What SCUBA gear is best to use when photographing underwater?
The right equipment for underwater photographers and the right equipment for divers who are not taking pictures may be very different.
A.) Proper amount and distribution of weight is CRITICAL to taking good photographs underwater. Photographers have to hold their bodies at all types of odd angles while they are holding a camera which can weigh up to a pound or more underwater. Thus, you must make your center of balance as close as possible to the center of your entire body with gear and camera. With heavy cameras, your main weight system must be at your back, and definitely not in pockets in the front of your B.C.D. You may move two pounds off of your belt and use a one-pound ankle weights to help you even yourself out so that you can lie level in the water without any effort.
The closer your weights are to your center, the less changes you feel as you roll from side to side or lean at an angle for that perfect camera viewpoint. The further away your weights are from your center, such as out at the tank, or at the sides on your BC, the more torque they wield and the more their effect varies as you turn. Pockets high on the back aggravate your tilt when you need to lean just partly in any direction away from vertical.This makes you less stable.
For example, suppose you are swimming beside a fish and you want to swim on your side with your left leg above your right leg and your torso bent slightly upward so that your camera is level in front of your eyes. If your weights are in front pockets on your BCD they WILL pull you down in the front into a face down position. Gravity is a LAW, not an option. You WILL twist and flail around and maybe even scare your subject away. Having your weights evenly distributed on a weight belt on your waist will allow you to easily assume whatever position you wish.
Also, integrated weights do not allow you to adjust the position of the weights as your needs change. I sometimes adjust my weights during the dive so that I can lie on my side, or remain straight, depending on the angle I need to hold my camera for the photo. To stop the belt from turning around, use lots of small weights distributed the length of the belt rather than a few large weights.
B.) Using air in your BCD to help you balance:
BCs with the air in two flapping "wings" on the back also aggravate movement. For example, suppose you are in a level, prone position, but the air in the BCD cannot stay just in the middle, at the top. As you need to roll just a little to the side for the best camera position, suddenly ALL of the air moves to the left wing of the BCD. Because it is several inches from your body, it has more leverage than air that is held close to the body in a full jacket or wrap around BCD. This extra leverage is translated into instability while you are trying to hold a camera within an eighth of an inch of that Christmas tree worm.
Every time I take a student who is struggling in the water with an "Angel Wing" BCD, and lend them one of my SeaQuest Spectrum BCDs, they improve dramatically and quickly. None of them really knew that they were having a problem until I watched them in the water. All of them felt the difference and switched BCDs.
C.) Mask If you have trouble seeing your camera settings or tiny creatures, get prescription lenses! Contact Cathy if you need advice for photographers' needs and contact www.prescriptiondivemasks.com for info. For modeling, use an open oval window, or any face plate that continues across the bridge of the nose. Separate plates or tear-drop lens shapes often make the model look sad.
Get a mask with a black skirt to shade your eyes from the sunlight. In some conditions, this will make it much easier to see through your SLR camera underwater, or to see your SCD screen.
D.) Fins: Booties make your feet float, so, in warm tropical water, smaller, full-foot fins are easier to balance when holding a camera. If you are getting ready to buy fins, please avoid the split fin and Force Fins™. These are not good for small maneuvers which you must constantly make for good U/W photo control. If you still have your old fins, especially if they are a simple blade fin, and not particularly long, bring them instead.
E.) Aiming lights: Small U/W flashlights can be strapped or held to your strobe with expensive flashlight holders or cheap, large rubber bands, but large flashlights cannot be used efficiently for night photography; they scare the critters away, annoy other divers and make the camera system too cumbersome. The new LED flashlights are great at night, but the ones I have seen are not powerful enough for daytime use further than a foot away. I use the Ikelite PCm and PCa flashlights that use four and six AA batteries respectively and I love them.
For auto-focus cameras, you should carry one all the time for focusing in dim areas and to check on color. You can attach it with an ultralight system to the mounting shoe on the top of some housings. If you have a built-in light on your strobe, don't forget that you can turn that on when you need the extra light, but turn it off when you are not using it to reduce battery drain.
F.) Keep warm: Since you will often be waiting without moving for a creature to stick his face into your photo area, you may want a thin dive skin such as a PolarTech™ or a Darlexx™, 1/8" or 3/16" even in warm 85-degree water, or a wetsuit if you chill easily. In the coldest water, I don't need to tell you to wear a dry suit. You often need more thermal protection than divers who are swimming constantly, but you also want to use as little as you are comfortable with so that your need for weights is less, and you will have less buoyancy changes with depth. In cool water a hood or hooded vest provides the most efficient source of warmth with the least effect on buoyancy.
I hope that this helps you. If you have questions for this "column" send them in. I will address the most common questions.
Have fun,
