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PHOTOGRAPHY: Equipment

If you ignore semi-disposible film cameras, I have only extensively used two cameras underwater. From 2005 - 2007 I used a Canon Ixus 700 compact camera in a Canon housing. Despite the obvious limitations of compact photography, I was extremely impressed with the images I was able to take, especially bearing in mind I added no external flash devices, so was limited to either available light photography or the use of the built in flash system, which is far from ideal for use in underwater photography. You can see a gallery of some of my favourite images taken with this set up here.

After over 150 dives with the Canon Ixus 700, it was eventually 'lost at sea' and now rests either on the seabed in Indonesia or, more likely, in the hut of one of the local fishermen. By this stage I felt I had got the best out of the camera, and was ready for a new challenge. After weighing up the pros and cons of dSLR versus a more advenced compact kit, I decided to go with the former. This decision was based on my desire to improve my underwater photography with the ultimate aim of being able to publish some of my shots in the future, and I felt a dSLR system would be the best option to enable this.

Although the majority of underwater photographers use Nikon equipment, I decided to continue using Canon. This was partly due to my good experiences with the Ixus 700, but also as I already owned a Canon 400D dSLR and a number of Canon specific lenses. For underwater photography I use a Canon 15mm Fisheye, Canon 17-40mm Wide Angle and Canon 60mm Macro. All my equipment is housed in a Sea and Sea housing with appropriate dome and flat ports, whilst a TTL flash system is provided by two Sea and Sea YS-110 strobes.

For any queries regarding my equipment, please don't hesitate to contact me.