Photography & Video

Photography

When you leave for a paradise, such as the Maldives, you know you are going to experience particular emotions. At your return, memories will remain vivid for a long time, but pictures will make them survive forever. At the Maldives there are breathtaking natural landscapes - sea and sky, light and colours - and a camera is absolutely necessary. Let’s suppose everybody has one: first problem is the type and the number of films to take with you. We recommend you to take as much as you can: in your country they cost less and you can also use them at your return, as they expire only after two years. Whether they are slides or negative, the film choice is linked to the different performances in relation to the light that at the Maldives is no doubt a problem. The best are those with low speed: 50 or 100 asa, maximum 200 asa for the compact cameras (equipped with lower speed lens). Reflex cameras need a polarizer filter to shoot pictures of landscapes: it makes the sky and colours darker, highlights the clouds and removes the reflex from the water surface making it transparent. You can take the best pictures when the sun is low on the horizon, early in the morning and late in the afternoon.

The main problem of the digital cameras is represented by the battery autonomy and by its capacity of storing pictures. If the camera has its own rechargeable battery, it is better to verify its autonomy and, if necessary, take a spare one with you. If you use common batteries, it is better to take the rechargeable ones, with their own battery-charger with high amperage (you can find up to 2500 mh). Digital cameras are now sold with an internal memory or with a memory card, so take with you one or more cards according to the number of pictures you wish to shoot. The most amazing show at the Maldives is under the water. The simplest and cheapest opportunity is represented by the disposable cameras that cost approximately 10 Euro and that can be used up to 15 meter depth, even if their best performance is at 3-4 meters, with the sun light. They have no flash, so if you go deeper your picture has a strong blue dominant. You can also buy cheap underwater cameras (not disposable ones) and also a model with an electronic flash at about 50 Euro. This one allows you to go deeper and shoot pictures with a good real colour rendering. Another type of camera is the sub compact: even if there are not many models, you can buy compact cameras at 200-250 Euro and they can be used up to 40-50 meters. Very interesting, but also more expensive, are those equipped with accessories such as external flashes, optical accessories, such as close-up, wide-angle, ultra wide-angle lens and colour filters.

There are also digital cameras that can be equipped with waterproof cases: if you want to buy a digital camera, it is better to buy a model with a waterproof case, usually provided by the most important manufacturers. With 200-250 Euro you can transform your digital camera in an underwater camera, with zoom, flash and auto focus, that works at very short distances, allowing you to take good pictures of small subjects. If you want to shoot fishes close-ups, it is important you have a good photographic technique and, above all, you know their behaviour. The best focus is lens the 50-200 millimeter lens and the macro lens, used with waterproof case reflex cameras with auto focus. One or two electronic flashes not only restore the original colours, but also “freeze” the images of the fishes, giving them a plastic and tri-dimensional aspect.

Video

The low cost of the video-camera and its user friendly features has increased the number of the video amateurs. It is not easy to obtain good results and it is important to critically judge your videos in order to improve your skill. Digital video cameras help you in shooting very good images. It is better to use a video camera with 3ccd: the underwater use conditions are extreme and this technology allows you to obtain incredible good results (otherwise not obtainable with a single cd video camera). You can buy an original waterproof case or try adapting another one. The latter will be surely cheaper, but also bigger, as it has not been created for the specific video camera size. Minimum requirement is the external command for start/stop, manual/automatic focus regulation and zoom. A further feature is the white balancing (not always available) and the shutter speed. For further details, it is better to consult a technical manual.