Sealife DC2000 Manual
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Sealife DC2000 Manual

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Great Pictures
Made Easy
with the
Camera
1

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Summary of Contents for Sealife DC2000

  • Page 1 Great Pictures Made Easy with the Camera...
  • Page 2 As the manufacturers of SeaLife, we believe that an underwater camera will help divers and non-divers to experience and see a part of our world which is essential to our survival.

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    VII. Focusing Tips for Taking Sharp Pictures VIII. Basic Tips for Taking Great Pictures Underwater Video Using Manual Mode Underwater Alternative DC2000 Camera Modes XII. Recommended Menu Settings XIII. Take Your Photography to the Next Level Photo by Tobias Friedrich...

  • Page 4: Basic Camera Settings

    Download the Instruction Manuals Here Follow this link to a helpful video about the DC2000 II. Underwater Basics There are a few important differences between underwater and land photography that you should know. a. Light and Color Water is about 800 times denser than air.
  • Page 5 This fish appears inside of 6ft/2m, away but is actually 3ft/1m away but is actually 8ft/2.4m away Expand your viewing angle with a SeaLife 0.5x Wide Angle Dome Lens or the 0.75x Wide Angle Conversion Lens that compensates the underwater magnifying effect and allows you to get closer to the subject and still fit everything in the picture.
  • Page 6 The camera’s internal flash is not very powerful and positioned too close to the camera’s lens, so it’s only useful for close-up pictures. The DC2000 features a built-in Flash Diffuser into the housing. The same location allows you to mount the included flash link adapter and optical...
  • Page 7 Underwater photography using an external flash (strobe) or photo-video light with a Flex-Connect Arm results in the brightest, sharpest most colorful pictures, with minimal or no backscatter because the light source is positioned away from the camera lens. Figure 2 Figure 1 Positioning the flash or light next to the lens (Figure 1) illuminates the front of the particles facing the lens.

  • Page 8: Restoring Lost Colors

    Taken with flash to reveal the lacks color vibrant colors From left to right: SeaLife DC2000 Pro Flash Set (SL745), SeaLife DC2000 Pro 2500 Set (SL744), SeaLife DC2000 Pro Duo Set (SL746) with flash and 2500 lumen photo-video light mounted on Flex-Connect dual tray.
  • Page 9 Method 2 Use SeaLife underwater color-correction modes If you do not have an external flash or photo-video light, you can use the DC2000 camera’s built in color-correction filter to restore lost colors. Set the camera to Dive Mode for depths greater than 25ft (8m) or Snorkel mode for shallower wa- ter.

  • Page 10: Taking Underwater Photos Without A Flash Or Photo/Video Light

    Even if you are using a SeaLife external flash or photo-video light, this information will be useful for taking photos and video with subjects further away.
  • Page 11 Snorkel mode allows you to correct for the underwater “blue” effect. The White Balance setting is located in the camera’s Main MENU and applies to both still images and videos. Here are some common ones you will find in your SeaLife camera: Auto White Balance (AWB) –...
  • Page 12 Photo by Chase Darnell V. Taking Underwater Photos with an External Flash or External Flash with a Photo-Video Now that you have learned how water affects underwater pictures and how to restore lost colors, let’s learn how to take some great pictures. This section covers how to take the best pictures with the external flash.
  • Page 13 1. Setting the camera’s scene mode to Ext Flash Auto With the Mode dial set the “Fish” icon, select the Ext Flash Auto Mode This is a SeaLife exclusive exposure program that takes properly exposed pictures when using one or two external strobes.
  • Page 14 The light sensor may be fine-tuned on a scale of 1 to 10 to match the camera’s exposure sensitivity. For the DC2000, we recommend calibrating the light sensor to 1, which is ideal for camera’s with better light gathering capabilities.
  • Page 15 3. Exposure control: Adjusting the external flash brightness If you prefer, you can cancel the Auto Brightness setting and manually control the flash brightness. Adjust the brightness control on the back of the strobe head away from “A” to a number setting. Turning the brightness control dial to a lower setting will reduce the flash brightness and result in a darker picture.
  • Page 16 4. Using a diffuser for better close-up pictures The Sea Dragon Flash includes a diffuser that attaches to the front of the flash head. The diffuser helps to soften the light, prevent over- exposure of close-up subjects, and results in richer color balance.

  • Page 17: Taking U/W Photos With A Photo/Video Light

    Photo by Chase Darnell VI. Taking Underwater Photos With a Photo/Video Light When shooting with one or two Sea Dragon Photo-Video lights (i.e. no external flash), set the camera’s scene mode to Ext Light In this mode, the camera’s flash setting will be turned OFF and the white balance setting will be “AWB”...
  • Page 18 Controlling the image exposure is easier when using photo-video light(s) because the camera automatically adjusts exposure based on the ambient lighting conditions and amount of illumination emitted by the light. What you see on the LCD display before taking the picture is how the picture exposure will turn out. Just make sure to limit your shooting distance to within the effective range of the photo-video light, which is about 3ft to 4ft depending on visibility, ambient lighting and the light’s lumen specification.
  • Page 19 When you take images underwater during the daytime and use an external Power flash or photo-video light, the ambient or surrounding light often competes with the Button artificial light. Sea Dragon photo-video lights have multiple brightness settings (full, half power, quarter power) that can be adjusted by pushing the Power Button.
  • Page 20 A final word of advice. Remember to use the proper white balance settings. If your DC2000 is set in the Dive or Snorkel mode, the camera is adding color correction. If you use the photo- video light in these modes, the still images and videos will record with a very red tint.

