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Tetra
5050 Shooting Tips
Here's
a quick "How-To" tip list for everyone shooting a Tetra
5050. Print this page and take it with you during your trips. It
may become a handy reference if you need a little assistance.
Set
'em up - - -
Camera Batteries: The
camera's LCD uses a lot of energy. Only use rechargeable NiMH batteries,
1700 Mah or higher. Don't use regular alkaline batteries. They won't
last a single dive.
Media:
This is where your images are stored. The 5050 can use three types
of media, Smart Media, xD , and Compact Flash. Basically, the larger
the media the more images you can store. We recommend Compact Flash
since it is commonly available in sizes up to 2GB. You can also
add a xD card for even greater storage capacity.
Menu
settings: Whew, there are a lot of features in this camera. We leave
most of them at their factory defaults, but we do change the following.
All Reset: Switch to OFF. Now the camera will remember its settings
after you turn the camera off.
Rec View: Switch to ON. This tells the camera to display the photo
after you take it without having to switch to the display mode.
My Mode: It is useful to have different profiles set up for different
shooting situations. You can have one set up for macro and one for
wide-angle.
File Name: Switch to Auto. Because you'll be taking a lot of photos,
this setting gives every file a new name to avoid overwriting a
previous photo.
AF Illuminator: Turn it OFF. It won't assist you underwater and
will use battery power.
Knock
'em down - - -
Shoot in Manual exposure mode: Since digital cameras were intended
for land use, they don't do a great job judging exposure underwater.
Since we have the power of instant feedback on the LCD we can set
exposure manually and see the results immediately. You'll find that
you're more successful if you select the shutter speed and aperture
yourself and then make informed changes based on the results you
see on the screen. If you don't know where to start, try f5.6 &
1/125 for wide-angle. Take some photos and make adjustments as necessary.
For macro, set the camera to its smallest aperture, f/8.0 and set
the ROC to TTL. You'll probably get good exposure every time. If
you want a finer adjustment, just move the ROC control buttons up
or down.
ROC:
ROC is a great tool that allow you to make the most of your underwater
camera system. In TTL mode, ROC sets the strobe power for you. This
works well most of the time, especially in macro. For precise exposure,
you can set the strobe power yourself. ROC has twelve power settings
from full power to -7 f/stops. Move the ROC power LED up or down
to make small lighting changes to your photograph.
Camera
Flash: The camera's flash is not used to as a light source underwater.
It is used for TTL exposure with the ROC system. When shooting in
TTL, turn the flash to the Slow 1 setting. When shooting in manual,
turn the camera's flash off to save battery power.
Macro
Mode: It's not really a macro mode, but a "close-focus"
mode. Since closer is better in underwater photography, leave the
macro mode ON, even when shooting wide-angle.
Monitor
button / Quick View: Use this button to turn the camera's LCD off
and on to conserve battery power when not shooting. Pressing this
button twice quickly, enters the playback mode. This is a nice short
cut because changing the camera's mode dial to enter playback takes
more time.
Shoot
- Review - Adjust - Shoot!!! This is the digital photographer's
mantra. Take a shot and then look at it. You want to consider the
following: subject exposure, background exposure, composition, backscatter,
and strobe placement. If one or more of these is not correct, adjust
it and shoot again.
Shoot
Often: We can't stress this enough. You are not limited to 36 exposures
like a film camera. With a large media card, air becomes more of
a commodity than remaining exposures. Exploit this advantage and
shoot one subject until you get it perfect; then make changes. Maybe
light it differently or change the angle. You may like your new
photo after you normally would've stopped shooting.
After
the smoke clears - - -
Power Switch: The camera doesn't have an On/Off switch. Either turn
the camera on prior to putting it into the housing, or the Tetra's
auto-on pin will turn the camera on when you close the Tetra's rear
plate. If you're not ready to dive, just turn the monitor off. Soon,
the camera will enter its sleep mode. Once in sleep mode the camera
consumes very little power.
Shutter
Release: When you press it halfway down it activates the auto focus
and gets the camera ready to take a photo. When you press it all
the way down the camera takes a photo. It takes a light touch, so
practice auto-focusing without taking a photo.
Shutter
Delay: The term refers to the time between pressing the shutter
release button and the camera actually taking the photo. Although
the delay is less than a second, it appears longer at the moment
of photographic opportunity. The delay is caused by the auto-focus
of the camera working to achieve focus. You want to press the shutter
release half way and hold. This allows the camera to auto-focus.
Then frame your subject and press the shutter release completely
down to take a photo. There will be almost no delay.
We
hope you have a great experience with your Tetra 5050. If you have
suggestions that may benefit others, send an e-mail to sales@lmindustries.com
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