I personally find* that the best results are achieved by eschewing the fad of the daguerreotype and its many demonic offspring and using the only true way to capture the vision and feel of any location whether in the world of light or the gateway to Hades, namely oils on canvas.
I find that ** it is best to invest in the top quality mahogany and brass 'Exploring the Dark Continent' range of easels and associated equipment as it is the only type capable of withstanding the rigours of proper exploration and has the added bonus of being seen as a powerful talisman by the natives hence protecting both yourself and your team of bearers from heathen practices.

* - a lie
** - another lie

:lol::lol:

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Ordered myself a second-hand TG4 off Amazon, it's got a small scratch on the screen but it won't be long before it acquires a few more in my hands so that's OK. 🙂

Having recently squired one as a manufacturer refurb off eBay for £150 with 12 months guarantee, I can without any reservation recommend the Panasonic Lumix FT7

Its 33 metre waterproof, 2 metre fall shockproof, has an electronic viewfinder useful for those like me who need reading glasses, and has optional manual settings, although the latter is limited to 2 F stops, F3.3 and F10. I find quality is there on the F10 uing ASA 200 rather than the 100 I normally used. Its compensated for by the 20.4 mega pixels.

It also holds in the hand like a proper camera rather than a finger and thumb grip. The lens has 28 - 128 mm in 35 mm equiv. I use this yardstick as X makes no sense to me. Human eye is equivalent to 50 mm FL.
I am now using it as underground camera of choice as well as surface.
A nice touch is the self timer which unlike most other cameras is selected from a "Drive Mode" menu button and stays on as long as camera stays on or mode changed. So for underground selfies, I don't have to keep resetting the self timer for every shot.
Best camera I have ever had

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I use the Olympus TG4 both diving and also for cave photos. Suites my needs very well

What the Olympus has what none of the others have is the light composite mode which is patented to Olympus ,it makes lighting your images underground VERY easy indeed. Anybody else with one will tell you the same. Read up on the feature its amazing !

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I use the Olympus TG4 both diving and also for cave photos. Suites my needs very well

What the Olympus has what none of the others have is the light composite mode which is patented to Olympus ,it makes lighting your images underground VERY easy indeed. Anybody else with one will tell you the same. Read up on the feature its amazing !

I hear this a lot, its been all over UKC. Different people though do things different ways. Whats best for one is not necessarily best for another, a bit like life in general.

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From past mentions and research I opted for the compact Olympus TG5 last year. It’s pluses over my typical SLR are robustness, small size and the composite mode. The frustrations are its tendency to insist on doing what ‘it’ wants to- there not being a manual option, the firmware being too imposing and the composite mode having to be properly understood for good results. Another is the small sensor size. Fine for close to mid distances (which it was made for in fairness) but below ok for landscapes. As it comes, there’s no lens protection/cover either.

There’s a TG6 out there now as well. Not much more offered as far as I could quickly scan but does have a manual mode... along with higher price tag.

Overall, am I happy with it?... Getting there. :)

Exactly thats why I opted for the TG4, the 5 had nothing extra to offer apart from being more complicated to operate , and they have made it now so you have to buy another underwater housing ( if diving deep) the TG 1,2,3 & 4 all went in the same housing.

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I have had a retake on the Lumix.

I have rigged Ystrad Einion with fixed aids for NAMHO so now an nice easy ladder to get upstairs.
I thought I would take opportunity to try out the camera plus a new experimental cap lamp that does 4500 lumens of flood!

Working with pretty passage and the kibble I get decent results, downstairs at the water wheel I need a longer exposure and it gave me different shutter speed options to what I had before. And you only get 2 of them.
Very fiddly and it only gives you a short time to adjust what you want before it reverts and you find yourself into something else you dont want. Typical multi function button frustration.

I spent that much time fiddling with the camera forgot my caplamp was on full power floods and hitting the 16v power bank for about 45 watts!, next thing, full power shut down. That was it.

I think that for anywhere that I am not dangling on ropes or going through deep water, I take the Sony H400. Full range of f setting and shutter speeds.

