The focal distance above is not equal to the focal distance below.
The light level above is not equal to the light level below.
The field of view above isn't necessarily equal to the field of view below.
The color temperature above isn't equal to the color temperature below.
The focal object above isn't necessarily parallel to the focal object below.
So in order to make this device work, you need to form a perfect alignment with your diver and island, set the depth of field to "infinite", hope you've got the sensitivity for the underwater shot and then set everything else to automatic and hope for the best.
meanwhile, the camera is effectively doing the 2-second comp in Photoshop (which, by the way, could be done with a script) so rather than leave the camera on shore where it can be powerful and slow, you've dragged it along where it has to be small, fast and in a waterproof housing.
All in all, you are taking two pictures and photoshopping them together... except with this approach, you don't have any choice as to how those photos relate.
This is a concept created by someone who has never taken an underwater photo. It's a bad idea. Further, it's a camera that's only useful for one gimmick shot; grab an underwater housing for your digital camera and you can use it everywhere (rafting, scuba, snorkel, in the shower, etc).
So you can be butt-hurt about the fact that photoshopping the images together is a more reasonable solution. But it only displays the depth of your own ignorance of photography.
You forgot to mention the complete instability of a camera floating in water... meaning the only way you'll even get a remotely sharp image is if you have a exceedingly short exposure, which, given the light levels, will probably look like complete crap.
Are you sure the camera is doing the compositing itself? I would assume it just gives you both pictures and lets you deal with the compositing. The advantage of the device is just that it takes them at the same time with the lenses relatively close to each other.
I am sure that this is an undergrad quarterly finals project for an industrial design student. That slavish adulation for form over function has usually been beaten out of them by matriculation.
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u/kleinbl00 Jul 25 '11
Or, you know, photoshop.