Use the expose compensation function to darken the image without adjusting any of the 3 settings (iso, aperture and shutter speed)

You mean the exposure compensation? The computer in the camera looks at the amount of light in the center of the photo, averages it out as a meter reading, and sets the exposure settings that are set on auto. This might just be shutter speed or it could be shutter speed, ISO, and aperture. When you adjust the exposure compensating, you're getting the camera to take its light meter reading then change the settings to be brighter or darker than it wants to set automatically. It's like adding a "fudge factor". =)

​@@underwatermacrohowto9373 thank you for your answer Mike , but I was not refering to exposure compensation, I was really wondering about the item called "exposure shift control " it is in both tg 5 and 6 in the 5 it is the first item on the list of the settings ( the little wheel) when you click on it it gives you a choice based on the type of exposure !!

If you click on the info button it gives a bit of an explanation of what it does.

The secret to the TG line is not that they take perfect pictures with super control of the shot but that you can't take pictures with a camera that you don't have. Portability for international travel, affordable price, better air consumption where you're not pushing a huge camera through the water, etc. I also have a Lumix G9 that I use for macro, wide, and video but I reach for the TG when I'm in a drysuit, swimming far, or just need less tasks to manage at once.

Hah, so many questions. =) For macro, you just need one light, look for something that is a wide-angle 1000-3000 lumens. Look for a "video light" because they are wider than a normal dive light. I'm a big fan of ScubaLamp but they don't have many retail outlets in the US if at all. In a pinch, just use one of the normal aluminum-bodies standard dive torch and hold it with one hand like you see cops in movies holding a light and their pistol. For wide-angle work, 2 lights are the best. This is because one light will leave a lit center of the picture/video that is with the right white balance then a bunch of blue-green around the edges. You're totally OK with the Flip 5, the only thing you have to worry about is if GoPro changes the size of the lens in the housing. I live in New England and with a large amount of sand in the water, the water color is more like freshwater sometimes. However, with GoPro >=Version 5, the auto white balance works pretty well underwater, so try it without a filter first and see if it works for you. And remember that with artificial lighting, you don't use a filter because the lighting restores the color, contrast, and clarity. IE, you're only using filters when you shoot with ambient light.

Hi there. I don't think there is any data on that. You really have just a small amount of aperture settings available to use. I highly recommend using the info display on the LCD while you're shooting and when you're shooting moving objects to pre-focus on the ground or other close object and then reframe. That's how I shoot sharks because they blend in with the water and are very hard for the autofocus to get a lock on.

Change the strobe to high output, it's in the quick menu, and you have to get close for it to work, so it's only good for macro. For wide-angle, I usually just go with ambient light and focus on getting the right white balance. 1/100 should be OK as long as the fish are slower. You might see some blurred tails. If so, bump the ISO up a couple of settings and use aperture mode with the largest aperture (lowest F-stop, should be F2.0).

@@underwatermacrohowto9373 Great. Many thanks for the prompt response. I will give that a go.

It stays 12MP because that's all that the sensor is able to do.

Oh wow, I'll have to give that a try and see.

Oh yeah, I'll have to see why that happened. I was moving settings around for a different project.

Underwater Macro HowTo I actually like 4:3 and think it is a mistake to shoot every video 16:9.

Glad to hear it!

Let me know what kind of things you need help with and I'll record a video about it. This video itself was from a question somebody put on a different video.

@@underwatermacrohowto9373 Kat and I plan to use ours as an adventure camera, day hikes, wild swimming etc, do you know how best to set video mode for recording on land, light, AF, frame rate etc? I'm not very technically minded and often opt for what I am sure are the wrong settings. Our last trip out, rewatching alot of the footage the camera struggled to auto focus whilst out on Dartmoor, it was an overcast day and on the Moors colours vary. Seemed to struggle with the focus most.

Autofocus in low light is always a problem the camera needs a bright enough scene to be able to tell the difference between in- focus and out-of-focus. If the camera and the subject are not moving, focus lock will work. If one or both things are moving, then maybe bump the ISO up to 800. But other than that, it might just be too dark to take video.

TG4 is limited in how you use your exposure but it does go up to F18. You can control ISO. You can control aperture in Aperture Select Mode. You can't control shutter speed in the TG4 but you can set maximum and minimum shutter speed in the TG5 and TG6. Option 1: use Aperture Select mode (A on the mode dial) and select a higher aperture using the quick menu (hit left on the pad). Option 2: use microscope mode (picture of microscope on the mode dial) , set your ISO to "AUTO ISO High" using the quick menu. In either case, you'll need to use lots of light, so add a video light or a strobe and maybe experiment with the exposure compensation. Definitely watch the shutter speed when you set up for a shot, anything below 1/60 is going to be a problem with shake. Option1 gives you direct aperture control and you can zoom to 4x optical zoom but the minimum focus distance is maybe 3-4 inches away from the front of the lens. Option 2 gives you less control of apertures and a 4x optical zoom but it has a much closer minimum focus distance, almost right up against the lens glass.

Underwater Macro HowTo thanks :) 👍

You are absolutely correct! And I also recommend doing them with dive gloves on. However, I have one huge problem. Both of the TG6 housings that I have (Nauticam, Olympus) are designed with a bump over the latches so that even if you forget to close a latch, it is pushed closed by the housing and remains closed. That is, I can't have the camera in its housing and do HDMI out unless I want to perform surgery on either the housing or the camera. My only option there is to use a second camera behind the TG6 to capture the LCD and I can't do that and move the TG6 around much.

@@underwatermacrohowto9373 I am dumb ! Lol of course I should have thought about that. I am not wearing gloves on dives so I am saved that part , but I do practice with the housing and I find it easier than with just the camera Thanks again

I just tested it. There is a manual focus for video but it doesn't give you any sort of feedback whatsoever so it feels like it's not working. Use the Quick Menu (OK button) then move down to AF (auto focus). Hit the right button until it says MF (manual focus). Now start recording a video with the record button. While you're recording, you can still zoom in and out with the up and down arrows. I've been asked this several times, I should make a video on it.

@@underwatermacrohowto9373Thanks for that .. a video would be good on video on the T6!!! I filmed my diving singapore video on my channel with the T6...first time using it. And I am no expert! But it was easy... since you can zoom alll the way in now in any mode (unlike the T5), I am going to use aperture mode next time. But I used auto focus... and even in auto focus there is a way to lock focus... but have not worked it out!!!!

@@randomvideos2065 Firstly: Singapore boleh! I have a decent amount of dives there and lived there for 3+ years. Stupid question: do I know you? =) Locking focus from AF mode is easy, you just do it before you start recording. Half-press on the shutter button to get a focus and hold. This will show a green box on the LCD. While still holding the shutter button, press the OK button. That will lock the focus. Use up and down arrows to move focus in and out, it works just like the MF setting. I confirmed that this still works in recording video just like MF mode.

I checked on a TG-5, you can lock focus before recording video but you can not adjust focus while recording.

@@underwatermacrohowto9373 many thanks! I normally use a sony camcorder but use the T6 here in Singapore as so easy and convenient . I have been here 12 years!!! My proper yo tube channel is at Christian Bassett. You can just search it and will see me! I put a video i made diving at pulau hantu there recently! Thanks again for the explanation... really appreciated!!!

It's a set from the company Oceanarium. I don't think they make them anymore. They have some individual ones that are fist-sized. www.oceanarium.com.hk

I got it to work in video, 1920x1080x30. Worked great. I have the TG-5