Still prefer the Lumix to the Fuji XP120 because of the viewfinder though

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". The frustrations are its tendency to insist on doing what ‘it’ wants to- there not being a manual option, the firmware being too imposing and the composite mode having to be properly understood for good results. "




Once you get the hang of the live composite mode buddy its astonishing what you can do with the setting .:thumbsup:

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There isn't actually anything new.
All these 'modes' are just combinations of aperture and shutter speed plus some other stuff like the ability to take multiple exposures on the same frame. We were doing that with film camera way back. Set it on a tripod on open shutter, then walk along a parallel road firing our flash through each box hole.
Photography is photography whatever.

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The difference with live composite Roy is it only records newer brighter light so it eliminates the problems ( I come from a film background ) of the over exposing, you can literally walk around all over in the shot and not get picked up on the image .

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I am struggling to follow how it eliminates over exposure.

Is there a good in depth article about it anywhere that you could link to please?

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In the meantime, while Paul and Roy go off to discuss the composite setting, I’ll just mention that the frustrations are more to do with its fundamental functions. Such as the Aperture priority. It still decides which of the f stops I can choose, insisting I don’t select a silly one. A bit like buying a shirt with my wife alongside really.

Is there a good in depth article about it anywhere that you could link to please?

These don't specifically reference the TG4, but if the Live Composite Mode is the same across the Olympus range they may be of use:

https://camerajabber.com/how-to-use-olympus-live-composite-mode/ 

https://www.duford.com/2016/08/explaining-olympus-live-composite-mode/ 

Is there a good in depth article about it anywhere that you could link to please?

These don't specifically reference the TG4, but if the Live Composite Mode is the same across the Olympus range they may be of use:

https://camerajabber.com/how-to-use-olympus-live-composite-mode/ 

https://www.duford.com/2016/08/explaining-olympus-live-composite-mode/ 

The results and reading are the same whichever olympus you have , so these links will cover the TG range as well

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I might get one of the TG5s and have a play with it.
Like: the live composite mode, big sensor, self timer delays
Dislike: No viewfinder, 12 MP only.

General. Attraction with the Lumix was viewfinder and manual options. But latter so limited I now question its usefulness.

Thing with the Sony H400 if if I set it up on a tripod at f5.4 and 4 seconds shutter, that is exactly what I get. It wont do something different behind my back.
But its fun experimenting with these different cameras.
Final comment is that I chose the DSLR on advertised specs and found it does exactly what it says on the tin. Also the mega optical zoom useful on surface. They are well known for this.

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I might get one of the TG5s and have a play with it.
Like: the live composite mode, big sensor, self timer delays
Dislike: No viewfinder, 12 MP only.

General. Attraction with the Lumix was viewfinder and manual options. But latter so limited I now question its usefulness.

Thing with the Sony H400 if if I set it up on a tripod at f5.4 and 4 seconds shutter, that is exactly what I get. It wont do something different behind my back.
But its fun experimenting with these different cameras.
Final comment is that I chose the DSLR on advertised specs and found it does exactly what it says on the tin. Also the mega optical zoom useful on surface. They are well known for this.

They reduced the mepixel Roy on the five but used a superior sensor so although the TG 4 (that i have ) has more pixels the images on paper are slightly improved on the five but i think you would have to enlarge the size of a bus to see a difference.

I will put a typical Live composite shot up later and explain what I did to create the image that may help 😉

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They reduced the mepixel Roy on the five but used a superior sensor so although the TG 4 (that i have ) has more pixels the images on paper are slightly improved on the five but i think you would have to enlarge the size of a bus to see a difference.

Yes but I do. A piece of industrial archaeology I will zoom into on computer screen, I am very aware of when it starts to pixelate

I will put a typical Live composite shot up later and explain what I did to create the image that may help ;)

That would be great, but I can guess your "typical" :lol:

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Here we go Roy

This is my wife Sue who I iluminate with a quick waff of my video light , then she walks back out of the image and behind the camera being VERY careful not to trip , then I take the video light walk into the shot and at a even pace walk all the way down the adit tunnel, then when complete she will press the shutter to stop the image recording. I dont know why but we have never had the same results with her switching on a video light and walking after I have first illuminated her, its probably because the light sensor has already recorded the tones and light of her.

This image Roy has had VERY little photoshop intervention only a little cropping and 8% colour saturation thats all .


🔗118329[linkphoto]118329[/linkphoto][/link]

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This one I got with the Lumix upstairs at YE.
Not saying that its particularly good, but something interesting about it.
Can you guess.

🔗118331[linkphoto]118331[/linkphoto][/link]

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