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Using a monitor with Nauticam’s EMWL allows the screen to be flipped and to do away with the long and somewhat unwieldy Relay Lens. Given that there’s less glass between the subject and the sensor, this also allows for slightly improved image quality. (Sony a7S Mark III, Sony 90mm f/2.8 Macro lens, Isotta housing, Nauticam EMWL, dual Retra Flash Pro Max strobes, Kraken Sports 7" monitor)
In the bygone days of the DSLR, underwater stills shooters really only had two choices. One, a photographer could shoot through the tiny built-in viewfinder, which limited compositions and required good vision. The other option was to get an external viewfinder—either a 45° version or a 180° version. External viewfinders were (and still are) fantastic options, and shooters who upgraded never looked back. They afforded a larger field of view, an easier viewing experience, and allowed for a more enjoyable shooting experience.
With the rise of mirrorless cameras, using the LCD screen on the back of the camera became another workable option. There are situations, albeit rarely, when I will use the screen myself. Mirrorless stills cameras also opened up the option to reliably use an external monitor for making images. While video shooters have long relied on external monitors, more and more they are becoming viable options for stills shooters as well, and I'd like to make the case for them here.
While certainly bigger and bulkier than a built-in viewfinder or even an external viewfinder, monitors are a fantastic option for those willing to put up with the size and weight—a viable alternative to an LCD screen or an external viewfinder that can greatly enhance the shooting experience. Since adding one to my rig, it has never come off!
Andrew Zimmerman lines up a shot on some aquatic newts. With a monitor, the photographer doesn’t even need to be under the water—without it, this image would be much more difficult to create and perhaps impossible without damaging the environment. (Sony a7R Mark IV, Sony 90mm f/2.8 Macro lens, Nauticam housing, Nauticam EMWL, dual Inon Z-240 strobes, SmallHD monitor)
A More Enjoyable Shooting Experience
The most immediate advantage of an external monitor is the size of the display. While an LCD screen or a built-in viewfinder might be small and difficult to use, an external monitor is significantly larger—typically five or seven inches. The increase in size helps immensely with fine-tuning compositions.
Subtle things that might pass inspection until you see them on a computer are magnified when using a larger monitor screen, and this makes them much more easily caught and amended before the shot is made. How many of us have thought we nailed an image in the moment only to notice an unfortunate blade of grass or particularly poorly placed spot of backscatter? Monitors go a long way towards doing away with such things.
Using a monitor allows a shooter to easily get below subjects like this weedy seadragon, and shoot up in situations when it would normally be far more difficult due to the limited angles that are unlocked by a viewfinder or LCD screen. (OM System OM-1, Olympus 8mm f/1.8 Pro Fisheye lens, Isotta housing, dual Inon Z-330 strobes, Kraken Sports 5" monitor)
For those with eyesight issues (myself included), I’ve also found that using a monitor makes critical focusing much more straightforward, by virtue of the increase in physical size of the screen. Both for making images and reviewing them, judging focus accurately becomes significantly easier. Modern external viewfinders also provide a fantastic image view, but personally, I still prefer the larger screen.
External monitors often come equipped with advanced features such as high-brightness displays, better contrast ratios, and improved color accuracy, making them effective in all lighting conditions, whether low light or extremely bright. Some models also have anti-glare coatings, which can help mitigate the effects of sunlight and reflections when shooting near the water’s surface. Again, much of this is personal preference, as mirrorless cameras through the viewfinder also offer many of these features. Still, an external monitor makes this easier.
Behind the scenes, photographing salmon in an Alaskan river. It was nearly impossible to scrunch down behind the camera to see the LCD screen, and in fact, I didn’t actually need to have my face in the water to make this picture. I squatted down and just looked at the big display of my monitor, which was above the waterline. (Sony a1, Sony 28–60mm f/4–5.6 lens, Isotta housing, Nauticam WWL-1, dual Retra Flash Pro Max strobes, Kraken Sports 7" monitor)
As well as making the shooting experience much more pleasurable, using an external monitor made it much easier to achieve a satisfying result. (Sony a1, Sony 28–60mm f/4–5.6 lens, Isotta housing, Nauticam WWL-1, dual Retra Flash Pro Max strobes, Kraken Sports 7" monitor)
Unlocking Different Perspectives
Another challenge faced by underwater photographers is the limited viewing angle of built-in LCD screens or viewfinders. While external viewfinders do unlock more compositions and viewing angles, monitors take this to the next level. Photographers can adjust an external monitor to their preferred position, making it much easier to compose shots from various angles or while holding the camera at arm’s length. With an LCD screen, you’re typically limited to positioning the camera in such a way that you can see the screen clearly, which can limit your ability to experiment with creative perspectives.
