420 Dive Log Australasia OCTOBER 2026

areas such as the surface, reflective scales and sunlit backgrounds. I still assess the screen and histogram instead of treating –0.3 EV as a fixed rule, but I would rather lift a slightly dark area later than lose detail in a completely overexposed highlight. For general and wide-angle photography I use standard autofocus. For close-up and macro work I switch to AF Super Macro. When the animal is particularly small, I place a single focus target over a clear, high-contrast feature—usually an eye, the edge of the head or a well-defined pattern—then half-press the shutter and wait for confirmation. Strongly backlit scenes are among the situations in which I find the TG most likely to miss focus. When photographing towards the sun, the camera may see an extremely bright background and a much darker foreground subject. It can lock onto the background or fail to find enough contrast on the subject.

In those situations I place a single AF target over a clearly defined feature. If the camera locks onto the wrong area, I release the shutter and acquire focus again instead of hoping that one frame in the sequence will somehow be sharp. White balance requires a similar amount of attention. I do not rely on Auto White Balance underwater because colour changes too much with depth, visibility, sunlight and the colour of the water itself. For ambient-light photography I use the TG’s Underwater WB1, WB2 and WB3 presets. The camera describes WB1 as a starting point for shallow water down to approximately three metres, WB2 for depths between roughly three and fifteen metres, and WB3 for water deeper than approximately fifteen metres. Those ranges are only guides. Three metres of dark, green and overcast Port Phillip Bay water may require a stronger correction than considerably deeper water in the clear tropics. Water colour,

Another example of that great combination: a wide-angle lens and a single strobe, shooting against a bright, sunny back ground. This large reef manta ray passed less than 50 cm above me.

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DIVE LOG Australasia #420 October’ 26

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