Anilao

Jayvee Fernandez — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 10:00:05 +0000

Photo Credits: Juned Sonido, Benj Espina, myself

Went on a weekend dive at Dive and Trek in Anilao. A friend was taking her open water course so a bunch of us tagged along. It was also good to meet up (underwater!) with Wowie, Jerome and the rest of the guys from Intel. On the side of the Internet community, Juned was able to drag Benj along. Fun times!

The full review and more underwater shots after the jump.

Apart from logging 6 dives, the guys from Sony were generous enough to lend me a Cybershot DSC T700 with a MPK-THG Marine Pack to try out! Thanks Sony, I am grateful.

Writing a review for a camera housing is a bit of a challenge given how the quality of photos taken doesn’t necessarily reflect the housing itself. There are just too many factors to consider when shooting underwater including (1) your visibility, (2) your ability to control your buoyancy, (3) the “limited” ability of a point and shoot camera in certain conditions, like white balance manipulation, and of course, (4) lighting with a strobe. Am I missing anything?

In this case, the deepest we went was at 91 feet (Batcave) but most of the time I had the camera, we were around 60 feet maximum depth. The best visibility was around lunch time during our second dive and a lot of the colors really stood out, especially the reds and yellows. According to Juned, knowing this bit of knowledge and the limitations of your camera should make you focus on looking for particular subjects like Clown Fish (Nemo) and saltwater angels as the reds, oranges and yellows really stand out. This was the limitation of the camera and it really isn’t a reflection of how “bad” or “good” it was. Get me? Taking photos underwater is as different as the experience of diving.

According to the text written on the box, the housing can achieve a maximum depth of 40 meters or 132 feet. If you’ve seen other types of underwater housing in the past, you’ll see how this particular model shines in terms of its size and efficiency. It is extremely compact and simple to use with only 4 function buttons, the review button, the power button and the trigger. The Marine Pack houses a DSC T700, which is a full touch screen camera which means that the four buttons on the casing press down on the touch screen and do not attach to any specific knobs or gears. Again, ease of use!

Preparing the camera and casing for shooting wasn’t too hard. The T700 comes with a built in underwater mode which allows you to customize your white balance according to three preset settings. This is good for amateurs and makes things a whole lot simple, but the ability to custom your WB underwater manually should be a MUST for more advanced shooting. Again, this is a FUN underwater P&S camera. I learned that the best photos are achieved by always shooting with flash (duh!) and adjusting your macro mode to close focus as it’s really useless to shoot far into the deep with low visibility.

The underwater mode also moves around the touch screen function buttons to the right side of the camera so that the 4 buttons can touch all the functions — which means that you will really need to shoot using this setting and no other when the housing surrounds the T700.

So, the day I got to Dive and Trek, Wowie and Marie helped me prepare the T700 for proper underwater shooting. I had to open the Marine Pack and remove all the dirt from the sides. After doing that, I removed the O-Ring and greased it (the packaging comes with a tube of grease and one extra O-Ring). I dumped the casing without the camera into fresh water for 3 seconds, 30 seconds, and then 3 minutes each time checking for leaks into the housing. None. Perfect! In our first dive, I brought the case in without the camera for safety and then placed the camera inside on the succeeding dives.

Battery life was a bitch so I had to recharge the camera after every other dive which meant opening the UW case and repeating the process of cleaning and greasing.

The UW case comes with a hood which you can attach to the back so you can avoid the glare when near the surface but I took it off after the first dive as we were going rather deep anyway.

The Marine Pack’s product text in front also glows in the dark so that it is easy to find when diving at night.

Bottomline, if you already own a Sony DSC T700 or a T77, this is a no brainer. The casing only costs P10,999.00 which is rather cheap for a sturdy case that allows you to reach advanced course diving limits. After buying this case you may want to invest in purchasing a strobe light. The only negative thing I can say about the camera pack is that battery runs out rather fast. After two hours of shooting underwater, I’m already low on battery, but that is mainly because I make videos and always have the flash turned on for photos.

Lakawon Island Photos with the Lumix LX3

Jayvee Fernandez — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 11:27:11 +0000

We spent most of Black Saturday in Lakawon Island. I was so glad to finally have a huge burden off my shoulder — literally — as I would usually take my SLR for field trips. I recently caved in and acquired a Panasonic Lumix LX3. The Summicron Leica lens is amazing: it’s quite hard to find a true 24mm wide angle point and shoot camera with very good 720p HD recording. And my golly, f/2.0 on a point and shoot is also a boon.

