Happy holidays: The reality of digital underwater photography

Alexander Mustard · Issue 16, Dec/Jan 2003 · pp. 26–29

Products mentioned: Nikon D100, Nikkor 60mm, Nikkor 17-35mm, Sigma 28-70mm, SB80DX flash, Subtronic Alpha strobes, Subal housing, Adobe Photoshop

26 A few issues ago, the editor asked what we would most like to see in UWP and our number one response was “Photo Tips”. Well, having just spent a week on a liveaboard with 11 other underwater photographers I have a great one: if you don’t want the conversation hijacked by opinion and argument don’t mention the word “digital”! One small slip with the d- word and you can wave small talk goodbye for half an hour. The digital debate is lively one, made worse when a few digital divers get together and the torrent of jargon and acronyms quickly becomes impenetrable to all but a (flash)card carrying, digital enthusiast. “Talking megapixels” is how one photographer summed up this new language. This article is my contribution to the debate. My thesis is simple: digital is better than film because it is more fun! In the digital debate I don’t care about the pixel count, the numbers of shots per …