U N D E R W A T E R PHOTO EQUIPMENT

Sea & Sea's MX-10with Close-Up LensU/W PHOTOGRAPHY MADE EASY

TEXT AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY JACK AND SUE DRAFAHL

Top: This anemonefish photo waseasy to get using Sea & Sea's MX-10 camera with Close-up Lens andYS-40A strobe. Appropriate sub-jects for this system include corals,sponges, turtles and other medi-um-sized marine life.

E veryone wants to take fish pictures.In the past this took lots of equip-

ment, skill and patience. Sea & SeaUnderwater Photography USA has a bet-ter way. Its MX-10 is an entry level cam-era that allows you to change lenses un-derwater. The Close-up Lens, for in-stance, attaches to the built-in cameralens and expands your picture taking po-tential. It allows you to photograph sub-jects as close as 1.6 feet. This makestaking pictures of fish, coral, sponges,turtles and other medium-sized under-sea animals easy.

The MX-10 Close-up Lens has a singleelement mounted in heavy duty ABSresin. A special bayonet mount locks itonto the front of the camera. Framing thesubject correctly is critical, so Sea & Seahas devised a special gunsight-type view-

er. A special mask easily attaches to theback of the camera eyepiece. When youwant to center a subject in your photo,you align the circle of the mask with thetip of the triangular notch on the top of thelens. You focus by estimating the dis-tance. At first this may seem difficult butwe came up with a surefire method. First,measure 1.6 feet on your arm, starting atthe tip of your index finger. When you usethe Close-up Lens for the first time, find astationary subject. Move the camera tothe 1.6 foot point on your arm and moveyour finger to a point in front of the sub-ject. Don't touch the subject. Move thecamera back in front of your mask andshoot. After you try this a few times, youwill get a feel for the right distance and willbe ready to try photographing fish. Keep

(Continued on Page 710)

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SEA & SEA'S MX-10WITH CLOSE-UP LENS(Continued from Page 78)

in mind that the lens' excellent depth offield will help you with the focus. At f/11about one foot is in focus and at f/22 thedepth of field is approximately three feet.

Because color negative film has such awide exposure latitude, ISO 100 and ISO400 print film are recommended for usewith the MX-10 and the Close-up Lens.

SEA & SEA MX-10 CLOSE-UPSYSTEM COMPONENTS

MX-10 camera $413.00Close-up Lens $ 61.95Lens Caddy $ 39.95YS-40A strobe $264.00

With ISO 100 film and the YS-40A flashset to manual, the best exposure is at f/8.ISO 400 film works best at f/16 on manu-al and f/8 on auto. We found ISO 400print film gave us the best results.

There may be times when you want totake other MX-10 lenses with you on adive. This is easy with Sea & Sea's LensCaddy. It attaches to the top of the YS-

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40A strobe and holds the 20mm, Macroor Close-up Lenses. To change lensesunderwater, simply twist off one lens andreplace it with another.

Although intended only for U/W use,the Close-up Lens works well on land,too. However, the focus point and expo-sure values will be different. In air, thelens will focus at seven inches. The YS-40A flash is approximately that long andcan serve as a distance guide. Simplyturn the flash sideways and use it as ameasuring device (you can also use aruler). Use ISO 100 film at either f/11 withthe internal flash or f/16 with the YS-40A.

The MX-10 system effectively accom-plishes a difficult task. You have thefreedom of diving with minimal cameragear yet can capture on film whateveryou see throughout your dive. If you'reready to jump into underwater photog-raphy, go see your local Sea & Seadealer. For the address of the one near-est you, contact Sea & Sea UnderwaterPhotography, USA, 2105Camino VidaRoble, Suite L, Carlsbad, CA 92009;(760)929-1909. *•

TEN WEEKS TOTAKE-OFF(Continued from Page 14)

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Instructor Training, Sales and Oper-ations, and Equipment Repair Tech-nician are available as individual cours-es for students who elect not to takethe ten week comprehensive course.Owing to the increasing popularity ofrebreathers and other new technolo-gies, we also offer two additionalcourses, the Professional RebreatherInstructor Training Program and theProfessional Deep Tech InstructorProgram. The Deep Tech program is an

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