Nitrogen Ice Cream at Zenses

Jayvee Fernandez — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 05:41:41 +0000

So so geeky! Thus, this restaurant deserves a post. There’s also a Plurk thread discussing reactions.

——-

So Anton Diaz asked me out on a date. Don’t worry — it wasn’t a HOT date. It was actually pretty cold. More than 100 degrees below zero cold.

We were both a little early for a meeting so after editing my last slide, Anton huddled me down to the next door restaurant – Zenses Neo Shanghai Cuisine. It really didn’t strike my eye at first as a place that had great ice cream and drinks. But Anton is pretty good at sniffing these places out, so I tagged along for some nitrogen powered ice cream.

Chef OJ is an applied physics major who really dresses for the occasion. I just had to take photos and write this down for everyone else to try. The place has been open since October 2008. If you want to know the details of our Osmanthus Ice Cream (P480.00 for two orders) and the Zenses Sweater (P240.00) which Anton ordered, check out his detailed review.

As for me, I just wanted to shoot! Check these out:

Ah fantastic! We need more interesting places like this. Thanks, Anton.

Crumpler Industry Disgrace Camera Strap, Finally!

Jayvee Fernandez — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 04:32:36 +0000

It’s almost like an obsession as I hauled myself at every chance I land on Bonifacio High Street as I’ve been pre-listed for an Industry Disgrace for several weeks now. Yup, the Industry Disgrace is Crumpler’s new line of camera neck straps. I had a feeling they would be here in Singapore and my guesses were right. I was able to get two

In SG these things cost betwen P660.00 to P950.00 depending on what “edition” you got. The camouflaged design you see here is the limited edition while the brown and black (I didn’t get the black) were more affordable.

Lens Review: Micro Nikkor PC AUTO 1:3.5 f=55mm

Jayvee Fernandez — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 16:15:14 +0000

Last month I reviewed my hands down favorite lens. This month, I’m literally zooming in with my second lens review. Thanks to a friend who took the pains to have this “new old” lens cleaned of 15 years worth of muck, it’s finally back in the game! May I present the Micro Nikkor PC 1:3.5 f=55mm lens, a very versatile macro lens that is also by the way, a derma’s nightmare as I was able to take the most unflattering shots of women’s facial pores.

According to various site reviews, this is one of the best macro lenses (!!!) ever made by Nikon in the mid 1900′s. Although auto focus does not work with the Nikon D40, it matters not really. The Micro Nikkor 1:3.5 is versatile. It has a focal range of 24.1 cm to infinity making it a great lens for shooting close up subjects like portraits and even events. The lens practically shines during daytime photography as shown in the photo below:

The depth of field and outlines in Hondo (my dog) is very visible as well as the light outlines in the flowers. Here are some close up shots of those two areas:

The first image I posted of the close up of the white flower within the red petals shows how close and how far I can get with this one lens.

What a high quality lens! Macro glory truly shines with the addition of a Nikon PK-13 27.5 extension tube that magnifies images on the viewfinder without the use of optics. An extension tube can produce an image like this one below. I had to attach my camera to a Vivitar mini tripod to stabilize the chocolate chip from a cookie at the recent Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf Tea Appreciation seminar.

Though this lens isn’t primarily an indoor events lens, it still achieves decent performance. This makes it very versatile although the largest opening is limited to f/3.5. Below is basically the recap of the entire event from the eyes of my camera:

OKay, kidding aside, here is a more detailed recap of the event, including comments on Coffee Bean’s latest tea offering and show stopper, the African Sunrise.

Back to the lenses. There isn’t anything more to say, really, except that this is a mighty good macro lens. Although it is made of metal, it is still very light and has replaced my kit lens on several shooting occasions. A lot of macro lenses today are rather heavy and bulky. This one looks and feels like a regular kit lens. In fact, it shares the same diameter as Nikon’s 18-55mm kit and thus shares its UV filter and cap.

The Micro Nikkor PC 1:35 f=55mm macro lens is a keeper.

Jayvee Fernandez | Pinoy Tech, Diving, Gadgets » Photography

Finally, it’s complete: Sea & Sea DSLR housing with single YS-110 strobe

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