For muck divers, or those shooters who love to photograph benthic creatures, being able to float above the bottom in a comfortable position, while looking down at a nice big screen, can genuinely completely change the way you shoot—for the better. That added comfort also allows you to more easily wait to capture specific behaviors or the perfect moment when your subject makes direct eye contact.
Catching a jawfish aerating its eggs is an exercise in patience. However, waiting behind a large monitor screen for the right moment is far nicer than having to wait with your face mashed to the back of a viewfinder or LCD screen. (Sony a1, Canon 50mm f/2.5 Macro lens, Isotta housing, Curved Macro Port, dual Kraken Sports KR-S40 strobes, Kraken Sports 7" monitor)
A photographer’s fully kitted out rig, replete with an external monitor. (OM System OM-1, Olympus 8mm f/1.8 Pro Fisheye lens, Isotta housing, dual Inon Z-330 strobes, Kraken Sports 5" monitor)
With an external monitor, you can set up your camera at one angle while positioning the monitor at another, making it easier to shoot upward angles, experiment with unique compositions without having to worry about the constraints of your camera’s built-in display, or use specialized lenses like the Nauticam EMWL. To be sure, the latter is a niche case, but that optic is becoming more and more popular. In its usual configuration, it requires the use of an expensive and unwieldy relay lens in order to view the image upright in your viewfinder. However, a monitor lets you electronically flip your screen, allowing you to do away with the relay lens.
Using a monitor in conjunction with Nauticam’s increasingly-popular EMWL allows you to do away with the relay lens section of the optic, as you have the option to flip your monitor screen. For me, monitors made the EMWL far more enjoyable to shoot, and perhaps increased image quality a little, there being less glass to shoot through. (Sony a9 Mark III, Sony 90mm f/2.8 Macro lens, Nauticam housing, Nauticam EMWL, dual Backscatter HF-1 strobes, Kraken Sports 7" monitor)
Battery Life
While this may seem like a minor consideration, battery life is a critical factor in underwater photography, especially in this mirrorless-dominated world. Your mirrorless camera’s LCD screen tends to consume a significant amount of power, as does its electronic viewfinder (EVF), and one or the other is constantly active while the camera is switched on. During long dive days, conserving battery life becomes essential. Many monitors will not draw nearly as much battery off the camera, as they are powered by their own battery and deactivate the LCD and EVF while the monitor is in use. This generally results in much less camera battery juice being used.
Angling the monitor to face upward allows you to get the camera extremely low while floating well off the bottom, even beneath a subject like this hermit crab, without contorting yourself into odd positions to see the LCD, or even to get close to the bottom to look through an external viewfinder. (Sony a7S Mark III, Sony 90mm f/2.8 Macro lens, Isotta housing, Nauticam EMWL, dual Retra Flash Pro Max strobes, Kraken Sports 7" monitor)
Final Thoughts
While built-in LCD screens and viewfinders can suffice for many underwater photography needs and have been used for decades with fantastic results, external monitors offer benefits that can elevate your shooting experience. From providing a larger, clearer display to offering enhanced focus control, better visibility, and more flexible shooting angles, external monitors can change the game for underwater photographers and videographers.
Subjects close to, or on, the bottom are perfect candidates to be photographed with a monitor without having to get low yourself. Just put the camera low, angle the monitor upwards, and shoot away comfortably! (Sony a7S Mark III, Nikonos RS 13mm f/1.8 Fisheye lens, Isotta housing, dual Retra Flash Pro Max strobes, Kraken Sports 5" monitor)
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