Fantasea solves the housing problem

Special Feature: ADVENTURE

Before the flood of waterproof cameras, there were underwater housings designed for specific camera models.

Distributed by Tasco Sales Australia, Fantasea underwater housings feature a compact design for easy handling and accurate access to camera functions through the critical placement of push-button controls on the housing.

Fantasea housings are designed for Nikon, Canon and Olympus models and most come with a 12-month flooding warranty.

Howard Rosenstein, a pioneer of diving in the Red Sea and founder of international group Fantasea Line Ltd., has been involved in the diving, water sports and photographic industries for around 40 years. Last year, he was inducted into the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame.

Howard Rosenstein;s tips for underwater photography

There are differences between shooting on land and underwater and your customers will be better equipped for knowing what they are.

Light gradation

Light gradually becomes more diffused the deeper you go underwater until you eventually end up in a completely blue world. To shoot colourful pictures at each depth, you need to compensate by employing supplementary light sources, such as flashes or underwater lights, or by using the white balance features of your digital camera.

Colour bias

Whereas there is no colour bias on land, light is diffused underwater so that the red spectrum appears darker. The deeper you get, the greater the diffusion effect, and hence, the greater the change in colours. Use the white balance feature to achieve natural colouration.

Backscatter

The 'backscatter effect' is likely to occur when a built-in flash is used to shoot a subject at a standard portrait-shot distance. Use an external flash to avoid this problem as described above.

Refraction

When subjects on land and underwater are shot at the same distance with the same zoom setting, the underwater subject will appear larger in the image. This is a result of the angle of view being narrowed by refraction. Back up or expect a narrower angle underwater.

Zoom settings

Zoom settings behave differently under water because light refracts at the boundary between air (in the lens) and water. The same zoom setting on land will result in a narrower field under water. To shoot wide angles, therefore, you must shoot the subject from a slightly greater distance than you would on land.