It\'s not bubbles

[peter k]

Just had my 1st set of photos developed and what I thought was my own bubbles, I have now came to realise this is the backscatter everyone talks about. Nearly all of them have this in it. Is there any way I can deal with the problem a bit better in Scottish waters?(Not the nice clear Red Sea). It really has ruined what might have turned out to be reasonable photos for a first attempt.

Thanks all
Peter

[Davey Willo]

Peter, I'm reliably informed that its imperative that the flash (or strobe as it seems to be called) is not an integral part of the camera, the light source should be coming from a slightly different angle to the lense... well at least thats the basics as far as I know it...

I had exactly the same problem with a sh*tload of piccy's from some nice swimthroughs and the Zenobia wreck in Cyprus, the scatter killed all of my pics....

[JohnK]

Peter, the strobe will need to be offset as Dave says. If the strobe is fixed, switch it off and get someone to shine a torch on the subject. Even better, if there is natural light, get low and aim up without the strobe

[John Gulliver]

The strobe needs to be as far from the lens as possible. A built-in flash only works for close-ups. At distances more than about half a metre from the subject you will unfailingly get backscatter. If you haven't got a separate strobe, you have two choices: take only close-ups or shoot from below using natural light. For the latter to work, you need very good visibility and strong sunlight, so it only works in tropical and subtropical waters and then only when the sun is high, i.e. in the middle of the day. I have a Sea & Sea MX V (the older model), so I know all about the problem.

(Edited by John Gulliver at 11:26 pm on Jan. 9, 2003)

[peter k]

Thanks people, I'll go back and try with some of the methods above. I suppose I'm on a steep learning curve at the moment and I appreciate all the help, tips and advice I can get.

Peter