  • Page 21: Focusing Tips For Taking Sharp Pictures

    The second most common cause for “bad” results is out-of-focus or blurred pic- tures. The DC2000 will automatically focus from 4” (10 cm) to infinity, provided that the correct focus setting is selected and that there is enough light and contrast for the camera to “see”...
  • Page 22 Photo by Tobias Friedrich Tips on shooting sharp pictures 1. 1.Before taking a picture, push and hold the shutter button half way to focus the camera on the subject. The focus square(s) in the center area of the LCD display will appear green or red. Green focus square(s) indicates the camera accurately determined the focus.
  • Page 23 The subject must also have sufficient contrast separating it from the background. The camera cannot focus on something it does not “see”. In low light conditions, the SeaLife Sea Dragon Photo-Video Light can be used to help the camera focus in low light conditions.
  • Page 24 Push the focus key again to unlock the focus and/or exposure. The lock icon will disappear from the LCD display. d. For faster access, we recommend setting the Shortcut to AE/AF Lock. The Shortcut setting is located in the System menu. Features mentioned require the latest DC2000 firmware updates. Photo by Tobias Friedrich...

  • Page 25: Basic Tips For Taking Great Pictures

    VIII. Basic Tips for Taking Great Pictures Now that you know the major effects of water on shooting underwater pictures and how to adjust the camera controls, let’s learn some basic tips on taking great pictures. a. Control your buoyancy – Be very calm and patient, and let that curious fish get closer and closer.
  • Page 26 d. Shoot up, not down - Get some of the blue water in the picture. Colorful coral in the foreground will stand out against a mystic blue background. These color contrasts will add depth to your pictures. Shooting down normally results in poor contrast between the subject and background.

  • Page 27: Underwater Video

    Photo by Tobias Friedrich IX. Underwater Video Taking video with your SeaLife digital camera adds the element of motion and action to your underwater adventure. Here are some tips to shooting great video: a. Hold the camera steady. Hold the video camera steady on a particular scene.

  • Page 28: Using Manual Mode Underwater

    Photo by Tobias Friedrich X. Using Manual Mode Underwater 1. Using the DC2000 camera with a Sea Dragon flash and/or Sea Dragon Photo Video light with the various settings available in the Underwater Mode allows the user a nearly automatic process at making underwater photos and videos.
  • Page 29 Aperture Values and What They Mean In the Manual mode, the DC2000 camera allows aperture settings from f/1.8 to f/11. An aperture value with a low number allows a greater amount of light to pass through the lens, resulting in a brighter photo. Setting progressively larger aperture values results in less light passing through the lens and subsequently darker images.
  • Page 30 ISO Setting The ISO setting controls the light sensitivity of the image sensor for capturing images. A higher ISO value increases the sensor’s light sensitivity and allows for photography in low-light environments, but the more pixelated (grainier) the image will appear. A lower ISO value reduces the sensor’s light sensitivity and is ideal for brighter environments.
  • Page 31 Using the DC2000 in Manual Mode Underwater with a Photo-Video Light You can use a Sea Dragon or other photo-video light with the DC2000 camera set in the Manual mode. As outlined above, set the ISO to 125, set the shutter speed to 1/125 sec.
  • Page 32 Priority, all of which can be accessed by rotating the Mode dial. We recommend that you consult the DC2000 camera manual for more details about these set- tings, but here is a brief description of a couple of the modes available.
  • Page 33 Photo by Tobias Friedrich XII. Recommended Menu Settings DC2000 camera users need to be aware of the following menu items: • Focus Mode – Auto focus (AF), Macro, Super Macro and Infinity. These settings alter the way that the camera views and focuses images and videos. The wrong setting will prevent the camera from correctly focusing.
  • Page 34 Disable this setting when shooting video beyond 3 ft. More battery power is used when Continuous AF Video is turned on. When shooting video with the DC2000, the only menu items to be concerned with are White Balance and Focus. If you are using available light underwater, choose a scene mode with the appropriate color corrected WB setting, DIVE or SNORKEL.
  • Page 35 Many offer “Underwater Photo Safaris” to the world’s most beautiful dive spots with a knowledgeable guide and instructor. Also follow SeaLife’s event schedule for underwater imaging events happening around the world. Photo by Dan Johnson We hope this information has been helpful. Please feel free to contact us at info@sealife-cameras.com...
  • Page 36 DC2000 Photo by Tobias Friedrich Share your adventures with us! Instagram.com/SeaLifeCameras Facebook.com/SeaLifeCameras 97 Foster Rd, Suite 5 Moorestown, NJ 08057 USA...

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