Ikelite Olympus SP-500 User Manual

Page 6

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The number one rule in underwater photography is eliminate as

much water between camera and subject as possible Get as

close as you can to the subject then use the zoom If you are

using flash subjects beyond feet ( m)will not have much

color

The camera’s built in flash is very close to the camera lens The

flash can light up any suspended particles in the water and they

can be recorded in your picture This effect is called backscatter

To eliminate as much backscatter as possible photograph close

Photograph in clear water; do not stir up the sand or silty

bottom If backscatter becomes a problem in the environment

you are photographing an external flash will help eliminate

much of the backscatter

Digital cameras have a slight lag time between when you press

the shutter release button and the camera actually takes the

picture Hold the camera steady a second or two after pressing

the shutter release button

Do not shoot down on subjects as they will quite often blend

into the background and be difficult to see in the photograph

Shoot subjects straight on or shoot up at a slight angle using

the blue water as a contrasting background

Underwater flash is used to restore the warmer colors filtered

out by the water as well as to illuminate the subject When

photographing underwater set the camera to use flash on

every shot If the camera’s flash is set to AUTO and the sun is

behind your subject the camera may see enough light that it

does not fire the flash With the sun behind the subject the

subject is shaded (dark) and needs flash for a good exposure

continued on next page

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Using daylight or flash each person has their idea of what is the

correct exposure Since these opinions vary you may want to

adjust your camera for what you like exposure wise Many

cameras allow you to adjust both available light and flash

exposure with an EV control

Many photographers transfer their images to the computer

where they can fine tune the appearance of the image Many of

the image manipulation programs make you think you can

magically correct any image taken and make a good picture

One thing to remember when using image manipulation

programs if the image is overexposed much of the color is

missing If the color is missing you cannot adjust it If images

are underexposed the color is there it is just dark and you can

adjust it to some degree So if you error in exposure it is better

to have the image slightly underexposed than over exposed

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All Ikelite products are warranted against any manufacturing

defects for a period of one ( ) year from the date of purchase

Defective products should be returned prepaid to Ikelite Ikelite

will at its discretion repair or replace such products and will

return to customer prepaid All other claims of any nature

including but not limited to bulb failure are not covered Except as

mentioned above no other warranty expressed or implied applies

to this Ikelite product

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Ikelite is most interested in preforming any service to assure that

all products perform as intended For repair or service return

the product to the address below with your name address

phone number and a brief description of the problem Evidence

of purchase date must be provided to obtain warranty service

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Due to the power required to operate the camera flash and

LCD screen it is a good idea to start each dive with a fresh set of

batteries

Some cameras reset their flash to AUTO when the camera is

turned on If you prefer another setting be sure to select it

As soon as you enter the water take a moment and check the

housing to see that it is properly sealed

Next check to see if there are any bubbles on the face of the

lens port If there are take your finger and remove them If

there are bubbles on the lens port they can produce soft focus

spots in your photographs

If you use the housing Zoom control make sure to move it back

to the center position If the housing Zoom control is pushing

the camera zoom lever to either side the camera will not

function (See page )

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If you are shooting with the camera’s built in flash at

approximately feet (

m) or less zoom the lens to

maximum telephoto The lens port on the housing blocks a

portion of the light from the camera’s built in flash when

shooting close up If you do not zoom to maximum telephoto a

shadow may appear in the lower left corner of close up

photographs

(You can test this above water)

To shoot wide angle photographs closer than feet (

m) you

need to use a preflash compatible external strobe such as the

DS or DS

With an external strobe you can position it so

nothing blocks the light path between the strobe and the

subject