Underwater Photography (continued)

5. Know your basic camera settings intimately:
There is no possibility of checking your owner's manual when you're underwater.  Knowing the placement and function of the system's basic controls is essential.  The photographer only needs to be able to change exposure, focus, and strobe settings.  Everything else is fluff underwater.

It is absurdly naive of camera designers to think that a diver hovering in sixty feet of water, trying to maintain neutral buoyancy while simultaneously trying to compose an image, has the ability or desire to scroll through a submenu on an LCD in order to examine a confusing set of tiny display values.
 

6. Maintain your equipment scrupulously:
This applies to both SCUBA and camera equipment. A leaky mask or a free-flowing regulator will abort a photo dive just as easily as a malfunctioning camera.

Unlike land photographers, who may send their equipment in yearly for servicing, underwater camera equipment requires constant maintenance.

Under normal circumstances, camera equipment should be rinsed and serviced after every dive.