Using the flash
Unless you are only taking photos at shallow
depths where a lot of ambient light from the
sun is available, you will most likely have to use
the flash to take well-exposed pictures. Luckily,
most cameras nowadays feature a built-in flash.
Even those found on compact cameras are gene-
rally sufficient for the most common shooting
situations. However, under special circumstances,
such as night diving, wide-angle photography,
shooting at large depths, etc., it's often necessary
to use an additional source of lighting (such
as an underwater torch) or, if available for your
camera, an external flash unit.
While various Olympus cameras can be con-
nected to an external flash (if a corresponding
underwater case is available), the option of using
a slave flash is also available for models not
having a regular external flash connection.
The slave flash is triggered by the built-in flash.
It attaches to a lighting tray which can be
connected to the standard tripod socket found
on the bottom of Olympus underwater cases.
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• For mixed-light shots (using a combination
Tips:
of both the natural light and flash), aim the
camera slightly upwards toward the subject
to use natural light for the background and
the flash to light up the main subject
• When photographing subjects just below the
water surface, the flash can generally be turned
off because a lot of natural light is available
at these shallow depths
• A diffuser for the flash helps improve results –
all Olympus underwater cases and most out-
door cases feature this
• When purchasing a slave flash, remember to
check that it is designed for use with digital
cameras (called digital slave flash) and works
with yours (many digital compact cameras
emit two flashes each time – one for setting the
white balance, the other as the actual flash –
and the slave flash must be able to handle this)
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