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7. Underwater Use of FrogEye
Use of FrogEye™ underwater can take three forms; 1. taking underwater pictures; 2. purely underwater transport such as beach
insertions; or 3. a combination of both.
Preparing FrogEye™ for underwater use or transport
•
The lens port must be sealed with either a lens hood or the FL-400 lens.
•
The dummy plug (CON00383) must be applied to the multi-function connector.
•
For underwater operations, use a low-volume dive mask. This will keep your eye closest to the viewfinder and provide the
best viewfinder picture.
Underwater photography with FrogEye™
•
Use the lens hood for underwater imaging. Don’t submerge a lens without the hood (or FrogEye™ lens) installed. The body of the
camera is waterproof to 100 m with the lens hood or FrogEye™ lens attached.
•
Proper lens selection is critical: use short focal length lens underwater because the distance to the target is usually shorter than in
above-water photography.
•
Select
None
on the
Balance
menu to switch white balance off.
AWB
may be used in shallow water up to about 3 meters where
the full visible light spectrum still penetrates.
•
Use the NVD sensor for low light underwater use without artificial illumination. The color sensor may be used in clear water up to
about 30m depth during the day. The principal advantage of the color sensor is color information in shallow water and a wider field
of view due to the larger sensor size.
•
Minimize distance to target, to maximize contrast.
Use of the FL-400 lens for diver based reconnaissance
The FL-400 lens can be transported underwater. While very useful on land in rugged environments, the FL-400 can also be used by
divers for reconnaissance of distant targets from sea. Follow this technique.
1. Focus the lens prior to the dive to reduce surface time during reconnaissance. Point at a target about the same distance as
the reconnaissance target and carefully adjust focus.
2. Select AUTO or MOTION trigger mode, so that motion imagery will be available. Select the color or NVD sensor depending
on anticipated conditions.
3. Keep the lens in the collapsed state for underwater transport. Keep the camera off.
4. Switch the camera ON and extend and secure the lens just prior to surfacing.
5. Surface by slightly kicking your fins (do not inflate the B/C), hold the lens above water and wait for the water to drain. This will
take about three seconds. Use the time to find the target. If the lens fogs during imaging, submerge it briefly to clear.
6. Aim through the viewfinder, holding the camera and lens with both hands while keeping your elbows submerged for best
support.
7. Use motion imagery (hold the trigger button pressed) to shoot many pictures of the target in a short period.
8. Stop kicking and point your fins down to quickly submerge.
With proper training, you will be able to obtain target images in a surface interval of 15 seconds.
Diver shot of building at 1km distance and detail (with FL-400 lens) framed by underwater shots at the same site
