Backscatter

[Big Steph]

Hi guy's, I am too lazy to search the threads, so here is my question.  Some of my photo's are duff due to backscatter.  My camera has a built in flash,therefore can not be adjusted, is there another way to avoid backscatter.  I have put my finger over the flash bulb to see if this would help.  I will find out when I get the photo's developed I suppose.

Cheers

Big Steph

[Tim Ingmire]

Hi Steph,

Now I'm no U/W camera expert (believe me the photos from my one and only attempt can prove that!) but apparently the trick is to get the flash as far from the lens as possible so a slave unit seems to be what you need - backscatter is the same problem that gives you red-eye on normal photo's.  

If you have enough ambient light then covering the flash should help but you might want to try getting hold of a slave unit that you can attach to your camera or you could even get your buddy to shine his torch on the subject - but even lighting and a good quality (HID?) torch, and a patient buddy, would really be needed 4 best results.

Of course if the water if full of sh1t then even the best equipment may not help.

Other general tips which you may already know:  Get close, really close (to minimise the amount of water,and therefore less sh!t, between you and it ) and aim up from below your subject to get as much use of the ambient light as possible.

HTH


I just wished I remembered all this when I went out with my camera in St Abbs.  

[Big Steph]

Thanks for the tips m8. My mx5 can not take an external flash light

[Gavin Yates]

RU sure Steph - Fi has got an MX5 with a side strobe ... it might be a MX5 II tho'

[Lou]

Big Steph,

I too have the MX5 without the slave (which is the MXII).  Back scatter is a huge problem with it.  The best solution I have come up with is to try to block out/disable the flash where backscatter is likely to be a problem.  So it is a case of shining a torch on the subject, getting close and hoping the peripheral light from the torch/surface (always point up where possible - assuming that there is light reaching you from the surface!) fools the sensor.

Or put your finger over the flash as you have tried!

Good luck - my photies on the gallery were taken with the MX5 old stylee.  Looking at Fi's though the slave certainly makes for a better chance at some of those middle distance piccies.

[Gavin Yates]

Lou,

Fi didn't have the slave when she took those - but they were taken in decent light and viz conditions - apart from the photie of me which is badly focued, overexposed etc etc ....

[Tim Ingmire]

Is that the one where you look like a little 12yr old?:tongue2:

[Jay]

Hehe - thats EXACTLY what I thought but I was too polite to post it. I thought Fi had taken a picture of someone on the PADI bubblemaker course!

Judge for yourselves!

(Edited by Heads Up at 5:11 pm on Nov. 13, 2002)

[Gavin Yates]

My mummy says I'm not allowed to play with you lot anymore !!!

[JohnK]

The folks above are correct - to avoid backscatter you need to have the strobe angled towards the subject and not straight on as with the MX5/10.

There are a couple of tricks though:

Get close
Take photos in good vis
Get shallower and turn strobe off - use natural light
Get a buddy to shine a torch on the subject from an angle and switch off the strobe
Finally - if you have photo software on your PC you can simply wipe out the backscatter using clone tools - you will be suprised on how many of the so-called experts touch up photos on the PC !!!!!

Hope this helps - the ideal answer is to get a strobe that is demountable, or if fixed, points at the subject from an angle

Best of luck